Sure, I would have liked it if Atlus had announced Persona 5, but we know that's coming. I'm such a Persona addict that any excuse to replay one of the games in the series is a good enough excuse for me, and the announcement of Persona 3 for PSP works just fine for that purpose. A whole slew of new pictures and video turned up on Famitsu recently, and I thought you fellow Persona addicts might like a look at them.
As you can see from the two videos after the jump, a lot of the look has been tweaked to fit the PSP's limitations. You can also hear some of the new music in these clips, which I like a lot. You can also get a sneak peek at that male attendant in the Velvet Room (yum). Also, voice actress Marina Inoue has been confirmed for the voice of the female protagonist, who you may know from a little role she did as Yoko of Gurren Lagann.
Seriously ... I'm salivating here. Who's with me? Also, can I date Akihiko yet or what?
Will the PSP version also include the The Answer subgame from the PS2 FES? I never played through it but I might finally try it out when I get my grubby hands on this PSP version. The point and click exploration interface is a bit meh for me though. I wish I could still run around the environment and just press square to skip around town a la P4.
Oh and @Colette, who cares about Akihiko, I wanna date Junpei! Though I dunno if it will be possible given the Chidori subplot. Maybe they'll switch roles with Yukari if you choose the female lead?
@stungun: i prefer point and click 'exploration', as i've experienced in Phantasy Star Portable it's actually more efficient, especially in portable gaming format
@stungunmaster -- It will NOT include The Answer. It's based on The Journey portion of FES (per info from the first announcement). And I care about Akihiko!!! :D
This game is awesome and totally worth buying... but totally not a 10.
This seems like it may be a better portable game though... I am much more tolerant to repetitive sequences like going up stairs over and over on a portable than while I'm sitting at home on a console.
@Scary Womanizing Pig Mask: I was desperately looking out for traces of Mass Destruction during the battle scene but alas, it looks like a totally new track. Bah, I wish they just went with a remixed version. Babybabybabybabybabybaby...
Persona 3 is the original release, Persona 3: FES is the second release with a new epilogue titled: The Answer. It's about thirty hours long, it's hard as balls, and it adds to the story of Persona 3. It also featured other little improvements throughout the Journey.
@bluki
FES is basically Persona 3, but better. New Social Links, quests, subplots and Personas, and better balanced gameplay/better organized s-link schedule. There's also an entire new epilogue chapter separate from the main game (levels/items/personas don't carry over) that does what an epilogue is supposed to. Namely, fleshing out the ending and some unresolved character arcs. Also FES' cover is rather snazy ;D
Doesn't anybody just wanna be friends with these guys? Noooo, it's always about the dating. Can't my character just hang out and awkwardly ignore the sexual tension, like in real life?
I'm grinning ear to ear from those lines under Press Any Button. Also, I hope among the extra content is a Social Link where online player Maya's alter ego you-know-who makes good on her promise to make her move on *ahem* her real-life crush.
@KapitanFiggs
Hey, all the narration says is that you and [girl of your choice] "spent the evening together." For all we know, the two of you play Saturn Bomberman!
I'm a bit miffed that they were able to keep the 3D battles for this version of P3 but we're stuck with the 2D battle in the Persona remake. I'm a fan of 2D, don't get me wrong, but comparing the Persona remakes' less-than-stellar sprites and P3P's 3D models and dynamic camerawork I definitely prefer the latter.
Oh boy. I hate myself for this but I'm already nitpicking things. Like the menu based daytime exploration? And no Mass Destruction? How dare they change things! Jokes (partially) aside, it's not like I have to replace the original game or FES with this. So hooray, more Persona 3!
The Answer has no real effect on The Journey at all, especially seeing how Answer takes place after the main story and it gets its own little menu thingy when you load up FES. So it being gone shouldn't have an impact on the story.
@atastysammich: That's one of the few links that they won't have to change at all. But that's only if fem-protagonist makes a male online character...Though "Maya"'s reaction would definitely be priceless, if about the same. XD
Also, do my eyes deceive me, or do I see a couple of new outfits? Minato has a white jacket in one, and it's been a while since I've seen the summer clothes on the girls...
I have FES and I've only beaten The Journey, but I still want to give this a proper spin.
wait, is this gonna be download only? please tell me there is gonna be a umd version >.> I like the go and all, but I prefer having PHYSICAL copies of my game >.>
@atastysammich: She already does in the ending of FES.
