Support NeoGAF

[CaptainGyro]

I have never played any SMT games , but I bought Persona 3 last week from the playstation store. However , Nocturne is the SMT game that I always wanted to try, but it's not on available on psn, so I had to settle for Persona 3. To be honest, I wouldn't find the purchase of Persona 3 appealing at all ( every video I see seems to be mostly filled with the high school life part of the game, which doesn't do much for me) if I hadn't already known it was part of the same series as Nocturne

Anyways, my question to anybody who knows, is how does Persona 3 compare?

 

[cj_iwakura]

I have never played any SMT games , but I bought Persona 3 last week from the playstation store. However , Nocturne is the SMT game that I always wanted to try, but it's not on available on psn, so I had to settle for Persona 3. To be honest, I wouldn't find the purchase of Persona 3 appealing at all ( every video I see seems to be mostly filled with the high school life part of the game, which doesn't do much for me) if I hadn't already known it was part of the same series as Nocturne

Anyways, my question to anybody who knows, is how does Persona 3 compare?

Night and day. Both great games, but it's like comparing Sakura Wars to Shadow Hearts.

 

[BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO]

I have never played any SMT games , but I bought Persona 3 last week from the playstation store. However , Nocturne is the SMT game that I always wanted to try, but it's not on available on psn, so I had to settle for Persona 3. To be honest, I wouldn't find the purchase of Persona 3 appealing at all ( every video I see seems to be mostly filled with the high school life part of the game, which doesn't do much for me) if I hadn't already known it was part of the same series as Nocturne

Anyways, my question to anybody who knows, is how does Persona 3 compare?

They are nothing alike. You should play both eventually though and it isn't part pf the same series as nocturne.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

If you've never played an SMT game, Nocturne is the best one to get you hooked.

The MC is cool a hell and you really feel his growth; especially when he becomes a badass.

It's a good introduction to the press turn system and it also makes you feel awesome when you exploit weaknesses cause you end up dominating the enemy.

It can be VERY tough and it can be a draining game since you're always being jumped and your party can be a mudo away from being wiped out (probably the only thing I hate about the series).

It's definitely my all time favourite and made me a fan of the series.

 

[Soriku]

I have never played any SMT games , but I bought Persona 3 last week from the playstation store. However , Nocturne is the SMT game that I always wanted to try, but it's not on available on psn, so I had to settle for Persona 3. To be honest, I wouldn't find the purchase of Persona 3 appealing at all ( every video I see seems to be mostly filled with the high school life part of the game, which doesn't do much for me) if I hadn't already known it was part of the same series as Nocturne

Anyways, my question to anybody who knows, is how does Persona 3 compare?

Persona 3 is as good as Nocturne, but really no one's opinion is going to matter that much as it really depends on what aspects of both games you'd prefer.

Nocturne has better dungeon crawling and a "darker" soundtrack and setting, Persona 3 has the better story and characters, and a different soundtrack and a lighter setting.

You should give the high school stuff a chance since it's good.

 

[SpaceBridge]

I need to finish this.

Anyone know of a good guide/walk through, preferably with pictures? Those mazes are annoying. If this was on a portable it'd be so much more fun to grind and explore.

 

[Soriku]

I need to finish this.

Anyone know of a good guide/walk through, preferably with pictures? Those mazes are annoying. If this was on a portable it'd be so much more fun to grind and explore.

I don't know about any guides with pictures, but this walkthrough should be all you really need.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I need to finish this.

Anyone know of a good guide/walk through, preferably with pictures? Those mazes are annoying. If this was on a portable it'd be so much more fun to grind and explore.

The Doublejump guide was godlike, but I don't know if it's still available anywhere.

 

[Big0Bear]

I really should get back to this game, I really hope they make an HD collection of this with Digital Devil Saga.

God me too best rpg I have played it was fun getting monsters and story was great. Sadly I'm one of th few sick of persona and handheld games I'm passing on 4 because I don't want a 3ds

But I would kill for hd remake of this and digital devil saga or at least the classic release of all of them. Since my ps3 has no back compatibility anymore

 

[SpaceBridge]

The Doublejump guide was godlike, but I don't know if it's still available anywhere.

It's not.

 

[cj_iwakura]

It's not.

If it helps, I own the book, I could probably get you an image of a necessary map.

 

[Kevtones]

Hey, I have SMTIV and haven't started it yet - how does it compare to Nocturne?

 

[cj_iwakura]

Hey, I have SMTIV and haven't started it yet - how does it compare to Nocturne?

Much better world building and character development, but IMO the core story isn't as good.

Gameplay, pretty similar, but Nocturne is harder and less easy to break wide open.

Atmosphere is a toss-up. Both are fantastic.

 

[buddha0991]

SMT Nocturne > SMTIV, but not by much, and both are great for different reasons. I am just glad we got a game like SMTIV, and since it did really well in both Japan and the US, maybe SMTV is not as far away as we thought!

 

[ShogunX]

Have Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga 1+2, Persona 3 FES +4 and I've never played any of them. They are always in the back of my mind to play and i keep looking at P4 as a starting point.

