This is a PSA:
Do NOT play the PSP rerelease of this game.
Play the fan-translated PS1 version of the game instead.
The original version has:
-A fun and experimental semi-automatic battle system that only requires player input to set-up commands, and pause to edit them. This allows for fast action, natural discovery of teamwork fusion attacks, and player experimentation with the card/negotiation system.
-actual challenge that ramps up as you play and makes the player think about their compositions and actions.
-loading screens only during loading saves and loading up the game
-a far superior UI aesthetic and generally more unified vision with regard to visuals, music, and battle voice lines
-is amazing
The PSP version has:
-a butchered version of the combat system that forces the player to repeatedly input the same commands at the start of every turn for no reason whatsoever
-absolutely no challenge, even on hard mode.
-loading before every fight
-slowed down battle animations
-script censorship
-if you see reviews calling this game a slog to play, it's cause they played this one
-----------------------------
I personally played the psp version twice, not knowing at all about these differences. I played the ps1 version once and it was like a whole new game. I don't know how they fucked up the psp version so bad with the combat and balancing, but I've heard the psp version of the sequel is much better (although the fan translation is yet to come out).
The one downside of playing the ps1 version of this game is that the fan translation has a little bit of that old 2000's era language in it in places and can feel like a bit of a relic (uses the word "gay" as a kind of insult for the sake of a translated pun(?) in a few places, among other stuff, but overall wasn't the worst and otherwise felt well-done and accurately localized, the translator is a bit of a legend in the realm of fan-made localizations).
Do NOT play the PSP rerelease of this game.
Play the fan-translated PS1 version of the game instead.
The original version has:
-A fun and experimental semi-automatic battle system that only requires player input to set-up commands, and pause to edit them. This allows for fast action, natural discovery of teamwork fusion attacks, and player experimentation with the card/negotiation system.
-actual challenge that ramps up as you play and makes the player think about their compositions and actions.
-loading screens only during loading saves and loading up the game
-a far superior UI aesthetic and generally more unified vision with regard to visuals, music, and battle voice lines
-is amazing
The PSP version has:
-a butchered version of the combat system that forces the player to repeatedly input the same commands at the start of every turn for no reason whatsoever
-absolutely no challenge, even on hard mode.
-loading before every fight
-slowed down battle animations
-script censorship
-if you see reviews calling this game a slog to play, it's cause they played this one
-----------------------------
I personally played the psp version twice, not knowing at all about these differences. I played the ps1 version once and it was like a whole new game. I don't know how they fucked up the psp version so bad with the combat and balancing, but I've heard the psp version of the sequel is much better (although the fan translation is yet to come out).
The one downside of playing the ps1 version of this game is that the fan translation has a little bit of that old 2000's era language in it in places and can feel like a bit of a relic (uses the word "gay" as a kind of insult for the sake of a translated pun(?) in a few places, among other stuff, but overall wasn't the worst and otherwise felt well-done and accurately localized, the translator is a bit of a legend in the realm of fan-made localizations).
15 Comments
yeah but what if i wanna play IS like a vn, the way god intended
it would still be a vn with worse music, a censored script, murkier aesthetics, slower navigation and menuing, and long breaks of exercises in senseless tedium that requires you to input slowly executed commands in moments of very little danger
yeah but the psx translation maya says a different line when tatsuya smiles for the first time that i dont like compared to the psp one so i think thats a net neutral there.
also apparently you can just enable the psx music in the psp version so thats another point in my favor
playing the psp version, thank you.
Saving lives with this one, thank god this was front paged
@lostleader any particular reason or just feeling contrarian?
@guttertrash that's true, I forgot about the music option. And hey, play the translation you want. It's your choice in the end. There's a line in the internet cafe of the psp version I like a lot too. I mostly made this review to spread the word that there is a substantial difference in experience between the two versions, moreso than I would say with other games in the series.
@fmtownsparty hehe, thanks. I learned this the hard way and Im surprised that I see a lot of people still don't know how cool the og release is and just assume the game has
always had sucky gameplay
@guttertrash that's true, I forgot about the music option. And hey, play the translation you want. It's your choice in the end. There's a line in the internet cafe of the psp version I like a lot too. I mostly made this review to spread the word that there is a substantial difference in experience between the two versions, moreso than I would say with other games in the series.
@fmtownsparty hehe, thanks. I learned this the hard way and Im surprised that I see a lot of people still don't know how cool the og release is and just assume the game has
always had sucky gameplay
fucking wish i read this before wasting 30 hours on the psp version and thinking it was kinda mid
i played the ps1 version for innocent sin but honestly for eternal punishment i'm going to try the psp version. while i think the combat system for ps1 is interesting at first, the fact that it requires so much set up and that the encounter rate is so high makes the end game a slog even when facing very easy enemies. want to see if EP's psp version feels a bit faster in the long run-and i really want to know the story and characters from that one.
Let me know how it goes. I haven't played the psp eternal punishment
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ok here to respond after playing 4 hours: it looks like my choice was the right one for the wrong reasons. persona 2 EP's psp version doesn't have the same weird modified combat system the IS psp version has, it instead has the original ps1 combat system (deciding moves ahead of time and then watching them go) but with improvements to make the animations play faster and some other nice additions to smooth it out.
i looked up IS's combat system on the psp and it's way different from how it is in EP's psp version (and of course, way different from IS PS1). it also looks janky, so i guess innocent sin's combat is just a bit of an issue no matter which version you choose. in the long run, i think i'm glad i played the ps1 version of IS, i just wish there was an option to speed it up (or to tone down the encounter rate) because those last few dungeons are a drag. but i'd also want people to know that the "reasons to play PS1 IS over PSP IS" don't necessarily also apply for PS1 vs. PSP EP.
sorry if that's confusing to read, having to say "psp," "ps1," "ep," and "is" everywhere makes things awkward lol
i looked up IS's combat system on the psp and it's way different from how it is in EP's psp version (and of course, way different from IS PS1). it also looks janky, so i guess innocent sin's combat is just a bit of an issue no matter which version you choose. in the long run, i think i'm glad i played the ps1 version of IS, i just wish there was an option to speed it up (or to tone down the encounter rate) because those last few dungeons are a drag. but i'd also want people to know that the "reasons to play PS1 IS over PSP IS" don't necessarily also apply for PS1 vs. PSP EP.
sorry if that's confusing to read, having to say "psp," "ps1," "ep," and "is" everywhere makes things awkward lol
@augusttime do you know if the psp version of ep is a similar difficulty to ps1?
Is there a music patch. I much prefer the psp battle theme
Is there a way to mod in the english voice acting from psp version, or...
Pikadourei
3 years ago