045 SMT games have been some of my favorites ever since I first picked up digital devil saga , the story , the gameplay , and especially the unforgiving difficulty bring back alot of memories of when a game needed more than just amazing graphics and online to be good . One interesting aspect is the social links , think of it kinda like those weird dating sims if you will . Building them up is a fun little diversion from the main game that actually has a BIG effect on how hard or easy your battles will be . If you haven't ever played a shin megami tensei game be warned they are difficult , and by difficult I mean original nintendo hard at times . A battle can instantly turn on you and end with a game over in as little as a single turn if you're not careful . That being said if you love an RPG with a good story and aren't afraid of some difficulty then this game will give you hours of fun , and a little frustration .
093 Ok so I'm not going to rehash all the improvements like other reviews have done . I think I'm in the minority here on my review . First I have played the Persona 1 PSP version , P3FES , P4 , and P3 Portable . Now I like all the improvements on this game except one . The button shortcuts . I know it saves time for people , and also saves space for other things to be put in the game . That being said the main issue I have with it is the fact that I'm just not pulled into the story like I am in the PS2 version . Not seeing the characters move around and interact with the env . and other characters really detracts from the immersion factor . I know this may not be a real detractor for some . But I just really prefer to pop in the PS2 version and play that than play the portable . Even with the improvements . Still a great game , and even better for the PSP to have such a strong title . Also hope they port Persona 2 as I haven't had the chance to play that yet .
063 For starters I owned this game back on PS2 , Persona FES to be exact . I just couldn't get into it . It seemed repetitive and basic . Go here , talk to this person , pass this test , fight in that maze , etc . . . I wanted to like it so much . But I couldn't . I ended up selling it for a sizable amount . After it became rare . Now I gave it a second chance on the PSP . And I have to say . This is WAY better . The streamline shortcuts it took , benefit this game in my opinion . I feel like everything is a little more coherent now . I am thoroughly enjoying this game now . I recommend it to anyone who likes the kind of anime that makes you think . I am at the very beginning but the formula is perfectly balanced to make me wanna keep pushing forward . This game is 100% worth it .
100 Never played any of the games before , pick this one up because I always see them on shelf at the stores and they seem interesting . Now I can't stop playing it and am ignoring my ps3 and wii
098 This game is awesome . Way better than the movie it's based on . I suggest freeing up about a month because this game will suck you in . The combination of combat and social links was really cool . I saw my friend playing the PS2 special edition and that was when I decided I had to have the game ! You won't regret buying this .
096 This is a remake of the Persona 3 on the PS2 it came out a couple years ago . But by no means is this a old game . I am new to the Persona series , so I didn't know anything about persona games and I was able to pick right up on how to fuse monsters etc ; but I am a old RPG gamer so that might have helped . I love this game , now it is one of my favorte games . There is just so much thing you can do in this game . You can make friends , date people , do quests and fight monster . I know there is a add on feature in the PSP version , you can play as a girl , as the main character . The main plots stay the same but the relationships you have with people in the game will be different . Like you can date the girls and not the guys when you play as a guy etc . If you like RPGs with a GREAT story ; there is a lot of twist and turns , keeps you guessing . And GREAT character to love ; characters in this game is round , they have flaws and you can relate to them . And a fun differnt fighting system ; fuse monsters to summon . THEN BUY THIS GAME ! ! ! : DDD
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
As a die hard Persona fan , I probably would have wound up getting this even if they hadn't made any changes . That said , they took an already awesome game and made it even better . The best known new feature is , of course , the gender selection option at the beginning of the game . I'm currently partway through my first run as the female protagonist and really enjoying the new social link options - - a couple are still the same , but many of them so far are with characters that either didn't exist , or you didn't have any links with . Also , and this might just be because I'm a girl and projecting onto our heroine , the female protagonist is easier to relate to and seems to have a bit more personality . Along with selecting your character's gender , you can also select the gender of Igor's assistant in the Velvet Room - - I must say , Theodore is much less creepy than Elizabeth .
The combat system has also been tweaked . If you've played Persona 4 , you'll find that the system is almost identical - - you have more tactical options ( including direct commands ) and you can recover and attack in the same round . Unfortunately , it also means that you can no longer get freebie healing by going back to the base of Tartarus . This is more than made up for the fact that you can now return directly to whatever floor you left , instead of being limited the the teleporter levels . You no longer have to grind through 12 or 13 floors before you can save all your hard work .
Daytime activities have are more dating sim-like and a few new things have been added . You can now instantly move to another place on the map ( like in Persona 4 ) with the press of a button , and instead of running around everywhere , you have a cursor . I'm assuming the latter is because it's a handheld and doesn't have as much processing power . The graphics are clearer in cut scenes and stills and combat graphics are comparable to the original PS2 ( a teensy bit pixelly , but again , I'm assuming that's a limitation of the PSP ) .
There's also cute little things , like the fact that that the interface is pink for the female protagonist . Also , I'm not sure if it's just where I've gotten the hang of things , but some of the specialty costumes appear to be a bit easier to get . By the second full moon , you can acquire both the protagonist's winter outfit ( as armor ) and the battle panties . The Akihiko Tuxedo ( butler costume ) also becomes available .
All in all , worth it both for the veteran Persona player , and the noob .
004 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
As a die hard Persona fan , I probably would have wound up getting this even if they hadn't made any changes . That said , they took an already awesome game and made it even better . The best known new feature is , of course , the gender selection option at the beginning of the game . I'm currently partway through my first run as the female protagonist and really enjoying the new social link options - - a couple are still the same , but many of them so far are with characters that either didn't exist , or you didn't have any links with . Also , and this might just be because I'm a girl and projecting onto our heroine , the female protagonist is easier to relate to and seems to have a bit more personality . Along with selecting your character's gender , you can also select the gender of Igor's assistant in the Velvet Room - - I must say , Theodore is much less creepy than Elizabeth .
The combat system has also been tweaked . If you've played Persona 4 , you'll find that the system is almost identical - - you have more tactical options ( including direct commands ) and you can recover and attack in the same round . Unfortunately , it also means that you can no longer get freebie healing by going back to the base of Tartarus . This is more than made up for the fact that you can now return directly to whatever floor you left , instead of being limited the the teleporter levels . You no longer have to grind through 12 or 13 floors before you can save all your hard work .
Daytime activities have are more dating sim-like and a few new things have been added . You can now instantly move to another place on the map ( like in Persona 4 ) with the press of a button , and instead of running around everywhere , you have a cursor . I'm assuming the latter is because it's a handheld and doesn't have as much processing power . The graphics are clearer in cut scenes and stills and combat graphics are comparable to the original PS2 ( a teensy bit pixelly , but again , I'm assuming that's a limitation of the PSP ) .
There's also cute little things , like the fact that that the interface is pink for the female protagonist . Also , I'm not sure if it's just where I've gotten the hang of things , but some of the specialty costumes appear to be a bit easier to get . By the second full moon , you can acquire both the protagonist's winter outfit ( as armor ) and the battle panties . The Akihiko Tuxedo ( butler costume ) also becomes available .
All in all , worth it both for the veteran Persona player , and the noob .
049 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This sequel is very different from the earlier games , for good and for ill . While the Social Links are a good way of interacting with the endearing characters , I truly missed being able to Contact demons as a way of getting new cards and Personas .
The general gameplay of exploring the only dungeon , Tartarus , is decent , but late in the game , P3 suffers from a lack of varied enemy patterns . This is a flaw in many other modern JRPGs , but P3 averts it until the end .
I must say that I didn't enjoy the Press Turn battle system as much as the earlier games , either . It's great when you can exploit it by attacking an enemy according to their weakness , not so great when they turn the tables ( literally ) on you . The enemy AI is . . . lacking , but the game is still very difficult , thanks to the PT system . Let's just say that this is a title where the enemies are dumb as rocks , and somehow as hard , too .
It would seem that the main appeal of P3 is in the tumultuous story . The music and voice acting are great , too . P3 is worth playing for the story , but if it came down between this and Persona 2 : Innocent Sin , I would pick the latter .
050 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This sequel is very different from the earlier games , for good and for ill . While the Social Links are a good way of interacting with the endearing characters , I truly missed being able to Contact demons as a way of getting new cards and Personas .
The general gameplay of exploring the only dungeon , Tartarus , is decent , but late in the game , P3 suffers from a lack of varied enemy patterns . This is a flaw in many other modern JRPGs , but P3 averts it until the end .
I must say that I didn't enjoy the Press Turn battle system as much as the earlier games , either . It's great when you can exploit it by attacking an enemy according to their weakness , not so great when they turn the tables ( literally ) on you . The enemy AI is . . . lacking , but the game is still very difficult , thanks to the PT system . Let's just say that this is a title where the enemies are dumb as rocks , and somehow as hard , too .
It would seem that the main appeal of P3 is in the tumultuous story . The music and voice acting are great , too . P3 is worth playing for the story , but if it came down between this and Persona 2 : Innocent Sin , I would pick the latter .
051 This sequel is very different from the earlier games , for good and for ill . While the Social Links are a good way of interacting with the endearing characters , I truly missed being able to Contact demons as a way of getting new cards and Personas .
The general gameplay of exploring the only dungeon , Tartarus , is decent , but late in the game , P3 suffers from a lack of varied enemy patterns . This is a flaw in many other modern JRPGs , but P3 averts it until the end .
I must say that I didn't enjoy the Press Turn battle system as much as the earlier games , either . It's great when you can exploit it by attacking an enemy according to their weakness , not so great when they turn the tables ( literally ) on you . The enemy AI is . . . lacking , but the game is still very difficult , thanks to the PT system . Let's just say that this is a title where the enemies are dumb as rocks , and somehow as hard , too .
It would seem that the main appeal of P3 is in the tumultuous story . The music and voice acting are great , too . P3 is worth playing for the story , but if it came down between this and Persona 2 : Innocent Sin , I would pick the latter .
084 well if you are anything like me than youve sat here and read a few of these reviews so you can get some help deciding on whether or not you want to buy this game . i had already played persona 3 and persona 3 fes before this game so i had no need to read reviews and i just bought it . anyway , most of the other reviews for this game have covered all the basics of the game so i wont go into that here . instead , ill just throw my opinion into the equation and perhaps i can help you decide .
if you own a psp then you probably , like me , are disappointed with the amount of quality rpg games its library has to offer . p3p is THE rpg game to play on the psp . now , pretty much every rpg on the psp is just a remix of a popular ps2 game and this isnt any different in that regard . however , due to the somewhat late release of persona 3 on the ps2 , most of us already had a next gen console and had all but given up on our ps2 , so this may be the first time you really get to try this great game . not only that but i do feel that out of the current rpg games available for the psp this is by far the best one .
now , if you have played the previous versions of persona 3 on the ps2 then keep these things in mind . 1 : the game isnt fundamentally very different . the only real differences would be the click on your destination style movement and the abaility to command each of your party members in battle . the addition of a female protagonist seemed great to me at first until i started playing it . i really dont feel like the female mc changed enough in the game . for example , there are nights when you return to the dorm and you hear junpei tell you hey dude . i know its a small thing but little dialogue issues like that kill the experience of playing through the game as a girl . the female protagonist just seemed like something they threw in , it wasnt as good as the male MC . i did not however let that take away any of the enjoyment of the game , i just wasnt impressed by the female MC .
overall id say that this is a must buy for anyone that has a psp and is looking for a great rpg to play . if youve never tried the persona 3 games for the ps2 you are in for a treat with this game . if you have played the previous incarnations of this game on the ps2 then thsi game is still worth playing for just to be able to control your companions . i really think that helps the gameplay immensely .
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
For my first experience of playing the Persona series , I have to say it was a fantastic journey . I'm not a big fan of dungeon crawlers ( or even JRPG's for that matter ) and while I didn't mind the game's combat , going through Tartarus ( essentially a massive 263 floor dungeon you're expected to go through during the course of the game ) did wear me down a bit as the game went on . However , I'd probably consider that my only real beef with the game .
The reason I decided to finally pick this series up after P3P launched is how intriguing the social links aspect sounded . And turns out that's exactly what made the game for me . It's true there isn't a whole lot of gameplay to these parts ( occasionally picking a choice , giving a gift , etc ) , but I really felt the personalities and subplots to most of them were quite well developed . While the over arching plot was decent , it's really the social links that steal the show outside combat . P3P reaches a level of character development few games can even dream of achieving . The calendar set up of the game , exploring the town , the various trips , all of it is just so conducive to building up all the various character relationships . Really have to give props to Atlus for pulling this off so well .
As for differences specific to this PSP version , overall I feel they help the pace the game much better than the PS2 versions . Some will argue the point-and-click interface of the game greatly reduces the immersion of the original games full 3D environments , but I found the visual novel style quite lovely and reminiscent of the Phoenix Wright series on the Nintendo DS . You will find exploring the town with the new quick travel options to be MUCH FASTER than the original game , which will likely greatly shorten the time it'll take you to complete the game . If you were someone who played P3 on your PS2 and simply gave up at the sight of how long the game is , you may want to consider this much better paced version .
017 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
For my first experience of playing the Persona series , I have to say it was a fantastic journey . I'm not a big fan of dungeon crawlers ( or even JRPG's for that matter ) and while I didn't mind the game's combat , going through Tartarus ( essentially a massive 263 floor dungeon you're expected to go through during the course of the game ) did wear me down a bit as the game went on . However , I'd probably consider that my only real beef with the game .
The reason I decided to finally pick this series up after P3P launched is how intriguing the social links aspect sounded . And turns out that's exactly what made the game for me . It's true there isn't a whole lot of gameplay to these parts ( occasionally picking a choice , giving a gift , etc ) , but I really felt the personalities and subplots to most of them were quite well developed . While the over arching plot was decent , it's really the social links that steal the show outside combat . P3P reaches a level of character development few games can even dream of achieving . The calendar set up of the game , exploring the town , the various trips , all of it is just so conducive to building up all the various character relationships . Really have to give props to Atlus for pulling this off so well .
As for differences specific to this PSP version , overall I feel they help the pace the game much better than the PS2 versions . Some will argue the point-and-click interface of the game greatly reduces the immersion of the original games full 3D environments , but I found the visual novel style quite lovely and reminiscent of the Phoenix Wright series on the Nintendo DS . You will find exploring the town with the new quick travel options to be MUCH FASTER than the original game , which will likely greatly shorten the time it'll take you to complete the game . If you were someone who played P3 on your PS2 and simply gave up at the sight of how long the game is , you may want to consider this much better paced version .
018 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
For my first experience of playing the Persona series , I have to say it was a fantastic journey . I'm not a big fan of dungeon crawlers ( or even JRPG's for that matter ) and while I didn't mind the game's combat , going through Tartarus ( essentially a massive 263 floor dungeon you're expected to go through during the course of the game ) did wear me down a bit as the game went on . However , I'd probably consider that my only real beef with the game .
The reason I decided to finally pick this series up after P3P launched is how intriguing the social links aspect sounded . And turns out that's exactly what made the game for me . It's true there isn't a whole lot of gameplay to these parts ( occasionally picking a choice , giving a gift , etc ) , but I really felt the personalities and subplots to most of them were quite well developed . While the over arching plot was decent , it's really the social links that steal the show outside combat . P3P reaches a level of character development few games can even dream of achieving . The calendar set up of the game , exploring the town , the various trips , all of it is just so conducive to building up all the various character relationships . Really have to give props to Atlus for pulling this off so well .
As for differences specific to this PSP version , overall I feel they help the pace the game much better than the PS2 versions . Some will argue the point-and-click interface of the game greatly reduces the immersion of the original games full 3D environments , but I found the visual novel style quite lovely and reminiscent of the Phoenix Wright series on the Nintendo DS . You will find exploring the town with the new quick travel options to be MUCH FASTER than the original game , which will likely greatly shorten the time it'll take you to complete the game . If you were someone who played P3 on your PS2 and simply gave up at the sight of how long the game is , you may want to consider this much better paced version .
052 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Atlus has once again created a masterpiece . Persona 3 Portable is fun and challenging . It differs from the Playstation 2 game Persona 3 by you can play as a male or female character . The social aspects of the game change based on your gender . The story goes that there is a 25th hour of the day that only those with potential experience . You have the ability to summon Persona which are other versions of you from different dimensions . Using this ability it's up to you and your friends to investagate the tower of Tartalus and save the world . It's a RPG much like the Final Fantasy series where your persona is what magic would be in Final Fantasy . The persona level up the same as the characters . If you like RPGs , Final Fantasy , or Atlus then you'll love Persona 3 Portable .
089 It's surprising how much they were able to fit into this game . It's basically the entire P3 game - including a separate story for a female lead . The only down side is - the PS2 version is the way you should play this game with it being fully voiced ( this game seems to be voiced at about 95% ) , and it's more interactive than the portable version . Although - if you're always on the go P3P is your best bet - especially if you haven't tried the 2 PS2 versions - you won't miss anything - and you'll immediately fall in love with this game .
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I am not your typical Persona Portable reviewer . I almost didn't buy this game . I never played any Persona game before , and I really wanted to try one with all the rave reviews these games recieved , but was put off by the negative comments about the lack of anime cutscenes , saying I wasn't going to get a good experience from this alone . But I decided what the hell and tried it anyways ! And I am seriously glad I did !
I started as the female character ( which a lot of Persona die-hards may slap me for ) because hell , I am a girl , and I relate to girl characters better ! From the minute I started playing this I couldn't stop , seriously I played the entire game in about 2 weeks , not to say it was easy . . . I just had no life ! ( and serious hand cramps haha ) That is how fun this game is . The characters and story are engrossing , I really felt like I was part of the story ! The voice actors really sold the story , not having the cutscenes to work with they really nailed their performances !
One thing I loved about this game was the two very different game styles . The first being the normal school life , where you go to class and work on your Social Links . For those of you new to the series , you can become friends with people and form a bond with them that helps out in the combat ( get to that later ) and that made the story really personal and unique . I had a huge blast trying to seduce Akihiko cause let's face it , he's a pretty fine catch ! ; )
The second part of this game is the Dark Hour Which I won't get into too much because the plot has been discussed on plenty of other reviews . I am normally not a huge level grinder but I found the combat simple and fun . There was enough strategy to keep you interested and challenged , but I didn't feel overwhelmed with stats and items . Some people like serious customization in weapons but that is just not really for me .
My only complaint would have to be . . .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The ending . . . at first I thought it was a great but tragic ending . But after playing the game I realized that there was more in the original , an add on called The Answer . I would have really really really liked to see that on the Portable version as well , to get some more conclusion to this almost perfect game ! Especially with the female perspective it would have been very interesting to see . Oh well I can't always get what I want !
