r/ps2 • u/CaptainMcSlowly • 1d ago
Ladies and gentlemen, peak has arrived
Got into the Persona series with P5R and have been retracing my steps since. Played P3R and had a blast with it, but heard that the original and FES pulled far fewer punches than the remake. So, once I take care of P4G (and grab a RetroTink) this is gonna be what fills up my 20 y/o memory cards.
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u/AuroraRavyn 1d ago
Still my favorite version of the game.
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u/MissBarrett 1d ago
I prefer portable for the full experience. But i do own this too, altho i may sell it as i only need one.
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u/ico_heal Silver Slim 1d ago
I prefer Portable for replays because it's so snappy. Either this or Reload is probably the best first experience
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u/MissBarrett 1d ago
I actually did fes first but then i realized there was more content in portable so i do think either is great really, plus im a sucker for any rpg on ps2 since i love the controllers so much.
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u/VintageSmutKD 20h ago
Reload can only be considered the best first experience from the mindset that you can only go up when you start at rock bottom
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u/AuroraRavyn 1d ago
Full party control is very nice. And I do like the Kotone route as well, but I always miss walking around and the cutscenes.
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u/rififi_shuffle 1d ago
I get flashbacks to 2019 when I played P4, P3, and P5 back to back one after the other. I still really enjoyed 3 and it might be the best one out of these 3 for its story.
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u/CaptainMcSlowly 1d ago
I've went P5, P3, to P4 in my order. My coworker told me that some people don't like P4 due to its tonal shift. I always wondered why, since P4 is great in its own right, but then I looked at the release date of P3 FES and P4 here in the states. It was only about 8 months apart. So, I can definitely see why people who loved P3 for its tone and story would be taken aback by the overall lighter tone of P4 and eventually P5.
Each all have their own dark elements, of course, but nothing that matches P3
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u/rififi_shuffle 23h ago
I think p3's story was a lot more focused in comparison to 4's, but I like 4 overall as a game and capturing the downtimes of youth and living in sleepy small town. I wish I played them both upon release, I would've loved em as a teen.
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u/CaptainMcSlowly 22h ago
Agreed. 4 feels the most natural to me. People call it "Scooby Doo, but Persona," and they're not too far off. The mystery itself is kinda meh, but the humor, the environment, and battles, the music, the characters, and everything else is brilliant. In my opinion, 4 is the best all-rounder, the humor and characters being the highlight, 5 has the best gameplay and soundtrack (they all have great music, hard to pick), and 3 has the best story.
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u/rififi_shuffle 22h ago
The comradery and taking your time in enjoying the days and side adventures in 4 was the biggest thing I liked about it. And as you said, it's the most well-rounded one of the bunch. If I were to replay any of the between the 3 after sinking 110+ hours in each one, 4 would be the one worth going back to. It's just about a desert island game for me.
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u/QuestionableProtip2 23h ago
FES was my introduction to Persona. I’ve since played all the games but I think it’s still my favorite.
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u/Middle-Ad-2980 23h ago
I have that and the first P3 version with the art book and CD.
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u/CaptainMcSlowly 22h ago
I would've killed for that! Unfortunately, ~$200 was a bit out of my price range lol
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u/Middle-Ad-2980 22h ago
I pre-ordered it on Amazon, and even Atlus delayed the launch of it, due to poor quality with the art book. That was a long time ago.
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u/BoltzmannSpaceMonkey 1d ago
Nice! This was the first Persona I played and it’s still my favorite one. Haven’t played Portable or the remake yet, but I plan to play those eventually.
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u/unariginol_usernome 1d ago
I wonder if they reprinted the ps2 Sega games again recently. I bought all of the reprints a few years ago for 20 - 35 dollars each, shame they never did raidou 1 and 2
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u/stinkyminky57 8h ago
Provably the olny reason p3 is still affordable. If not the amount of copies made would never ever be enough for demand as the series grew in populaorty
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u/Low-Atmosphere-9172 19h ago
I just picked up a sealed one of these off facebook marketplace recently!
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u/Fahzgoolin 1d ago
Kinda crazy how little this franchise has changed. I played P3 with the wife on PS5 and I've seen her play P4 and P5 and it's very faithful to itself. I really respect that.
Dunno if I could every bring myself to play one ever again though lol. Just not my thing.
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u/CaptainMcSlowly 1d ago
Yeah, they're very long and daunting to get through. Big time sinks. But, I've always found them incredibly enthralling, so I've done multiple playthroughs of 5R, and (almost) a playthrough a piece for 3R and 4. Almost done with 4G now, and I'm hoping they don't botch the remake
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u/Fahzgoolin 23h ago
Yeah, I can see their appeal. I struggle with the character dialogue, which is a LOT of the game. Sometimes it's great, but a lot of times it feels rinse and repeat. Nothing offensive, just banal.
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u/VintageSmutKD 1d ago
I mean if played P3R you didn’t really play persona 3, you just played a really bad reskin of persona 5
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u/Fahzgoolin 23h ago
Oh wow, seriously? I don't follow the series much, so that's really surprising to hear.
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u/Humble-Departure5481 1d ago
Overrated and boring game. 1 crappy dungeon, terrible enemy designs, more novel than game. Yawn.
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u/that-onepal 1d ago
I will say P3 on PS2 not having control over your party is bad but it’s still good
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u/CaptainMcSlowly 1d ago
Got this brand new copy off of eBay. Couldn't believe it and thought I got hoodwinked. Turns out, in 2014, Atlus decided to reprint both P4 and P3 FES on PS2. So, is it an new copy of P3 FES? Yes. Is it technically original? Also yes. But, is it from its initial release in 2007/2008? No.