@Ben Per Lee: No, the ending isn't going to change because it would ruin the whole point of the story. As well, the original version of P3 had the same ending and there was no Answer section.
@ceark: They already said it was getting a simultaneous release in Japan.
@Doomsday Forte: Uh, where are you seeing Minato in those videos? Everything is done with the female protagonist.
@Stungunmaster: ...really? The visuals in the Persona port are 2D because, uh, they were originally 2D. They didn't change the graphics at all. Just like they didn't change the battle graphics here either.
I'm not surprised that they keep 3D battles but I'm still a bit concerned about the implementation. Basically my style is to make large turns using the camera right stick and then use the left stick to turn only when I get close, so that I always have a view of what's ahead of me. I'm not going to be a happy camper if I keep getting ambushed in Tartarus just because there's no dual sticks on the PSP.
I'm pretty excited about this. I noticed over at the Atlus forums things were kind of split. It's my understanding that you can directly control your whole party (which was my biggest gripe about P3, nothing is more irritating than getting screwed out of an hour of gameplay because your ally's AI is crap). I also don't mind the menu driven day business. I mean, running around is fun and all but you spend a LOT of time hunting down S-Links and I don't really mind seeing that sped up.
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Contest:
8:30 PM on 08.20.2009
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Looks really really good. I'm surprised they haven't put this on portables earlier.
or did they and I'm dumb?
And I absolutely LOVE the new battle music!
Also, from the noises it looks like Ken might be an S.Link, at least for the female lead.
@ Technophile: That was my favorite title screen text ever. I cracked up when I first saw it.
And nope, this is the first time.
Fixed ;3
And I heard it was a cool SRPG.
Oh and @Colette, who cares about Akihiko, I wanna date Junpei! Though I dunno if it will be possible given the Chidori subplot. Maybe they'll switch roles with Yukari if you choose the female lead?
This seems like it may be a better portable game though... I am much more tolerant to repetitive sequences like going up stairs over and over on a portable than while I'm sitting at home on a console.
The more I see of this game and the comments about it, the more I want to scream.
Persona 3 is the original release, Persona 3: FES is the second release with a new epilogue titled: The Answer. It's about thirty hours long, it's hard as balls, and it adds to the story of Persona 3. It also featured other little improvements throughout the Journey.
FES is basically Persona 3, but better. New Social Links, quests, subplots and Personas, and better balanced gameplay/better organized s-link schedule. There's also an entire new epilogue chapter separate from the main game (levels/items/personas don't carry over) that does what an epilogue is supposed to. Namely, fleshing out the ending and some unresolved character arcs. Also FES' cover is rather snazy ;D
@KapitanFiggs
Hey, all the narration says is that you and [girl of your choice] "spent the evening together." For all we know, the two of you play Saturn Bomberman!
Also, if there is no Answer, then what does this mean to the plot of Journey?? Does, um, will things end differently?
Good. I hated The Answer.
@atastysammich: That's one of the few links that they won't have to change at all. But that's only if fem-protagonist makes a male online character...Though "Maya"'s reaction would definitely be priceless, if about the same. XD
Also, do my eyes deceive me, or do I see a couple of new outfits? Minato has a white jacket in one, and it's been a while since I've seen the summer clothes on the girls...
I have FES and I've only beaten The Journey, but I still want to give this a proper spin.
@Ben Per Lee: No, the ending isn't going to change because it would ruin the whole point of the story. As well, the original version of P3 had the same ending and there was no Answer section.
@ceark: They already said it was getting a simultaneous release in Japan.
@Doomsday Forte: Uh, where are you seeing Minato in those videos? Everything is done with the female protagonist.
@Stungunmaster: ...really? The visuals in the Persona port are 2D because, uh, they were originally 2D. They didn't change the graphics at all. Just like they didn't change the battle graphics here either.
screen shot
I'm not surprised that they keep 3D battles but I'm still a bit concerned about the implementation. Basically my style is to make large turns using the camera right stick and then use the left stick to turn only when I get close, so that I always have a view of what's ahead of me. I'm not going to be a happy camper if I keep getting ambushed in Tartarus just because there's no dual sticks on the PSP.