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * END SPOILER ALERT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well that's enough of my rambling ! To sum it up I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of RPG's and anime .
Possible side effects of Persona 3 Portable include but are not limited to :
* Hand Cramps
* Lack of sleep
* Withdrawal from friends and family
* Apathy Syndrome
011 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I am not your typical Persona Portable reviewer . I almost didn't buy this game . I never played any Persona game before , and I really wanted to try one with all the rave reviews these games recieved , but was put off by the negative comments about the lack of anime cutscenes , saying I wasn't going to get a good experience from this alone . But I decided what the hell and tried it anyways ! And I am seriously glad I did !
I started as the female character ( which a lot of Persona die-hards may slap me for ) because hell , I am a girl , and I relate to girl characters better ! From the minute I started playing this I couldn't stop , seriously I played the entire game in about 2 weeks , not to say it was easy . . . I just had no life ! ( and serious hand cramps haha ) That is how fun this game is . The characters and story are engrossing , I really felt like I was part of the story ! The voice actors really sold the story , not having the cutscenes to work with they really nailed their performances !
One thing I loved about this game was the two very different game styles . The first being the normal school life , where you go to class and work on your Social Links . For those of you new to the series , you can become friends with people and form a bond with them that helps out in the combat ( get to that later ) and that made the story really personal and unique . I had a huge blast trying to seduce Akihiko cause let's face it , he's a pretty fine catch ! ; )
The second part of this game is the Dark Hour Which I won't get into too much because the plot has been discussed on plenty of other reviews . I am normally not a huge level grinder but I found the combat simple and fun . There was enough strategy to keep you interested and challenged , but I didn't feel overwhelmed with stats and items . Some people like serious customization in weapons but that is just not really for me .
My only complaint would have to be . . .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The ending . . . at first I thought it was a great but tragic ending . But after playing the game I realized that there was more in the original , an add on called The Answer . I would have really really really liked to see that on the Portable version as well , to get some more conclusion to this almost perfect game ! Especially with the female perspective it would have been very interesting to see . Oh well I can't always get what I want !
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * END SPOILER ALERT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well that's enough of my rambling ! To sum it up I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of RPG's and anime .
Possible side effects of Persona 3 Portable include but are not limited to :
* Hand Cramps
* Lack of sleep
* Withdrawal from friends and family
* Apathy Syndrome
012 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I am not your typical Persona Portable reviewer . I almost didn't buy this game . I never played any Persona game before , and I really wanted to try one with all the rave reviews these games recieved , but was put off by the negative comments about the lack of anime cutscenes , saying I wasn't going to get a good experience from this alone . But I decided what the hell and tried it anyways ! And I am seriously glad I did !
I started as the female character ( which a lot of Persona die-hards may slap me for ) because hell , I am a girl , and I relate to girl characters better ! From the minute I started playing this I couldn't stop , seriously I played the entire game in about 2 weeks , not to say it was easy . . . I just had no life ! ( and serious hand cramps haha ) That is how fun this game is . The characters and story are engrossing , I really felt like I was part of the story ! The voice actors really sold the story , not having the cutscenes to work with they really nailed their performances !
One thing I loved about this game was the two very different game styles . The first being the normal school life , where you go to class and work on your Social Links . For those of you new to the series , you can become friends with people and form a bond with them that helps out in the combat ( get to that later ) and that made the story really personal and unique . I had a huge blast trying to seduce Akihiko cause let's face it , he's a pretty fine catch ! ; )
The second part of this game is the Dark Hour Which I won't get into too much because the plot has been discussed on plenty of other reviews . I am normally not a huge level grinder but I found the combat simple and fun . There was enough strategy to keep you interested and challenged , but I didn't feel overwhelmed with stats and items . Some people like serious customization in weapons but that is just not really for me .
My only complaint would have to be . . .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The ending . . . at first I thought it was a great but tragic ending . But after playing the game I realized that there was more in the original , an add on called The Answer . I would have really really really liked to see that on the Portable version as well , to get some more conclusion to this almost perfect game ! Especially with the female perspective it would have been very interesting to see . Oh well I can't always get what I want !
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * END SPOILER ALERT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well that's enough of my rambling ! To sum it up I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of RPG's and anime .
Possible side effects of Persona 3 Portable include but are not limited to :
* Hand Cramps
* Lack of sleep
* Withdrawal from friends and family
* Apathy Syndrome
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Persona 3 Portable is third version and second update of Persona 3 to hit the stores . If you've bought either one or both of the previous versions and want to know if it's worth buying again , I'd say sure . Make no mistakes ; the addition of a female protagonist doesn't drastically change the main storyline ( any changes to it are akin to the ones made to the Journey of P3 : FES ) , but that - along with the changes to the core game play - does make it a blast to play or replay . The downgrades made to the game to fit it on the PSP are balanced out by some nice improvements to make P3P more streamlined and polished than ever .
If you haven't played any of the previous versions of P3 , you might wonder if it's really worth re-releasing it twice in less than three years . From the description , it sounds like pretty much any other RPG you might find out there . You play as a teenage orphan who moves back to the place where he or she was born only to find it in danger from a group of mysterious enemies called Shadows . Only you , along with a group of dormmates , can save the city with your special power , the power of Persona . Even with its modern setting , the plot sounds a bit clich , and it is to a certain extent , but its overall charm and presentation make it shine .
Before you get into P3 , you should know that it's definitely not a game for everyone . The evokers and personas based on all world religions make the game controversial enough to deserve its M rating even if it is on the lighter side as far as SMT games go ( P3 is part of an SMT spin-off series ) .
It's also a dungeon crawler . The game does a nice job of breaking the game's main dungeon , Tartarus , down into several manageable parts , but it can still be a bit of a slog , even if it is much better than it was before . You still have to climb over 250 floors of this Tower of Demise throughout the course of the year and fight shadows along the way ( you can see , attack , and avoid them ; there are no random battles in this game ) . It's still a tad on the bland side design-wise , but the battle system was upgraded a la Persona 4 , letting you take direct control of your teammates rather than just the MC . For those who actually appreciated the AI , it's still pretty decent in this version , but there are fewer tactics options to choose from , and at some point , you will have to take control of your party to make up for those losses .
Every ten or fifteen floors , you will have to fight a boss or group of mini-bosses . While you had to marathon through each little group of floors in the original P3 before you could reach a point to record your progress and teleport back to the entrance , in P3P , you can warp out of the labyrinth at any floor and resume from where you left off by checking the main gate . Your party doesn't get tired ( a state where they weren't as effective in battle and would return to the dorms when you got back to the entrance in P3 and P3 : FES ) until you leave Tartarus either , so you can stay as long as you want now and even climb as far as you can in a given month in one go .
In addition , P3 is a Japanese RPG in every sense of the word , complete with anime-style graphics , a setting in modern-day Japan , and Japanese honorifics to hammer in the point that yes , this game takes place outside of the US . While you climb the Tartarus by night , you spend your days as a normal Japanese high school student . You have to study , make friends , and work to become braver and more charming by playing through the social sim portion of the game .
This is where P3 ' s main draw comes into play : while the main story and goal are as linear as they are in most JRPGs , you get total freedom over what you want to do with your character for a year of their life . You can go to Tartarus whenever you want to and hang out with any of the 19 different people you can forge social links with at your leisure . While some of the characters involved in each link stay the same for both the male and female protagonist , many of them are unique to one gender , and several change in tone depending on which protagonist you choose . Just a note : the female's route has social links for all of the main characters , which develop them a bit better , and they are spread out a bit more evenly than the one's in the male's route , making them easier to max . While the female route is touted as being for advanced players only , it seems geared for beginning players who might be a bit overwhelmed with the game system as well as P3 vets .
These social links also factor into the RPG elements of the game . Your character is unique in that he or she can switch between multiple personas , which you get by either exploring Tartarus or fusing the ones you have together to make stronger ones . Your social links give extra experience to fused personas of the same arcana , letting them level up and learn new skills without going into battle . These new personas can also inherit skills from their parents , and yes , it's still a bit of a pain to get the exact skills you want to carry over during fusion . Fortunately , if you get these personas to a high enough level , they drop Skill Cards that let you teach a specific skill of theirs to any persona you want . This is new to this version of P3 , and believe me : it makes fusion less of a hassle than it was before .
The other changes made to the game are meant to make it fit on the PSP . Unfortunately , this means that all of the original's anime cut-scenes are now gone , and you don't get to see full sized character models outside of Tartarus . You use a cursor to move around Iwatodai , which makes getting from place to place shorter and less tedious , so it's a decent trade-off there . Event scenes are now told visual novel-style with just character portraits , 2D backgrounds , and sound effects to convey the plot . It works for the most part once you get used to it , but some scenes aren't quite as effective as they were in the earlier versions . All of the original voice acting is still there , though , which is great for the most part ( many of the main characters have excellent voice actors ) but can be a bit . . . less so in others . It's still the same Persona 3 experience as before , just made to have more reasonable loading times .
Speaking of things taking less time , P3P gives you the option of installing some of the game's data onto your memory stick to reduce load times . Take my advice and make the space for it , especially if you have firmware above version 6.20 installed .
Overall , Persona 3 Portable is a great game and addition the PSP's library . The updates and new female protagonist make it a worthwhile purchase for any Persona 3 veteran , as long as they don't expect a major plot overhaul , and those same changes make it more accessible to newcomers to the series than ever . If you're an RPG-lover with a PSP who doesn't mind some of the game's quirks , then you shouldn't miss this version of Persona 3 .
001 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Something about myself :
I wouldn't claim myself a long time Persona fan , but ever since I played Persona 4 I fall in love with this series and ATLUS . They made some nice quality games , especially the SMT series .
It is not exaggerating to say that P4 is probably one of the best RPG games made for PS2 . Throughout the 25 some years gaming experiences , I could hardly remember any game can easily sink me 100 + hours , and P4 and P3 FES are some of them .
Enough of the history , let's get to the point :
Most people looking at this item would probably heard or have played Persona 3 / P3 FES / P4 before , so they have a general understanding of the game already , I think ATLUS made a wise decision to port the P3 onto the PSP .
When I was playing P4 I had the thought , what if I could play this game on my PSP , that would be awesome ! , now it is like my dream come true : )
After playing through P4 three times , I bought P3 FES , and man you gotta say that P4 is much more polished compare to P3 / P3FES . It took me a while to get used to the combat system , and if you already get used to P4 , you wouldn't really like some of the ways they made P3 . Granted , the story of P3 is great .
Let's look at some of the major improvements they made for P3P :
1 . Ability to select a Female MC . After playing another two times through P3FES , one would love to be able to experience some alternative plots .
2 . There are four Persona from P4 .
3 . Battle system from P4 . Easy to do 1 more but no more turn loss if not in Dizzy status .
4 . Party members will not get tired in Tartaros ( but you will get tired in next day ) , fortunately we can buy some item to cure tired .
5 . When you go to the mall at night , once you return to your dorm you will no longer have the time slot to study , instead you go directly to the next day .
6 . There are part time jobs which will increase multiple MC stats just like P4 .
7 . Shrine function changed , Inari will copy skill card only .
8 . One thing I like a lot is the Skill cards added to P3P , with these cards you can easily transfer the skills onto other personas , also easy to make all-around personas for MC . ( Four-hit all Tam Lin anyone ? : )
9 . Yes , New costumes ! Just like the first reviewer said , new constumes seems rather easier to get . I love the MShe's sweater .
10 . New S-links for female MC .
11 . New difficulties - Beginner and Maniac ( + usual Easy , Normal and Hard )
12 . Theo , the New male Velvet room guide for female MC
13 . Fixed melee weapon . 1 hand sword for male MC and naginata for female MC ( both are slash type attack ) .
14 . Another important change is that Fusion spells are now items - no need to have Persona . But you have to get them via request , event or exchange gems . This has its pros and cons .
15 . Police station will handle accessory as well ( Be Blue V is now healing shop to cure tired status ) , I actually like this change , since we have the streamline equipment screem just like P4 , it is much much easier to buy and sell equipments for our party .
16 . New rescue missing person quest .
17 . S-links will be no longer become Reverse by leave it for long time - but you can via choose wrong answers .
18 . New Paradigm Door a.k.a Vision Quest . Fight all the full moon bosses + extra special battle to get prize . Some people dislike P3P , because they say P3P didn't port everything from P3FES . well , the Paradigm door surves the The Answer , and playing as Aigis or playing as female MC doesn't make too much difference to me .
Well , that's about it . If you are like me that loves Persona series , you will definitely want to pick this up . My PSP has sit there for two years without anything worth to play , but this will definitely make full use of it again !
002 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Something about myself :
I wouldn't claim myself a long time Persona fan , but ever since I played Persona 4 I fall in love with this series and ATLUS . They made some nice quality games , especially the SMT series .
It is not exaggerating to say that P4 is probably one of the best RPG games made for PS2 . Throughout the 25 some years gaming experiences , I could hardly remember any game can easily sink me 100 + hours , and P4 and P3 FES are some of them .
Enough of the history , let's get to the point :
Most people looking at this item would probably heard or have played Persona 3 / P3 FES / P4 before , so they have a general understanding of the game already , I think ATLUS made a wise decision to port the P3 onto the PSP .
When I was playing P4 I had the thought , what if I could play this game on my PSP , that would be awesome ! , now it is like my dream come true : )
After playing through P4 three times , I bought P3 FES , and man you gotta say that P4 is much more polished compare to P3 / P3FES . It took me a while to get used to the combat system , and if you already get used to P4 , you wouldn't really like some of the ways they made P3 . Granted , the story of P3 is great .
Let's look at some of the major improvements they made for P3P :
1 . Ability to select a Female MC . After playing another two times through P3FES , one would love to be able to experience some alternative plots .
2 . There are four Persona from P4 .
3 . Battle system from P4 . Easy to do 1 more but no more turn loss if not in Dizzy status .
4 . Party members will not get tired in Tartaros ( but you will get tired in next day ) , fortunately we can buy some item to cure tired .
5 . When you go to the mall at night , once you return to your dorm you will no longer have the time slot to study , instead you go directly to the next day .
6 . There are part time jobs which will increase multiple MC stats just like P4 .
7 . Shrine function changed , Inari will copy skill card only .
8 . One thing I like a lot is the Skill cards added to P3P , with these cards you can easily transfer the skills onto other personas , also easy to make all-around personas for MC . ( Four-hit all Tam Lin anyone ? : )
9 . Yes , New costumes ! Just like the first reviewer said , new constumes seems rather easier to get . I love the MShe's sweater .
10 . New S-links for female MC .
11 . New difficulties - Beginner and Maniac ( + usual Easy , Normal and Hard )
12 . Theo , the New male Velvet room guide for female MC
13 . Fixed melee weapon . 1 hand sword for male MC and naginata for female MC ( both are slash type attack ) .
14 . Another important change is that Fusion spells are now items - no need to have Persona . But you have to get them via request , event or exchange gems . This has its pros and cons .
15 . Police station will handle accessory as well ( Be Blue V is now healing shop to cure tired status ) , I actually like this change , since we have the streamline equipment screem just like P4 , it is much much easier to buy and sell equipments for our party .
16 . New rescue missing person quest .
17 . S-links will be no longer become Reverse by leave it for long time - but you can via choose wrong answers .
18 . New Paradigm Door a.k.a Vision Quest . Fight all the full moon bosses + extra special battle to get prize . Some people dislike P3P , because they say P3P didn't port everything from P3FES . well , the Paradigm door surves the The Answer , and playing as Aigis or playing as female MC doesn't make too much difference to me .
Well , that's about it . If you are like me that loves Persona series , you will definitely want to pick this up . My PSP has sit there for two years without anything worth to play , but this will definitely make full use of it again !
003 Something about myself :
I wouldn't claim myself a long time Persona fan , but ever since I played Persona 4 I fall in love with this series and ATLUS . They made some nice quality games , especially the SMT series .
It is not exaggerating to say that P4 is probably one of the best RPG games made for PS2 . Throughout the 25 some years gaming experiences , I could hardly remember any game can easily sink me 100 + hours , and P4 and P3 FES are some of them .
Enough of the history , let's get to the point :
Most people looking at this item would probably heard or have played Persona 3 / P3 FES / P4 before , so they have a general understanding of the game already , I think ATLUS made a wise decision to port the P3 onto the PSP .
When I was playing P4 I had the thought , what if I could play this game on my PSP , that would be awesome ! , now it is like my dream come true : )
After playing through P4 three times , I bought P3 FES , and man you gotta say that P4 is much more polished compare to P3 / P3FES . It took me a while to get used to the combat system , and if you already get used to P4 , you wouldn't really like some of the ways they made P3 . Granted , the story of P3 is great .
Let's look at some of the major improvements they made for P3P :
1 . Ability to select a Female MC . After playing another two times through P3FES , one would love to be able to experience some alternative plots .
2 . There are four Persona from P4 .
3 . Battle system from P4 . Easy to do 1 more but no more turn loss if not in Dizzy status .
4 . Party members will not get tired in Tartaros ( but you will get tired in next day ) , fortunately we can buy some item to cure tired .
5 . When you go to the mall at night , once you return to your dorm you will no longer have the time slot to study , instead you go directly to the next day .
6 . There are part time jobs which will increase multiple MC stats just like P4 .
7 . Shrine function changed , Inari will copy skill card only .
8 . One thing I like a lot is the Skill cards added to P3P , with these cards you can easily transfer the skills onto other personas , also easy to make all-around personas for MC . ( Four-hit all Tam Lin anyone ? : )
9 . Yes , New costumes ! Just like the first reviewer said , new constumes seems rather easier to get . I love the MShe's sweater .
10 . New S-links for female MC .
11 . New difficulties - Beginner and Maniac ( + usual Easy , Normal and Hard )
12 . Theo , the New male Velvet room guide for female MC
13 . Fixed melee weapon . 1 hand sword for male MC and naginata for female MC ( both are slash type attack ) .
14 . Another important change is that Fusion spells are now items - no need to have Persona . But you have to get them via request , event or exchange gems . This has its pros and cons .
15 . Police station will handle accessory as well ( Be Blue V is now healing shop to cure tired status ) , I actually like this change , since we have the streamline equipment screem just like P4 , it is much much easier to buy and sell equipments for our party .
16 . New rescue missing person quest .
17 . S-links will be no longer become Reverse by leave it for long time - but you can via choose wrong answers .
18 . New Paradigm Door a.k.a Vision Quest . Fight all the full moon bosses + extra special battle to get prize . Some people dislike P3P , because they say P3P didn't port everything from P3FES . well , the Paradigm door surves the The Answer , and playing as Aigis or playing as female MC doesn't make too much difference to me .
