[PS2] Shin Megami Tensei Series/Persona 3

I'm more of a fan of the old Shin Megami Tensei games (1, 2, if...), but never been too "in" to the spin-offs (other than the awesome Majin Tensei 2: Spiral Nemesis). Shin Megami Tensei 3 didn't have the same "feel" as the previous games, although, I do welcome the removal of the Magnetite -- I absolutely could not stand the MAG system. I believe they also got rid of INT (did they?), which was a welcome change.

Digital Devil Saga felt like a failed attempt at mixing Persona's focus on characters with Shin Megami Tensei's "heavy gameplay". Unfortunately, DDS suffered from un-likeable characters.

I enjoyed Persona 2: Innocent Sin, but didn't really like Eternal Punishment. The first Persona feels far too "archaic" at this point -- basically, the horrible "world" map coupled with the awful localization makes it hard to enjoy.

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Originally Posted by Enkidu

They don't have any connections to the other games, so background isn't necessary.

Shin Megami Tensei 3 has some connection to previous games, specifically, cameos and the like -- you get a better experience if you notice some of the things that are mentioned in the game. I would suggest just emulating the first two Shin Megami Tensei games before playing the third one -- just because if you don't and just skip to 3 you'll probably have a harder time playing the originals should you ever choose to do so. I've always found the first SMT to be the best of any Megami Tensei games, though, it's dated it isn't nearly as obnoxious to play as the first Persona (which is ironic because SMT1 is about 5 years older than Persona 1). It's also nice to know what Lucifer was like in the previous games and to get a better overall grasp on what he's like.

Originally Posted by Enkidu

The best Persona game is the second one

I thought you said you never got far in Persona 2 (which Persona 2?). So... How can you make that decision? I've played them both, and I've found Innocent Sin is far superior to Eternal Punishment. EP makes some gameplay changes, but Innocent Sin had the better characters and story. Unfortunately, if you don't know Japanese you'd probably have to have a Translation guide assist you. Still, don't be lead to believe that EP is better.

Originally Posted by Enkidu

I don't really understand how people couldn't like DDS2.

I've already explained why and I see no reason to explain again. Shitty characters pretty much ruined it. Heat, Bat and Jinana were all I could stand.

By the way, Argilla is perhaps the most annoying character ever in an Atlus game. Seems the only reason she was added was to make the game less of a sausage fest. That, and the scenes in DDS2 where she

Spoiler:

shot Heat

pissed me off even more.

Originally Posted by Enkidu

The first persona game isn't really that special, so it might turn you away from the entire series if you start with that.

Uh, it's fine, if you can handle the horrible worldmap and mediocre localization. Doesn't mean it isn't "really that special", it just takes a different kind of patience to play.

Originally Posted by OZZcln

Though my favorite thing about nocturne was the simple fact that just about every enemy you could recruit. Though Dante was just a simple cash in it seemed to me.

Agreed. He's actually pretty goddamn useless near the end especially since you can't get rid of him. At that point in the game, you've got far better options than Dante. They might as well have just added Samanosuke, as well. Makes about as much sense as adding Dante.

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Originally Posted by Enkidu

I agree with you on Jinana, Bat and Argilla (although I loved her voice), but I personally liked Heat. The "real" Argilla is pretty lame, and easy to manipulate, but the other one isn't that bad. I also like to look at the characters that made the game great, like Angel, Gale or Cuvier. Welll, opinions difer, and I'm not such a big fanboy that I'll go into a pointless discussion.

Heat is underrated. Everyone seems to like Gale, Cielo or Argilla the most, though, I can't see why. Heat was the most interesting -- though, I think he had the most stupid looking demon form in Embryon. Serph, Cielo, Gale, Roald and Argilla all had awesome looking demon forms (I especially liked Serph, Cielo, Roald and Gale's), but Agni was ridiculous looking -- I think Kaneko even put the butter on Agni, hah.

I liked Bat because he reminded me of Sudou from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (especially his voice).

Jenna Angel was cool, and then I found out she

Spoiler:

had a dick.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.