What is the best Atlus game?

[Flak Beard]

Really, in terms of gameplay it looks like P4 is going to address some of the complaints people had about P3. On the other hand, even if the gameplay is a bit flawed by comparison P3 still has a great story. So if you can only afford one, I'd probably recommend you go with P4, since it is more refined. I know P4 does have a few cameos from the P3 cast, but I don't know the details.

What specific complaints did people have? I'm really leaning towards P3: FES since I was initially drawn to the Evoker and it's $10 less to boot.

[MrPopo]

Really, the two main complaints that people had were the fatigue system and the fact that you couldn't control your allies.

The fatigue system I didn't really mention, but as you battle in the main dungeon an invisible status slowly ticks down. It can start at a "boosted" level, then transitions to a normal state, then tired. When a member is tired (which can include you) they are more vulnerable to attack. In addition, a teammate who is tired will leave the party for the night if you return to the central hub (which gives you a full heal, so you'll do it often). As you level up, it takes longer and longer to become tired. You also cannot become tired the night before a storyline boss battle. P4 changes this by not having this status. Instead, when you return to the central hub you do not get a free heal. You can pay money to restore your SP (and from there, your HP through spells), but it is prohibitively expensive. Both games have a method to keep you from just grinding to your heart's content in a single night, but they are implimented differently.

As for being unable to control your teammates, I personally didn't find that to be a huge problem. You can set various tactics, such as focus on healing, go all out, or knock down (which focuses on causing every enemy to go into a knocked down state). And the computer is good about healing the other characters (including you) when the HP goes below a % threshold. Really, the only time I was ever frustrated with my computer controlled teammates was during random battles they would occationally use some kind of status effect, which was generally a wasted turn. That was never an issue during boss fights, as I would start those off by setting strategies as necessary. But I can see how some people would want absolute control of their party members.

[Flak Beard]

Really, the two main complaints that people had were the fatigue system and the fact that you couldn't control your allies.

The fatigue system I didn't really mention, but as you battle in the main dungeon an invisible status slowly ticks down. It can start at a "boosted" level, then transitions to a normal state, then tired. When a member is tired (which can include you) they are more vulnerable to attack. In addition, a teammate who is tired will leave the party for the night if you return to the central hub (which gives you a full heal, so you'll do it often). As you level up, it takes longer and longer to become tired. You also cannot become tired the night before a storyline boss battle. P4 changes this by not having this status. Instead, when you return to the central hub you do not get a free heal. You can pay money to restore your SP (and from there, your HP through spells), but it is prohibitively expensive. Both games have a method to keep you from just grinding to your heart's content in a single night, but they are implimented differently.

As for being unable to control your teammates, I personally didn't find that to be a huge problem. You can set various tactics, such as focus on healing, go all out, or knock down (which focuses on causing every enemy to go into a knocked down state). And the computer is good about healing the other characters (including you) when the HP goes below a % threshold. Really, the only time I was ever frustrated with my computer controlled teammates was during random battles they would occationally use some kind of status effect, which was generally a wasted turn. That was never an issue during boss fights, as I would start those off by setting strategies as necessary. But I can see how some people would want absolute control of their party members.

Actually both of these things sound fine to me. I think I would like the fact that each character could get tired each night. It seems like it would bring a good balance between dungeon crawling and the social aspect. Is it possible at all though to not level up enough before a certain night, and then be screwed? What about the time line in that regard, can you somehow box yourself into a corner so to speak?

[thejamessea]

Topic has convinced me to go pick up Persona 3. FES is some kind of rerelease special edition, right?

[RackGaki]

Yes, FES is a budget rerelease of Persona 3 with added tweaks + a whole new 30 hour quest. Combination of dungeon crawling + relationship/life sim is the best I have ever experienced for an RPG. Unfortunately, the new quest in Persona 3:FES is all dungeon crawling, losing some of the charm of the original.

[MrPopo]

Is it possible at all though to not level up enough before a certain night, and then be screwed? What about the time line in that regard, can you somehow box yourself into a corner so to speak?

Yes, it is possible to screw yourself over in that regard, but it is very obvious as to when the next storyline boss fight occurs. And you are always guarenteed the night before the fight to be able to train. So unless you make a mistake and forget what day it is, you shouldn't have to worry too much about getting stuck in a corner. And it's not like you can massively grind that night before the boss fight anyway, since the game has a cap in how far you can traverse the big dungeon, which is based on the storyline bosses.

[Flak Beard]

Is it possible at all though to not level up enough before a certain night, and then be screwed? What about the time line in that regard, can you somehow box yourself into a corner so to speak?

Yes, it is possible to screw yourself over in that regard, but it is very obvious as to when the next storyline boss fight occurs. And you are always guarenteed the night before the fight to be able to train. So unless you make a mistake and forget what day it is, you shouldn't have to worry too much about getting stuck in a corner. And it's not like you can massively grind that night before the boss fight anyway, since the game has a cap in how far you can traverse the big dungeon, which is based on the storyline bosses.

That's good to know. The reason I ask is because I like to try and play RPGs without a guide if possible.

[vejita]

nippon ichi software! Atelier Iris!
so?

[MrPopo]

Speaking of Atlus and Persona games, Atlus USA is reprinting Persona 2: Eternal Punishment and offering it exclusively on Amazon.com, limited numbers. Get yours today! (US and Canada only)

[Flak Beard]

Well I broke down and picked up P3:FES on my lunch break tonight. Hopefully I'll get a chance to dabble in a bit later.

It's going to take me a while considering the game is supposed to be around 80 hours long. I don't have the time like I used to for RPGs. Kingdom Hearts 2 took me almost two months and that was only a 30 hour game lol.