Well , that's about it . If you are like me that loves Persona series , you will definitely want to pick this up . My PSP has sit there for two years without anything worth to play , but this will definitely make full use of it again !
005 As a die hard Persona fan , I probably would have wound up getting this even if they hadn't made any changes . That said , they took an already awesome game and made it even better . The best known new feature is , of course , the gender selection option at the beginning of the game . I'm currently partway through my first run as the female protagonist and really enjoying the new social link options - - a couple are still the same , but many of them so far are with characters that either didn't exist , or you didn't have any links with . Also , and this might just be because I'm a girl and projecting onto our heroine , the female protagonist is easier to relate to and seems to have a bit more personality . Along with selecting your character's gender , you can also select the gender of Igor's assistant in the Velvet Room - - I must say , Theodore is much less creepy than Elizabeth .
The combat system has also been tweaked . If you've played Persona 4 , you'll find that the system is almost identical - - you have more tactical options ( including direct commands ) and you can recover and attack in the same round . Unfortunately , it also means that you can no longer get freebie healing by going back to the base of Tartarus . This is more than made up for the fact that you can now return directly to whatever floor you left , instead of being limited the the teleporter levels . You no longer have to grind through 12 or 13 floors before you can save all your hard work .
Daytime activities have are more dating sim-like and a few new things have been added . You can now instantly move to another place on the map ( like in Persona 4 ) with the press of a button , and instead of running around everywhere , you have a cursor . I'm assuming the latter is because it's a handheld and doesn't have as much processing power . The graphics are clearer in cut scenes and stills and combat graphics are comparable to the original PS2 ( a teensy bit pixelly , but again , I'm assuming that's a limitation of the PSP ) .
There's also cute little things , like the fact that that the interface is pink for the female protagonist . Also , I'm not sure if it's just where I've gotten the hang of things , but some of the specialty costumes appear to be a bit easier to get . By the second full moon , you can acquire both the protagonist's winter outfit ( as armor ) and the battle panties . The Akihiko Tuxedo ( butler costume ) also becomes available .
All in all , worth it both for the veteran Persona player , and the noob .
006 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Persona 3 Portable is third version and second update of Persona 3 to hit the stores . If you've bought either one or both of the previous versions and want to know if it's worth buying again , I'd say sure . Make no mistakes ; the addition of a female protagonist doesn't drastically change the main storyline ( any changes to it are akin to the ones made to the Journey of P3 : FES ) , but that - along with the changes to the core game play - does make it a blast to play or replay . The downgrades made to the game to fit it on the PSP are balanced out by some nice improvements to make P3P more streamlined and polished than ever .
If you haven't played any of the previous versions of P3 , you might wonder if it's really worth re-releasing it twice in less than three years . From the description , it sounds like pretty much any other RPG you might find out there . You play as a teenage orphan who moves back to the place where he or she was born only to find it in danger from a group of mysterious enemies called Shadows . Only you , along with a group of dormmates , can save the city with your special power , the power of Persona . Even with its modern setting , the plot sounds a bit clich , and it is to a certain extent , but its overall charm and presentation make it shine .
Before you get into P3 , you should know that it's definitely not a game for everyone . The evokers and personas based on all world religions make the game controversial enough to deserve its M rating even if it is on the lighter side as far as SMT games go ( P3 is part of an SMT spin-off series ) .
It's also a dungeon crawler . The game does a nice job of breaking the game's main dungeon , Tartarus , down into several manageable parts , but it can still be a bit of a slog , even if it is much better than it was before . You still have to climb over 250 floors of this Tower of Demise throughout the course of the year and fight shadows along the way ( you can see , attack , and avoid them ; there are no random battles in this game ) . It's still a tad on the bland side design-wise , but the battle system was upgraded a la Persona 4 , letting you take direct control of your teammates rather than just the MC . For those who actually appreciated the AI , it's still pretty decent in this version , but there are fewer tactics options to choose from , and at some point , you will have to take control of your party to make up for those losses .
Every ten or fifteen floors , you will have to fight a boss or group of mini-bosses . While you had to marathon through each little group of floors in the original P3 before you could reach a point to record your progress and teleport back to the entrance , in P3P , you can warp out of the labyrinth at any floor and resume from where you left off by checking the main gate . Your party doesn't get tired ( a state where they weren't as effective in battle and would return to the dorms when you got back to the entrance in P3 and P3 : FES ) until you leave Tartarus either , so you can stay as long as you want now and even climb as far as you can in a given month in one go .
In addition , P3 is a Japanese RPG in every sense of the word , complete with anime-style graphics , a setting in modern-day Japan , and Japanese honorifics to hammer in the point that yes , this game takes place outside of the US . While you climb the Tartarus by night , you spend your days as a normal Japanese high school student . You have to study , make friends , and work to become braver and more charming by playing through the social sim portion of the game .
This is where P3 ' s main draw comes into play : while the main story and goal are as linear as they are in most JRPGs , you get total freedom over what you want to do with your character for a year of their life . You can go to Tartarus whenever you want to and hang out with any of the 19 different people you can forge social links with at your leisure . While some of the characters involved in each link stay the same for both the male and female protagonist , many of them are unique to one gender , and several change in tone depending on which protagonist you choose . Just a note : the female's route has social links for all of the main characters , which develop them a bit better , and they are spread out a bit more evenly than the one's in the male's route , making them easier to max . While the female route is touted as being for advanced players only , it seems geared for beginning players who might be a bit overwhelmed with the game system as well as P3 vets .
These social links also factor into the RPG elements of the game . Your character is unique in that he or she can switch between multiple personas , which you get by either exploring Tartarus or fusing the ones you have together to make stronger ones . Your social links give extra experience to fused personas of the same arcana , letting them level up and learn new skills without going into battle . These new personas can also inherit skills from their parents , and yes , it's still a bit of a pain to get the exact skills you want to carry over during fusion . Fortunately , if you get these personas to a high enough level , they drop Skill Cards that let you teach a specific skill of theirs to any persona you want . This is new to this version of P3 , and believe me : it makes fusion less of a hassle than it was before .
The other changes made to the game are meant to make it fit on the PSP . Unfortunately , this means that all of the original's anime cut-scenes are now gone , and you don't get to see full sized character models outside of Tartarus . You use a cursor to move around Iwatodai , which makes getting from place to place shorter and less tedious , so it's a decent trade-off there . Event scenes are now told visual novel-style with just character portraits , 2D backgrounds , and sound effects to convey the plot . It works for the most part once you get used to it , but some scenes aren't quite as effective as they were in the earlier versions . All of the original voice acting is still there , though , which is great for the most part ( many of the main characters have excellent voice actors ) but can be a bit . . . less so in others . It's still the same Persona 3 experience as before , just made to have more reasonable loading times .
Speaking of things taking less time , P3P gives you the option of installing some of the game's data onto your memory stick to reduce load times . Take my advice and make the space for it , especially if you have firmware above version 6.20 installed .
Overall , Persona 3 Portable is a great game and addition the PSP's library . The updates and new female protagonist make it a worthwhile purchase for any Persona 3 veteran , as long as they don't expect a major plot overhaul , and those same changes make it more accessible to newcomers to the series than ever . If you're an RPG-lover with a PSP who doesn't mind some of the game's quirks , then you shouldn't miss this version of Persona 3 .
007 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Persona 3 Portable is third version and second update of Persona 3 to hit the stores . If you've bought either one or both of the previous versions and want to know if it's worth buying again , I'd say sure . Make no mistakes ; the addition of a female protagonist doesn't drastically change the main storyline ( any changes to it are akin to the ones made to the Journey of P3 : FES ) , but that - along with the changes to the core game play - does make it a blast to play or replay . The downgrades made to the game to fit it on the PSP are balanced out by some nice improvements to make P3P more streamlined and polished than ever .
If you haven't played any of the previous versions of P3 , you might wonder if it's really worth re-releasing it twice in less than three years . From the description , it sounds like pretty much any other RPG you might find out there . You play as a teenage orphan who moves back to the place where he or she was born only to find it in danger from a group of mysterious enemies called Shadows . Only you , along with a group of dormmates , can save the city with your special power , the power of Persona . Even with its modern setting , the plot sounds a bit clich , and it is to a certain extent , but its overall charm and presentation make it shine .
Before you get into P3 , you should know that it's definitely not a game for everyone . The evokers and personas based on all world religions make the game controversial enough to deserve its M rating even if it is on the lighter side as far as SMT games go ( P3 is part of an SMT spin-off series ) .
It's also a dungeon crawler . The game does a nice job of breaking the game's main dungeon , Tartarus , down into several manageable parts , but it can still be a bit of a slog , even if it is much better than it was before . You still have to climb over 250 floors of this Tower of Demise throughout the course of the year and fight shadows along the way ( you can see , attack , and avoid them ; there are no random battles in this game ) . It's still a tad on the bland side design-wise , but the battle system was upgraded a la Persona 4 , letting you take direct control of your teammates rather than just the MC . For those who actually appreciated the AI , it's still pretty decent in this version , but there are fewer tactics options to choose from , and at some point , you will have to take control of your party to make up for those losses .
Every ten or fifteen floors , you will have to fight a boss or group of mini-bosses . While you had to marathon through each little group of floors in the original P3 before you could reach a point to record your progress and teleport back to the entrance , in P3P , you can warp out of the labyrinth at any floor and resume from where you left off by checking the main gate . Your party doesn't get tired ( a state where they weren't as effective in battle and would return to the dorms when you got back to the entrance in P3 and P3 : FES ) until you leave Tartarus either , so you can stay as long as you want now and even climb as far as you can in a given month in one go .
In addition , P3 is a Japanese RPG in every sense of the word , complete with anime-style graphics , a setting in modern-day Japan , and Japanese honorifics to hammer in the point that yes , this game takes place outside of the US . While you climb the Tartarus by night , you spend your days as a normal Japanese high school student . You have to study , make friends , and work to become braver and more charming by playing through the social sim portion of the game .
This is where P3 ' s main draw comes into play : while the main story and goal are as linear as they are in most JRPGs , you get total freedom over what you want to do with your character for a year of their life . You can go to Tartarus whenever you want to and hang out with any of the 19 different people you can forge social links with at your leisure . While some of the characters involved in each link stay the same for both the male and female protagonist , many of them are unique to one gender , and several change in tone depending on which protagonist you choose . Just a note : the female's route has social links for all of the main characters , which develop them a bit better , and they are spread out a bit more evenly than the one's in the male's route , making them easier to max . While the female route is touted as being for advanced players only , it seems geared for beginning players who might be a bit overwhelmed with the game system as well as P3 vets .
These social links also factor into the RPG elements of the game . Your character is unique in that he or she can switch between multiple personas , which you get by either exploring Tartarus or fusing the ones you have together to make stronger ones . Your social links give extra experience to fused personas of the same arcana , letting them level up and learn new skills without going into battle . These new personas can also inherit skills from their parents , and yes , it's still a bit of a pain to get the exact skills you want to carry over during fusion . Fortunately , if you get these personas to a high enough level , they drop Skill Cards that let you teach a specific skill of theirs to any persona you want . This is new to this version of P3 , and believe me : it makes fusion less of a hassle than it was before .
The other changes made to the game are meant to make it fit on the PSP . Unfortunately , this means that all of the original's anime cut-scenes are now gone , and you don't get to see full sized character models outside of Tartarus . You use a cursor to move around Iwatodai , which makes getting from place to place shorter and less tedious , so it's a decent trade-off there . Event scenes are now told visual novel-style with just character portraits , 2D backgrounds , and sound effects to convey the plot . It works for the most part once you get used to it , but some scenes aren't quite as effective as they were in the earlier versions . All of the original voice acting is still there , though , which is great for the most part ( many of the main characters have excellent voice actors ) but can be a bit . . . less so in others . It's still the same Persona 3 experience as before , just made to have more reasonable loading times .
Speaking of things taking less time , P3P gives you the option of installing some of the game's data onto your memory stick to reduce load times . Take my advice and make the space for it , especially if you have firmware above version 6.20 installed .
Overall , Persona 3 Portable is a great game and addition the PSP's library . The updates and new female protagonist make it a worthwhile purchase for any Persona 3 veteran , as long as they don't expect a major plot overhaul , and those same changes make it more accessible to newcomers to the series than ever . If you're an RPG-lover with a PSP who doesn't mind some of the game's quirks , then you shouldn't miss this version of Persona 3 .
008 Persona 3 Portable is third version and second update of Persona 3 to hit the stores . If you've bought either one or both of the previous versions and want to know if it's worth buying again , I'd say sure . Make no mistakes ; the addition of a female protagonist doesn't drastically change the main storyline ( any changes to it are akin to the ones made to the Journey of P3 : FES ) , but that - along with the changes to the core game play - does make it a blast to play or replay . The downgrades made to the game to fit it on the PSP are balanced out by some nice improvements to make P3P more streamlined and polished than ever .
If you haven't played any of the previous versions of P3 , you might wonder if it's really worth re-releasing it twice in less than three years . From the description , it sounds like pretty much any other RPG you might find out there . You play as a teenage orphan who moves back to the place where he or she was born only to find it in danger from a group of mysterious enemies called Shadows . Only you , along with a group of dormmates , can save the city with your special power , the power of Persona . Even with its modern setting , the plot sounds a bit clich , and it is to a certain extent , but its overall charm and presentation make it shine .
Before you get into P3 , you should know that it's definitely not a game for everyone . The evokers and personas based on all world religions make the game controversial enough to deserve its M rating even if it is on the lighter side as far as SMT games go ( P3 is part of an SMT spin-off series ) .
It's also a dungeon crawler . The game does a nice job of breaking the game's main dungeon , Tartarus , down into several manageable parts , but it can still be a bit of a slog , even if it is much better than it was before . You still have to climb over 250 floors of this Tower of Demise throughout the course of the year and fight shadows along the way ( you can see , attack , and avoid them ; there are no random battles in this game ) . It's still a tad on the bland side design-wise , but the battle system was upgraded a la Persona 4 , letting you take direct control of your teammates rather than just the MC . For those who actually appreciated the AI , it's still pretty decent in this version , but there are fewer tactics options to choose from , and at some point , you will have to take control of your party to make up for those losses .
Every ten or fifteen floors , you will have to fight a boss or group of mini-bosses . While you had to marathon through each little group of floors in the original P3 before you could reach a point to record your progress and teleport back to the entrance , in P3P , you can warp out of the labyrinth at any floor and resume from where you left off by checking the main gate . Your party doesn't get tired ( a state where they weren't as effective in battle and would return to the dorms when you got back to the entrance in P3 and P3 : FES ) until you leave Tartarus either , so you can stay as long as you want now and even climb as far as you can in a given month in one go .
In addition , P3 is a Japanese RPG in every sense of the word , complete with anime-style graphics , a setting in modern-day Japan , and Japanese honorifics to hammer in the point that yes , this game takes place outside of the US . While you climb the Tartarus by night , you spend your days as a normal Japanese high school student . You have to study , make friends , and work to become braver and more charming by playing through the social sim portion of the game .
This is where P3 ' s main draw comes into play : while the main story and goal are as linear as they are in most JRPGs , you get total freedom over what you want to do with your character for a year of their life . You can go to Tartarus whenever you want to and hang out with any of the 19 different people you can forge social links with at your leisure . While some of the characters involved in each link stay the same for both the male and female protagonist , many of them are unique to one gender , and several change in tone depending on which protagonist you choose . Just a note : the female's route has social links for all of the main characters , which develop them a bit better , and they are spread out a bit more evenly than the one's in the male's route , making them easier to max . While the female route is touted as being for advanced players only , it seems geared for beginning players who might be a bit overwhelmed with the game system as well as P3 vets .
These social links also factor into the RPG elements of the game . Your character is unique in that he or she can switch between multiple personas , which you get by either exploring Tartarus or fusing the ones you have together to make stronger ones . Your social links give extra experience to fused personas of the same arcana , letting them level up and learn new skills without going into battle . These new personas can also inherit skills from their parents , and yes , it's still a bit of a pain to get the exact skills you want to carry over during fusion . Fortunately , if you get these personas to a high enough level , they drop Skill Cards that let you teach a specific skill of theirs to any persona you want . This is new to this version of P3 , and believe me : it makes fusion less of a hassle than it was before .
The other changes made to the game are meant to make it fit on the PSP . Unfortunately , this means that all of the original's anime cut-scenes are now gone , and you don't get to see full sized character models outside of Tartarus . You use a cursor to move around Iwatodai , which makes getting from place to place shorter and less tedious , so it's a decent trade-off there . Event scenes are now told visual novel-style with just character portraits , 2D backgrounds , and sound effects to convey the plot . It works for the most part once you get used to it , but some scenes aren't quite as effective as they were in the earlier versions . All of the original voice acting is still there , though , which is great for the most part ( many of the main characters have excellent voice actors ) but can be a bit . . . less so in others . It's still the same Persona 3 experience as before , just made to have more reasonable loading times .
Speaking of things taking less time , P3P gives you the option of installing some of the game's data onto your memory stick to reduce load times . Take my advice and make the space for it , especially if you have firmware above version 6.20 installed .
Overall , Persona 3 Portable is a great game and addition the PSP's library . The updates and new female protagonist make it a worthwhile purchase for any Persona 3 veteran , as long as they don't expect a major plot overhaul , and those same changes make it more accessible to newcomers to the series than ever . If you're an RPG-lover with a PSP who doesn't mind some of the game's quirks , then you shouldn't miss this version of Persona 3 .
009 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I was so excited when I heard that Persona 3 would be available on the PSP . I don't have very much time off to play consoles at home , but I have a lot of down time while I'm away . And so , I use my PSP quite a bit .
Let's start with the major pros and cons of the updates :
Pros :
* It's very easy to get from area to area . The square button now transports you to different areas inside a building . No more running down the stairs and out the door just to get to the town map from the school . This feature was brought over from Persona 4 .
* Female MC gets stylish new music tracks .
* They fixed the battle system . You can now give direct commands to your teammates instead of hoping that they do something useful . Again , brought over from Persona 4 .
* You can now start from the floor you left off from in Tarturus . Yes , you no longer have to use the transporter to get back to the floor you were at .
* New social links for the Female MC .
* SPOILER WARNING : Do not read this part if you don't want to know a plot point !
If you max out the social link with Shinji before he's shot , he won't die . He'll simply go into a coma until the end of the game .
* Instead of The Answer there's now a Vision Quest . You fight all the full moon shadows at a harder mode .
* New outfits for the characters . Butler suits for the guys , Santa outfits for the girls .
