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Sex_Ferguson posted:So is the gameplay as dull as IS or is it more... Bearable? I guess that's word I want. What did you find "dull" about IS's gameplay, exactly? Battle- and dungeon-wise, Soul Hackers has more in common with old-school SMT than with the early Personas. Two things that spring to mind are semi-indirect control of party members and instant Game Over if the main character dies. If those things bother you, you may want to pass on this one.
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Jul 16, 2012 00:11
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IS's gameplay is very static, the entire "setting up commands" and then clicking "start" for all ofthe action to begin is very tedious compared to everything just happening when you tell them to do it. I know this is because it's the game's way of handling team attacks, but it does not make it any less dull to me. There's also the constant random encounters, dungeons are monotonous, talking to demons (As funny as it can be and it gives the characters a lot of personality too) is also tedious when you're trying to collect cards and really just the entire gathering of personae in general makes me not want to play the game sometimes. I've played a lot of the older MegaTen games and pretty much every one that's been released in the West, but the early Persona games are among some of the most unbearable to play.
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Jul 16, 2012 00:36
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Sex_Ferguson posted:This is gonna be another one of those games I break my "Do not buy it because the gameplay sucks/is dull" vow for. Just like I did when I bought Innocent Sin and when I eventually buy Eternal Punishment. So is the gameplay as dull as IS or is it more... Bearable? I guess that's word I want. The load times are way better than IS's, so while the gameplay isn't particularly exciting you'll probably find it less painful than IS's loading screen before and after ever fight. SH requires a little bit more thought than IS because it isn't just spamming your strongest fusion spells (you don't have free MP regeneration like in IS), but it won't be as dynamic and exciting as what you might want out of a SMT game. You do have to talk with demons, but it's closer to Strange Journey than Persona 2. The 3DS version also mercifully includes a compendium, so you can just rebuy fusion components instead of having to chat up demons again. TurnipFritter fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Jul 16, 2012 |
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Jul 16, 2012 00:41
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Thanks, that has me feeling optimistic about buying the game for mor than story now.
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Jul 16, 2012 00:52
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Hey gus I have a Persona 3 party question. Whats the recommended party to level up? I know Junpei is kinda rear end, and I've been rocking Yukari, Koromaru and Ken for a while in the 4th block. Will Yukari learn Garudyne at all?
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Jul 16, 2012 07:39
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She will. And due to the nature of the main character, you can use pretty much any party you want. The only thing to really make sure of is that you have at least a decent source of everything in the game (Buffs, debuffs, healing, and all the elements including the physical ones) between your party members and your Persona.
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Jul 16, 2012 07:43
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Okay, I've got a stupid newbie Persona question. Is there any connection between any of the games? I have Persona 3 FES in my game catalog (an old roommate left it and I've never played it) and I've heard great things about Persona 4 as well. Is there any connection between any of the games? Is there anything I should know about the games before jumping in? Should I just play Persona 4 and skip 3?
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Jul 16, 2012 08:15
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Mordiceius posted:Okay, I've got a stupid newbie Persona question. Is there any connection between any of the games? Persona 3 is a very good game and you should play it, but no, there are no important connections. Outside of some references and cameos, there's nothing stopping you from skipping 3 if you choose to. That said, Persona 4 is a massive mechanical improvement over 3, so if you intend to play 3 at some point, try to play it first.
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Jul 16, 2012 08:17
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King of Solomon posted:Persona 3 is a very good game and you should play it, but no, there are no important connections. Outside of some references and cameos, there's nothing stopping you from skipping 3 if you choose to. That said, Persona 4 is a massive mechanical improvement over 3, so if you intend to play 3 at some point, try to play it first. So there's no overarching thread connecting all the Shin Megami Tensai games? I've seen some that are like post apocalyptic or something? What's the connection between the Persona games and the Devil Summoner games? Or that Megaten: Imagine MMO? This whole franchise has me confused as gently caress. Is it just that the games are unrelated but take the same meta name because the gameplay/themes are similar?
