The Persona 3 Thread

Oh man, Operation Babe Hunt. Forgot about that one. Classic. I love how they just add that little question mark to the end of the person's name in the chat window.

I tried once but still haven't un-reversed Chariot, and I'm sitting at the night before sports training for the competition starts...so that could be interesting. I doubt I'll get the actual dialogue to right it during the week, so it'll be a giant waste. Oh, well.

Stele wrote:

But I've already maxed the Hermit/Maya, so my Sundays didn't go to waste.

You probably already know this, but there is a second Sunday SL that opens up. It requires that you

Spoiler:

get to rank 3 with Maiko, the little girl at the shrine, then the SL is there every Sunday.

Yep I have the next Sun SL.

I screwed up somehow and reversed Chihiro... I think she's just trouble. Maybe that's why the SL guide recommended doing her first and getting it over with? Oh well.

I'm deep into the next sector of Tartarus, leveling and fusing new Personas, so I'm probably not going to erase an hour or more of grinding and go back to fix it. Hopefully I can work it out the next week. Figure I might as well max Fuuka since I'm on Rank 9, and then worry about it.

I think Chihiro's just tough because she gets jealous at such an early rank. The others are mostly like 6-7, right? She's, what, four? Irritating.

Got caught in Tartarus last night and lost 2 levels and a whole ton of progress. Right when I'd filled up my extra stock of persona and realized I needed to go fuse and had several weapon cards and other stuff too. Told myself I would just beat that one enemy and take the teleport back. And that one enemy was one of the tanks that had been the previous section boss. I had already fought 2-3 of them but I guess never had them attack the MC. I had watched them 1-shot Mitsuru a couple of times and so I even had a thought at the start of the battle... "I'm so close, maybe I should just run and not risk it." But of course I didn't. And when it hit me, it didn't kill me, but it got a crit and knocked me down... and then killed me.

I was still 4 floors away from the next boss level but knew things were getting tough. Oh well. Went right back in and then died on the first floor of new enemies. Something put a panic on me, and the next thing critted me before I had a chance to take a turn. Called it a night.

Took things much more slowly this morning. Fooled around with the previous section for a bit. Every time I leveled I warped back. Still haven't finished that final section that I need to finish in about 10 days of game time, but it should be a bit easier now. I think I got most of the progress I lost last night back, but it's still annoying to think where I could have been...

I get a little bored with these long Tartarus sessions. Don't think I'll be playing the Answer when I finish the Journey.

So yeah the Wheel of Fortune boss sucked...

Anyway, moving on. The fusion web site I linked before was wrong. Or at least, it didn't specify that maybe when using 3-way-fusion one of the persona specifically has to be the highest level? Or maybe it did and I didn't catch it?

Anyway, I found this other tool. Igor's Index. It works for P3, FES, P3P, and P4. Has some nice search functions, and is very clear about what can fuse with what. Also has the full info on what spells a Persona will learn and at what levels. Really useful for a lot of things. Java, seems to run well. Initial fusion search is a bit slow on my system... but, still quite usable. Maybe not as portable and easy as that site was to pull up on my phone while I played, but this seems a little more accurate and definitely has a lot of other useful functions. Check it out.

Once you start fusing things in the 40s and up, there are apparently upwards of 8k combinations to fuse a persona. So that website organizes things in an 80 page list or so, which is pretty cumbersome to search through. Igor's allows you to filter by names or levels. You could find all the possible fusions with 1 persona you already have in your list in just a few seconds. Seems like it will be much more helpful the deeper I get.

Made it into Oct last night. Finished the block of Tartarus in one very long run. Heading towards what my team all seems to agree is the last boss, but I'm quite sure something else is going to happen.

For one thing I aced my finals and haven't got my reward from Mitsuru yet.

And speaking of relationships, I was able to fix the reversed Chihiro with just one talk. And now I have her up to rank 9. Not sure if I will be able to max her before the next full moon. I think I was 3-4 days away when I quit last night but she won't be available on Mon. I also have Yukari up to 5, so I probably can't talk to her again until I max Chihiro. Walking a very fine line here.

Finished up the Girl at the Shrine link during the week before finals. Such a nice ending. Seems like all of the SLs so far have been really entertaining, especially the final scenes.

Hadn't posted in a few days, but made it to Jan over the weekend. Past the big choice that apparently determines game endings?

Also now that I feel pretty sure of how many days are left, I realize I am not going to max all the SLs. I guess it makes sense since I didn't really follow the guide. But I sure thought I was still going to have a chance. I maxed two on my first two days back to school after break. But I still have Mitsuri (Empress) at 4, Kesuike (Fortune) at 6, and of course the Aeon link that just opened. Pretty sure there are not enough days left to max them all. I guess Kesuike is getting left out. But it's a bit annoying to come so close...