* You can copy skill cards by giving them to the spirit in the shrine . This is very convenient - however , it takes 5 in-game days to copy a card .
* Optional velvet room assistant has been added - Theodore . That said , you can still choose Elizabeth if you want to , even if you're playing the girl's path . I love them both , but I'm not a fan of Theo's voice actor .
* All major characters have voice actors - and you'll hear it during plot points . It's really quite nice .
My favorite voice actor is Junpei , because he adds such humor and personality into his acting . I personally dislike some of the voice actors , but that's because of a personal preference - they all do a great job .
* Manic and beginner modes have been added . Manic is seriously manic , and you will not want to use this mode unless you're a veteran .
Cons :
* This is the PSP , not the PS2 . It doesn't have the exact same capabilities . Thus , you no longer use the 3D MC to run around . You use a glowing curser to move around and interact .
Because of this , the game looses the body language that P3 and P3 FES had . Now this isn't terrible , and isn't a reason to skip it . If you've played through P3 , you know what would've happened , and you can basically imagine what would've happened . I don't find it horrible , but I do think they might've been able to shove it into some of the lesser cutscenes . All plot events and social links are now in visual novel format , which I was rather disappointed by .
* Similarly , all the anime cutscenes are now gone . They're either replaced by pictures that only have the camera move , or the graphics of the characters in Tarturus acting out the scene .
The impact and darkness of the scene is lost because of this . If you're curious and haven't played Persona 3 , I suggest you look up the videos on youtube , but only if you've already reached that point in the game .
* The Answer isn't in the game . You should buy Persona 3 FES if you want to know what happens .
Wrap up :
If you're new to the game , I have to say , you should probably play Persona 3 FES first . ( FES contains The Journey and The Answer ) It's not hard to play through if you're on easy mode . The first game captures the mood and the real feel of Persona 3 most effectively .
That said , this is a great game , and a nice addition to the Persona 3 compilation . However , it can lack substance in major plot areas , that you just can't get without playing the original .
However , if you've already played P3 , then by all means , buy this game . The alternate plot points and updated battle system promise a wonderful game that will steal hours away from your life .
010 I was so excited when I heard that Persona 3 would be available on the PSP . I don't have very much time off to play consoles at home , but I have a lot of down time while I'm away . And so , I use my PSP quite a bit .
Let's start with the major pros and cons of the updates :
Pros :
* It's very easy to get from area to area . The square button now transports you to different areas inside a building . No more running down the stairs and out the door just to get to the town map from the school . This feature was brought over from Persona 4 .
* Female MC gets stylish new music tracks .
* They fixed the battle system . You can now give direct commands to your teammates instead of hoping that they do something useful . Again , brought over from Persona 4 .
* You can now start from the floor you left off from in Tarturus . Yes , you no longer have to use the transporter to get back to the floor you were at .
* New social links for the Female MC .
* SPOILER WARNING : Do not read this part if you don't want to know a plot point !
If you max out the social link with Shinji before he's shot , he won't die . He'll simply go into a coma until the end of the game .
* Instead of The Answer there's now a Vision Quest . You fight all the full moon shadows at a harder mode .
* New outfits for the characters . Butler suits for the guys , Santa outfits for the girls .
* You can copy skill cards by giving them to the spirit in the shrine . This is very convenient - however , it takes 5 in-game days to copy a card .
* Optional velvet room assistant has been added - Theodore . That said , you can still choose Elizabeth if you want to , even if you're playing the girl's path . I love them both , but I'm not a fan of Theo's voice actor .
* All major characters have voice actors - and you'll hear it during plot points . It's really quite nice .
My favorite voice actor is Junpei , because he adds such humor and personality into his acting . I personally dislike some of the voice actors , but that's because of a personal preference - they all do a great job .
* Manic and beginner modes have been added . Manic is seriously manic , and you will not want to use this mode unless you're a veteran .
Cons :
* This is the PSP , not the PS2 . It doesn't have the exact same capabilities . Thus , you no longer use the 3D MC to run around . You use a glowing curser to move around and interact .
Because of this , the game looses the body language that P3 and P3 FES had . Now this isn't terrible , and isn't a reason to skip it . If you've played through P3 , you know what would've happened , and you can basically imagine what would've happened . I don't find it horrible , but I do think they might've been able to shove it into some of the lesser cutscenes . All plot events and social links are now in visual novel format , which I was rather disappointed by .
* Similarly , all the anime cutscenes are now gone . They're either replaced by pictures that only have the camera move , or the graphics of the characters in Tarturus acting out the scene .
The impact and darkness of the scene is lost because of this . If you're curious and haven't played Persona 3 , I suggest you look up the videos on youtube , but only if you've already reached that point in the game .
* The Answer isn't in the game . You should buy Persona 3 FES if you want to know what happens .
Wrap up :
If you're new to the game , I have to say , you should probably play Persona 3 FES first . ( FES contains The Journey and The Answer ) It's not hard to play through if you're on easy mode . The first game captures the mood and the real feel of Persona 3 most effectively .
That said , this is a great game , and a nice addition to the Persona 3 compilation . However , it can lack substance in major plot areas , that you just can't get without playing the original .
However , if you've already played P3 , then by all means , buy this game . The alternate plot points and updated battle system promise a wonderful game that will steal hours away from your life .
013 I am not your typical Persona Portable reviewer . I almost didn't buy this game . I never played any Persona game before , and I really wanted to try one with all the rave reviews these games recieved , but was put off by the negative comments about the lack of anime cutscenes , saying I wasn't going to get a good experience from this alone . But I decided what the hell and tried it anyways ! And I am seriously glad I did !
I started as the female character ( which a lot of Persona die-hards may slap me for ) because hell , I am a girl , and I relate to girl characters better ! From the minute I started playing this I couldn't stop , seriously I played the entire game in about 2 weeks , not to say it was easy . . . I just had no life ! ( and serious hand cramps haha ) That is how fun this game is . The characters and story are engrossing , I really felt like I was part of the story ! The voice actors really sold the story , not having the cutscenes to work with they really nailed their performances !
One thing I loved about this game was the two very different game styles . The first being the normal school life , where you go to class and work on your Social Links . For those of you new to the series , you can become friends with people and form a bond with them that helps out in the combat ( get to that later ) and that made the story really personal and unique . I had a huge blast trying to seduce Akihiko cause let's face it , he's a pretty fine catch ! ; )
The second part of this game is the Dark Hour Which I won't get into too much because the plot has been discussed on plenty of other reviews . I am normally not a huge level grinder but I found the combat simple and fun . There was enough strategy to keep you interested and challenged , but I didn't feel overwhelmed with stats and items . Some people like serious customization in weapons but that is just not really for me .
My only complaint would have to be . . .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The ending . . . at first I thought it was a great but tragic ending . But after playing the game I realized that there was more in the original , an add on called The Answer . I would have really really really liked to see that on the Portable version as well , to get some more conclusion to this almost perfect game ! Especially with the female perspective it would have been very interesting to see . Oh well I can't always get what I want !
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * END SPOILER ALERT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well that's enough of my rambling ! To sum it up I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of RPG's and anime .
Possible side effects of Persona 3 Portable include but are not limited to :
* Hand Cramps
* Lack of sleep
* Withdrawal from friends and family
* Apathy Syndrome
014 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Having played Persona 3 FES beforehand , I was very excited to learn that it would be available in a PSP format with new content . The game is excellent and very addicting , just as you would expect from the Persona franchise , and I must say that overall I do not regret my purchase and that this game has a high replay value . Character interactions add fun twists to the story while also helping you build social links ( something key to growing your power ) , combat is easy to use and fun , and the cut scenes - - Oh wait , that's right .
Persona 3 Portable does not have movie cut scenes .
Why they did this , I am not sure . While I got use to moving around a bright pink dot on the screen at a bird's eye view instead of a person with a close up range , I just couldn't get over not having Persona's usually interesting and well animated cut scenes . I know the PSP is perfectly capable of handling it ; all my other games have these in their features , but sadly this installment of the Persona franchise decided to skip out on us . For this reason I believe anyone interested in Persona 3 should first try out the PS2 version . Events just don't have enough impact and suffer greatly without scenes depicting what is going on , and instead you're left with vague dialogue and noises to replace what was lost .
However , I wouldn't say this makes the game a total bust . Like I said before , I don't regret spending my money on this , and it was quite addicting . Being able to play the main character's female counter part , it offered a new perspective on things , as well as new social links . Seeing some of the old characters in a new light was quite interesting , and even though you choose what the MC says and to most she's am empty shell , the girl had a whole new feel to her . Dare I say . . happier ?
If anyone asked me , I would definitely recommend this game . And if you're a Persona fan wondering if you should even bother , don't think for another second ! This is very much worth your time , and I'm sure you'll find it a blast just as I did . 3
015 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Having played Persona 3 FES beforehand , I was very excited to learn that it would be available in a PSP format with new content . The game is excellent and very addicting , just as you would expect from the Persona franchise , and I must say that overall I do not regret my purchase and that this game has a high replay value . Character interactions add fun twists to the story while also helping you build social links ( something key to growing your power ) , combat is easy to use and fun , and the cut scenes - - Oh wait , that's right .
Persona 3 Portable does not have movie cut scenes .
Why they did this , I am not sure . While I got use to moving around a bright pink dot on the screen at a bird's eye view instead of a person with a close up range , I just couldn't get over not having Persona's usually interesting and well animated cut scenes . I know the PSP is perfectly capable of handling it ; all my other games have these in their features , but sadly this installment of the Persona franchise decided to skip out on us . For this reason I believe anyone interested in Persona 3 should first try out the PS2 version . Events just don't have enough impact and suffer greatly without scenes depicting what is going on , and instead you're left with vague dialogue and noises to replace what was lost .
However , I wouldn't say this makes the game a total bust . Like I said before , I don't regret spending my money on this , and it was quite addicting . Being able to play the main character's female counter part , it offered a new perspective on things , as well as new social links . Seeing some of the old characters in a new light was quite interesting , and even though you choose what the MC says and to most she's am empty shell , the girl had a whole new feel to her . Dare I say . . happier ?
If anyone asked me , I would definitely recommend this game . And if you're a Persona fan wondering if you should even bother , don't think for another second ! This is very much worth your time , and I'm sure you'll find it a blast just as I did . 3
016 Having played Persona 3 FES beforehand , I was very excited to learn that it would be available in a PSP format with new content . The game is excellent and very addicting , just as you would expect from the Persona franchise , and I must say that overall I do not regret my purchase and that this game has a high replay value . Character interactions add fun twists to the story while also helping you build social links ( something key to growing your power ) , combat is easy to use and fun , and the cut scenes - - Oh wait , that's right .
Persona 3 Portable does not have movie cut scenes .
Why they did this , I am not sure . While I got use to moving around a bright pink dot on the screen at a bird's eye view instead of a person with a close up range , I just couldn't get over not having Persona's usually interesting and well animated cut scenes . I know the PSP is perfectly capable of handling it ; all my other games have these in their features , but sadly this installment of the Persona franchise decided to skip out on us . For this reason I believe anyone interested in Persona 3 should first try out the PS2 version . Events just don't have enough impact and suffer greatly without scenes depicting what is going on , and instead you're left with vague dialogue and noises to replace what was lost .
However , I wouldn't say this makes the game a total bust . Like I said before , I don't regret spending my money on this , and it was quite addicting . Being able to play the main character's female counter part , it offered a new perspective on things , as well as new social links . Seeing some of the old characters in a new light was quite interesting , and even though you choose what the MC says and to most she's am empty shell , the girl had a whole new feel to her . Dare I say . . happier ?
If anyone asked me , I would definitely recommend this game . And if you're a Persona fan wondering if you should even bother , don't think for another second ! This is very much worth your time , and I'm sure you'll find it a blast just as I did . 3
019 For my first experience of playing the Persona series , I have to say it was a fantastic journey . I'm not a big fan of dungeon crawlers ( or even JRPG's for that matter ) and while I didn't mind the game's combat , going through Tartarus ( essentially a massive 263 floor dungeon you're expected to go through during the course of the game ) did wear me down a bit as the game went on . However , I'd probably consider that my only real beef with the game .
The reason I decided to finally pick this series up after P3P launched is how intriguing the social links aspect sounded . And turns out that's exactly what made the game for me . It's true there isn't a whole lot of gameplay to these parts ( occasionally picking a choice , giving a gift , etc ) , but I really felt the personalities and subplots to most of them were quite well developed . While the over arching plot was decent , it's really the social links that steal the show outside combat . P3P reaches a level of character development few games can even dream of achieving . The calendar set up of the game , exploring the town , the various trips , all of it is just so conducive to building up all the various character relationships . Really have to give props to Atlus for pulling this off so well .
As for differences specific to this PSP version , overall I feel they help the pace the game much better than the PS2 versions . Some will argue the point-and-click interface of the game greatly reduces the immersion of the original games full 3D environments , but I found the visual novel style quite lovely and reminiscent of the Phoenix Wright series on the Nintendo DS . You will find exploring the town with the new quick travel options to be MUCH FASTER than the original game , which will likely greatly shorten the time it'll take you to complete the game . If you were someone who played P3 on your PS2 and simply gave up at the sight of how long the game is , you may want to consider this much better paced version .
020 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I've never written a review for a game before but this game was so good I just had to write one .
I really suggest this game for any RPG fan . You will fall in love with this . The Japanese role play of a school teenager and the amazing storyline will have you hooked .
I got hooked on this game fast , the lines are funny , the dungeons are addicting and I love the fashion that all of the characters have . * santa suit for yukari * ~ _ ^ ! ahah .
Either way I give this game a 100 / 10 and if you buy this game you will most likely get hooked on the rest of the persona series . * persona 4 , Persona 3 FES , * . Plus ! Persona 5 is coming out in a bit too .
It is the best game I've ever played on the PSP and makes me glad I actually bought one .
021 I've never written a review for a game before but this game was so good I just had to write one .
I really suggest this game for any RPG fan . You will fall in love with this . The Japanese role play of a school teenager and the amazing storyline will have you hooked .
I got hooked on this game fast , the lines are funny , the dungeons are addicting and I love the fashion that all of the characters have . * santa suit for yukari * ~ _ ^ ! ahah .
Either way I give this game a 100 / 10 and if you buy this game you will most likely get hooked on the rest of the persona series . * persona 4 , Persona 3 FES , * . Plus ! Persona 5 is coming out in a bit too .
It is the best game I've ever played on the PSP and makes me glad I actually bought one .
022 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I won't start this off with an obscure question or some passe skepticism about this title . Plain and simple : I am perhaps a mega-fan of anything in the MegaTen universe , especially the Persona offspring series . Yes , that does mean that I have both copies of the original Revelations and the new PSP remake , as well as both editions - - that includes the Japanese-only - - of Persona 2 . The original Persona 3 , and the subsequent FES , only helped solidify my love for the foreign franchise . And what can I say about P4 ? You can guess . And at the announcement of P3P , you could also guess the palpable amaze I felt . But enough about me .
Let me just say that this game succeeds on all levels . However , some may look at this iteration and ask : Is it truly worth purchasing if I bought the original P3 and FES ? Well , yes , you should . First and foremost , this is only P3 , albeit re-done with extra bonus and a new campaign featuring a feminine perspective . In this , they are tailoring to both newcomers and veterans alike . But , as I said earlier , this is only P3 . While it does feature a bonus dungeon ( Vision Quest ) that resembles that of P3 : The Answer , this version does NOT include the extra 30 + hour adventure . This shouldn't be a bad thing . Considering each campaign is around 80 hours long ( more or less ) , and there are two characters to play , it should easily occupy you for ages .
Let's start with the story : If you've played this before , you know the drill . A group of gifted students experience a peculiar hour between each day hidden from the world . As the game goes on , plot twists ( of which you won't expect , if you haven't played ) ensue . It is dark and warped , with esoteric occult themes and morbid facinations . But there is humor , romance , friendship , struggle , and other emotional moments , so don't begin to think this is some overtly gothic romp . The dialogue - - the translation - - is superb . Atlus has always done an outstanding job translating these games , and P3P is no exception . Each character is well developed and deep ; you may think they are merely archetypes , but P3 goes far beyond . Also , there are new characters , so veterans will be pleased . Accompanying the characters is equally wonderful voice acting . If you're somewhat lucid to any of the anime / Japananimation / Japanese-developed game scene , you'll recognize many of the veterans VAs . One of my favorites , Michelle Ruff of Rukia Kuchiki ( Bleach ) fame , voices Yukari Takeba ! Hah . Many others entreat your ears with some of their best performances throughtout their careers .
Speaking of voice actors , I should mention the sound overall . Again , as in previous Atlus titles , P3P gives the gamer a splended assortment of musical tracks to listen to , all thanks to master composer Shoji Meguro . And the female campaign has personalized music and tracks throughout the adventure . I especially enjoyed the Battle themes . . . ( I'm not a princess . . . ) Ahem . Overall , still excellent .
Now , graphically , the game is a mixed bag . Being on the PSP , you can only go so far , but it feels as if P3P could have gone a little further . Character models look fine if not a little flat ( graphically , not dimentionally ) , and Tartarus still looks menacing , but everything is a step down from the PS2 iteration . Colors are vibrant , but the textures don't have the same clarity . And it should be noted that the game eschews all anime cutscenes from the previous game , now giving you cutscenes in still-frames with character voices or those animated in the game's graphics . Some of the original cutscenes lose their bite , but for the most-part , P3P easily maintains itself .
P3P also changes in gameplay . In some areas , it's subtle . In others , not so much . But , it's not a bad thing , for the most part . In Tartarus , you can expect the original gameplay , with battles being fast , strategic and satisfying . P3P borrows elements from P4 , such as the ability to manually control your party members , which give it a little different feel . Yes , you still grind ( and I mean grind . There are over hundreds of floors of enemies ) through Tartarus , but the battle system never tires . Luckly , if the combat aspects of the game aren't your cup-o-tea , there is another half of the game . But , navigating the regular world is a far-cry from the original . You now navigate a cursor , rather than an on-screen avatar . This isn't so bad , and there are more interactions with the environment available to you . Social links still are the same , and this includes their quality . For a portable , the game is beyond successful in its attempt and the game fully immerses you . While changed , it's formula still accomplishes each task with gusto . On a side note , you'll want to opt for the data install , which helps load times . Just a little forewarning .
In summation , P3P is an excellent title , easily the best in recent years . Atlus has poured time and care into crafting a new , yet familiar title for fan and newbie alike . All of the addons give it a new-experience feel , and the second campaign character breaths life and longevity into this handheld title . With wholeheartedness , I can recommend Persona 3 Portable to anyone who owns Sony's little buddy .
