Persona 4 Golden Catch-All

DSGamer wrote:
cyrax wrote:
obirano wrote:

Quit saying awesome things about this game. I'm trying to get myself to finish FF IX first. Though since I'm barely into it, my resolve is weak.

It obviously is, you're in the Persona 4 Golden thread, after all.

Maybe he's waiting to be de-enabled. For someone to post and say it's terrible.

I can handle that. Chie's new voice actress makes Fuuka's look like Orson Welles by comparison, as someone who liked Chie before its really disappointing.

I don't know, Chie's new voice was played to be more energetic and I think it works for the most part. It's not so annoying I've decided to turn it off. Fuuka's character, on the other hand, could've been removed from Persona 3 and I wouldn't have cared much, regardless of voice acting.

I'm glad this is the first time I've seen a minute of Persona 4. Completely fresh to me.

I started on Very Hard, since P3P was too easy even on Hard. I like the VHS fast-forward filter they use when you skip scenes, along with everything already mentioned. I'm eagerly anticipating the game world opening up, but the story in this is already more engaging than it was in P3.

Also, I'm liking Teddie a lot more than I thought I would. He's more sympathetic and less annoying than I expected from P4 Arena.

ahrezmendi wrote:

Also, I'm liking Teddie a lot more than I thought I would. He's more sympathetic and less annoying than I expected from P4 Arena.

Fo sho.

What's the consensus for best difficulty setting for this? I care a lot more about strategy and gear optimization when the game is challenging, but I don't like things to be so hard that it makes me not want to play anymore. Unless its Dark Souls.

I haven't played P4 before either, and I can't think of anything I'd change about this version. It sounds like some people dislike Chie, but I think she's great. The voice performance matches the prancing dervish I see during battles. Also, while I loved the P3 characters, I've become attached to the P4 crew almost immediately; Teddie is awesome. My Vita is now officially my Persona machine.

Having never played a Persona game at all before P3P, then P3 FES, I want to make special note of the vastly improved game mechanics. P3P borrowed the improvements from P4's battle system, but the mechanics around Persona fusion, city life, and even social link progress are great. I'll take a leap in guessing that P4 Golden is the best Persona game available on most fronts, and I'd like to hear what veterans might have to say.

I've also had a realization as a result of this experience. I *like* JRPG's. Years ago, I couldn't stand the thought of playing one. But recently, I've come to really appreciate the game play style - so much so that I've queued up a few games like NIER, various Final Fantasy's, Xenoblade, and Last Story. I doubt I'll make a dent on that little pile any time soon, but it's been a pleasant surprise to realize there's a whole genre I can go back and enjoy that I've never really given a chance.

Warriorpoet897 wrote:

What's the consensus for best difficulty setting for this? I care a lot more about strategy and gear optimization when the game is challenging, but I don't like things to be so hard that it makes me not want to play anymore. Unless its Dark Souls.

You seem to be in the same boat as me. Try it on hard. It's been slightly challenging but not frustrating after 3.5 hours. I based my choice on P3P being easy on normal.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Warriorpoet897 wrote:

What's the consensus for best difficulty setting for this? I care a lot more about strategy and gear optimization when the game is challenging, but I don't like things to be so hard that it makes me not want to play anymore. Unless its Dark Souls.

You seem to be in the same boat as me. Try it on hard. It's been slightly challenging but not frustrating after 3.5 hours. I based my choice on P3P being easy on normal.

I'd suggest going one step further, particularly if you're a P3 veteran. Very Hard so far has been a cake-walk for normal battles, but boss battles require attention, planning, and frequently most of your items too. So far I've only lost 1 battle, and I'm at about the same point as tuffalo. It's definitely not frustrating, but if you aren't smart enemies will focus down one character, so you just have to be very aware of attack patterns and weaknesses. Guard has become something I rely on, where as in P3 I never used it.

ahrezmendi wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Warriorpoet897 wrote:

What's the consensus for best difficulty setting for this? I care a lot more about strategy and gear optimization when the game is challenging, but I don't like things to be so hard that it makes me not want to play anymore. Unless its Dark Souls.

You seem to be in the same boat as me. Try it on hard. It's been slightly challenging but not frustrating after 3.5 hours. I based my choice on P3P being easy on normal.

I'd suggest going one step further, particularly if you're a P3 veteran. Very Hard so far has been a cake-walk for normal battles, but boss battles require attention, planning, and frequently most of your items too. So far I've only lost 1 battle, and I'm at about the same point as tuffalo. It's definitely not frustrating, but if you aren't smart enemies will focus down one character, so you just have to be very aware of attack patterns and weaknesses. Guard has become something I rely on, where as in P3 I never used it.

Ya! Guard is very necessary in P4. I was surprised during the first boss balttle. Took me half the battle to figure that out.

Heh, I guess there's the difference between Hard and Very Hard. It took me half the battle to figure it out too, except that cost me the battle. Thankfully that's a lesson you only have to learn once, and so that was the only battle I've lost so far.

I just ran across some conversation options that I realized won't be available until NG+. This means it's not possible to have a 100% playthrough in P4 like there was in P3, which I really like. In P3 I could never *quite* shake the feeling that if I wasn't using a guide, then I was gimping myself, and to some extent this was true. Not so in P4 though, at least in some respects, so I'm really looking forward to NG+ this time around.

