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If watching your characters shoot themselves in the head in Persona 3 sent shivers of delight coursing down your spine, this could be the news of the week for you: Famitsu has posted images and info about the sequel, Persona 4, which is described as being 1.5 times larger than Persona 3. Woo! I guess this isn't that Atlus top secret project we heard about last year, but it's fine news nonetheless. The PS2 title is slated for a July 10th release date in Japan and will feature over 180 Personas for you to obtain as you explore. The game has a suspenseful enviroment and will be set in the country, where fog means a can-kicking is imminent (murders occur when fog descends on the in-game world) and nothing is quite what it seems. The game weighs in at 60-70 play hours and will offer multiple endings for the player to discover. Persona 3 rocked my world from concept to details, but for me the only downfall was the repetition I felt about midway through the game, so I'm interested to see how (or if) this sequel will address that. Regardless, the game was one of the most unique to hit consoles last year, so you can be sure Atlus has more greatness up their sleeves for this one. [Via Akayuki -- thanks Jacob!]
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I just got into Lost Odyssey and feel it is all that JRPG have to offer. Will Persona 3 change my mind about the genre? It just seems so stale right now. I'm enjoying the misplaced adventure but it makes me sad cause I feel like it might be the last JRPG I can enjoy.
I don't care about the platform as long as I get a nice art style and a lot of stuff to do. Variety. Yup.
The PS2 may never die and I'm starting to wonder if it's in Sony's best interest. Recently, there have been more titles released for the PS2 that excite me than the PS3 and that's a big problem from a business standpoint. As long as games like P4 are hitting the PS2, the PS3's biggest selling point for me is upscaling backward compatibility... a feature Sony seems set on eliminating. Regardless, looking forward to this game!
Surf -- check out Persona 3, seriously. It may not be your thing 100%, but it pushes dungeon crawling forward by leaps and bounds.
@Surf
Comparing Lost Odyssey to P3 is like comparing a cold ham sandwich to a New York Strip Steak.
This is rather surprising to me. Atlus usually takes forever to decide on sequels and/or usually lets a series just die out of nowhere. I am very glad to hear about Persona 4.
60-70 hours of your life, gone they will be!
P3 is a good JRPG if you like games that were made way back then for a system that bout 10 years old if not older. P4 not goin to be much different, why not make P4 for xbox and ps3 and kick it up with better graphics and just all round better.
I hope it's a no-brainer that Atlus will bring this over! (Please...)
As long as my PS3 can play it I'll probably get it.
Only game that didn't run from my library so far was SSX3.
Sniff, wheres my SSX4? (On Tour doesn't count in my book)
Why do Japanese developers make games for PS2?
Look at Disgaea 3 and think about their situation. They aren't comfortable with the PS3 to create games that look better than PS2 games. The so called hi-res backgrounds in Disgaea 3 aren't really a good use of PS3 capabilities, its still blocky and low-res compared to many games out there. The sprites bite the dust.
They develop for the PS2 because they are comfortable with the set up. And they don't need to wow people with graphical capabilities or complex physics. In many ways this allows them to create deeper gameplay. (Folklore is a beautiful PS3 game but lacks depth compared to PS2 titles)
I personally hope they jump to PS3, just to get the experience developing on the hardware. It would be a shame for them to start the race when everyone is already running away so far.
Besides some games benefit just by playing the disk on the PS3. Odin Sphere gains slightly better looks, faster load times, and absence of graphical slow downs in certain boss battles. Full of Win. Classic Example etc.
Okay, so Atlus can put Persona 4 out on the PS2, even though it's supposedly 1.5 times larger than Persona 3...but Nippon Ichi says they can't put Disgaea 3 on the PS2 because the sprites supposedly take more time to create?
Not saying I'll never buy a PS3 to play Disgaea 3...because I eventually will...I just didn't know 2-D sprites take more processing power than 3-D characters and surroundings.
FUCKING SWEET WOOHOO.
Ah... Good times!