023 I won't start this off with an obscure question or some passe skepticism about this title . Plain and simple : I am perhaps a mega-fan of anything in the MegaTen universe , especially the Persona offspring series . Yes , that does mean that I have both copies of the original Revelations and the new PSP remake , as well as both editions - - that includes the Japanese-only - - of Persona 2 . The original Persona 3 , and the subsequent FES , only helped solidify my love for the foreign franchise . And what can I say about P4 ? You can guess . And at the announcement of P3P , you could also guess the palpable amaze I felt . But enough about me .
Let me just say that this game succeeds on all levels . However , some may look at this iteration and ask : Is it truly worth purchasing if I bought the original P3 and FES ? Well , yes , you should . First and foremost , this is only P3 , albeit re-done with extra bonus and a new campaign featuring a feminine perspective . In this , they are tailoring to both newcomers and veterans alike . But , as I said earlier , this is only P3 . While it does feature a bonus dungeon ( Vision Quest ) that resembles that of P3 : The Answer , this version does NOT include the extra 30 + hour adventure . This shouldn't be a bad thing . Considering each campaign is around 80 hours long ( more or less ) , and there are two characters to play , it should easily occupy you for ages .
Let's start with the story : If you've played this before , you know the drill . A group of gifted students experience a peculiar hour between each day hidden from the world . As the game goes on , plot twists ( of which you won't expect , if you haven't played ) ensue . It is dark and warped , with esoteric occult themes and morbid facinations . But there is humor , romance , friendship , struggle , and other emotional moments , so don't begin to think this is some overtly gothic romp . The dialogue - - the translation - - is superb . Atlus has always done an outstanding job translating these games , and P3P is no exception . Each character is well developed and deep ; you may think they are merely archetypes , but P3 goes far beyond . Also , there are new characters , so veterans will be pleased . Accompanying the characters is equally wonderful voice acting . If you're somewhat lucid to any of the anime / Japananimation / Japanese-developed game scene , you'll recognize many of the veterans VAs . One of my favorites , Michelle Ruff of Rukia Kuchiki ( Bleach ) fame , voices Yukari Takeba ! Hah . Many others entreat your ears with some of their best performances throughtout their careers .
Speaking of voice actors , I should mention the sound overall . Again , as in previous Atlus titles , P3P gives the gamer a splended assortment of musical tracks to listen to , all thanks to master composer Shoji Meguro . And the female campaign has personalized music and tracks throughout the adventure . I especially enjoyed the Battle themes . . . ( I'm not a princess . . . ) Ahem . Overall , still excellent .
Now , graphically , the game is a mixed bag . Being on the PSP , you can only go so far , but it feels as if P3P could have gone a little further . Character models look fine if not a little flat ( graphically , not dimentionally ) , and Tartarus still looks menacing , but everything is a step down from the PS2 iteration . Colors are vibrant , but the textures don't have the same clarity . And it should be noted that the game eschews all anime cutscenes from the previous game , now giving you cutscenes in still-frames with character voices or those animated in the game's graphics . Some of the original cutscenes lose their bite , but for the most-part , P3P easily maintains itself .
P3P also changes in gameplay . In some areas , it's subtle . In others , not so much . But , it's not a bad thing , for the most part . In Tartarus , you can expect the original gameplay , with battles being fast , strategic and satisfying . P3P borrows elements from P4 , such as the ability to manually control your party members , which give it a little different feel . Yes , you still grind ( and I mean grind . There are over hundreds of floors of enemies ) through Tartarus , but the battle system never tires . Luckly , if the combat aspects of the game aren't your cup-o-tea , there is another half of the game . But , navigating the regular world is a far-cry from the original . You now navigate a cursor , rather than an on-screen avatar . This isn't so bad , and there are more interactions with the environment available to you . Social links still are the same , and this includes their quality . For a portable , the game is beyond successful in its attempt and the game fully immerses you . While changed , it's formula still accomplishes each task with gusto . On a side note , you'll want to opt for the data install , which helps load times . Just a little forewarning .
In summation , P3P is an excellent title , easily the best in recent years . Atlus has poured time and care into crafting a new , yet familiar title for fan and newbie alike . All of the addons give it a new-experience feel , and the second campaign character breaths life and longevity into this handheld title . With wholeheartedness , I can recommend Persona 3 Portable to anyone who owns Sony's little buddy .
024 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Having first played Persona 3 FES I had to say when I heard they were making this I was beside myself with glee . I'm a huge Final Fantasy fan but there is just something special about the Persona games that made me fall in love with them and take over my free time for video games .
I know these games aren't for everyone . If you aren't into deep plots and lots of reading ( basically just want to grind down some enemies , which there is nothing wrong with that ) this and the other Persona games are not for you .
However , if you like interactive games with amazing plots and a string of well developed characters with a battle system even a n00b can handle , then yes ! This game is for you . Honestly , I play games for plots , not battle systems . Sure , you still have to work at getting new personas and leveling them up ; but , overall you don't need much skill to beat this game , which is a major plus for me . Add on top of that all the social links ( you have to interact and react to other characters to progress your battle capabilities ) and I was sold from the beginning . I'd never played a game where you got to interact so well with your supporting cast and other random characters and loved it to pieces .
I give persona a 10 out of 10 because even with how long it can take ( 50 hours for my first play through ) I have come back and played it over and over again to max out all my social links and get things I missed in previous plays . The characters are great and the bonds built between them have kept me coming back to replay , especially now that you can play as a girl in P3P ! I really have no complaints for this game at all and that's saying something for a very picky gamer like me . : ) Honestly , Persona 3 is my all time favorite game and if you like longer games with great plots and lots of character interaction I can't imagine you not loving it as well !
025 Having first played Persona 3 FES I had to say when I heard they were making this I was beside myself with glee . I'm a huge Final Fantasy fan but there is just something special about the Persona games that made me fall in love with them and take over my free time for video games .
I know these games aren't for everyone . If you aren't into deep plots and lots of reading ( basically just want to grind down some enemies , which there is nothing wrong with that ) this and the other Persona games are not for you .
However , if you like interactive games with amazing plots and a string of well developed characters with a battle system even a n00b can handle , then yes ! This game is for you . Honestly , I play games for plots , not battle systems . Sure , you still have to work at getting new personas and leveling them up ; but , overall you don't need much skill to beat this game , which is a major plus for me . Add on top of that all the social links ( you have to interact and react to other characters to progress your battle capabilities ) and I was sold from the beginning . I'd never played a game where you got to interact so well with your supporting cast and other random characters and loved it to pieces .
I give persona a 10 out of 10 because even with how long it can take ( 50 hours for my first play through ) I have come back and played it over and over again to max out all my social links and get things I missed in previous plays . The characters are great and the bonds built between them have kept me coming back to replay , especially now that you can play as a girl in P3P ! I really have no complaints for this game at all and that's saying something for a very picky gamer like me . : ) Honestly , Persona 3 is my all time favorite game and if you like longer games with great plots and lots of character interaction I can't imagine you not loving it as well !
026 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
To start , I'll say that I've never been introduced to the Megaten series before this title . I'd never even heard of it on the PS2 , despite the many RPGs I've played on said system . This title is essentially a remake for the PSP system from one of the franchise PS2 games . However , unless you've played the series before , don't expect this to bother you one bit . It cuts out the anime-style cutscenes and removes some detail , but beyond that it adds other perks that , in my mind , make it a better game than the original .
Gameplay on P3P is interesting . You go to school , you make friends , you visit around town , your make decisions . All of these things are incorporated into your daytime routine . It makes the game more immersive when you are given choices on what to say to someone rather than just a preset answer . It's one of the biggest draws to this game . If you don't like that sort of thing , then this might not be right for you , because this will take up a vast portion of your gameplay . At night , different things happen . The Midnight Hour comes , and you and a select few have to take up arms to protect the people of the town . You'll go into a tower called Tartarus to battle various monsters , very similar to standard RPG fare , except the Tower changes layout on almost every floor , even if you just were on it . This can make the game bothersome , but with the additions they added for the PSP , it's not as bad as you might think . Now when you transport to the bottom of the tower , you can get back to the highest floor you were at the venture before . Either way , however , you'll end up grinding a certain amount . Thankfully , in a single run you can go through many many floors if you're willing to just go in one run . This has its ups and downs too , but it's helpful . There were times when I would be sick of going to the tower and would just want to continue going to school and building friendships . Thankfully there's enough slack in their system where it's possible to put the PSP down for the night and then the next day when you're not so sick of it you can bust out a bunch of floors on Tartarus or gain some levels . In my mind the tower system is the worst part of the game , but I am consoled by the multiple ways I can use the tower and still be effective in fighting .
Now , since I've played through the title ( ~ 65 hours my first run through ) , I've also started Persona 4 for PS2 . Neither are bad , but I can confidently say that I enjoy the consistency in P3P more than P4 . The voice acting is stellar , none of the voices grate on you especially ( unlike the retarded bear in P4 ) . The storyline isn't especially unique , but it is well done , and adds some twists which are well done . Graphics aren't bad , the navigating system is superior to P4 in my opine because it is simpler . A word of caution for buyers might be the M rating . Due to the magic , which is related to religion and many other things , in this game , plus some bad language , it is deserved . I myself tend to stay away from titles with these kinds of things . However , as long as they're old enough to understand it's just a game , it should be fine . The swearing isn't every couple of lines , and it seldom gets terrible . It's better than P4 in this respect . As a sidenote , the music in this game can sometimes get repetitive . It's good music , just sometimes you'll get sick of it , because it doesn't stick as much in the background as other RPG music because it often has words . They also can alleviate this pain , however , as you are able to switch tracks at a certain point while in Tartarus . Maya's Theme is awesome . Even better , at a certain point the basic background music you would hear around town will change , a very welcome thing .
Now that I've semi-incoherently and completely incohesively rambled , I will say that overall I see this game as a title worth buying . If you can get past the M rating and bear a bit of grinding , you will enjoy this game . The voice acting quality is best of any game I've played , the social links are important to the game and also satisfying . Plus , replay value is high , as you can replay with some bonuses if you've beaten it once . I plan to at some point , especially since once you can play as male and next as female , which still changes the social links without losing the story . Overall , buy it .
027 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
To start , I'll say that I've never been introduced to the Megaten series before this title . I'd never even heard of it on the PS2 , despite the many RPGs I've played on said system . This title is essentially a remake for the PSP system from one of the franchise PS2 games . However , unless you've played the series before , don't expect this to bother you one bit . It cuts out the anime-style cutscenes and removes some detail , but beyond that it adds other perks that , in my mind , make it a better game than the original .
Gameplay on P3P is interesting . You go to school , you make friends , you visit around town , your make decisions . All of these things are incorporated into your daytime routine . It makes the game more immersive when you are given choices on what to say to someone rather than just a preset answer . It's one of the biggest draws to this game . If you don't like that sort of thing , then this might not be right for you , because this will take up a vast portion of your gameplay . At night , different things happen . The Midnight Hour comes , and you and a select few have to take up arms to protect the people of the town . You'll go into a tower called Tartarus to battle various monsters , very similar to standard RPG fare , except the Tower changes layout on almost every floor , even if you just were on it . This can make the game bothersome , but with the additions they added for the PSP , it's not as bad as you might think . Now when you transport to the bottom of the tower , you can get back to the highest floor you were at the venture before . Either way , however , you'll end up grinding a certain amount . Thankfully , in a single run you can go through many many floors if you're willing to just go in one run . This has its ups and downs too , but it's helpful . There were times when I would be sick of going to the tower and would just want to continue going to school and building friendships . Thankfully there's enough slack in their system where it's possible to put the PSP down for the night and then the next day when you're not so sick of it you can bust out a bunch of floors on Tartarus or gain some levels . In my mind the tower system is the worst part of the game , but I am consoled by the multiple ways I can use the tower and still be effective in fighting .
Now , since I've played through the title ( ~ 65 hours my first run through ) , I've also started Persona 4 for PS2 . Neither are bad , but I can confidently say that I enjoy the consistency in P3P more than P4 . The voice acting is stellar , none of the voices grate on you especially ( unlike the retarded bear in P4 ) . The storyline isn't especially unique , but it is well done , and adds some twists which are well done . Graphics aren't bad , the navigating system is superior to P4 in my opine because it is simpler . A word of caution for buyers might be the M rating . Due to the magic , which is related to religion and many other things , in this game , plus some bad language , it is deserved . I myself tend to stay away from titles with these kinds of things . However , as long as they're old enough to understand it's just a game , it should be fine . The swearing isn't every couple of lines , and it seldom gets terrible . It's better than P4 in this respect . As a sidenote , the music in this game can sometimes get repetitive . It's good music , just sometimes you'll get sick of it , because it doesn't stick as much in the background as other RPG music because it often has words . They also can alleviate this pain , however , as you are able to switch tracks at a certain point while in Tartarus . Maya's Theme is awesome . Even better , at a certain point the basic background music you would hear around town will change , a very welcome thing .
Now that I've semi-incoherently and completely incohesively rambled , I will say that overall I see this game as a title worth buying . If you can get past the M rating and bear a bit of grinding , you will enjoy this game . The voice acting quality is best of any game I've played , the social links are important to the game and also satisfying . Plus , replay value is high , as you can replay with some bonuses if you've beaten it once . I plan to at some point , especially since once you can play as male and next as female , which still changes the social links without losing the story . Overall , buy it .
028 To start , I'll say that I've never been introduced to the Megaten series before this title . I'd never even heard of it on the PS2 , despite the many RPGs I've played on said system . This title is essentially a remake for the PSP system from one of the franchise PS2 games . However , unless you've played the series before , don't expect this to bother you one bit . It cuts out the anime-style cutscenes and removes some detail , but beyond that it adds other perks that , in my mind , make it a better game than the original .
Gameplay on P3P is interesting . You go to school , you make friends , you visit around town , your make decisions . All of these things are incorporated into your daytime routine . It makes the game more immersive when you are given choices on what to say to someone rather than just a preset answer . It's one of the biggest draws to this game . If you don't like that sort of thing , then this might not be right for you , because this will take up a vast portion of your gameplay . At night , different things happen . The Midnight Hour comes , and you and a select few have to take up arms to protect the people of the town . You'll go into a tower called Tartarus to battle various monsters , very similar to standard RPG fare , except the Tower changes layout on almost every floor , even if you just were on it . This can make the game bothersome , but with the additions they added for the PSP , it's not as bad as you might think . Now when you transport to the bottom of the tower , you can get back to the highest floor you were at the venture before . Either way , however , you'll end up grinding a certain amount . Thankfully , in a single run you can go through many many floors if you're willing to just go in one run . This has its ups and downs too , but it's helpful . There were times when I would be sick of going to the tower and would just want to continue going to school and building friendships . Thankfully there's enough slack in their system where it's possible to put the PSP down for the night and then the next day when you're not so sick of it you can bust out a bunch of floors on Tartarus or gain some levels . In my mind the tower system is the worst part of the game , but I am consoled by the multiple ways I can use the tower and still be effective in fighting .
Now , since I've played through the title ( ~ 65 hours my first run through ) , I've also started Persona 4 for PS2 . Neither are bad , but I can confidently say that I enjoy the consistency in P3P more than P4 . The voice acting is stellar , none of the voices grate on you especially ( unlike the retarded bear in P4 ) . The storyline isn't especially unique , but it is well done , and adds some twists which are well done . Graphics aren't bad , the navigating system is superior to P4 in my opine because it is simpler . A word of caution for buyers might be the M rating . Due to the magic , which is related to religion and many other things , in this game , plus some bad language , it is deserved . I myself tend to stay away from titles with these kinds of things . However , as long as they're old enough to understand it's just a game , it should be fine . The swearing isn't every couple of lines , and it seldom gets terrible . It's better than P4 in this respect . As a sidenote , the music in this game can sometimes get repetitive . It's good music , just sometimes you'll get sick of it , because it doesn't stick as much in the background as other RPG music because it often has words . They also can alleviate this pain , however , as you are able to switch tracks at a certain point while in Tartarus . Maya's Theme is awesome . Even better , at a certain point the basic background music you would hear around town will change , a very welcome thing .
Now that I've semi-incoherently and completely incohesively rambled , I will say that overall I see this game as a title worth buying . If you can get past the M rating and bear a bit of grinding , you will enjoy this game . The voice acting quality is best of any game I've played , the social links are important to the game and also satisfying . Plus , replay value is high , as you can replay with some bonuses if you've beaten it once . I plan to at some point , especially since once you can play as male and next as female , which still changes the social links without losing the story . Overall , buy it .
029 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I have never played a Persona ( or Shin Megami Tensei ) game prior to this one on the PSP . I decided to give it a try , since I have heard of the series , and know it to be a very popular series and also , this game got very good reviews . After doing some research , between this game and the first Persona on the PSP , I decided to start with Persona 3 Portable .
If you are a fan of Japanese RPGs , then you will probably love this game as much as I do .
I have never played a JRPG like this one . The main story of the game is presented in a series of Anime cut-scenes , where you are given specific choices as you interact with the Non-player characters ( NPCs ) in the game . As you build relationships with them , you will improve your own stats , and the choices also impact how the story / game progresses . After the cut scenes are over , the play-style changes to an isometric view , where you can go through the map and talk to NPCs ( sometimes triggering the Anime stype cut-scenes ) .
Trying to keep this spoiler free , the game story is set up so that you are a new student in a high school . There is another unseen world that only certain people can experience . This unseen world , however , does interact with the real world , but time is frozen in the real world . So , regular people in the real world are almost oblivious to what is going on . So , in this game , you are going back and fourth between these two realities . In the real world , you go through your normal day as a student , making friends , taking on a part time job , studying , etc . Then at specific intervals , you can visit the secret world and battle enemies ( which you see on screen in real time ) . Once you hit an enemy on the regular map , you go into a battle mode , where you can battle the characters ( similar to the Tales series ) .
The battle system in this game is a cross between Tales of Symponia ( or other Tales Games ) , and a Final Fantasy game , except you do not move . You can give orders to your teammates , or you can take direct control over them . I really love this option . One really great thing about the battle system , is that you can put it in fast forward mode . So if you choose to do any grinding , it really speeds up the monotonous battles .
It's quite difficult to express the look and feel of the game , but the graphics are very nice for a PSP game . The music and voice acting are very good . A lot of the dialog is actually voice acted , and as you skip to the next bubble of text , the voice picks up very quickly and smoothly . Also , while you are in battle , you have a team mate that is speaking to you in real time , and what is very interesting is the person actually speaks to you about what is going on in the battle . For example , if you have an enemy , you can choose to analyze the enemy . The NPC's avatar will appear in the corner of the screen , and she will tell you what the enemy is weak to . So , if the enemy is weak to ice , she will actually tell you that the enemy is weak to ice . Also , when a team member gets low on health , she warns you about it . This may seem kind of annoying to hear about it , but it really does help immerse you into the game .
