The Misadventures Of Minato Arisato (Persona 3 Portable, First Playthrough) [SPOILERS!]

[Turnip Sensei]

Here it starts.

It must be fate that messed up the previous romance S.Links, now you have no choice but to go for Aigis.
FeMC or MC, Aigis is just pure love and the most fitting choice for the whole game.

[Darklord Rooke]

9 hours ago, Funyarinpa said:

Stuck at Rank 9 of Ryoji fuck my life

also holy fucking shit at Kotone being his vessel

JESUS FUCK

WHAT 

THE

HEEEEELLLLLLL

WHAT THE F

FCK

 

HOW THE FUCK

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I thought that might happen. If you miss a single opportunity to connect with Ryoji, you'll miss out on maxing the social link. 

[Funyarinpa]

Currently on 1/1. First off: I love the change in atmosphere.

Okay, now in general, despite enjoying SOMETHING in this game immensely, I'll have to say that Iwatodai, in no shape or form, lives up to Inaba. This might be because of the 2D (can't really check that out and I can't see Atlus releasing a definitive P3 on Vita or myself getting a PS2/PS3 or climbing 200 floors of Tartarus again in at least the next 3-4 years so I can't really make a comparison), or it might be because of the overall different vibe of the game, but I just don't feel as connected to Iwatodai as I did in Inaba. 

I think the cast lives up to Persona 4 Golden (especially Golden because MARIE IS GREAT!). However, I think that the character INTERACTIONS aren't as good. This can, in part, be attributed to thematic difference since AFAIK the Persona 3 cast was designed more to be people that wouldn't really hang out together outside of SEES. That doesn't mean that character interaction is any less rare though. What IS there is P4 caliber, however.

I like how the S. Links feel closer to being "people from different walks of life". P4G felt more like "S. Links with people the story involves you with" whereas there's a TON of Links in P3P I encountered that are completely their own thing (Maiko, the bookseller couple, fucking TANAKA, Rio...). I liked that! One flaw it has is that despite involving more S. Links in the story (Shinjiro and Ryoji have some influence AFAIK, I suppose Aegis might as well), those S. Links have to be incredibly rushed in terms of availablity(took out Shinjiro literally every time I could after I realized his SL was open, got to Rank 7 before... y'know. Ryoji's is even worse though I did manage to get all of his ranks somehow (you literally can't miss ANY, IIRC).

And the story. Oh god, the story. Despite being paced quite abysmally especially in the first 2/3 (full moon to full moon with practically nothing in between) of the story, with the introduction of Strega it picked up fucking beautifully. It's still badly paced, but after 40 hours of gameplay seeing Junpei get redeemed so much, Shinjiro becoming my favorite male character ever in fiction in his S. Links (his romance path is 10/10, best S. Link I've seen), and now with the last month before Nyx, I really enjoyed the story so far.

"I have chosen... to "live". This is my purpose, chosen by... me."

GOOSEBUMPS

Also the style of the game beyond Iwatodai is incredibly good as well. The character portraits, the fucking Evokers (I could watch Shinjiro, FeMC, Mitsuru and Akihiko summon their Personas all damn day), the top tier OST... P4G has its stylish parts (mostly in the dungeon crawling) but holy hell, beyond Tartarus and repetitive enemy design, I loved P3P's gameplay.

It feels like I'm at the very beginning, despite reaching what is seemingly the last arc... 

Also, was there any point for the ending divergence before sparing Ryoji? Got a save on 12/30.

BTW, Rooke, apparently there wasn't a date requirement for Mitsuru's S. Link. lol

[Turnip Sensei]

Yup, sparing Royji is the only requirement, so you are good to go. The final month is pretty impressive, and small things like new background music makes it all the better.

You're probably going to have trouble Maxing both Mitsuru's and Aigis's S.Link, so I suggest focusing on Aigis's. Not only is it pretty good S.Link on it's own, it's also really worth do it for variety of reasons and especially on first playthrough. 

