Persona 3 Portable is a game I don't entirely hate playing as its still Persona 3, one of my favorite games, at its core, but I'm giving it this mildly exaggerated score because I do believe this should never ever be your first experience with Persona 3. Here's why.
- The lack of cutscenes, despite what some people tell you, IS a big deal. In the opening of the game, the story presentation was so bad without them that I legitamately had no clue what was going on, and I had played the game before.
- The combat sucks. It's Persona 4's mechanics duct taped onto Persona 3 and I find it a major waste. If I wanted to play Persona 4, I would play Persona 4. Playing Persona 3 Portable is watching mechanics put into a game not made for them and robbing the combat almost entirely of what was unique about it. I like Persona 4's dizzy mechanics and such, but I don't play Persona 3 for that.
- The overworld is awful. Dragging a cursor around it is of course worse than a natural overworld, but man it is made so much worse by just how ugly it is. If they at least put some effort into the menus or possibly remade the graphics go make an overworld work on PSP that would be nice, but instead we have this ugly as hell flash game-esque map.
- Introduced skill cards. Might be a bit petty but I've never liked these, skill cards are way too OP and make it comically easy to power through the game with a couple personas, and this game is unfortunately responsible for inventing them.
- The female route makes some wack changes. The music is excellent and some of the social links aren't half bad, but it isn't an awful idea but the party dynamics definitely weren't made for it with how being a girl effects it, and story changes like the big one you get for doing a certain social link are awful. It's still kind of interesting, but as the game tells you, never play it first. I think we'd be better off getting a Persona game with an actual female protagonist then as an option, but that'll probably never happen.
- Numerous dumb changes that exist for no real reason. Skills from having two Personas are items now. Why? They felt like it, I don't know.
- Option to date a ten year-old if you're not playing the rerelease.
- Said rerelease has AI upscaling and compressed sound.
Game sucks, play FES. Only positive outside of music from playing the wack as hell female route is direct party member control, but the original is livable without it, and if you REALLY want it, just mod or hack FES.
- The lack of cutscenes, despite what some people tell you, IS a big deal. In the opening of the game, the story presentation was so bad without them that I legitamately had no clue what was going on, and I had played the game before.
- The combat sucks. It's Persona 4's mechanics duct taped onto Persona 3 and I find it a major waste. If I wanted to play Persona 4, I would play Persona 4. Playing Persona 3 Portable is watching mechanics put into a game not made for them and robbing the combat almost entirely of what was unique about it. I like Persona 4's dizzy mechanics and such, but I don't play Persona 3 for that.
- The overworld is awful. Dragging a cursor around it is of course worse than a natural overworld, but man it is made so much worse by just how ugly it is. If they at least put some effort into the menus or possibly remade the graphics go make an overworld work on PSP that would be nice, but instead we have this ugly as hell flash game-esque map.
- Introduced skill cards. Might be a bit petty but I've never liked these, skill cards are way too OP and make it comically easy to power through the game with a couple personas, and this game is unfortunately responsible for inventing them.
- The female route makes some wack changes. The music is excellent and some of the social links aren't half bad, but it isn't an awful idea but the party dynamics definitely weren't made for it with how being a girl effects it, and story changes like the big one you get for doing a certain social link are awful. It's still kind of interesting, but as the game tells you, never play it first. I think we'd be better off getting a Persona game with an actual female protagonist then as an option, but that'll probably never happen.
- Numerous dumb changes that exist for no real reason. Skills from having two Personas are items now. Why? They felt like it, I don't know.
- Option to date a ten year-old if you're not playing the rerelease.
- Said rerelease has AI upscaling and compressed sound.
Game sucks, play FES. Only positive outside of music from playing the wack as hell female route is direct party member control, but the original is livable without it, and if you REALLY want it, just mod or hack FES.