I bought this game about a week ago , and I'm having a hard time putting it down . I've been playing for 20 hours or so , and I'm just at the second part ( I don't know how many parts there are ) . I think the story spans a virtual year and I am only 2 months in .
So , just to summarize , this game is really fantastic . I love the story , the mood , the music , and the graphics . The game is so much fun , you are going to have a blast playing it . I just can't give this game enough praise ; it really is that good .
030 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I have never played a Persona ( or Shin Megami Tensei ) game prior to this one on the PSP . I decided to give it a try , since I have heard of the series , and know it to be a very popular series and also , this game got very good reviews . After doing some research , between this game and the first Persona on the PSP , I decided to start with Persona 3 Portable .
If you are a fan of Japanese RPGs , then you will probably love this game as much as I do .
I have never played a JRPG like this one . The main story of the game is presented in a series of Anime cut-scenes , where you are given specific choices as you interact with the Non-player characters ( NPCs ) in the game . As you build relationships with them , you will improve your own stats , and the choices also impact how the story / game progresses . After the cut scenes are over , the play-style changes to an isometric view , where you can go through the map and talk to NPCs ( sometimes triggering the Anime stype cut-scenes ) .
Trying to keep this spoiler free , the game story is set up so that you are a new student in a high school . There is another unseen world that only certain people can experience . This unseen world , however , does interact with the real world , but time is frozen in the real world . So , regular people in the real world are almost oblivious to what is going on . So , in this game , you are going back and fourth between these two realities . In the real world , you go through your normal day as a student , making friends , taking on a part time job , studying , etc . Then at specific intervals , you can visit the secret world and battle enemies ( which you see on screen in real time ) . Once you hit an enemy on the regular map , you go into a battle mode , where you can battle the characters ( similar to the Tales series ) .
The battle system in this game is a cross between Tales of Symponia ( or other Tales Games ) , and a Final Fantasy game , except you do not move . You can give orders to your teammates , or you can take direct control over them . I really love this option . One really great thing about the battle system , is that you can put it in fast forward mode . So if you choose to do any grinding , it really speeds up the monotonous battles .
It's quite difficult to express the look and feel of the game , but the graphics are very nice for a PSP game . The music and voice acting are very good . A lot of the dialog is actually voice acted , and as you skip to the next bubble of text , the voice picks up very quickly and smoothly . Also , while you are in battle , you have a team mate that is speaking to you in real time , and what is very interesting is the person actually speaks to you about what is going on in the battle . For example , if you have an enemy , you can choose to analyze the enemy . The NPC's avatar will appear in the corner of the screen , and she will tell you what the enemy is weak to . So , if the enemy is weak to ice , she will actually tell you that the enemy is weak to ice . Also , when a team member gets low on health , she warns you about it . This may seem kind of annoying to hear about it , but it really does help immerse you into the game .
I bought this game about a week ago , and I'm having a hard time putting it down . I've been playing for 20 hours or so , and I'm just at the second part ( I don't know how many parts there are ) . I think the story spans a virtual year and I am only 2 months in .
So , just to summarize , this game is really fantastic . I love the story , the mood , the music , and the graphics . The game is so much fun , you are going to have a blast playing it . I just can't give this game enough praise ; it really is that good .
031 I have never played a Persona ( or Shin Megami Tensei ) game prior to this one on the PSP . I decided to give it a try , since I have heard of the series , and know it to be a very popular series and also , this game got very good reviews . After doing some research , between this game and the first Persona on the PSP , I decided to start with Persona 3 Portable .
If you are a fan of Japanese RPGs , then you will probably love this game as much as I do .
I have never played a JRPG like this one . The main story of the game is presented in a series of Anime cut-scenes , where you are given specific choices as you interact with the Non-player characters ( NPCs ) in the game . As you build relationships with them , you will improve your own stats , and the choices also impact how the story / game progresses . After the cut scenes are over , the play-style changes to an isometric view , where you can go through the map and talk to NPCs ( sometimes triggering the Anime stype cut-scenes ) .
Trying to keep this spoiler free , the game story is set up so that you are a new student in a high school . There is another unseen world that only certain people can experience . This unseen world , however , does interact with the real world , but time is frozen in the real world . So , regular people in the real world are almost oblivious to what is going on . So , in this game , you are going back and fourth between these two realities . In the real world , you go through your normal day as a student , making friends , taking on a part time job , studying , etc . Then at specific intervals , you can visit the secret world and battle enemies ( which you see on screen in real time ) . Once you hit an enemy on the regular map , you go into a battle mode , where you can battle the characters ( similar to the Tales series ) .
The battle system in this game is a cross between Tales of Symponia ( or other Tales Games ) , and a Final Fantasy game , except you do not move . You can give orders to your teammates , or you can take direct control over them . I really love this option . One really great thing about the battle system , is that you can put it in fast forward mode . So if you choose to do any grinding , it really speeds up the monotonous battles .
It's quite difficult to express the look and feel of the game , but the graphics are very nice for a PSP game . The music and voice acting are very good . A lot of the dialog is actually voice acted , and as you skip to the next bubble of text , the voice picks up very quickly and smoothly . Also , while you are in battle , you have a team mate that is speaking to you in real time , and what is very interesting is the person actually speaks to you about what is going on in the battle . For example , if you have an enemy , you can choose to analyze the enemy . The NPC's avatar will appear in the corner of the screen , and she will tell you what the enemy is weak to . So , if the enemy is weak to ice , she will actually tell you that the enemy is weak to ice . Also , when a team member gets low on health , she warns you about it . This may seem kind of annoying to hear about it , but it really does help immerse you into the game .
I bought this game about a week ago , and I'm having a hard time putting it down . I've been playing for 20 hours or so , and I'm just at the second part ( I don't know how many parts there are ) . I think the story spans a virtual year and I am only 2 months in .
So , just to summarize , this game is really fantastic . I love the story , the mood , the music , and the graphics . The game is so much fun , you are going to have a blast playing it . I just can't give this game enough praise ; it really is that good .
032 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This is the third rendention of the third persona game , and this time it is for the psp . What makes version this worth buying over the vanilla Persona 3 and Persona 3 FES for the PS2 . A storyline in which you can choose either to be a male or female protaganist , improved battle mechanics from Persona 4 have been thrown so now the player can can control everyone in battle , instead of relying on the stupidity of the A.I . , new Persona cards enable the player to customizze his or her favorite persona with the prefered skills which elimnates the amount of time spent in fusing . New Social links and a slighty different story for the Female protaggnists , new customes , and a new side area called Vision Quest enables the player to refight prievous bosses to earn greater rewards and unlock a new secret boss . The graphics have been toned down greatly from the PS2 counterparts , but all the new features and improved mechanics makes this the definitive version of Persona 3 .
033 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This is the third rendention of the third persona game , and this time it is for the psp . What makes version this worth buying over the vanilla Persona 3 and Persona 3 FES for the PS2 . A storyline in which you can choose either to be a male or female protaganist , improved battle mechanics from Persona 4 have been thrown so now the player can can control everyone in battle , instead of relying on the stupidity of the A.I . , new Persona cards enable the player to customizze his or her favorite persona with the prefered skills which elimnates the amount of time spent in fusing . New Social links and a slighty different story for the Female protaggnists , new customes , and a new side area called Vision Quest enables the player to refight prievous bosses to earn greater rewards and unlock a new secret boss . The graphics have been toned down greatly from the PS2 counterparts , but all the new features and improved mechanics makes this the definitive version of Persona 3 .
041 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Persona 3 Portable , the best portable RPG ever made . But what is making this game so good ? The answer is simple : a good story with likeable characters , well done combat mechanics , great music . For a fan of RPG , it's all you need to be satified . But lately , a lot of game developpers do not think seriously about the stories . They'll create badass characters , give them guns to shoot everyting , literally wasting their money on solo campain ( lasting 4 hours ) , saying that they true game is in multiplayer mode ( but cheaters ruining it all ) .
P3P isn't perfect because it's lacking some of the features from the FES version on PS2 . I'm missing walking in the city with all the animations and all . But I must admit that it speed up the game , so it's perfect for portable consoles because you don't have to wait until the end of the animation to go further in the story . And again , if you have to quickly save your game it's perfect for that . But even without all those animation , the story remain mostly intact , it's even improve over the FES version , and the combat engine is the same as Persona 4 , which enhance the game a lot . Direct character Control is a huge plus .
An other thing that makes that game great is persona fusion . Personae are facets of one persons personality that enable your character to fight the shadows , those evil being created by the the subconciousness of all humans . Each persona evolves in the same time as your characters and by combining them , you can create new persona . It gives the player a lot of freedom and can makes your game unic because your personae will be really different of my choices made in their evolution , which skills they can inherit etc . . .
If this game could be ported to HD consoles with improved graphics , cinematics , animation , the Answer and the Female MC , this would be definitly the best RPG of all time .
I recommend it , but I can't say more , I don't want to spoil the story to anybody . Of course , if you already played P3 or P3 FES it might not be the best thing to purchase , but the Female MC realy worth it . Of course , if you can't stand classic turn base RPG , it isn't for you . If you like * real * RPGs you should love that game . For me it's 2010 ' s best RPG . For me Mass Effect 2 do not qualify as a RPG because it's an action 3rd person shooter , unlike the first Mass Effect .
042 Persona 3 Portable , the best portable RPG ever made . But what is making this game so good ? The answer is simple : a good story with likeable characters , well done combat mechanics , great music . For a fan of RPG , it's all you need to be satified . But lately , a lot of game developpers do not think seriously about the stories . They'll create badass characters , give them guns to shoot everyting , literally wasting their money on solo campain ( lasting 4 hours ) , saying that they true game is in multiplayer mode ( but cheaters ruining it all ) .
P3P isn't perfect because it's lacking some of the features from the FES version on PS2 . I'm missing walking in the city with all the animations and all . But I must admit that it speed up the game , so it's perfect for portable consoles because you don't have to wait until the end of the animation to go further in the story . And again , if you have to quickly save your game it's perfect for that . But even without all those animation , the story remain mostly intact , it's even improve over the FES version , and the combat engine is the same as Persona 4 , which enhance the game a lot . Direct character Control is a huge plus .
An other thing that makes that game great is persona fusion . Personae are facets of one persons personality that enable your character to fight the shadows , those evil being created by the the subconciousness of all humans . Each persona evolves in the same time as your characters and by combining them , you can create new persona . It gives the player a lot of freedom and can makes your game unic because your personae will be really different of my choices made in their evolution , which skills they can inherit etc . . .
If this game could be ported to HD consoles with improved graphics , cinematics , animation , the Answer and the Female MC , this would be definitly the best RPG of all time .
I recommend it , but I can't say more , I don't want to spoil the story to anybody . Of course , if you already played P3 or P3 FES it might not be the best thing to purchase , but the Female MC realy worth it . Of course , if you can't stand classic turn base RPG , it isn't for you . If you like * real * RPGs you should love that game . For me it's 2010 ' s best RPG . For me Mass Effect 2 do not qualify as a RPG because it's an action 3rd person shooter , unlike the first Mass Effect .
061 Alrigth so i'm a die hard persona fan and went through vannila , fes , and now this.While taking persona on the go is nice only the dungen is in 3d and the rest in a visual novel sort of way and of course grinding on the go is useful it just loses somthing without running thougth the town and seeing your Mc actually interact with your S.links
But the great thing is that all the figths are still intact so thats one great thing .
Oh while i'm at it the guys at atlus decided to give old vetrans ( not real ones i mean played all the games ) a reason to play again a new female Mc route !
While she doesnt actually change the story ( besides one part . * Spoliers * Shinji * End spoliers * ) She does make the charactors say new lines to her . ( Also in the begining of the game there's this funny glitch that makes yukari call her a guy )
And the battle system changed too . ) Looks like they did learn something from 4 ) You can now control all your party members , but the downside is the ingame Ai is as dumb as S * * * .
One more thing is that Atlus decided to take out the anime cutscenes.Not a big deal as you can just see it on youtube but it would have been nice .
All in all this is a great game , but after you finish you should consider getting Persona 3 Fes.You know the last scene hits home if you actually see it.Gotta love Aigis . ( Which includes the answer = Tells what happens after you Close your eyes )
! ! oh almost forgot in p3p you get to meet young yukiko-chan so bonus to persona 4 players.And the ever plesent Kashiwagi-sensi is there to meet you too among other things > .
If you dont get this game you really dont know what your missing ( Also Stay away from ken during the female path )
062 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
For starters I owned this game back on PS2 , Persona FES to be exact . I just couldn't get into it . It seemed repetitive and basic . Go here , talk to this person , pass this test , fight in that maze , etc . . . I wanted to like it so much . But I couldn't . I ended up selling it for a sizable amount . After it became rare . Now I gave it a second chance on the PSP . And I have to say . This is WAY better . The streamline shortcuts it took , benefit this game in my opinion . I feel like everything is a little more coherent now . I am thoroughly enjoying this game now . I recommend it to anyone who likes the kind of anime that makes you think . I am at the very beginning but the formula is perfectly balanced to make me wanna keep pushing forward . This game is 100% worth it .
067 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Wow ! amazon finally has this in stock again ! This is an amazing rpg ! If you play this , you will be an Atlus fan for life . I recommended this game to my niece and nephew and now they are both HOOKED ! Buy it while it's in stock at amazon . You will be sorry if you don't . The good thing is , this is also available on the PSN store ! Atlus just recently had a sale and my nephew bought it on PSN for $20 ! As you may have expected this version has a few changes . The cutscenes have been more or less removed but the game still contains full voice work . Some battle options have been added and you can now play as the female character . If you haven't been able to play Persona 3 FES , you should get this !
068 Wow ! amazon finally has this in stock again ! This is an amazing rpg ! If you play this , you will be an Atlus fan for life . I recommended this game to my niece and nephew and now they are both HOOKED ! Buy it while it's in stock at amazon . You will be sorry if you don't . The good thing is , this is also available on the PSN store ! Atlus just recently had a sale and my nephew bought it on PSN for $20 ! As you may have expected this version has a few changes . The cutscenes have been more or less removed but the game still contains full voice work . Some battle options have been added and you can now play as the female character . If you haven't been able to play Persona 3 FES , you should get this !
071 To keep it short and sweet . .
I am fairly new to the Persona series , and I gotta say this was one of the best RPG games I have ever played ( I had so much fun playing it ) .
I like how you get to choose between a female and a male protagonist , The different types of Persona summonings , and the school experience . The characters are easily lovable and I can relate to some of them . Hard to talk about without spoiling the game . To keep it short as said , If you love RPGs , angst , and a good long storyline , then this is defiantly a great buy for the PSP .
072 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This review is just as much about the game as it is Amazon.com's amazing customer service .
The game is an excellent remake / expansion of the original Playstation 2 version ( Persona 3 and Persona 3 : FES ) . P3 : P has a lot of excellent additions to compliment the already outstanding gameplay . More things to do in Tartarus , simplified navigation , and the game retains it's voice overs for a majority of the game .
Navigation has been simplified via a controllable crosshair that you move around the top-down in game environment instead of the controllable avatar that you are able to move around . Pressing the right shoulder buttons highlights all of the interactive objects and people around and the Square button allows you to select your destination from a pop-up menu instead of having to walk there , making navigation faster and less of a hassle .
It's pretty amazing that certain things were not sacrificed during the port to ensure the quality and experience of the original game remains the same . As a fan of the Anime cutscenes from the Playstation 2 version , I am sad that they were cut from this version and replaced by in-game engine cutscenes and panning still shots . But this is an understandable sacrifice considering this is a hand-held system with less capability than a home-console . Sacrifices like this are unavoidable though .
Overall , i'd give this game a 5 / 5 and a 90 / 100 for a more accurate scoring . The fact that Atlus was able to keep a majority of the game in-tact to retain the experience for a portable counterpart to an amazing JRPG is nothing short of amazing . If you enjoy dating-sims , equipment forging , capturing of Persona's ( imagine Pokemon ) , and top notch turn based combat , than you'll enjoy this game for countless hours . Replayability is also high considering your social-links , romantic relations with in-game characters and the addition of another Gender .
A review of Amazon's amazing Customer Service : After waiting 30 days for a copy of this game that I pre-ordered to keep myself entertained while deployed , I contacted Customer Service and notified them of my problem . Within a few hours , a customer service representative shipped out a no-hassle replacement copy including the promised hat that comes with pre-ordering the game which came within 2 weeks after it was shipped . The item came on the exact date that the rep told me it would . Kudo's to Amazon on the oustanding job . You know your in good hands with Amazon .
073 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This review is just as much about the game as it is Amazon.com's amazing customer service .
The game is an excellent remake / expansion of the original Playstation 2 version ( Persona 3 and Persona 3 : FES ) . P3 : P has a lot of excellent additions to compliment the already outstanding gameplay . More things to do in Tartarus , simplified navigation , and the game retains it's voice overs for a majority of the game .
Navigation has been simplified via a controllable crosshair that you move around the top-down in game environment instead of the controllable avatar that you are able to move around . Pressing the right shoulder buttons highlights all of the interactive objects and people around and the Square button allows you to select your destination from a pop-up menu instead of having to walk there , making navigation faster and less of a hassle .
It's pretty amazing that certain things were not sacrificed during the port to ensure the quality and experience of the original game remains the same . As a fan of the Anime cutscenes from the Playstation 2 version , I am sad that they were cut from this version and replaced by in-game engine cutscenes and panning still shots . But this is an understandable sacrifice considering this is a hand-held system with less capability than a home-console . Sacrifices like this are unavoidable though .
Overall , i'd give this game a 5 / 5 and a 90 / 100 for a more accurate scoring . The fact that Atlus was able to keep a majority of the game in-tact to retain the experience for a portable counterpart to an amazing JRPG is nothing short of amazing . If you enjoy dating-sims , equipment forging , capturing of Persona's ( imagine Pokemon ) , and top notch turn based combat , than you'll enjoy this game for countless hours . Replayability is also high considering your social-links , romantic relations with in-game characters and the addition of another Gender .
A review of Amazon's amazing Customer Service : After waiting 30 days for a copy of this game that I pre-ordered to keep myself entertained while deployed , I contacted Customer Service and notified them of my problem . Within a few hours , a customer service representative shipped out a no-hassle replacement copy including the promised hat that comes with pre-ordering the game which came within 2 weeks after it was shipped . The item came on the exact date that the rep told me it would . Kudo's to Amazon on the oustanding job . You know your in good hands with Amazon .