I agree with Shinji being pretty cool, but Jumpei is da man of Persona 3. His and Chidori's storyline is just great, and he really elevates himself out of the "annoying and slightly incompetent sidekick"-status, unlike certain someone in Persona 4. 

[Fred the Barber]

I'm glad you're now fully onboard with the awesomeness of P3P, Funyarinpa - enjoy the finale!

10 hours ago, Turnip Sensei said:

Yup, sparing Royji is the only requirement, so you are good to go. The final month is pretty impressive, and small things like new background music makes it all the better.

You're probably going to have trouble Maxing both Mitsuru's and Aigis's S.Link, so I suggest focusing on Aigis's. Not only is it pretty good S.Link on it's own, it's also really worth do it for variety of reasons and especially on first playthrough. 

I agree with Shinji being pretty cool, but Jumpei is da man of Persona 3. His and Chidori's storyline is just great, and he really elevates himself out of the "annoying and slightly incompetent sidekick"-status, unlike certain someone in Persona 4. 

I just needed to say that I agree with literally every opinion stated here. Although I think you should be able to do both Mitsuru and Aigis - I managed them both on my MMC, at least. But there were definitely other S.Links that I had undone at that time which I wasn't able to finish as a result, so if it comes down to it, I also recommend prioritizing Aigis.

By the way, Funya, how about that newly-complicated Aigis?

[Funyarinpa]

4 minutes ago, Fred the Barber said:

By the way, Funya, how about that newly-complicated Aigis?

God tier

I'm a fucking sucker for "robots with human behavior" anyway

"BETTER STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT."

Also, is it just me or is the sixth block just hard as fuck

[Kurisu-Chan]

THE EVOKER IS THE BEST PERSONA SUMMON EVER, because it has a real symbol, not just cool, it's symbolic, you break your fuckin mask and you show your true self.

[Funyarinpa]

Just now, Kurisu-Chan said:

THE EVOKER IS THE BEST PERSONA SUMMON EVER, because it has a real symbol, not just cool, it's symbolic, you break your fuckin mask and you show your true self.

I can get behind that 

[Kurisu-Chan]

I mean, no other persona game has that summon ability, it's just too friggin cool. 

[Fred the Barber]

6 hours ago, Funyarinpa said:

God tier

I'm a fucking sucker for "robots with human behavior" anyway

"BETTER STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT."

Sing it, brother! Incidentally, once you're done with P3P, I recommend reading a summary of "The Answer" (P3FES-only after-story featuring Aigis) and then playing P4A (and maybe P4AU), for more Aigis goodness.

[Funyarinpa]

5 hours ago, Fred the Barber said:

Sing it, brother! Incidentally, once you're done with P3P, I recommend reading a summary of "The Answer" (P3FES-only after-story featuring Aigis) and then playing P4A (and maybe P4AU), for more Aigis goodness.

I'll get around to FES in a few years probably. I'll read The Answer then. 

As for P4A/AU, I don't want to play them since I heard that their stories are atrocious. 

 

 

[Fred the Barber]

55 minutes ago, Funyarinpa said:

I'll get around to FES in a few years probably. I'll read The Answer then. 

As for P4A/AU, I don't want to play them since I heard that their stories are atrocious. 

 

 

Well, the thing is, from what I've heard, The Answer is kind of a grindfest. So just reading a summary is probably a better bet.

I can't fault you for that decision on P4A/AU - they're not great. But it's still a decent dose of fanservice, particularly for the P3 cast, since their characters change a fair bit in the intervening time (none more so than Aigis).

[Funyarinpa]

I just finished P3P

ALL THE SLOW CLAPS

ALL OF THEM

JESUS FUCK 

FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK

WHAT A FUCKING GAME MAN

BEAUTIFUL (_{not P4G level doe)}

HOLY SHIT

WOW

1AM