If there are 20 days left... and I need 10, 6, and 4 at minimum... and some aren't available on certain days... yeah it's pretty much impossible. I could use the shrine to boost on days no one is available but then I still have to do a hang out to rank up... so there go my days.

I think one thing that I could have done was date the girls in recommended order. Chihiro getting jealous so easily really means I should have got her out of the way first. Still it feels like I did a good job of rotating and doing something with everyone every day. And I certainly only did non-school contacts on non-school days. But it just seems I missed something. Maybe it was the times I ended up using "spend time" with people and I should have scheduled them for a Sun date instead? But I can't exactly set up the dates, they call me. Or maybe it was the couple days I wasted going to the movies to boost stats? I could have been hanging out with non-school contacts and then I could have used the shrine on other non-school days to boost? I can definitely see it being easier on NG+.

I hear ya. My "don't follow the book at all" attempt to max everything in one run appears that it will be juuuuust barely thwarted, maxing everything except for Emperor which will hang tantalizingly close at 8 or 9. Too many holidays and booked afternoons in January.

The frustrating thing is that I could have done it, if (a) I had known about the Sunday cancellation so that Chariot didn't reverse on me and (b) the student council wasn't inexplicably unavailable for a week even though all other school links were, at a time when I had planned on meeting with him all week.

Ah, well. Still an awesome game.

Yeah same thing with student council. It was like since Mitsuru wasn't feeling well, there was no student council, even though Mitsuru wasn't in any of the last 2-3 student council scenes!

So I just got it maxed in Dec, but left the Fortune (Music Club for me) behind somehow. Probably it was on the same days as Chihiro or something, where if I had done her earlier I could have done Fortune a little more in the summer term? Maybe...

I seem to understand it so well, and yet there are parts that don't make sense. I think if I had a 100% accurate chart of what days people were available I could plan it myself and be happy. But this "available M, W, F, except on this date, that date, and the other date" really mucks up my efforts to do it myself.

And also there were about 4 Sundays where no one called me for a hang out or date. Even though I was at a 7 or 8 dating Yukari. And so instead I did the Star athlete link since it was available. But then I finished it a day or two before school was back in session, and didn't have anyone else to hang out with, nor anyone else to use the shrine on, since my two 9s dinged immediately when school started, and there's no point in using a shrine on the rank 4 SLs...

Of course the other part is the varying points between ranks. For Star, I had to do a "spend time" with both rank 4-5 or 5-6. But then rank 7 and 8 advanced on the first meeting both times. You'd think rank 8-10 would be the ones that would need 2 events, or a date+event or shrine+event. But it's so inconsistent.

Stele wrote:

But it's so inconsistent.

Kinda like making friends in real life, eh?

I've gotten up to the final boss fight - I'm so grateful that I'm playing on a handheld, because I got the boss down to about 60% health, and fell asleep. I'll be able to resume tonight and hopefully beat him - something that would not fly with a console based version

I ended up missing out on quite a lot of the social links, doing the game without an FAQ. I'm not too concerned, though - I'm definitely giving it an NG+, which should remove any serious time constraints. I think I'll take Clock's advice and go with the female protagonist for the NG+, since it appears that all the goodies carry over for her as well.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Stele wrote:

But it's so inconsistent.

Kinda like making friends in real life, eh?

I don't need your silly realism in a game where I get to hook up with the 5 hottest chicks in school back to back to back.

Tanglebones wrote:

I ended up missing out on quite a lot of the social links, doing the game without an FAQ. I'm not too concerned, though - I'm definitely giving it an NG+, which should remove any serious time constraints. I think I'll take Clock's advice and go with the female protagonist for the NG+, since it appears that all the goodies carry over for her as well.

Trust me, if it's the same as FES, it's still crazy hard. I mean, I'm going to be a day or two short, even after having all stats maxed from the get-go.

Tanglebones wrote:

I've gotten up to the final boss fight - I'm so grateful that I'm playing on a handheld, because I got the boss down to about 60% health, and fell asleep. I'll be able to resume tonight and hopefully beat him - something that would not fly with a console based version :)

I'm hoping that armageddon will put it out altogether. It's worth a shot. It worked for the Reaper.

I really like this game, but man, do I get bummed when my new party members are a robot and a super-powered dog. It kinda makes the game feel a bit silly.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I really like this game, but man, do I get bummed when my new party members are a robot and a super-powered dog. It kinda makes the game feel a bit silly.

I feel like the 10-year-old boy character may be sillier. But in the game, the heroes are powerful because of something to do with emotional struggle and strength, so that even a lazy kid like Junpei can be a badass. So it seems poignant and true to me that a humanoid robot and a Hachiko-like dog can also have that power.

And downed. That was a surprisingly moving experience; going to jump back in my NG+ now.

@Clock - Aigis ends up being one of the strongest characters in the story by the end. I'm kinda with you on the dog.. then again, looking at Teddie in 4..

