Your Shin Megami Tensei resume

[Issac]

-well written stuff-

Being interested in the Persona series, should I start with the first game? Are they connected, or are they like the Final Fantasy titles, separate games?
Also, is the PSP version more true to the original? I tested it on PSX but don't have the time at this very moment to really start playing. I did dislike them changing names, setting, etc...

 

[emigre]

Being interested in the Persona series, should I start with the first game? Are they connected, or are they like the Final Fantasy titles, separate games?
Also, is the PSP version more true to the original? I tested it on PSX but don't have the time at this very moment to really start playing. I did dislike them changing names, setting, etc...

All separate gaems bar the Persona 2 duology.

The PSP version is more true to the source material but it is quite archaic with its gaem mechanics and I would never recommend it to anyone as a first entrance to the series despite how well it resonated with me.

 

[Issac]

All separate gaems bar the Persona 2 duology.

The PSP version is more true to the source material but it is quite archaic with its gaem mechanics and I would never recommend it to anyone as a first entrance to the series despite how well it resonated with me.

Awesome! Thanks I'll see if I'll start with the duology anyway, or the third one... I can be forgiving to archaic game mechanics, and sometimes it's easier to understand later games from playing the first ones. Well well, the future will decide this

 

[weavile001]

Soooooo what's even the different between straight SMT and persona?

where to start....
on SMT , you summon ''Demons'' to fight with you ,they appear as different party members, and normally are obtainable through fusion or recruiting during battles.
every demon has a ''Personality'': which is about the same as their mythological origins, such as Fenrir, Lucifer,Beelzebub and Thor, they can even be real-world people like Emperor Caesar and Jeanne D´arc/Joan of Arc, they will always say something about their story and stuff like that.

But, in Persona , instead of the Sidekick Demons, you have ''manifestations of One´s Psyche'', In persona 3 - 4, every character, except the main character(obviously), has only one Persona, normally reflecting their Personalities.

''Persona'' and ''Demons'' are just Given names, most Personas are Demons from SMT , and Vice-versa.
you can look for more examples on this page:
http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Persona_(Series)

 

[Gahars]

Um... I laughed at this.



How far does this get me?

 

[BORTZ]

Um... I laughed at this.



How far does this get me?

Go away gahars lol

 

[Celice]

where to start....
on SMT , you summon ''Demons'' to fight with you ,they appear as different party members, and normally are obtainable through fusion or recruiting during battles.
every demon has a ''Personality'': which is about the same as their mythological origins, such as Fenrir, Lucifer,Beelzebub and Thor, they can even be real-world people like Emperor Caesar and Jeanne D´arc/Joan of Arc, they will always say something about their story and stuff like that.

But, in Persona , instead of the Sidekick Demons, you have ''manifestations of One´s Psyche'', In persona 3 - 4, every character, except the main character(obviously), has only one Persona, normally reflecting their Personalities.

''Persona'' and ''Demons'' are just Given names, most Personas are Demons from SMT , and Vice-versa.
you can look for more examples on this page:
http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Persona_(Series)

So on SMT, you had me that it's a bit like Dragon Quest Monsters/Pokemon.

fuck-all if I understood what personas were

 

[weavile001]

So on SMT, you had me that it's a bit like Dragon Quest Monsters/Pokemon.

fuck-all if I understood what personas were

SMT: the monsters live inside some kind of eletronic/magic device.
Persona: the Monsters are inside you.

Monsters in SMT can stay ''outside'' the device until the guy who summoned it calls it back, just like Pokemon.
in Persona, the monster appears for a few moments just to execute an attack.

I don´t know how to explain anymore....just watch the difference here, no Spoilers , of course:
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 4


Shin Megami Tensei III : Nocturne

 

[Hyro-Sama]

Speaking of Persona 4. . .

 

[VLinh]

I've played Persona 3, 3 FES, 4 and Shin Megami Tensei IV and boy there was a big difference right off the bat in terms of difficulty for me.

I guess while I played Persona 3 and 4, it was more of an easier experience getting through the game whereas in SMT IV, I really had to prepare my team as I could die easily to enemies and after beating it on my first play-through on the Law Route, I watched videos on YouTube and they had teams that were very well constructed, like someone had a demon with the move to decrease all of the properties of a demon, started with a D and Luster Candy which boosted your team so in a way, I guess I really didn't look into this strategy in terms of moves, all I went with was almost pure offence and some stat increasing skills and the reflect physical and magical moves.

Definitely wanting to experience the other SMT games as the challenge from SMT IV was very rewarding when you beat it

 

[Hells Malice]

I'd love to say i've played 'em, all but sadly I really don't have time to sit down and play most of them to completion. I find walking away from a SMT game for too long just completely screws me. I come back and am wondering wtf I was doing or trying to do.

As such, i've beaten Devil Survivor 1, 2 and Overclocked. Between the three of them i've easily logged over 500 hours. Easily.
I'm quite far into Persona 3 portable, but don't have much time to play my handheld anymore. I miss highschool. Had all the time in the world to beat games.

I've played a bit of Persona 2 and 1, and I plan on starting Digital Devil Saga soon.
Wouldn't mind picking up more titles though so I have more incentive to play them. Usually when I have an actual copy of the game, i'm more inclined to play it.