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Jul 16, 2012 09:04
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Mordiceius posted:So there's no overarching thread connecting all the Shin Megami Tensai games? I've seen some that are like post apocalyptic or something? What's the connection between the Persona games and the Devil Summoner games? Or that Megaten: Imagine MMO? This whole franchise has me confused as gently caress. Is it just that the games are unrelated but take the same meta name because the gameplay/themes are similar? Very, very few of the games are even indirectly tied to one another. Most of the games labeled Shin Megami Tensei outside Japan actually don't have that label in Japan because they're not actually from the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series, they're spinoffs. Persona and Devil Summoner are both spinoffs and completely unconnected from each other outside of the line of demons they utilize. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is the third mainline Shin Megami Tensei game (and also the only mainline SMT game released in a language other than Japanese), where the main character summons demons in a post-apocalyptic world (in Nocturne, the apocalypse is the opening to the game. The apocalypse happens at different points throughout the mainline series.) Nocturne is technically also the most recent released mainline SMT game. I thought Strange Journey was SMT4 until the recent announcement of the actual SMT4 (and I don't think I'm alone), but it's actually another spinoff I guess. Its mechanics are basically the same as the earlier mainline SMT games, though it works off the same engine as the Etrian Odyssey series, which have nothing to do with SMT and are just made by the same people.) Basically the reason they're all labeled Shin Megami Tensei outside of Japan is because they have similar mechanics and the same line of demons throughout the various series (Persona in that series.)
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Jul 16, 2012 09:38
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They also all have stories relating to some form of mythology in some sense. All the ones I've played basically take ancients myths and apply them to the modern day.
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Jul 16, 2012 10:55
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Just think of it as like Final Fantasy or the Tales franchise, just way more spin offs and poo poo instead of "mothership titles". You have a few here and there that have direct sequels (Raidou Kuzunoha) or take place in the same universe (P3 and P4) and so on and so forth.King of Solomon posted:I thought Strange Journey was SMT4 until the recent announcement of the actual SMT4 (and I don't think I'm alone), but it's actually another spinoff I guess. Well that thought wasn't even wrong exactly, because I'm pretty sure Atlus even said that for all intents and purposes it was SMT4, it just wasn't branded with a number. I guess it's kind of the odd one of the group because it's not just another spin off/part of the Megami Ibunroku line, it's considered part of the main line of SMT games just... not a numbered one. v  v
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Jul 16, 2012 12:24
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Something tells me they were waiting to see how it sold before they decided whether it was SMT4. So what's the progress of the new games anyway? There's P4 on Vita, possibly a 3DS SMT game - are they really not going to release P5 on the PS3? The new consoles are right around the corner. They could use the improved P4 engine for that on the Vita but I kind of hoped for a bigger revamp.
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Jul 16, 2012 14:40
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I wouldn't be surprised by a Vita port, but I think there's been some indication that Persona 5 was being developed for the 360 and PS3, like Catherine was. Cheap Diner Coffee fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Jul 16, 2012 |
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Jul 16, 2012 14:47
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Katsudon posted:Well that thought wasn't even wrong exactly, because I'm pretty sure Atlus even said that for all intents and purposes it was SMT4, it just wasn't branded with a number. I guess it's kind of the odd one of the group because it's not just another spin off/part of the Megami Ibunroku line, it's considered part of the main line of SMT games just... not a numbered one. v It's basically a second SMT: if. A part of the main SMT series, just not called SMT (insert number here).
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Jul 16, 2012 14:47
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THE AWESOME GHOST posted:So what's the progress of the new games anyway? There's P4 on Vita, possibly a 3DS SMT game - are they really not going to release P5 on the PS3? The new consoles are right around the corner. New consoles are at least a year and a few months away if they're coming out Winter 2013. Also why would Atlus care about new consoles? Do you not remember which console Persona 4 came out on? They'll probably target whichever consoles are cheapest to develop for, have the largest install bases and let them make the most money. That's probably not going to be the next gen stuff.
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Jul 16, 2012 14:50
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Persona 1&2, SMTif and Devil Summoner are all in the same universe. After Persona 3 it's a little more unclear since direct references, cameos and recurring playable characters were cut down significantly but there are a few ties (Nanjo Group, Featherman, Trish's TV show) but not enough to really say if they rebooted everything or not. What I don't understand is why they couldn't just leave in the Satomi Tadashi as the official Persona item store. 
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Jul 16, 2012 14:53
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thebardyspoon posted:New consoles are at least a year and a few months away if they're coming out Winter 2013. Also why would Atlus care about new consoles? Do you not remember which console Persona 4 came out on? They'll probably target whichever consoles are cheapest to develop for, have the largest install bases and let them make the most money. That's probably not going to be the next gen stuff. Yeah I remember, one of the first things I bought on my shiny new PS3 was Persona 4 And when the PS3 came out PS2 releases started to do worse and worse. Remember how many "The PS2's last great title" proclamations people made about a bunch of games
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Jul 16, 2012 14:53
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PonchAxis posted:Hey gus I have a Persona 3 party question. Whats the recommended party to level up? I know Junpei is kinda rear end, and I've been rocking Yukari, Koromaru and Ken for a while in the 4th block. Will Yukari learn Garudyne at all? Use Akihiko, he's flat out the best party member in the game. Remove Yukari, you don't need 2 all party healers. Only problem is that Ken overlaps with elements, so I guess you could leave her and remove Ken instead, that would give you wind, lightning and fire leaving the MC for Bufu and buffing.