I absolutely loved Persona3 but I'm a bit disappointed Atlus didn't make the jump to the PS3, 360 or even wii... while the news of P4 is fantastic I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed looking at these screens... it seems a little too much like P3 at the moment....
I guess we'll be waiting another 2 years before we see this in Europe though...
Is it me or does that main character look like Akihiko with bangs?
Persona 3 totally rocks, it was the best RPG of 2007 IMO. This is weird that for P4 they are staying on PS2 seeing that NIS jumped to PS3 with Disgaea 3 even though their sprites are not updated.
@Tragic Hero
Thanks, I'm not big on ham (half jewish) but love me some strip. I'll check it out after I finish the hard to find persisting adventure (my writing class encouraged the use of synonyms), and NMH.
I'm trying this thing where I make myself finish a game before I allow myself to buy another. It's saving me a lot of money.
DO WANT.
I don't care what system it's on, as long as it's fun I'll but it and play it. I actually prefer that they leave it on the PS2, simply BECAUSE they are comfortable developing for the system, which increases the chance that the game will be spectacular like P3 was.
I have to say though, looking at those character designs I am not sure if want. Bowl cut kid just looks freaky as hell to me.
I still need to get P3 FES when it comes out, so I wonder how long it'll take Atlus to bring the game over here.
God, there's so damned many PS2 and GC games I still need to get. Blasted parents going through a divorce during the best game generation. -_-
DEAR GOD YES.
*starts panting heavily*
SQUEEEEEEE!!!
this is like the best news of the day.
awesome. I just hope that they don't simply make the game just like P3 was. that's my biggest concern. P2 was very different from P3; so that's what I want too.
I'm kind of disappointed it's not on PS3 or X360 too. I'm sure it'll still be good though.
Hope they fix the mistakes of the first one.
I can't wait. I got so far in Persona 3 but never actually beat it. Once I get my copy of FES and this semester ends I need to start a new game and play through everything. It's great to see P4 coming out so soon.
I'm glad Atlus decided on the PS2 gamble for Persona 4. Since Atlus are talented, they remind of how Sqaure and Enix once were, making cool games that aren't pretentious, just solid experiences that are unique and well designed.
I think the decision to keep it on PS2 is a smart move, but Atlus should also begin porting the series to Wii and PSP. Persona 3 and 4 would be welcome on 360 too, where there's little rpg competition.
Disgaea is already on PSP and soon to grace DS, so why not back track and also release Persona 1 and 2 on DS and PSP (if they haven't been covered already) too. I'm sure many would love to play them too.
The change to PS2 is probably to keep things cheaper and these rpgs aren't graphic heavy. Disgaea 3 shows that sprites begin to hit their peak in HD. Perhaps Atlus saw this, as well as the high development costs of PS3, and changed their minds. A sensible move. The cheaper the costs, the more different games Atlus can spend money on.
All I need now is Trauma Center 3 on DS with co op play and I'd be in gaming nirvana.
What a relief, for a moment there I thought it was going to the DS.
@Cowboy TTop
That would make Atlus a smaller Square Enix.
Milking a franchise by rereleasing them on handhelds and such.
You are forgetting that Persona is also a Franchise. And Atlus is not changing to PS2, but staying where they feel safe.
I don't think they need to push PS3 hardware, but they need to move onto it for future titles, playing it safe will help them for now, but they won't get a full grasp of the PS3 hardware.
And sprites didn't show their peak in Disgaea 3 either. Thats laziness in NIS's pars. Atlus published a sleeper gem called Odin Sphere, which was a fully sprite based game. It showed that 2d sprites can be pushed much farther than any other 2d game that came before it. It pushed the PS2 to its limits, showing slowdown because the hardware couldn't push as hard as the game wanted. As I wrote earlier, the game runs ultra smooth on the PS3, so much so that I think its proper place would have been as a PS3 title.
If there is a now-gen or whatever port I'd put money on a Wii version. Huge install base, little cost in changing the code. And just think of the public outcry when the game literally demands you put the wiimote to your head and pull the trigger :)
I am pleased by this news.
