How does this compare with Persona?

[Bogart]

Does it have a similar feel? I enjoy the social sim aspects of Persona.

[CrixCrumble]

It’s dark and dreary compared to persona. There aren’t any social sim aspects. You don’t have dedicated party members either, it’s demons you switch out and command.

[Bogart]

Originally posted by chumba170:

It’s dark and dreary compared to persona. There aren’t any social sim aspects. You don’t have dedicated party members either, it’s demons you switch out and command.

Wait, so is it just dungeon crawling?

[CrixCrumble]

Originally posted by Bogart Porter Bridges:

Originally posted by chumba170:

It’s dark and dreary compared to persona. There aren’t any social sim aspects. You don’t have dedicated party members either, it’s demons you switch out and command.

Wait, so is it just dungeon crawling?

Pretty much

[AkinorX]

Similar aspect (fusion, spell, items, recruitment through negociation, etc.) But the main difference is that you don't start with a party so you have to build it yourself and the progression is linear with no break inbetween dungeons

[whitedevil]

much more gameplay focused and story is much more directly tied to demons/religious themes which is a thing that i love in mainline SMTs, Persona doesnt have that. no social sim aspects, as others said. edgy ass, lovely game.

[็]

The main draw of this game is in the press-turn combat system and the dreary atmosphere. Story had good (even thought-provoking) ideas but is clumsily told, and the characters are just one-note plot devices meant to drive you towards specific endings. If you were looking for social sim elements, then you won't find any here.

[madcapbeatitude]

Originally posted by Bogart Praetor Bridges:

Originally posted by chumba170:

It’s dark and dreary compared to persona. There aren’t any social sim aspects. You don’t have dedicated party members either, it’s demons you switch out and command.

Wait, so is it just dungeon crawling?

Dungeon crawling, recruitment in combat, fusion.

Most skill learning in allies comes from leveling up and fusion. Recruitment in combat is the main way to get your first allies. Characters who've been in your party before can be saved in a book, including their levels and skill builds, and summoned back for money. You just can't summon duplicates.

This game is ALL about fighting. Socially, it's very solitary.

[fireguardiancoty]

It's Persona without the heart.

[Chopsteak]

In my personal game play experience I started with Persona 3 and went on to Persona 4 and 5 well before I ever touched a game in the mainline SMT series. SMT Nocturne was the first mainline title I played and I loved enough to not only play it on the Switch but also get it on Steam as well and even go on to play SMT V, and finally 4 and 4 Apocalypse.

While I enjoy both Persona and SMT and will continue to play games in both series, I have to lean towards liking SMT more even though I started with Persona. SMT to me is just so much cooler but that is just this Hee-Ho's personal opinion so it doesn't really mean much.

The best advice I can give is that if you enjoy Persona there is a really good chance you could like SMT as well and you should really give it a shot if you get the chance to. It may not have the social sim aspect that Persona has but the game is still really solid with an interesting atmosphere and story.

[toddhunter]

If you took all the boring bits out of the Persona games you could make this.

The only memorable thing about it is an early difficult boss. Nobody really talks about anything else, because even if you don't give up and keep playing, there is nothing really worth talking about. Pretty much the second half of Persona 5 with the colour removed.

[winterMAN555]

No boring "do chore until time passes so you can progress" loop

[Hidden Blue]

If you want a SMT game with more social aspects, try the Devil Survivor series.

[thorondragon]

Its a dungeon crawler type rpg that has a dreary tone. i would say its a good bit more punishing than persona games.

[mdesaleah]

3 is probably the least "Persona-like" in the series. Even among SMT, the only one similar to 3 is 5 and even then its not the same. You are left almost completely alone, and thats the point.

If you want a stepping-stone game from Persona to SMT, then SMT4 does a better job by being more modern with voice acting, human characters that are your friends, but still with heavy environment, combat, and story from usual SMT.

[BoxingBud]

nocturne I would say is mechanically easier once you know how weaknesses and press turns work. You can grind if you need to, it's one dungeon after another but you aren't railroaded. You can go to past locations etc. Grinding is mostly fusing demons into a strong one, so recruiting demons to fuse into stronger ones is the main way to grind. IF you want that specific demon to be permanent, they DO level up traditionally with experience, the demon chooses where the stat points go (they're smart about it.) Your MC levels up more traditionally with exp and stat points, he learns skills by ingesting (equipping) different bugs that offer skills, strengths and (be careful) weaknesses. This game is NOT worth the full price on here and even the sale I'm passing but it's a good game if you dont' have it already. Then I'd grab it for 13$ but I have my superior ps2 version still (a few copies).

Compare this to the persona 3 remake, an ACTUAL remake, at the same non-sale price, that would be more worth it to me because it's not the exact game shaved down. It's a remake.