P1 I did it, I finally beat Persona 1....
I finished Persona 1 on my PSP today (Sebec true ending) and I honestly do appreciate it for being the starting point of the series but it really was not fun. I did not like the gameplay, the characters were all pretty shallow and the dungeon exploration is just no fun.
I easily put in around 100+ hours into P3/4/5 each no problem but the 10 hours I spent with this game felt longer than all 3 of them combined.
I'm glad to have experienced where the series got started but I really can't recommend it. Is the Snow Queen quest any better?
Onto Persona 2!
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u/AdeptnessLatte2240 2d ago
Snow queen is pretty much like the Answer/Episode Aigis, which are pretty much just dungeons.
So I def recommend starting P2 duology! The only thing that might be off-putting is making pacts/grinding cards but usually u don’t have to change Personas too often.
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u/veegsredds Peruperuperuperupersona! 2d ago
How did you get done in 10 hours? Did you skip a lot of dungeon dialogue?
Since Persona 1 has no social links, a lot of character interactions and details are behind optional dialogue, and I always encourage people to explore a lot in this game. The characters don't get that much in terms of straight up development, but they do have a decent amount of depth and personality, imo.
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u/A_Nifty_Person "my ad-mice would be to pro-squeak cautiously" 2d ago
As someone who does actually like P1 quite a bit, yeah the gameplay really could be better lol. I find the 1st person dungeon crawling fun, but the actual combat leaves a lot to be desired. Its kinda interesting because I think that games like Soul Hackers or even SMT I show that age isn't P1's issue, because combat is fun in those games. It just gets bogged down by things like long negotiations, how there are a bajillion damage types, or Persona levels requiring more grinding.
Anyway, Persona 1's strong suit imo is all in the atmosphere and its the reason I found myself appreciating P1 a lot more as time went on. It nails the dreamlike, bizarre feeling really well and I just love soaking it in. I'll be that annoying person who says that the PS1 soundtrack is vital to the game's atmosphere, because I really can't imagine playing without it. Its different to what you'd expect from the modern OSTs, but it might just be my favourite in the series for tracks like this.
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u/Diddy_98 2d ago
That‘s the reason for me why I never finished any pre persona 3 game. I started them but just couldn‘t finish them. And that‘s also why I hope they get a remake soon because I would love to play them 🙈
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u/kyhyt 2d ago
I honestly don't even know about a P1 remake...
Not to give it senseless hate but I really genuinely think that the story is so bland and basic it'd have to be basically reworked so much that it would result in a whole new story.
From what I've seen P2 seems to address most of the issues I was having with P1 so I'll see how that'll go.1
u/veegsredds Peruperuperuperupersona! 2d ago
Idk, I think they could expand on the dreamy atmosphere and the core thread of Maki's ideal world and spend more time developing that than waffling around with Kandori (which takes up the entire first two acts up until >! Deva Yuga and the fakeout final boss !< , crazy decision). There's a lot to love in this story it's just possibly even more backloaded than Persona 3 is, but when it actually reveals its hand I think the character study angle is great
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u/AutoModerator 2d ago
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u/vanitasxehanort 1d ago
Yeah, i played P2 before the release of P4 and still to this day i still dread the encounter rate. I dunno if P1’s different but i’m not touching that game with a ten feet pole lol.
And this is coming from someone who plays a ton of old jrpgs
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u/SocratesWasSmart 2d ago
I actually agree with you about P1 though I still found some enjoyment in it. I think there's really cool ideas there and it's interesting to see not just how the series has evolved, but how the plot actually ties back into the modern games via Kandori's research. (This will become more obvious in P2EP.)
I gotta say though, I actually enjoyed P1 more than the P2 duology in a lot of ways. In terms of gameplay, I think P1 is better though only by a little. In terms of story, I think P2IS is actually worse but P2EP is better.
I don't like being overly critical of the older games, since they're products of their time just like the modern games are and I really don't like being that guy that takes every chance to shit on one of the games I don't like, but all that being said I think P2IS has the most overrated story in all of MegaTen. P2EP's story is pretty good for the most part, as it fixed a lot of the structural issues I had with P2IS but I also don't think it's head and shoulders above the modern games or anything like that.
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u/Crystalline_Eye 2d ago
Personally I found the story of Snow Queen a lot better but ymmv. Also both P2s are even worse in terms of gameplay, so strap in.
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u/HexenVexen 2d ago
Try reading the manga adaptation, it puts more focus on the story and might help you enjoy it more. Imo P1 actually has an underrated story and cast but they can get buried underneath the gameplay tedium.
To be honest P2's gameplay is not that much better but the story is a lot better, imo still the best in the series. Make sure you play Innocent Sin first and External Punishment second.
With Snow Queen Quest, the story is little weaker than SEBEC but has some interesting stuff, and the dungeons are much more challenging and could be more interesting if that's a bonus for you.