074 This review is just as much about the game as it is Amazon.com's amazing customer service .
The game is an excellent remake / expansion of the original Playstation 2 version ( Persona 3 and Persona 3 : FES ) . P3 : P has a lot of excellent additions to compliment the already outstanding gameplay . More things to do in Tartarus , simplified navigation , and the game retains it's voice overs for a majority of the game .
Navigation has been simplified via a controllable crosshair that you move around the top-down in game environment instead of the controllable avatar that you are able to move around . Pressing the right shoulder buttons highlights all of the interactive objects and people around and the Square button allows you to select your destination from a pop-up menu instead of having to walk there , making navigation faster and less of a hassle .
It's pretty amazing that certain things were not sacrificed during the port to ensure the quality and experience of the original game remains the same . As a fan of the Anime cutscenes from the Playstation 2 version , I am sad that they were cut from this version and replaced by in-game engine cutscenes and panning still shots . But this is an understandable sacrifice considering this is a hand-held system with less capability than a home-console . Sacrifices like this are unavoidable though .
Overall , i'd give this game a 5 / 5 and a 90 / 100 for a more accurate scoring . The fact that Atlus was able to keep a majority of the game in-tact to retain the experience for a portable counterpart to an amazing JRPG is nothing short of amazing . If you enjoy dating-sims , equipment forging , capturing of Persona's ( imagine Pokemon ) , and top notch turn based combat , than you'll enjoy this game for countless hours . Replayability is also high considering your social-links , romantic relations with in-game characters and the addition of another Gender .
A review of Amazon's amazing Customer Service : After waiting 30 days for a copy of this game that I pre-ordered to keep myself entertained while deployed , I contacted Customer Service and notified them of my problem . Within a few hours , a customer service representative shipped out a no-hassle replacement copy including the promised hat that comes with pre-ordering the game which came within 2 weeks after it was shipped . The item came on the exact date that the rep told me it would . Kudo's to Amazon on the oustanding job . You know your in good hands with Amazon .
076 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Well , I've been playing video games since the days of the Commodore 64 and while I like many different genres , I prefer RPGs . And yes , Final Fantasy VII is still my all time favorite . That being said , sometimes that familiar formula of running around on a world map and discovering new towns and talking to every single person there . . . it can get a little stale . So , I was looking for something fresh and unusual . Watching the gameplay walkthrough video for Persona 3 Portable helped me make my decision to buy this game and I think it's a great representation of what you can expect from it . Now , down to pros and cons . . .
PROS :
- Unique and addictive gameplay ( I loved the system of fusing your Persona cards )
- Likeable characters and touching storylines
- This is a really long game . I spent 100 hours on it but I'm a bit slow so it may
take less time for others , obviously .
- I loved the little touches of modern Japanese culture .
- Quick battle intros
- The card shuffle at the end of some battles where you can win a new Persona ,
money , HP or EXP
- Being able to turn off the voice acting . I prefer to read the dialogue .
- Some may not like this but for once , I enjoyed not having to run my character
around everywhere ( except when you are in the dungeon )
- When you've finished the game , you have the option of playing again and keeping
your money and level ( you don't get to keep your Personas or equipment )
- Since I'm a female , I like playing as one .
CONS :
- Not enough variety with the music . The first time I heard the dorm music , I
started searching the menu for a way to turn it off . It was absurd . After awhile
though , I quit struggling and I eventually found myself sort of dancing along to
it .
- The final boss felt a bit long to me but maybe I should have leveled up more .
- Some of the enemies can do an instant death spell on you . . . I hate instant death .
- I do wish you could go into more places rather than just seeing a pre-rendered
background while they are talking .
- While the enemies are very unique , there's alot of palette-swapping and the
dungeon levels can get pretty redundant .
I'm sure I could find other things to pick at . No game is perfect ( I'm thinking of Sephiroth's two minute summon ) . For me though , the pros completely outweigh the cons . It's been a long time since I've had so much fun playing a game . Who knew that going back to high school would be so entertaining ? This one is going on my all-time favorites list .
077 Well , I've been playing video games since the days of the Commodore 64 and while I like many different genres , I prefer RPGs . And yes , Final Fantasy VII is still my all time favorite . That being said , sometimes that familiar formula of running around on a world map and discovering new towns and talking to every single person there . . . it can get a little stale . So , I was looking for something fresh and unusual . Watching the gameplay walkthrough video for Persona 3 Portable helped me make my decision to buy this game and I think it's a great representation of what you can expect from it . Now , down to pros and cons . . .
PROS :
- Unique and addictive gameplay ( I loved the system of fusing your Persona cards )
- Likeable characters and touching storylines
- This is a really long game . I spent 100 hours on it but I'm a bit slow so it may
take less time for others , obviously .
- I loved the little touches of modern Japanese culture .
- Quick battle intros
- The card shuffle at the end of some battles where you can win a new Persona ,
money , HP or EXP
- Being able to turn off the voice acting . I prefer to read the dialogue .
- Some may not like this but for once , I enjoyed not having to run my character
around everywhere ( except when you are in the dungeon )
- When you've finished the game , you have the option of playing again and keeping
your money and level ( you don't get to keep your Personas or equipment )
- Since I'm a female , I like playing as one .
CONS :
- Not enough variety with the music . The first time I heard the dorm music , I
started searching the menu for a way to turn it off . It was absurd . After awhile
though , I quit struggling and I eventually found myself sort of dancing along to
it .
- The final boss felt a bit long to me but maybe I should have leveled up more .
- Some of the enemies can do an instant death spell on you . . . I hate instant death .
- I do wish you could go into more places rather than just seeing a pre-rendered
background while they are talking .
- While the enemies are very unique , there's alot of palette-swapping and the
dungeon levels can get pretty redundant .
I'm sure I could find other things to pick at . No game is perfect ( I'm thinking of Sephiroth's two minute summon ) . For me though , the pros completely outweigh the cons . It's been a long time since I've had so much fun playing a game . Who knew that going back to high school would be so entertaining ? This one is going on my all-time favorites list .
078 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Like my title implys this game is only for people who like rpgs . this is my favorite game on the psp and is even in my top 5 games the only reason i say this game is a little worse then the original ps2 version is that you don't walk around the city and it takes out the awesome anime cut scenes that looked really good the game takes place in it is in a visual novel style that is a little weird but you get used to it and it helps move the game along a little faster which is what portable games are supposed to do right ? the battle system is awesome you always control your main character and you can set your team to either use AI or you can control them yourself which is an improvement from the ps2 version also your main character can be a girl or boy an if your a gamer like me you like to make the main character a representation of yourself so this works for girl gamers although there are a couple of instances where characters will say him or he when there talking about you . the main focus of this game is personas there are more then 200 to collect im on my second play through and have about 60 or 70 percent of them . the story is very good when you play a game from atlus ( which is the company that makes this game ) your in for a good story
090 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Something that I want to add : If you're interested in getting more into Persona as far as 3 and onwards goes , I suggest doing in order :
* * P3 FES - P3P lacks the cutscenes , main character viewing and actions . Something I really liked when I did P3P first and then tried FES . I also noticed early on in FES are a few character reactions that are not present in P3P . Example at the beginning with the MC , Yukari , and Junpei . Shortly after your arrival , Yukari asks you not to talk about Last night , as in Dark Hour events with other people . Junpei hears the last night comment and is shocked ( courtesy of a short little pop up image of his surprised face ) , thinking you scored with Yukari already . You also have Journey and Answer story arcs to start playing at .
* * P3 Portable - The main draw for me is a chance to try the Female MC / Main Character . The UI in alot of ways is smoother and more useful than P3 / P3 FES . Example is that viewing status of party members can be done simply by scrolling L & R in the status menu . In P3 FES , you'd have to talk to Mitsuru or speak to that specific character to check their status or even equip them . Going to and from spots at the Town Map and within the locations themselves is quicker , smoother . But I'll say again , not having the small characters moving around / doing things as part of events and the lack of the cutscenes is a sore point though .
* * P4 - I have P4 but I will get into that AFTER P3 FES and P3P .
The reason why I suggest doing the games in that order is greatly due to the UI and game updates and design . P3 came out first , then P3 FES , then P4 , and then P3P . The UI / Menu system changes and improves as the games rolled out . If you played in a different order like I did ( P3P first , then P3 FES ) , then the UI in the older games felt clumsier and a hindrance after playing the more tweaked ones of the later games .
I miss alot of things that the PS2 versions of P3 FES did compared to P3P , but when you consider what they've been able to do with a portable system , P3P is a good buy , IMO . I wonder what they would've been able to do with the game additions of P3P onto the full console version like FES . . .
091 Something that I want to add : If you're interested in getting more into Persona as far as 3 and onwards goes , I suggest doing in order :
* * P3 FES - P3P lacks the cutscenes , main character viewing and actions . Something I really liked when I did P3P first and then tried FES . I also noticed early on in FES are a few character reactions that are not present in P3P . Example at the beginning with the MC , Yukari , and Junpei . Shortly after your arrival , Yukari asks you not to talk about Last night , as in Dark Hour events with other people . Junpei hears the last night comment and is shocked ( courtesy of a short little pop up image of his surprised face ) , thinking you scored with Yukari already . You also have Journey and Answer story arcs to start playing at .
* * P3 Portable - The main draw for me is a chance to try the Female MC / Main Character . The UI in alot of ways is smoother and more useful than P3 / P3 FES . Example is that viewing status of party members can be done simply by scrolling L & R in the status menu . In P3 FES , you'd have to talk to Mitsuru or speak to that specific character to check their status or even equip them . Going to and from spots at the Town Map and within the locations themselves is quicker , smoother . But I'll say again , not having the small characters moving around / doing things as part of events and the lack of the cutscenes is a sore point though .
* * P4 - I have P4 but I will get into that AFTER P3 FES and P3P .
The reason why I suggest doing the games in that order is greatly due to the UI and game updates and design . P3 came out first , then P3 FES , then P4 , and then P3P . The UI / Menu system changes and improves as the games rolled out . If you played in a different order like I did ( P3P first , then P3 FES ) , then the UI in the older games felt clumsier and a hindrance after playing the more tweaked ones of the later games .
I miss alot of things that the PS2 versions of P3 FES did compared to P3P , but when you consider what they've been able to do with a portable system , P3P is a good buy , IMO . I wonder what they would've been able to do with the game additions of P3P onto the full console version like FES . . .
092 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Ok so I'm not going to rehash all the improvements like other reviews have done . I think I'm in the minority here on my review . First I have played the Persona 1 PSP version , P3FES , P4 , and P3 Portable . Now I like all the improvements on this game except one . The button shortcuts . I know it saves time for people , and also saves space for other things to be put in the game . That being said the main issue I have with it is the fact that I'm just not pulled into the story like I am in the PS2 version . Not seeing the characters move around and interact with the env . and other characters really detracts from the immersion factor . I know this may not be a real detractor for some . But I just really prefer to pop in the PS2 version and play that than play the portable . Even with the improvements . Still a great game , and even better for the PSP to have such a strong title . Also hope they port Persona 2 as I haven't had the chance to play that yet .
094 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This is a remake of the Persona 3 on the PS2 it came out a couple years ago . But by no means is this a old game . I am new to the Persona series , so I didn't know anything about persona games and I was able to pick right up on how to fuse monsters etc ; but I am a old RPG gamer so that might have helped . I love this game , now it is one of my favorte games . There is just so much thing you can do in this game . You can make friends , date people , do quests and fight monster . I know there is a add on feature in the PSP version , you can play as a girl , as the main character . The main plots stay the same but the relationships you have with people in the game will be different . Like you can date the girls and not the guys when you play as a guy etc . If you like RPGs with a GREAT story ; there is a lot of twist and turns , keeps you guessing . And GREAT character to love ; characters in this game is round , they have flaws and you can relate to them . And a fun differnt fighting system ; fuse monsters to summon . THEN BUY THIS GAME ! ! ! : DDD
095 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This is a remake of the Persona 3 on the PS2 it came out a couple years ago . But by no means is this a old game . I am new to the Persona series , so I didn't know anything about persona games and I was able to pick right up on how to fuse monsters etc ; but I am a old RPG gamer so that might have helped . I love this game , now it is one of my favorte games . There is just so much thing you can do in this game . You can make friends , date people , do quests and fight monster . I know there is a add on feature in the PSP version , you can play as a girl , as the main character . The main plots stay the same but the relationships you have with people in the game will be different . Like you can date the girls and not the guys when you play as a guy etc . If you like RPGs with a GREAT story ; there is a lot of twist and turns , keeps you guessing . And GREAT character to love ; characters in this game is round , they have flaws and you can relate to them . And a fun differnt fighting system ; fuse monsters to summon . THEN BUY THIS GAME ! ! ! : DDD
097 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This game is awesome . Way better than the movie it's based on . I suggest freeing up about a month because this game will suck you in . The combination of combat and social links was really cool . I saw my friend playing the PS2 special edition and that was when I decided I had to have the game ! You won't regret buying this .
101 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Dear god , I hated this game .
OK , to be fair , I liked it and then disliked it and then sorta liked it and then disliked it and then truly hated it . . . for about 6 months !
The game never ends . It has a half a dozen false endings until finally you wish it would just go the hell away and instead it just putters on for hour after hour . Now I know a lot of gamers equate length with value , but P3P is the most shamelessly repetitive , formulaic , and padded game I have ever played . It demonstrates all of its ideas inside about 10 hours but can easily take 100 hours to complete . 100 hrs of identical turn-based battling , interspersed with a cheeseball teenage drama . The latter is comprised of anime stills , text which you mash the X button to do away with , and the occasional dialog selection which 9x out of 10 will have no bearing on anything whatsoever .
The persona fusing mechanic and corresponding strategies are admittedly a cool idea , and were sufficiently compelling early on to bait me into playing the game . By the time I realized how completely bored I was I'd already invested a few dozen hours and thought I was close enough that I ought to complete the thing . Oh how wrong I was . This bloated game just wheezed on for months , and I finished it out of sheer spite . The final battle is the worst offense , carrying on for over an hour of dull , easy gameplay with no opportunity to save - and then randomly killing anyone who hasn't spent enough of their short lives grinding away . Or not , it's largely random .
If you have a * lot * of time to throw away ( and somehow can't find a better game to play ) go for it . But I would recommend almost any other game - or hobby - over this .
102 Dear god , I hated this game .
OK , to be fair , I liked it and then disliked it and then sorta liked it and then disliked it and then truly hated it . . . for about 6 months !
The game never ends . It has a half a dozen false endings until finally you wish it would just go the hell away and instead it just putters on for hour after hour . Now I know a lot of gamers equate length with value , but P3P is the most shamelessly repetitive , formulaic , and padded game I have ever played . It demonstrates all of its ideas inside about 10 hours but can easily take 100 hours to complete . 100 hrs of identical turn-based battling , interspersed with a cheeseball teenage drama . The latter is comprised of anime stills , text which you mash the X button to do away with , and the occasional dialog selection which 9x out of 10 will have no bearing on anything whatsoever .
The persona fusing mechanic and corresponding strategies are admittedly a cool idea , and were sufficiently compelling early on to bait me into playing the game . By the time I realized how completely bored I was I'd already invested a few dozen hours and thought I was close enough that I ought to complete the thing . Oh how wrong I was . This bloated game just wheezed on for months , and I finished it out of sheer spite . The final battle is the worst offense , carrying on for over an hour of dull , easy gameplay with no opportunity to save - and then randomly killing anyone who hasn't spent enough of their short lives grinding away . Or not , it's largely random .
If you have a * lot * of time to throw away ( and somehow can't find a better game to play ) go for it . But I would recommend almost any other game - or hobby - over this .
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Well , I've been playing video games since the days of the Commodore 64 and while I like many different genres , I prefer RPGs . And yes , Final Fantasy VII is still my all time favorite . That being said , sometimes that familiar formula of running around on a world map and discovering new towns and talking to every single person there . . . it can get a little stale . So , I was looking for something fresh and unusual . Watching the gameplay walkthrough video for Persona 3 Portable helped me make my decision to buy this game and I think it's a great representation of what you can expect from it . Now , down to pros and cons . . .
PROS :
- Unique and addictive gameplay ( I loved the system of fusing your Persona cards )
- Likeable characters and touching storylines
- This is a really long game . I spent 100 hours on it but I'm a bit slow so it may
take less time for others , obviously .
- I loved the little touches of modern Japanese culture .
- Quick battle intros
- The card shuffle at the end of some battles where you can win a new Persona ,
money , HP or EXP
- Being able to turn off the voice acting . I prefer to read the dialogue .
- Some may not like this but for once , I enjoyed not having to run my character
around everywhere ( except when you are in the dungeon )
- When you've finished the game , you have the option of playing again and keeping
your money and level ( you don't get to keep your Personas or equipment )
- Since I'm a female , I like playing as one .
CONS :
- Not enough variety with the music . The first time I heard the dorm music , I
started searching the menu for a way to turn it off . It was absurd . After awhile
though , I quit struggling and I eventually found myself sort of dancing along to
it .
- The final boss felt a bit long to me but maybe I should have leveled up more .
- Some of the enemies can do an instant death spell on you . . . I hate instant death .
- I do wish you could go into more places rather than just seeing a pre-rendered
background while they are talking .
- While the enemies are very unique , there's alot of palette-swapping and the
dungeon levels can get pretty redundant .
I'm sure I could find other things to pick at . No game is perfect ( I'm thinking of Sephiroth's two minute summon ) . For me though , the pros completely outweigh the cons . It's been a long time since I've had so much fun playing a game . Who knew that going back to high school would be so entertaining ? This one is going on my all-time favorites list .
035 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I bought this game and was getting really excited waiting for it , And expecting to be disappointed in someway . . . I wasn't . I'm amazed that it didn't disappoint in any area . This is one of the best games I've ever played it has elements of the best and most fun things from other of my favorite games . I'm a big gamer , and my favorite games come out of Bioware . I love watching romances and friendships unfold differently to what you say to people . You can run around with your companions which I was excited about . Having choice in a game is my favorite part in any game . I also love story driven games more than any other type . This is very story driven , but the dungeon grinding is still fun . I've had it for 5 days and have clocked in 50 hours and finally beaten it . Through I did rush . . . If you like Visual Novels and JRPGS you will love this .
PS : Aegis FTW !
PPS : I've started my second play with 11 hours in . . .