Any advice where I should start? and whats the difference between Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga?

 

[cj_iwakura]

Have Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga 1+2, Persona 3 FES +4 and I've never played any of them. They are always in the back of my mind to play and i keep looking at P4 as a starting point.

Any advice where I should start? and whats the difference between Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga?

Same battle system, DDS has more character development and (lots) more dialogue. More of a traditional RPG. And it's a set party instead of demon summoning, with an FFX-esque skill tree system per character.

They're all fantastic. (I'm going to start expecting photographic evidence of people actually playing these games after posts like this show up. )

 

[ShogunX]

Same battle system, DDS has more character development and (lots) more dialogue. More of a traditional RPG. And it's a set party instead of demon summoning, with an FFX-esque skill tree system per character.

They're all fantastic. (I'm going to start expecting photographic evidence of people actually playing these games after posts like this show up. )

Thanks for the info. Will probably start with Nocturne within the next few weeks, need to get Diablo 3 and GTA5 out of the way first but after that I should be able to dedicate a month to the SMT series.

 

[buddha0991]

Thanks for the info. Will probably start with Nocturne within the next few weeks, need to get Diablo 3 and GTA5 out of the way first but after that I should be able to dedicate a month to the SMT series.

Play P3FES first, than P4, then spread out from there I would say.

 

[Marjar]

I was playing through this game but then just kinda stopped. I think the fact that I already have a massive backlog and wanted to play other games stopped me from continuing Nocturne since it's like, what 50 hours long?

I might pick it up again when I have time. Right now I want to play through some shorter games.

 

[mt1200]

I started it long ago in Hard difficulty, and I have to say that it's way harder than the persona games i've played, buffs and debuffs take a very important role in boss battles.

I haven't finished it yet, i'll do it when I have more free time since the game is a grind-fest

 

[wastedyears]

SMTIV is really good, but I don't think it's nearly as great as Nocturne is.

 

[SpaceBridge]

SMTIV is really good, but I don't think it's nearly as great as Nocturne is.

Strangely enough, it's very apples and oranges. Nocturne did nail the post apocalyptic vibe way better.

 

[isual]

haven't played 4, will get it soon, but from what I've seen I still think nocturne is far better than 4 story wise .

nocturne was my 3rd SMT after digital. Very very good jrpg.

beat matador on my first go.

 

[Thoraxes]

Much better world building and character development, but IMO the core story isn't as good.

Gameplay, pretty similar, but Nocturne is harder and less easy to break wide open.

Atmosphere is a toss-up. Both are fantastic.

I totally agree on this.

I also enjoyed the darker/horrorifying shit that went down in SMT IV too. The demons were great in both, but I really liked the amount of demons IV had. I always felt like I was discovering something new.

They're equals in my eyes.

 

[CaptainGyro]

Persona 3 is as good as Nocturne, but really no one's opinion is going to matter that much as it really depends on what aspects of both games you'd prefer.

Nocturne has better dungeon crawling and a "darker" soundtrack and setting, Persona 3 has the better story and characters, and a different soundtrack and a lighter setting.

You should give the high school stuff a chance since it's good.

Oh well. I was hoping for more of the dungeon crawling and surrealistic atmosphere that Nocturne shows, but after watching the persona 3 videos I can't say that it's a surprise that persona isn't as strong in those areas.
I'll still play it and will probably enjoy it though, I'm not totally against the idea of the high school stuff. It's just not something that makes me think "wow that looks great I want to play that right away"

 

[Berordn]

Oh well. I was hoping for more of the dungeon crawling and surrealistic atmosphere that Nocturne shows, but after watching the persona 3 videos I can't say that it's a surprise that persona isn't as strong in those areas.
I'll still play it and will probably enjoy it though, I'm not totally against the idea of the high school stuff. It's just not something that makes me think "wow that looks great I want to play that right away"

Persona has plenty of dungeon crawling, it's just not the focus like it is in SMT3. The dungeon in 3 ends up being pretty bland and samey so the time management bits thrown in kind of help it from being too much of a drag.

 

[Jisgsaw]

haven't played 4, will get it soon, but from what I've seen I still think nocturne is far better than 4 story wise .

Story wise, I would say SMT IV is better, but then again, it depends what you expect/what you prefer.
Nocturne is all about the rebirth of the world, SMT IV is all about the opposition between law and order.

I personnaly enjoyed Nocturne much more, but well... it was my first SMT, that maybe explains it.
Overall, I found SMT IV far far too easy, and when it was difficult, it was for the wrong reasons (hello Minautor chaining me with 6 crits in a row...). I suspect the reviewed fusion system (especially the choice of skills, like in P4:G) to be at fault here.


But back to the topic: I agree with most posts here, one heck of a game, one of my favorite of all time, and definitively the best atmosphere ever made in a game.
And of course, best MC ever.

 

[crazyjah2003]

Wow, I started this earlier this morning; I am avidly working my way up to this Matador dude.