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Jul 16, 2012 16:34
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Ken is probably the lamest Persona character including some of the B teamers from Persona 1 so that's a good reason to kick his rear end to the curb.
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Jul 16, 2012 16:38
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MC/Yukari/Akihiko/Mitsuru is pretty boss, though you must suffer Marin Karin for quite a while. Once you get beyond that hurdle though you can hit just about anything pretty hard.
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Jul 16, 2012 17:09
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thebardyspoon posted:New consoles are at least a year and a few months away if they're coming out Winter 2013. Also why would Atlus care about new consoles? Do you not remember which console Persona 4 came out on? They'll probably target whichever consoles are cheapest to develop for, have the largest install bases and let them make the most money. That's probably not going to be the next gen stuff. Also Persona 3 came out like half a year after the XBox 360 launch and just a few months before the PS3 came out. P5 will be for the PS3/360 regardless of whatever shiny new console Sony and Microsoft have on the market.
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Jul 16, 2012 18:33
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TurnipFritter posted:Also Persona 3 came out like half a year after the XBox 360 launch and just a few months before the PS3 came out. P5 will be for the PS3/360 regardless of whatever shiny new console Sony and Microsoft have on the market. They have a history of releasing stuff late. Persona 2 Innocent Sin on the PSX came out about a year before the PS2 was released in Japan and Eternal Punishment hit a few months AFTER the PSX was replaced. Persona Fun Fact: Innocent Sin was released to coincide with the actual real life Grand Cross (Astrological event that plays heavily into that game's plot) that occurred in August of 1999 which happened at the same time in the game.
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Jul 16, 2012 18:40
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Junpei is useless for the middle of the game but becomes awesome at the end of the game when he learns all of the most powerful physical attacks, since there are plenty of shadows in the top level and the secret end dungeon that are vulnerable to various Physical attacks.
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Jul 17, 2012 03:44
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Not the current topic of conversation at all, but can anyone advise me whether I should stick with Devil Survivor 2 or drop it? I enjoyed the first one pretty well, and I like most of 2, but the bosses are just awful. I feel like there's no way of preparing for their bullshit abilities/conditions without dying three times and slogging through the leadup cutscene again. They're not even demons, they're like... stars or some poo poo. I put it down a few weeks ago on the big spiky ball in the harbor, I hate it. I guess my question is, does it get better or worse?
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Jul 17, 2012 05:23
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ExMortis posted:Not the current topic of conversation at all, but can anyone advise me whether I should stick with Devil Survivor 2 or drop it? I enjoyed the first one pretty well, and I like most of 2, but the bosses are just awful. I feel like there's no way of preparing for their bullshit abilities/conditions without dying three times and slogging through the leadup cutscene again. They're not even demons, they're like... stars or some poo poo. I put it down a few weeks ago on the big spiky ball in the harbor, I hate it. I'd say that after that one, there are two more bosses capable of dishing out the same level of bullshit, one of which is the end boss. Pro tip: the game gets much easier once you have access to Evil Flow, the levelled-up version of the Dragon racial skill. Put a dragon on every team and destroy things from 6 spaces away.
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Jul 17, 2012 05:30
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ExMortis posted:Not the current topic of conversation at all, but can anyone advise me whether I should stick with Devil Survivor 2 or drop it? I enjoyed the first one pretty well, and I like most of 2, but the bosses are just awful. I feel like there's no way of preparing for their bullshit abilities/conditions without dying three times and slogging through the leadup cutscene again. They're not even demons, they're like... stars or some poo poo. I put it down a few weeks ago on the big spiky ball in the harbor, I hate it. It gets better. You're currently at one of the worst bosses in any game ever, and even though there are other bosses that are stupid hard, they're still not THAT awful. It's well worth putting up with it.
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Jul 17, 2012 12:18
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When DS2 originally hit most of this thread was bitching about how needlessly difficult some of the boss fights were, so know that you're not alone! This post was made by someone who owns it but can't be bothered to get past the first day due to disinterest.
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Jul 17, 2012 15:11
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Radish posted:They have a history of releasing stuff late. Persona 2 Innocent Sin on the PSX came out about a year before the PS2 was released in Japan and Eternal Punishment hit a few months AFTER the PSX was replaced. The PS2 was fully back-compatible from the start though, so it didn't matter much in that case.