036 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I bought this game and was getting really excited waiting for it , And expecting to be disappointed in someway . . . I wasn't . I'm amazed that it didn't disappoint in any area . This is one of the best games I've ever played it has elements of the best and most fun things from other of my favorite games . I'm a big gamer , and my favorite games come out of Bioware . I love watching romances and friendships unfold differently to what you say to people . You can run around with your companions which I was excited about . Having choice in a game is my favorite part in any game . I also love story driven games more than any other type . This is very story driven , but the dungeon grinding is still fun . I've had it for 5 days and have clocked in 50 hours and finally beaten it . Through I did rush . . . If you like Visual Novels and JRPGS you will love this .
PS : Aegis FTW !
PPS : I've started my second play with 11 hours in . . .
037 I bought this game and was getting really excited waiting for it , And expecting to be disappointed in someway . . . I wasn't . I'm amazed that it didn't disappoint in any area . This is one of the best games I've ever played it has elements of the best and most fun things from other of my favorite games . I'm a big gamer , and my favorite games come out of Bioware . I love watching romances and friendships unfold differently to what you say to people . You can run around with your companions which I was excited about . Having choice in a game is my favorite part in any game . I also love story driven games more than any other type . This is very story driven , but the dungeon grinding is still fun . I've had it for 5 days and have clocked in 50 hours and finally beaten it . Through I did rush . . . If you like Visual Novels and JRPGS you will love this .
PS : Aegis FTW !
PPS : I've started my second play with 11 hours in . . .
038 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I've been wanting an Atlus game for a while . I've played a few but this is my first Persona game . Persona 3 Portable is my first and so far I can't seem to put the blasted thing down ! Highly addictive and requires thinking but still fun . Here's the rundown :
You start off with choosing a character . The guy is from the previous while the girl is new , to add on a spin . I find this refreshing because you get to play the old version and then afterwards see the other side from a whole different world . ( I'm still playing on the guy side . I recommend this being that the girl is supposedly harder and requires you to have knowledge of the gameplay . ) You can adjust the difficulty for the guy , a welcoming feature to me being that I was clueless on what to do at the beginning . After that , you're guided into a school setting , make friends , fight enemies , and try to become the person you want to be . The best thing is that there's no right or wrong , there's just what is , and the consequences of what was done .
While the social links are fun , the game really shines when it comes to exploring Tatarus . This is the tower that shows up every midnight . Shadows roam the place and its up to you to take them out and explore more of it . As you get stronger social links , the Persona you create will also . This is a good thing when fusing persona to create new ones ( might take a few tries to get one with the moves you want but you'll have a guide to help explain ) . As you play further , you'll learn more about the tower , fight powerful bosses and find the lost , people who wandered into Tatarus . The more you level , the more persona you are allowed to have . You'll also have quest , weapons , special clothes and items to change the feel of the game , making you never want to put it down . Luckily , there's a portal on a couple of levels , allowing one to head back to the beginning and save so you can explore later in the same spot .
All in all , I had high expectations of this game . Once again , Atlus did not disappoint . They delivered and then some . I didn't see why it was rated M , but after playing for a while , there are some things that can be seen as controversial to the everyday person . At any rate , this game is good and if you own a PSP , I highly advise trying it .
039 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
I've been wanting an Atlus game for a while . I've played a few but this is my first Persona game . Persona 3 Portable is my first and so far I can't seem to put the blasted thing down ! Highly addictive and requires thinking but still fun . Here's the rundown :
You start off with choosing a character . The guy is from the previous while the girl is new , to add on a spin . I find this refreshing because you get to play the old version and then afterwards see the other side from a whole different world . ( I'm still playing on the guy side . I recommend this being that the girl is supposedly harder and requires you to have knowledge of the gameplay . ) You can adjust the difficulty for the guy , a welcoming feature to me being that I was clueless on what to do at the beginning . After that , you're guided into a school setting , make friends , fight enemies , and try to become the person you want to be . The best thing is that there's no right or wrong , there's just what is , and the consequences of what was done .
While the social links are fun , the game really shines when it comes to exploring Tatarus . This is the tower that shows up every midnight . Shadows roam the place and its up to you to take them out and explore more of it . As you get stronger social links , the Persona you create will also . This is a good thing when fusing persona to create new ones ( might take a few tries to get one with the moves you want but you'll have a guide to help explain ) . As you play further , you'll learn more about the tower , fight powerful bosses and find the lost , people who wandered into Tatarus . The more you level , the more persona you are allowed to have . You'll also have quest , weapons , special clothes and items to change the feel of the game , making you never want to put it down . Luckily , there's a portal on a couple of levels , allowing one to head back to the beginning and save so you can explore later in the same spot .
All in all , I had high expectations of this game . Once again , Atlus did not disappoint . They delivered and then some . I didn't see why it was rated M , but after playing for a while , there are some things that can be seen as controversial to the everyday person . At any rate , this game is good and if you own a PSP , I highly advise trying it .
040 I've been wanting an Atlus game for a while . I've played a few but this is my first Persona game . Persona 3 Portable is my first and so far I can't seem to put the blasted thing down ! Highly addictive and requires thinking but still fun . Here's the rundown :
You start off with choosing a character . The guy is from the previous while the girl is new , to add on a spin . I find this refreshing because you get to play the old version and then afterwards see the other side from a whole different world . ( I'm still playing on the guy side . I recommend this being that the girl is supposedly harder and requires you to have knowledge of the gameplay . ) You can adjust the difficulty for the guy , a welcoming feature to me being that I was clueless on what to do at the beginning . After that , you're guided into a school setting , make friends , fight enemies , and try to become the person you want to be . The best thing is that there's no right or wrong , there's just what is , and the consequences of what was done .
While the social links are fun , the game really shines when it comes to exploring Tatarus . This is the tower that shows up every midnight . Shadows roam the place and its up to you to take them out and explore more of it . As you get stronger social links , the Persona you create will also . This is a good thing when fusing persona to create new ones ( might take a few tries to get one with the moves you want but you'll have a guide to help explain ) . As you play further , you'll learn more about the tower , fight powerful bosses and find the lost , people who wandered into Tatarus . The more you level , the more persona you are allowed to have . You'll also have quest , weapons , special clothes and items to change the feel of the game , making you never want to put it down . Luckily , there's a portal on a couple of levels , allowing one to head back to the beginning and save so you can explore later in the same spot .
All in all , I had high expectations of this game . Once again , Atlus did not disappoint . They delivered and then some . I didn't see why it was rated M , but after playing for a while , there are some things that can be seen as controversial to the everyday person . At any rate , this game is good and if you own a PSP , I highly advise trying it .
043 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
SMT games have been some of my favorites ever since I first picked up digital devil saga , the story , the gameplay , and especially the unforgiving difficulty bring back alot of memories of when a game needed more than just amazing graphics and online to be good . One interesting aspect is the social links , think of it kinda like those weird dating sims if you will . Building them up is a fun little diversion from the main game that actually has a BIG effect on how hard or easy your battles will be . If you haven't ever played a shin megami tensei game be warned they are difficult , and by difficult I mean original nintendo hard at times . A battle can instantly turn on you and end with a game over in as little as a single turn if you're not careful . That being said if you love an RPG with a good story and aren't afraid of some difficulty then this game will give you hours of fun , and a little frustration .
044 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
SMT games have been some of my favorites ever since I first picked up digital devil saga , the story , the gameplay , and especially the unforgiving difficulty bring back alot of memories of when a game needed more than just amazing graphics and online to be good . One interesting aspect is the social links , think of it kinda like those weird dating sims if you will . Building them up is a fun little diversion from the main game that actually has a BIG effect on how hard or easy your battles will be . If you haven't ever played a shin megami tensei game be warned they are difficult , and by difficult I mean original nintendo hard at times . A battle can instantly turn on you and end with a game over in as little as a single turn if you're not careful . That being said if you love an RPG with a good story and aren't afraid of some difficulty then this game will give you hours of fun , and a little frustration .
046 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Though a lot of content has been removed from this version of P3 , it has been reduced to a perfectly portable version of the game . The core mechanics of the game remain and now you can play through from an all new female perspective . For fans of the series this is a must . For fans of RPG's in general , there is a lot to be enjoyed here .
047 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Though a lot of content has been removed from this version of P3 , it has been reduced to a perfectly portable version of the game . The core mechanics of the game remain and now you can play through from an all new female perspective . For fans of the series this is a must . For fans of RPG's in general , there is a lot to be enjoyed here .
053 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Atlus has once again created a masterpiece . Persona 3 Portable is fun and challenging . It differs from the Playstation 2 game Persona 3 by you can play as a male or female character . The social aspects of the game change based on your gender . The story goes that there is a 25th hour of the day that only those with potential experience . You have the ability to summon Persona which are other versions of you from different dimensions . Using this ability it's up to you and your friends to investagate the tower of Tartalus and save the world . It's a RPG much like the Final Fantasy series where your persona is what magic would be in Final Fantasy . The persona level up the same as the characters . If you like RPGs , Final Fantasy , or Atlus then you'll love Persona 3 Portable .
055 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
In a simple short review . This game is an interesting , stylish and fun JRPG for the PSP . It is worth every bit of the price and easily has a solid 40 hours of gameplay , with much more then that if you want to get all the items or play through the story as a different gender . It has a few slightly darker tones , dealing with death and nightmares , and is probably best suited for the 13 + crowd .
056 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
In a simple short review . This game is an interesting , stylish and fun JRPG for the PSP . It is worth every bit of the price and easily has a solid 40 hours of gameplay , with much more then that if you want to get all the items or play through the story as a different gender . It has a few slightly darker tones , dealing with death and nightmares , and is probably best suited for the 13 + crowd .
058 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
What else can i say ? ! this game is just 2 good 2 describe in words ! > .
i was skeptical about the game but i ended up buying it anyways . . . AND MAN AM I HAPPY I DID : D
the story is amazing ,
gameplay is very addictive , the characters are well developed . . . in other words this game is near perfect !
plus i've never played an rpg and social simulation game : > it a very nice addition .
So if ur reading this stop wasting ur time and go BUY IT ~ !
YOU WON'T REGRET IT ! : D
060 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Alrigth so i'm a die hard persona fan and went through vannila , fes , and now this.While taking persona on the go is nice only the dungen is in 3d and the rest in a visual novel sort of way and of course grinding on the go is useful it just loses somthing without running thougth the town and seeing your Mc actually interact with your S.links
But the great thing is that all the figths are still intact so thats one great thing .
Oh while i'm at it the guys at atlus decided to give old vetrans ( not real ones i mean played all the games ) a reason to play again a new female Mc route !
While she doesnt actually change the story ( besides one part . * Spoliers * Shinji * End spoliers * ) She does make the charactors say new lines to her . ( Also in the begining of the game there's this funny glitch that makes yukari call her a guy )
And the battle system changed too . ) Looks like they did learn something from 4 ) You can now control all your party members , but the downside is the ingame Ai is as dumb as S * * * .
One more thing is that Atlus decided to take out the anime cutscenes.Not a big deal as you can just see it on youtube but it would have been nice .
All in all this is a great game , but after you finish you should consider getting Persona 3 Fes.You know the last scene hits home if you actually see it.Gotta love Aigis . ( Which includes the answer = Tells what happens after you Close your eyes )
! ! oh almost forgot in p3p you get to meet young yukiko-chan so bonus to persona 4 players.And the ever plesent Kashiwagi-sensi is there to meet you too among other things > .
If you dont get this game you really dont know what your missing ( Also Stay away from ken during the female path )
064 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Awesome game never really played much japenese RPG's before ( except Final Fantasy . Have to say i'm really impressed with this one , I never played it on the Ps2 . Anyway game is like a sim dating game but an rpg at the same time pretty cool story so far . basically i'm really enjoying it .
065 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Awesome game never really played much japenese RPG's before ( except Final Fantasy . Have to say i'm really impressed with this one , I never played it on the Ps2 . Anyway game is like a sim dating game but an rpg at the same time pretty cool story so far . basically i'm really enjoying it .
069 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
To keep it short and sweet . .
I am fairly new to the Persona series , and I gotta say this was one of the best RPG games I have ever played ( I had so much fun playing it ) .
I like how you get to choose between a female and a male protagonist , The different types of Persona summonings , and the school experience . The characters are easily lovable and I can relate to some of them . Hard to talk about without spoiling the game . To keep it short as said , If you love RPGs , angst , and a good long storyline , then this is defiantly a great buy for the PSP .
070 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
To keep it short and sweet . .
I am fairly new to the Persona series , and I gotta say this was one of the best RPG games I have ever played ( I had so much fun playing it ) .
I like how you get to choose between a female and a male protagonist , The different types of Persona summonings , and the school experience . The characters are easily lovable and I can relate to some of them . Hard to talk about without spoiling the game . To keep it short as said , If you love RPGs , angst , and a good long storyline , then this is defiantly a great buy for the PSP .
075 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Well , I've been playing video games since the days of the Commodore 64 and while I like many different genres , I prefer RPGs . And yes , Final Fantasy VII is still my all time favorite . That being said , sometimes that familiar formula of running around on a world map and discovering new towns and talking to every single person there . . . it can get a little stale . So , I was looking for something fresh and unusual . Watching the gameplay walkthrough video for Persona 3 Portable helped me make my decision to buy this game and I think it's a great representation of what you can expect from it . Now , down to pros and cons . . .
PROS :
- Unique and addictive gameplay ( I loved the system of fusing your Persona cards )
- Likeable characters and touching storylines
- This is a really long game . I spent 100 hours on it but I'm a bit slow so it may
take less time for others , obviously .
- I loved the little touches of modern Japanese culture .
- Quick battle intros
- The card shuffle at the end of some battles where you can win a new Persona ,
money , HP or EXP
- Being able to turn off the voice acting . I prefer to read the dialogue .
- Some may not like this but for once , I enjoyed not having to run my character
around everywhere ( except when you are in the dungeon )
- When you've finished the game , you have the option of playing again and keeping
your money and level ( you don't get to keep your Personas or equipment )
- Since I'm a female , I like playing as one .
CONS :
- Not enough variety with the music . The first time I heard the dorm music , I
started searching the menu for a way to turn it off . It was absurd . After awhile
though , I quit struggling and I eventually found myself sort of dancing along to
it .
- The final boss felt a bit long to me but maybe I should have leveled up more .
- Some of the enemies can do an instant death spell on you . . . I hate instant death .
- I do wish you could go into more places rather than just seeing a pre-rendered
background while they are talking .
- While the enemies are very unique , there's alot of palette-swapping and the
dungeon levels can get pretty redundant .
I'm sure I could find other things to pick at . No game is perfect ( I'm thinking of Sephiroth's two minute summon ) . For me though , the pros completely outweigh the cons . It's been a long time since I've had so much fun playing a game . Who knew that going back to high school would be so entertaining ? This one is going on my all-time favorites list .
080 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Love this one , very grounbreaking , buy this one , dont pirate it , is a very good one .
081 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Love this one , very grounbreaking , buy this one , dont pirate it , is a very good one .
083 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
well if you are anything like me than youve sat here and read a few of these reviews so you can get some help deciding on whether or not you want to buy this game . i had already played persona 3 and persona 3 fes before this game so i had no need to read reviews and i just bought it . anyway , most of the other reviews for this game have covered all the basics of the game so i wont go into that here . instead , ill just throw my opinion into the equation and perhaps i can help you decide .
if you own a psp then you probably , like me , are disappointed with the amount of quality rpg games its library has to offer . p3p is THE rpg game to play on the psp . now , pretty much every rpg on the psp is just a remix of a popular ps2 game and this isnt any different in that regard . however , due to the somewhat late release of persona 3 on the ps2 , most of us already had a next gen console and had all but given up on our ps2 , so this may be the first time you really get to try this great game . not only that but i do feel that out of the current rpg games available for the psp this is by far the best one .
now , if you have played the previous versions of persona 3 on the ps2 then keep these things in mind . 1 : the game isnt fundamentally very different . the only real differences would be the click on your destination style movement and the abaility to command each of your party members in battle . the addition of a female protagonist seemed great to me at first until i started playing it . i really dont feel like the female mc changed enough in the game . for example , there are nights when you return to the dorm and you hear junpei tell you hey dude . i know its a small thing but little dialogue issues like that kill the experience of playing through the game as a girl . the female protagonist just seemed like something they threw in , it wasnt as good as the male MC . i did not however let that take away any of the enjoyment of the game , i just wasnt impressed by the female MC .
overall id say that this is a must buy for anyone that has a psp and is looking for a great rpg to play . if youve never tried the persona 3 games for the ps2 you are in for a treat with this game . if you have played the previous incarnations of this game on the ps2 then thsi game is still worth playing for just to be able to control your companions . i really think that helps the gameplay immensely .
085 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Best JRPG i have ever played , just the right amount of difficulty , beautiful character designs , and hands down had the most interesting and freaky creature designs I've ever seen , the story is surprising deep and very well written for an RPG , the characters are likable and well developed , good combination of humor and drama , the battles are fun and many require some thought , and the fact that its also a simulation game made it even more interesting . My only complaints are that the dungeons din't have much variation , a few things are repetitive , and the music was good but there were only several tracks during battles . Overall amazing game , if you like RPG's then this is like crack .
087 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
It's surprising how much they were able to fit into this game . It's basically the entire P3 game - including a separate story for a female lead . The only down side is - the PS2 version is the way you should play this game with it being fully voiced ( this game seems to be voiced at about 95% ) , and it's more interactive than the portable version . Although - if you're always on the go P3P is your best bet - especially if you haven't tried the 2 PS2 versions - you won't miss anything - and you'll immediately fall in love with this game .
088 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
It's surprising how much they were able to fit into this game . It's basically the entire P3 game - including a separate story for a female lead . The only down side is - the PS2 version is the way you should play this game with it being fully voiced ( this game seems to be voiced at about 95% ) , and it's more interactive than the portable version . Although - if you're always on the go P3P is your best bet - especially if you haven't tried the 2 PS2 versions - you won't miss anything - and you'll immediately fall in love with this game .
099 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
Never played any of the games before , pick this one up because I always see them on shelf at the stores and they seem interesting . Now I can't stop playing it and am ignoring my ps3 and wii
103 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
My son is a fan of obscure games . Amazon delivered as promised and above expectations .
104 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
My son is a fan of obscure games . Amazon delivered as promised and above expectations .
106 Amazon Verified Purchase
(
What's this ?
)
This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This game is horrible , I can't even begin to describe how terrible it is . If you are into Final Fantasy and other classic style RPG's this game is not for you , unless you're a Japanimation fan then you are sure to agree this game blows .
107 This review is from :
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 3 Portable ( Video Game )
This game is horrible , I can't even begin to describe how terrible it is . If you are into Final Fantasy and other classic style RPG's this game is not for you , unless you're a Japanimation fan then you are sure to agree this game blows .