I don't care if the dog makes sense. He's probably the 2nd best damage dealer behind MC, and I want him on my team wreaking havoc.

It's not like you have a SL with him.

Tanglebones wrote:

And downed. That was a surprisingly moving experience; going to jump back in my NG+ now.

@Clock - Aigis ends up being one of the strongest characters in the story by the end. I'm kinda with you on the dog.. then again, looking at Teddie in 4.. :)

Teddie has one of the best stories in P4.

Stele wrote:

I don't care if the dog makes sense. He's probably the 2nd best damage dealer behind MC, and I want him on my team wreaking havoc.

It's not like you have a SL with him. ;)

Unless you're a girl in P3P. I think he's Strength?

Tanglebones wrote:

And downed. That was a surprisingly moving experience; going to jump back in my NG+ now.

No spoilers, but if you're really attentive to the underlying themes of the game and the MC's interaction with the world, the ending is one of the best ever put in a game.

Also, Aigis is totes awesome, and a very integral part of the story.

Koromaru not so much, though. Although I liked him more this time, since I knocked the night SLs out of the way before I got him and therefore took him out for a walk every single time it was possible. Got to know him a bit better through that. Not sure how he'd work as a link, though.

Minarchist wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:

And downed. That was a surprisingly moving experience; going to jump back in my NG+ now.

No spoilers, but if you're really attentive to the underlying themes of the game and the MC's interaction with the world, the ending is one of the best ever put in a game.

Also, Aigis is totes awesome, and a very integral part of the story.

Koromaru not so much, though. Although I liked him more this time, since I knocked the night SLs out of the way before I got him and therefore took him out for a walk every single time it was possible. Got to know him a bit better through that. Not sure how he'd work as a link, though. :neutral:

I'll let you know, re: Koro-chan. I've just started my NG+ as the female protag (Tangla Bones) - the UI is aggressively pink, now.

Yeah I didn't realize just how many evenings I would have free once my stats were maxed. I finished the night links when I should have been taking Koro for his first few walks. Because later I ended up just going to bed early on nights he didn't want to walk and there was nothing else for me to do.

I didn't expect this at all and it was a nice surprise. Unique to P3P, possibly even specifically to a female playthrough:

Spoiler:

The sports tournament that happens around August takes place in the main town for Persona 4. I didn't recognize it at first, but when they started talking about the rural town with the hot springs, I realized they might be the same place. But then you meet Yukiko looking a few years younger than she does in Persona 4. Really charming little cross-over.

Oh ha, I didn't get that because I haven't played P4 yet, but that's a nice touch. Makes me even more excited for P4 Golden now.

IMAGE(http://bit.ly/rp1rSV)

So my "choose your own path" attempt at maxing all social links in one play and finally finishing my Compendium with Orpheus Telos ends up one day short.

One.

Day.

I am not particularly happy about this, especially when I realize that several things could have avoided this:

  • If I had known about Sunday cancellation reversals to avoid them
  • Barring that, if I had handled the reversal correctly (plenty of time to fix it praying at the shrine over Christmas break)
  • If I had known the Emperor link would suddenly disappear for a week while all other school friends were accessible
  • If I had worked on Star before Hanged Man and/or Moon, both of which are available all during winter break while Star isn't

If I had known any one of these four things...a single one of them...I would have made it. As it is...well.

Don't make the same mistakes I did! Learn from your elders!

Stele wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
Stele wrote:

But it's so inconsistent.

Kinda like making friends in real life, eh?

I don't need your silly realism in a game where I get to hook up with the 5 hottest chicks in school back to back to back. ;)

Wait, you mean this doesn't happen for you in real life, too?

Ugh, between vacation and a work conference the past two weeks, my progress with P3P has definitely been nonexistent. I *JUST* got Fuuka and I believe joined a Culture club. Got some catching up to do! Although I will say that I'm in a nice groove of S.Linking, training, fusing, and quest completing to the point where I'm no longer feeling completely lost about what I should be doing. Makes it a lot easier to get through the game without constantly having to check through menus to remember who is available when and what persona I should have.

"You're so full of sh*t! I'm not gonna die just so you can have a friggin' nightlight!"

I heart you, Junpei.

Minarchist wrote:

Don't make the same mistakes I did! Learn from your elders!

Or just take it easy and enjoy the game like the rest of us :). There's always the second playthrough!

CptDomano wrote:

I *JUST* got Fuuka and I believe joined a Culture club.

Just remember, you gotta be a Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chameleon if you're going to win the game.

imbiginjapan wrote:
CptDomano wrote:

I *JUST* got Fuuka and I believe joined a Culture club.

Just remember, you gotta be a Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chameleon if you're going to win the game.

LOL! Perfect!

Ugh. Natural Dancer. Stupid Sexy Dance.