SMT or persona

[seaglass]

I'm also pro-SMT. I like Persona too, but I find the school drama aspects too bloated and mundane, most SMT games are around 30-40 hours while Persona are like 80-90

Huh, I personally always find I drop a lot of hours into SMT games too. Like recently I put ~100 hrs into Strange Journey.

But you're right recent Persona games have been so long they become a chore at the end for me. Persona 5 Royal was good but I don't think I'll ever replay it because it took me like 120 hrs. I haven't played Reload yet and never played the original P3, so not sure how long that one is meant to be. Combined the P2 duology is probably like 80 hours or so, but that doesn't have the social sim element so it's primarily dungeon crawling. P1 is 30-40, which maybe was standard for JRPGs at the time.

 

[Onicat]

I don't have a lot of experience, but I think I actually prefer SMT to Persona (3-4-5). In Persona, there's too much of that voluntary-compulsory “social interaction” for my taste. When I first played the fifth installment, I actually liked it. It was like, “Wow, it's like a dating sim from days of old!” But then somehow it became too much. So after playing for 146.6 hours, I deleted it :(

But I do like the first Persona. I'm playing it little by little. I plan to play the second one, too.

 

[Pernil]

SMT, it scratches the primordial itch of playing as the messiah during the apocalypse trying to create a new world in me that I didn't know I had.

 

[Tsukishima]

It's really damn complicated for me.

TL;DR: I prefer Persona mechanically. (but not the calendar system & social links) SMT with atmosphere.

See, I admittedly prefer the vibes and atmosphere in SMT, but I think Persona is a WHOLE different beast when it comes to mechanics and what is digestible for a person in terms of accessibility and comfort.

See I don't mind difficulty spikes. But in games like Nocturne and IV? it's an upward, zigzag spiral that doesn't know when to restrain itself for even a second. Library of Ruina has this issue too. So many spikes all over the place to the point you end up making love to a guide for almost every fight because at this point I'm so burned out from neverending cliffs of discomfort that I just don't know what to do anymore.

However, with SMT V: Vengeance (dumb name) I think they really pulled me around with that system. The gameplay has spikes for sure but feel surmountable, there is enough placements of a soft rug to get your bearings between them that I can actually feel like I can start to accommodate myself into the game and experiment. Enough to the point I beat the superboss and it was a fun as hell fight to prepare for and actually do it.
that music too, I mean, weheeeeeeew it gets me going for sure.

I know how much acclaim Nocturne gets, but I honestly despise that game to kingdom come. The visuals are not doing it for me in a third attempt of trying the damn game for me, it's setpieces are not that interesting because in theory it's exciting, But in reality it's not. You are exploring these four grey and bland walls for the most of your journey and the worst part is that the devs thought a sewer level was just absolutely grand to top things off.

I'm also usually a fan of strange and experimental designs, but just what in the hell is Demi-Fiend supposed to appeal too? I hate looking at him. One more notch to Nahobino for looking sick as hell. Even Flynn because I dig the overalls.

And that might look contradictory because with V, it's a damn lot of sand. Anakin Skywalker and all that malarky. But I think with the lack of visuals to spice it up it focuses on environmental storytelling. I'm fine with four grey walls, Just please, put something interesting inside them every now and then. That's what V does great over Nocturne.

'Course, you can flip the card and just tell me this game isn't meant for me and I'm completely fine with that. But I dunno, SMT V's remake was a perfect way to get me into it, not sure how the series vets feel about it though.