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Persona 3 Portable vs. Persona 4 on PS VITA

Cfh123

Member
This is my first post on neogaf in about a decade. I took a hiatus from video games.

With the imminent closing of the eShop, I dusted off my New Nintendo 2DS which I got a couple years ago. It's an excellent system and I find it more comfortable to hold than the Switch. I had a blast playing through Fire Emblem: Echoes Shadows of Valentia, not once but twice. The full voice acting really helped.

On the recent Atlus eShop sale I picked up several Atlus games. I've been playing Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker. I'm on Day 7 and close to finished. Excellent game but I'm ready to move on soon. The SMT family of games are remarkably well done.

I am thinking of starting Persona 3 Portable or Persona 4 on my PS VIta. I got about half way through them around a decade ago. I remember really enjoying them (the characters, not so much the dungeons), but ran out of steam about half way through.

I remember the story of Persona 3 was darker and seemed more interesting. But I understand the gameplay mechanics of Persona 4 are better. I have P3P which means I can control all the party members. I remember liking the cast equally of both Persona games.

Being so impressed with Devil Survivor 2, I'd like to try some other games in the SMT family.

I would add that the PS VITA screen is still very impressive.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
Persona 3 is the best Persona game IMO. Persona 4 is fantastic as well but I liked 3 better personally. Amazing OST and a really dark and menacing tone. Out of all the handheld SMT games my favorites are Strange Journey and SMTIV: apocalypse. If you’ve never tried those I would pick them up before the eshop disappears.
 

AX8

Banned
4/Vita is better
and yeah the dungeons are trash, both games are super low budget, you can play any cheap JRPG including Neptunia and they have similar dungeon designs. Apparently 5 is much better in that regard but I'm fully burned out on Persona after playing 3, 3FES, and 4.
 

Cfh123

Member
On the Atlus sale I got SMT 4 but not SMT 4 Apocalypse. I've heard mixed things about SMT 4 Apocalypse. But maybe I should pick it up before the eShop store closes.

I have been leaning on playing Persona 3 Portable rather than Persona 4. I have fond memories of both but sadly only got half way through both. This was many years ago. I do remember the dungeons were tedious but the visual novel aspects were really good.

Over the past year I started getting into visual novels, so I think I have a better understanding of the visual novel elements of SMT games. Devil Survivor 2 has a strong visual element novel which I understand better now.
 
You've got the right of it - P3P has the better story, P4G has the better gameplay. My main issue with P3P wasn't really the combat, it was the lack of true navigation in the school/town areas. I found that because I wasn't navigating an actual 3D environment I simply couldn't remember where any of the social links were.
 
Persona 3 is one of my favourite games of all time. Its gameplay certainly hasn't aged well at all, but its story, the characters and the writing are incredible! I think it's the only game I've ever played that successfully tackles difficult themes like suicide, guilt, death, and depression without seeming forced and resorting to clichés. It's always worth a playthrough, IMO.

That being said, Persona 4 Golden is also a fantastic game that everyone should try. It just didn't reach the insane heights that Persona 3 did for me.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
With Persona 3 Portable you get to control your party members and you can choose FeMC but my problem with portable version it cuts too much down from PS2 version like most of the anime cutscenes and unable to see your character walking though the environments.

PSP
4784351471_cf342538cc_b.jpg


PS2
10-005.jpeg.jpg


In my opinion, if this your first time playing Persona 3 then play the Persona 3FES on your PS3 from PS2 classic or play it from PS2 if have the system.
 
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Cfh123

Member
I'm ok with having a menu based town environment rather than walking through the environments.

Maybe I'll start with Persona 3, then try SMT IV, then Persona 4.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I'm ok with having a menu based town environment rather than walking through the environments.
If you are fine with that then go with Portable, despite some of the cuts, it adds bunch of QOL to the game.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I, personally, think Persona 4 is the better game. Though I never really liked the new additions made to the Golden version.

Persona 3 portable is also fantastic and the new FeMC and her unique social links add a lot to the game, but the way they had to cut so much of the exploration and navigation for the PSP, it's borderline a visual novel now with dungeons.
 

