Just finished re-playing P4 because I wanted to have it fresh in my mind before Arena... I'm glad I did. It made story mode in Arena worth slugging through. Teddy and Akihiko's stories both had me laughing myself sick.
P3:FES is where I would start if you have never played P3 (especially since "The Answer" is optional). You miss out on quite a few things in P3P:Blue just for the sake of trimming down the size of the game. I'm making my second attempt at P3P:Pink right now (I got bored and abandoned it on my first attempt), trying to do a round 1 maxed social links playthrough. It's neat to have some new social links, but I miss the characters they replaced. :(
But, as you said, P3:FES is hard - it is closer to other Atlus titles in difficulty unlike the more "accessible" P4. I'd use the "beginner" difficulty setting that allows you 10 do-overs if this is your first time through the game; it will prevent a lot of frustration later. It also helps to really spend time with the persona fusion system since your stats are completely dependent upon your persona. If you can stand to do it, though, New Game + is ridiculously satisfying in P3. You will be an over-powered badass for the first half of the game or so.
Persona 2 was where I jumped into the series originally back in the day, and I never finished it... it might have to be my next game. Persona itself bored the snot out of me and was ridden with frustrating control mechanics, so I didn't get far in that one before I traded in my copy.
I've done arcade mode and a little bit of online vs.
I am a fighting game fan, but my favorites are Tekken and Soul Calibur, so I find Arena to be a bit sluggish and needlessly complicated by comparison (yes, I know both Tekken and Soul Calibur have ridiculous, endless combos that require a very specific button combination). I was most comfortable with Naoto and Mitsuru who both have quick multi-hit combos that are easily accessible and was tearing my hair out at Akihiko. Ranged attacks took some getitng used to, as well.
So, overall, controls aren't bad, they just aren't my cup of tea. I imagine a Guilty Gear fan would be right at home and happy with the set-up. :)
P3:FES is where I would start if you have never played P3 (especially since "The Answer" is optional). You miss out on quite a few things in P3P:Blue just for the sake of trimming down the size of the game. I'm making my second attempt at P3P:Pink right now (I got bored and abandoned it on my first attempt), trying to do a round 1 maxed social links playthrough. It's neat to have some new social links, but I miss the characters they replaced. :(
But, as you said, P3:FES is hard - it is closer to other Atlus titles in difficulty unlike the more "accessible" P4. I'd use the "beginner" difficulty setting that allows you 10 do-overs if this is your first time through the game; it will prevent a lot of frustration later. It also helps to really spend time with the persona fusion system since your stats are completely dependent upon your persona. If you can stand to do it, though, New Game + is ridiculously satisfying in P3. You will be an over-powered badass for the first half of the game or so.
Persona 2 was where I jumped into the series originally back in the day, and I never finished it... it might have to be my next game. Persona itself bored the snot out of me and was ridden with frustrating control mechanics, so I didn't get far in that one before I traded in my copy.
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I'm curious how non-fighting fan have taken to it.
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I am a fighting game fan, but my favorites are Tekken and Soul Calibur, so I find Arena to be a bit sluggish and needlessly complicated by comparison (yes, I know both Tekken and Soul Calibur have ridiculous, endless combos that require a very specific button combination). I was most comfortable with Naoto and Mitsuru who both have quick multi-hit combos that are easily accessible and was tearing my hair out at Akihiko. Ranged attacks took some getitng used to, as well.
So, overall, controls aren't bad, they just aren't my cup of tea. I imagine a Guilty Gear fan would be right at home and happy with the set-up. :)
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