Is persona 3 a standard JRPG fare? I do like the look of it, but there's no SE version in the UK (I WANT THE DAMN ART BOOK!), or FES for that matter, and i've put off getting it. is it like Digital Devil Saga? I played that for a bit.
That sucks. I kinda hate using my PS2 now. Sony better release a software update for 40GB PS3s.
RitualNet, if you want the Persona Design Works artbook, which is better than the one sold with Persona in the U.S, follow the link below where you can buy a copy. I have it and its a lovely art book.
http://www.otaku.com/cgi-bin/productlist.asp?catsearch=&sdsearch=Persona+3&x=0&y=0
Otaku have other game art books too. Hey Ritual, you a Linn Kurosawa/AvP arcade fan too? You are in good company then.
In reply on Persona 4 to Animat, I'm aware Persona is a franchise too, I wasn't born yesterday, but thirty years ago (with a lot of gaming knowledge and games thanks). Obviously good product brings acclaim and success, but when a developer is small they pay more attention to the fans. Sometimes I feel this is something I feel Square have forgotten over the years.
What I was trying to say, is that Atlus ofcourse will produce their popular titles, nothing wrong with that. But there's a point where overkill is surpassed and I feel Sqaure have long passed that point with the FF series, so much that I kind of tired of the sight of it now (even if the game are hit and miss). Square forget their other ips like Vagrant Story, a time when they had more variety and diversity. In short they should also pay attention to want gamers want sometimes (Crisis Core/PE3 etc withholded.
On the other side, Atlus, Nippon Ichi, Success Corps etc have always been small in comparison, not as well known but still producing good games that many miss out on. It makes me more glad that Persona 3 really shined because of this fact, making many look at Atlus in a different light.
Hey I miss the days of Square vs Enix, when competition drove the creation of some great games. Its just nice to see Atlus raising their game significantly.
Dammit! I'm not gonna be able to beat FES in time this ever comes out!
I still love you Atlus. You set my loins ablaze with your library of games, and insistance of staying on the PS@
despite it's somewhat repetitive gameplay in the latter 1/3 of the game, P3 beat out BioShock for my GOTY last year. last time i sunk 100+ hours into an RPG was Chrono Trigger - and back then i had a lot less games to play. so P3 did SOMETHING right.
very, very excited for P4. don't really mind that it's on the PS2 as that means we'll see it sooner (FFXIII anybody?) and it'll be at a lower price point ($40-50).
only thing that bothers me is that, while i love LOVE the art style of P3 and now P4, it almost looks like a reskin of P3 to me... oh, and there's only 1 cute girl. NEEDS MORE HOTTIES! where's the Yukari and Mitsuru of the countryside?
PSP port, please!
I don't have a PS2, but damn...Either I need to get a backwards compatible PS3 or a PS2 because I've been starting to notice all the games I've missed out on.
Well I would have liked to see this on the PS3 but at least it will save us some money since its a PS2 title
I'm strill trying to get a hold of Persona3 :-(
Persona 3 rocked my face off twice. I'll be picking up FES when it hits, without a doubt.
They announced this QUITE some time ago, but it's still good to know I won't need to be in any hurry to get a PS3.
@mistic Just wait for Persona 3 FES, it's coming out at $30 and has the full original game plus the bonus content released in Japan.
just make the damn thing support P-Scan and widescreen. Persona 3 is damn FUGLY on my new TV.
Persona 3 was nothing more than a breeze of fresh air for the RPG genre, it was quite repetive and reminded me of flash based RPG in terms of depth and complexity. Persona 3 wasn't much of a challenge either. The combat system also wasn't well designed, compared to let say Shin Megami Tensei : Nocturne. Very similar but it had a twist on the critical/weak spot that made the combats either impossible to win or too easy.
In the same genre and world Nocturne is a much more balanced RPG with more depth and complexity and lacks the repetitiveness.
I hope that Persona 4 will address those issues and even if it doesn't I will still pick it up just for the fact that it is an original game but won't make me play for more than what I need to complete it.
Nice...I juz start playin P3 and there r already P4 that are about to be released. I hope I don't have to wait too long for the english version to arrive