Doom85

Member
Persona 3 is excellent, but 4 is in my top 10 games of all time. Just top tier cast, gameplay, music, that shit slaps on an unreal level.
 

drganon

Member
Having played and beat both on my pstv, I'd probably recommend p4g if I had to choose one over the other, but I still really enjoyed p3p.
 

Aurelius

Member
Loved Persona 4 on the Vita, but never managed to get into P3P. Like other people said, not being able to walk freely around the environments makes the game loose a lot of its charme. But there is a remaster coming out I believe, so hopefully that will be fixed.
 
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Ozzie666

Member
I can only tell you about my experiences. I tried multiple times to play PS3 portable on the PSP/Vita. Even with all the improvements, I always kind of lost interest at some point. Years later, I hooked up my PS3 and purchased the proper original version. I played that until the end, finally. It was such a better experience. Now part of that may be because my first Persona game, was 4 on the Vita. So I am unsure if I had played PS3 on PSP first, if my experience would have been different.

Either way, I really enjoyed Persona 4 on Vita and the entire package. I really felt sad at the conclusion, I felt like I had lost some friends. However, I do have appreciation for Persona 3's story and characters, and the tonal difference. Both great experiences, but overall, I still find the cast of Persona 4 - more enjoyable.

Stripped down PS3 at the cost of the loss of immersion from walking around, wasn't worth it. I never had trouble with the AI making dumb mistakes, well maybe once. But it wasn't an issue.
 

Chukhopops

Member
I love both but I think P4G is slightly better. It has more dungeon variety (compared to Tartarus), better soundtrack, better characters and a more interesting story. The only thing that really sucks is Marie but the rest of the additions is better.

P3P has better social links, it’s more challenging and I prefer its darker, more hopeless mood.

Overall P4G wins in my opinion.
 

Shifty1897

Member
If the dungeons are a low point for you, go for 4 instead of 3. 4's story does get darker as you play, and the true ending to Golden is so worth it.

Also welcome back to gaming, I also really enjoyed Shadows of Valentia!
 
I suppose it depends where you started really. The removal of the exploration for P3P over the original P3 release won't really bother you if you've played previous SMT games given its similar to the menu based exploration they employ - it never bothered me as the 3D exploration on PS2 just has you running around small linear environments anyway. Personally prefer 3 as it straddles the line between being an SMT title and what was to come from Persona pretty well, Persona 4's happy-go-lucky tone sorta grated on me so have yet to even finish a second playthrough
 

MudoSkills

Volcano High Alumnus (Cum Laude)
I'd start with P3P, mainly because it would be harder to go back to after playing P4G.
 

KiteGr

Member
I would rather play P3fes over P3P.
P3P has a lot of fixes over the original, but they pretty much removed all the graphics.
 
Persona 3 Portable is the perfect starting point for the series.

Ideally there would be a better version of the game for the Vita but I would still rather play is on the Vita than on a TV. I would've played Persona 5 on a portable console if that was an option.
 
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Vandole

Member
go with Persona 4 Golden for now. I know it's stupid to wait for something that's not announced, but I would hold off just a little bit longer on any version of Persona 3, in hopes that a definitive edition will be announced soon.

If you've just returned to gaming after a hiatus, you might not be aware that Atlus is celebrating personas 25th anniversary with announcements regarding the franchise all year long. We're about halfway through it, and so far all of the announcements have been duds, but I still have hope that something big will be announced as we get closer to the end. And a Persona 3 remaster seems to be and obvious choice.

Anyway, you won't go wrong with either version, but given the length of the games, I'd wait just a little bit longer before making a move on Persona 3 just to see if Atlus finally takes the best of P3P and FES and finally puts them all in one game.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
I didn't play P3, but Persona 4 Golden on Vita was incredible. The story, the setting, the cast, really missed them after the game was finished - to the extent that I watched the anime and played the rhythm game. I vastly preferred it to the gang in P5.
 

Cfh123

Member
Ok I think I'll wait for a remaster of P3. I have a feeling there will be one at some point. Thanks for the input everyone!
 
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