New to Persona games. Need explanations.

[ReaperX30]

Ok I never played any Persona games before but from what I read in the forums here they must be pretty good. Can someone explain to me what type of game they are.

1 - You start with a fixed character or you can create your own?
2 - Turn based or real time
or anything else I should know.

So far no release from atlus has dissapointed me so if I think I'm going to like this one I'll probably pre-order it.:confused:

[unknown]

1. Fixed character

2. Turn based, only real time SMT games are SMT Imagine and the Raidou games

[Pibbman]

Ok I never played any Persona games before but from what I read in the forums here they must be pretty good. Can someone explain to me what type of game they are.

1 - You start with a fixed character or you can create your own?
2 - Turn based or real time
or anything else I should know.

So far no release from atlus has dissapointed me so if I think I'm going to like this one I'll probably pre-order it.:confused:

Just keep in mind that Persona 3 and 4, are pretty different from Persona. 3 and 4 is what got it the big following it has now, however Persona is a bit more like a traditional RPG, although it has some differences with traditional rpgs even then..

[Cinder6]

In Persona 3 and 4, which you're most likely to play, it can be helpful to think of them as part dungeon-crawler, part dating sim. Yes, I just said that. You go through school every day, make friends, etc. At night, you fight demons. The level of your various friendships will determine how much extra power any demons you fuse will get, as well as (in some cases) which demons you can fuse in the first place.

You have a fixed character with a mostly linear storyline. You can't customize your stats (though you can in other SMT games), but that's because your Personas determine your stats. You can acquire them after battles, or by fusing them. Each Persona has its own strengths and weaknesses, unless you fuse an uber-Persona that has no weakness (this is possible end-game).

Battles are turn-based, and you can see the enemies on the map in 3 and 4.

Hope that helps.

[Kenji]

Considering you're on the board for the first Persona game, I'll assume you wanna pick this one up.

1) The character is fixed, in that he has a fixed gender and appearance. However, you will provide for him a name and, ultimately, a personality. The game invites you to insert yourself into the story, but only gives you limited freedom in that regard.

2) It's turn-based in the old-school way, more similar to the first three Final Fantasies or the Lunar games. The battle is divided into rounds. At the beginning of each round, you input your entire party's commands. The order in which those commands are executed is based on the game's internal number-crunching.

If I'm wrong on the mechanics, which I figured out through video, someone please correct me.

[ReaperX30]

Thanks for answering. I'll check it out.