 

[Scott-105]

I've played the same as the OP.

In SMT IV, I'm about 20 or so hours in. Stuck on opening up a terminal. Been grinding
I finished SMT Devil Survivor Overclocked. I want to play the second one now.
I can't remember how far I got in Persona 3 Portable, but I think around the same as OP.

I REALLY wanna play Persona 4, and I'm pretty excited about the Persona game coming to 3DS.

 

[BrightNeko]

I've gotten the bad, normal, and good ending of P4. Working on true ending. XD I got bad and normal by accident, that dialog tree is rough.

Aside from that been trying P3P, but have been struggling with it for pure cosmetic reasons. I'm not a fan of guiding around a little circle whenever not in the dungeon, and hell I don't even know why it gets to me like it does. That said I enjoyed P1, and P2's duology, they aren't for new commoners at all though. An it even looks like Persona Q might me a semi-remake of P1's snow queen quest.

Put plenty of hours into the originals but kept losing my save data. Aside from those though I picked up devil survivor twice, the DS one, and the remake. Unlike the original set of games I just lost interest over time with them. I think it is because with Devil survivor is slowly lets the player figure out what is going on to soon. My boyfriend has lent me SMT4, and soul hackers, will be trying those soon. Just after I get through Radiant Historia, which hey if you want something by the SMT team that is just as awesome. Check out Radiant Historia.

 

[chavosaur]

I played SMTIV to completion, with a neutrality play through as well, and it was probably the hardest RPG experience over ever had. Amazing payoff though, was a wonderful game.
I have slight experience with persona but no serious playtime yet. I will soon begin playing through the series though~

 

[CompassNorth]

Soooooo what's even the different between straight SMT and persona?

Persona focuses more on character development and self-acceptance on a modern setting. Character controls Personas as opposed to recruiting them as in Shin Megami Tensei.

Shin Megami Tensei mainly focuses on living in a post-apocalyptic word where the balance of alignments are fragile and you shape the world with the options you are given. A darker world with not as much character development, if you get close to a character it'll most likely be used for a plot device.

Being interested in the Persona series, should I start with the first game? Are they connected, or are they like the Final Fantasy titles, separate games?

They're all in the same universe, the only direct sequel is the Persona 2 duology where you have to play innocent sin first. It's highly suggested to play Persona 1 before two since it's a follow up. The first three persona games are barely (but still) connected to the rest.
If you have no problem playing older games play the series in order, if you are play three.
PSP version is recommended, but has terrible music.

 

[Issac]

PSP version is recommended, but has terrible music.

In which way is it worse than the PSX version? Did they change the soundtrack, or is it just the quality that sucks?

 

[CompassNorth]

In which way is it worse than the PSX version? Did they change the soundtrack, or is it just the quality that sucks?

They changed the sountrack to jpop, not even that nice jazzy funk jpop mix that the composer Shoji Meguro is known for.
It ruins the mood since it's one of the Cozy Okada Persona games which is darker than the Hashino games.
I don't think there's a patch to change the PSP version to the original one sadly.

 

[weavile001]

P
PSP version is recommended, but has terrible music.

They changed the sountrack to jpop, not even that nice jazzy funk jpop mix that the composer Shoji Meguro is known for.
It ruins the mood since it's one of the Cozy Okada Persona games which is darker than the Hashino games.
I don't think there's a patch to change the PSP version to the original one sadly.

what? the New boss battle theme is one of the best SMT´s battle themes

 

[BORTZ]

I have kind been dancing between Overclocked, SMT4, and more recently Persona3P. I got somewhere in the second stratum of floors in P3P and got frustrated. So I jumped back over to my Overclocked game.

I picked up at the end of day 3 right after beating Beldr. I am now on day 6 in the morning.

I really appreciate how the Devil Survivor games give you just enough demons to keep things interesting and competitive on the battle field without totally overwhelming you. At first it really felt limited, but that faded away when I picked it up again. The story is good, and I kinda like the idea of being walled into a city and trying to figure out whats going on. DSO was my first experience with the series and I must say, I do really like it. As complex as it is, I love not having to buy armor, weapons, accessories. All I have to do is focus on breeding competitive demons for the story.

SMT4 has been lots of fun, the reason I stopped playing for now is because I got frustrated when I got down into Tokyo and had no good way of navigating the map. The battles and the intense strategy needed to make it around alive is fantastic. I demon artwork is fantasic and the battle animations are great. Not to mention the killer soundtrack. But it is hard. The game is not forgiving at all.


Persona is ok, but it feels so so much lighter than the SMT series or even the Devil Survivor ones. Persona seems the most limited in the demon department. Everyone else gets only one (the awakings whatever) and you get like 170. But even then, they seem pretty limited and watered down compared to what I can get in DSO and not to mention SMT4. Which might just be the point. You have lots of other stuff to do in the Persona realms, go to school, make friends, explore tartatus etc. Its almost stressful.

 

[GameWinner]

Speaking of Persona 4. . .

So buying even though I own Golden (physical and digital) and the physical PS2 game. <3