Persona 3 is now a PS2 Classic

[dave auto]

So Persona 3 FES quietly slipped onto PSN this week in the PS2 Classics section, and is probably one of very few games there that actually deserves the moniker. At only $9.99, not only is this the cheapest price I've ever seen for the game anywhere, but it's also way below the stupid premium Atlus has heretofore charged for digital downloadable entries in the series so far. I think I'll reward them by giving them my money

Anyone had any experience with the emulation quality of the PS2 Classics series?

[Gadolf the Absolute]

I bought Odin Sphere off the classics section back in December. I'd never played it before then,but nothing about the performance seemed to be off. My experience only covers the first day worth of play time though since it turned out to be hard as balls and I haven't touched it since.

[Gadolf the Absolute]

Forgive the double post,but it appears that Persona 3 FES did not survive it's porting quite as well as I believe Odin Sphere to have. I've read reports of freezing,data loss,and texture flickering. Having just concluded my second play session with my new Classics copy of FES I've personally run into the latter two of those issues. Flickering has been obvious on several objects out of battle as well as some enemies in battle. Rare shadows no longer appear gold out of battle,they appear black like normal shadows and have a light gray flicker,making them much more difficult to detect as they blend in with normal shadows. The last block of Tartarus is supposedly especially bad as the walls themselves suffer from constant flickering.

Data wise I've encountered the data loss glitch once,I returned to base to heal and save before a boss and found my save slot empty. This was rather fortunate since I discovered it as I was going to overwrite the slot anyway,but stories exist of saves disappearing after a power off and death occurring after data loss would mean total loss of that entire slot's previous data necessitating a complete restart.

The title is still playable as I remember it originally being based on all the time I spent with my disc copy of the original Persona 3,but it does suffer from obvious visual glitching both in and out of battle in the form of texture flicker and the save system is catastrophically buggy. Save often,double check all saves before powering down or entering dangerous areas,and be prepared to make multiple saves as a precaution against any one of them failing. I lost my first save file on floor 15 so this is sure to be a constant threat throughout the game's lifespan. I don't see Sony patching this so get accustomed to the cold fear of losing your entire New Game+ every time you turn off your PS3.

A shame considering FES is probably the best deal in the PS2 classics section,especially given the seemingly festering death of the classic JRPG. Now they need to throw in Shadow Hearts and Dark Cloud.

[dave auto]

Dude, thank you! As this would have been my first time playing the game, I'll probably pass and hold out for a disc copy instead. I sure would have liked to have rewarded Atlus and Sony for making it available, and at a a great price. But I've heard that this isn't the only PS2 Classic whose emulation is borked.

[Ekkebus]

What you should be looking out for is a cheap version of Persona 3 Portable. Frankly I don't think you would ever get through one of the console versions.

[dave auto]

Is that because the PSP version streamlines navigation, thus making the game a little shorter, or because you know that portable systems are easier for me to find time for right now? It was the PSP version I planned on seeking out, until that damnable PS2 Classics section went and threw me a curveball. Who knew they'd offer up a game I'd actually want? (I already have Odin Sphere)

And just when I was wondering why Ubisoft would push out an HD rerelease of Rayman 3 instead of series high watermark part 2, Rayman 2 Revolution pops up last week as a PS2 Classic. Having never played this game before, I thought this might be the version to get, as it sports a few improvements over the Dreamcast version. But I guess the reason the DC version is often considered the definitive release is that Revolution sports a pretty terrible framerate. I wouldn't want to throw shoddy emulation into the mix as well

[Ekkebus]

Well, yes. On the one hand there's no way I see you specifically getting through an 80+ hour console RPG these days but also, as I've said before, Persona 3 Portable is the definitive version of Persona 3. Along with the streamlined menus, you also have the option of full party control, all of the enhancements from the FES version and the option of playing as a chick. It doesn't include 'The Answer' from FES but that's really only for the most hard of hardcore Persona fans anyway.