I'm really liking the Voice feature. It gives enough of a hint as to what's available without spoiling anything. It also gives me things to remember for NG+.

NG+? Perhaps you just don't have as much natural courage as I do.

garion333 wrote:

NG+? Perhaps you just don't have as much natural courage as I do.

I'm calling your bluff on this one, there's no way you can have enough Courage at that point in the game the first time through to pick either option. Just to be clear, I'm talking about:

Spoiler:

The two conversation options at school the day after defeating Shadow Chie.

ahrezmendi wrote:
garion333 wrote:

NG+? Perhaps you just don't have as much natural courage as I do.

I'm calling your bluff on this one, there's no way you can have enough Courage at that point in the game the first time through to pick either option. Just to be clear, I'm talking about:

Spoiler:

The two conversation options at school the day after defeating Shadow Chie.

Pfft. I would never bluff about my courage. I was referring to the real me, who traveled into the game through my TV. There's no way in he'll I was kidding. None.

So this game dragged me away from Paper Mario pretty quickly. I was enjoying that game but now I'm hooked.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/IkIbC.jpg)
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/2rJ6k.jpg)

Tangle, I think you just gave me ammo to get a Vita for my wife at some point

garion333 wrote:
ahrezmendi wrote:
garion333 wrote:

NG+? Perhaps you just don't have as much natural courage as I do.

I'm calling your bluff on this one, there's no way you can have enough Courage at that point in the game the first time through to pick either option. Just to be clear, I'm talking about:

Spoiler:

The two conversation options at school the day after defeating Shadow Chie.

Pfft. I would never bluff about my courage. I was referring to the real me, who traveled into the game through my TV. There's no way in he'll I was kidding. None.

Pics or it didn't happen. Also, I want to see you with those snazzy glasses on, 'cause those are the new hotness.

Tanglebones, I also took screenshots of those two lines.

Then I made my wife look. She seems happier with Pokemon.

It's funny seeing you guys so excited about things we discovered years ago

(Yes, I'm only saying that to mask my envy.)

Also notable - screenshotting & emailing screenshots on the Vita is ridiculously easy, and do-able without the game shutting down.

Tanglebones wrote:

Also notable - screenshotting & emailing screenshots on the Vita is ridiculously easy, and do-able without the game shutting down.

That is so cool.

SixteenBlue wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:

Also notable - screenshotting & emailing screenshots on the Vita is ridiculously easy, and do-able without the game shutting down.

That is so cool.

Sweet! I didn't know you could email them now. I used the content manager before which is easy enough but not convenient.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
SixteenBlue wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:

Also notable - screenshotting & emailing screenshots on the Vita is ridiculously easy, and do-able without the game shutting down.

That is so cool.

Sweet! I didn't know you could email them now. I used the content manager before which is easy enough but not convenient.

If you go to the gallery, there's a separate screenshot section. The little ... icon in the lower right has a 'send as email' option.

Awesome, thanks for the tip, Tanglebones!

Minarchist wrote:

It's funny seeing you guys so excited about things we discovered years ago

(Yes, I'm only saying that to mask my envy.)

Yeah, but things are so sexy on the Vita. So much so I kinda wish they'd go back and do P3 on the system, though it doesn't have the same style.

This sure is a Japanese game. I'm enjoying it so far though.

ahrezmendi wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Warriorpoet897 wrote:

What's the consensus for best difficulty setting for this? I care a lot more about strategy and gear optimization when the game is challenging, but I don't like things to be so hard that it makes me not want to play anymore. Unless its Dark Souls.

You seem to be in the same boat as me. Try it on hard. It's been slightly challenging but not frustrating after 3.5 hours. I based my choice on P3P being easy on normal.

I'd suggest going one step further, particularly if you're a P3 veteran. Very Hard so far has been a cake-walk for normal battles, but boss battles require attention, planning, and frequently most of your items too. So far I've only lost 1 battle, and I'm at about the same point as tuffalo. It's definitely not frustrating, but if you aren't smart enemies will focus down one character, so you just have to be very aware of attack patterns and weaknesses. Guard has become something I rely on, where as in P3 I never used it.

I played the first boss and read this post, and I thought, hell, let's try Very Hard. So I started a new game and fast-forwarded up to where I'd been (pretty painless actually). First boss responded to the same tactics that worked on Hard, not a big deal. Okay. Second boss. Jesus! Either I needed to optimize my party before going in or I just didn't find the right tactic. I had to use almost all my recovery items to get through. We'll see how this goes. . . .

grobstein wrote:

I played the first boss and read this post, and I thought, hell, let's try Very Hard. So I started a new game and fast-forwarded up to where I'd been (pretty painless actually). First boss responded to the same tactics that worked on Hard, not a big deal. Okay. Second boss. Jesus! Either I needed to optimize my party before going in or I just didn't find the right tactic. I had to use almost all my recovery items to get through. We'll see how this goes. . . .

I used up all my Medicine, 20 HP items, and 5/6 Revival Beads on the 2nd boss. Granted, a lot of that was due to my own stupid screw up by not Guarding at the right time, but it can be rough on Very Hard.

This may be a stupid question but here goes. If I watch the Persona 4 anime how much of the game is going to be spolied for me?