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Jul 17, 2012 15:35
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ExMortis posted:Not the current topic of conversation at all, but can anyone advise me whether I should stick with Devil Survivor 2 or drop it? I enjoyed the first one pretty well, and I like most of 2, but the bosses are just awful. I feel like there's no way of preparing for their bullshit abilities/conditions without dying three times and slogging through the leadup cutscene again. They're not even demons, they're like... stars or some poo poo. I put it down a few weeks ago on the big spiky ball in the harbor, I hate it. Gets worse, much worse. If its frustrating you this much, just drop it, no game is worth any sizeable amount of frustration.
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Jul 17, 2012 17:08
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Alteisen posted:Gets worse, much worse. This is a very valid point. Depending on which path you takes some of the fights get ridiculous. I had to breakdown and ask for help on one and I very rarely use guides/walkthroughs.
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Jul 17, 2012 17:19
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Actually I think the harbour is the most bullshitty it gets in the category of not knowing what's going to happen in advance. Everything else you will have the OP tools to deal with anything (even the human bosses). The final boss can be kind of a dick but hey, it's the final boss. But yeah if you don't enjoy that sort of thing, I'd just put it down. But if you're enjoying all the rest of the game outside of the bosses, I'd say stick with it.
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Jul 17, 2012 17:33
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The only boss fight that's a dick move is the giant sea mine at the docks. Everything else is perfectly doable first time through as long as you don't cripplingly overspecialize your party.
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Jul 17, 2012 17:35
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Just as long as you're not taking the Anguished One's route, this should be the hardest fight besides the final boss. I recommend going with the Naoyaga team because you have Fumi. Equip her with Ice Dance, a kishin of some sorts, and switch. Then equip Airi with a bird or something so she can go all over the place and Fumi can switch with her. The only problem is the Portals. Take care of those first.
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Jul 17, 2012 17:36
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I wish these games would find a way to make bosses strategic without just having a mid-battle gently caress-you show up that is literally impossible to plan for unless you know it's going to happen in advance.
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Jul 17, 2012 17:46
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Morpheus posted:I wish these games would find a way to make bosses strategic without just having a mid-battle gently caress-you show up that is literally impossible to plan for unless you know it's going to happen in advance. I got my rear end handed to me by theshadow friends. After I was good and exhausted thethird and final formfinished me off.
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Jul 17, 2012 17:50
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The giant sea mine isn't even really hard just way too loving long. As long as you have teleportation/flight to disable the spawning enemies the only real frustration is walking your rear end over every time it moves. That is a large frustration tho'.
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Jul 17, 2012 18:01
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Rascyc posted:Actually I think the harbour is the most bullshitty it gets in the category of not knowing what's going to happen in advance. Everything else you will have the OP tools to deal with anything (even the human bosses). The final boss can be kind of a dick but hey, it's the final boss. Maybe on a 2nd run sure, but the human bosses are the worst and you won't have the OP tools for them till you actually kill them and crack them.
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Jul 17, 2012 18:05
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ImpAtom posted:The giant sea mine isn't even really hard just way too loving long. As long as you have teleportation/flight to disable the spawning enemies the only real frustration is walking your rear end over every time it moves. That is a large frustration tho'. This is especially annoying in subsequent runs when you can oneshot the drat thing. Makes the fight take way longer than it really should.
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Jul 17, 2012 18:06
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Pierce posted:This is a very valid point. Depending on which path you takes some of the fights get ridiculous. I had to breakdown and ask for help on one and I very rarely use guides/walkthroughs. I bought an action replay to soft mod my PS2 and load games on it to reduce load times and stuff. I got the last level of DS2 without too much difficulty then realized to beat it I was under leveled to a significant degree so I just downloaded a save off of gamefaqs or something using the AR and beat it that way. Probably the biggest bet peeve of mine regarding RPGs in general are when you can get through the game fairly easily but then the last half hour ramps up the difficulty and requires grinding since you put your guys together the "wrong" way or used specific characters. ZeusJupitar posted:The PS2 was fully back-compatible from the start though, so it didn't matter much in that case. That's true but sprite based RPGs on an obsolete system specifically one that was a sequel to a clunky rear end dungeon crawl weren't exactly big sellers at least in the US. I'm not sure if the series was that popular in Japan at that point but from what I understand it picked up with Persona 2 (not enough pretty boys in love with each other). Eggplant Squire fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Jul 17, 2012 |
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Jul 17, 2012 18:07
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