#uh usually id ramble more in tags but. go read my post!! because i like analyzing FES gameplay mechanics!! i am full of passion and love!

[crescentfool]

i've been doing a bunch of tartarus runs in reload lately, and it got me thinking about how i miss certain ways FES's clunky gameplay can characterize minato… (ramble about the great clock mechanic + leveling up party members in reload vs fes under the cut)

when i got to yabbashah block in tartarus (block 3), i remember commending the developers for adding the great clock mechanic. it's a much more convenient way to keep party members at the protagonist's level- so when you think about p3 from the perspective of trying to make it easier for people to play, the mechanic succeeds in this respect.

but now that i'm in adamah block, and that i've done lots of my once-a-month tartarus runs… i think that i got a little too dependent on it, and the way that i played through reload feels like a vastly different experience from how i played FES.

in reload, my party's levels are very lopsided. minato, yukari, akihiko, mitsuru, and fuuka are all level 90+, meanwhile junpei and aigis are at level 79, and then… poor ken and koromaru are at 71 and 64 respectively. (i never got to have a great clock for them…)

meanwhile, in FES, my party's levels were much more evenly distributed and were at least level 90. i did all of this manually for every monthly tartarus run because i enjoyed having options available for the taratarus guardians and monthly operations.

with how i perceive minato, i feel that the way i played FES feels more in-line with his character than me dawdling around waiting for the great clocks in reload.

FES's gameplay loop left me with the very strong impression that minato has to work twice as hard as everyone else in SEES does. it makes sense because, yeah, he's the leader, but something about having minato run through tartarus multiple times with different groups of people just to make sure that they are adequately prepared speaks volumes about his character, to me.

and while the tired mechanic is present in reload to some degree, most notably with allowing you to freely raise your courage stat when you visit edogawa after school… the tiredness system doesn't hit the same way that FES does, i think.

the way your party members in FES will call it quits when they return to the entrance floor at tartarus when they're tired, versus minato, in spite of all his tiredness and sickness, still pushes through tartarus because it's his responsibility…. idk!!! i miss that! i feel like this really hammers home the difference between minato and the rest of SEES, how minato doesn't really see himself as a human with needs worth respecting as long as he's useful to someone.

i don't think that tartarus being tedious (in FES especially) is not what most people would describe as fun, and i can respect people thinking it's a slog. but, regardless of how it feels to play, it doesn't change that FES's gameplay loop is a fundamental building block in how i perceive minato…

of course, i do recognize that you can just opt to NOT use the great clock in reload (and it's great when players are offered the choice to not partake in mechanics)! i definitely think that if someone really wanted to, they could manually level up party members, but i do feel that kind of playstyle isn't necessarily "incentivized" to the type of people who are into playing games for Having a Good Time. it's kind of like… "why would you do that when there's a much more convenient option available to you."

in any case! despite my woes, i do want to emphasize that i'm glad that reload has a much more smoother gameplay loop than the original P3 did, because it does make the game more accessible to people. having played both FES and reload, it feels very strongly apparent to me how the core gameplay formula of persona has really been refined in the past 18 years (to think og p3 was 2006 and reload is 2024.. time flies!). and reload has made revisiting a story that i love so dearly much, much easier because the gameplay just bops!

at the same time, due to my "i miss characterization informed by weird and dated FES gameplay quirks" woes, i still think that playing FES is worthwhile. (really, i feel this way about all iterations of p3! i think it's worthwhile to see what each version and side media has to say even if it doesn't Land™ for you.) but i also understand why people wouldn't want to play it, so i will keep writing posts about things i liked from FES's gameplay because i'm still very fond of FES (especially in respects to minato. these mechanics are so telling about him!!!) 💪

#lizzy speaks #persona 3 #persona 3 reload #<- specifically mentions of mechanics. no added story content just tartarus talk #minato arisato #today on lizz life: lizz wakes up THINKING about minato for the NTH time and is compelled to write a tumblr post about it #tartarus in reload is excellent looking and fun but i keep thinking about what i liked about how FES characterizes minato so #here i am... LOL... with my 790 or so word ramble... im so normal about the blue boy #i needed to get my feelings out there somewhere i just could not stop thinking about HIM HE IS IN MY BRAIN 24/7 #me playing reload last night like 'minato would not fucking wait for a great clock to make sure that SEES is adequately prepared.' #and yet my sloth brain awaits the great clock... LOL gameplay convenience is not lost on me #i'm stuck in tartarus rn im grinding rubies and stuff trying to get equipment so i can throw hands with elizabeth its going to be fun #im still not done with this game i continue to be haunted by tartarus i fucking love that tower unironically #uh usually id ramble more in tags but. go read my post!! because i like analyzing FES gameplay mechanics!! i am full of passion and love!

[sirsapling]

Tagged by the fantastic @bardingbeedle !

5 things you’ll find in my bag

An over stuffed pencil case full of multiple pencils, inking pens, grey markers and an ever changing line up of erasers

My battered old Wallet, with its many many club cards, my glasses wipes, my donor card, ID and not very much money. It’s less a wallet and more a carry case at this point

Charging cables and spare battery(s), I like to always be accessible since I'm usually the one my family calls first and the idea of not being able to get help in emergencies makes me nervy

My sketchbook, I take it with me wherever I can, and if I'm bothering to take my backpack somewhere its certainly coming with me

Headphones, if they aren't in my pocket they’re in my bag, I like to listen to music whenever I can

5 things you’ll find in my room

All my assorted range of art supplies, from acrylics to polymer clays, its all in here because I don't trust my brother with any of it

My millennial cliche succulent garden, they live on my window sill, they all have names, and I love them.

Fans, I have one ceiling and one desk fan, and from spring to early autumn a pillar fan too, because I over heat ridiculously fast

Many posters and frames(Including an awesome art deco Ironman frame is still need to hand but have been putting off till I can get the cap counterpart), I display my nerdy loves like the exhibitionist I am

My big box o’ comics, my whole collection just about fits into a big cardboard box beneath my desk is have a constant brother watch over, its my own personal dragons hoard dammit.

5 things that make me happy

Talking, as is no doubt obvious, I love to talk, get me going and I will not shut up, I like to be passionate and I'm blessed with so many friends who let me ramble till I tire myself out and then keep talking to me after

On the same vein as above, Replying to things; Comments on posts, Asks, or just online conversation, I enjoy it so much, Someone asked me about one of my Ults HC’s on twitter the other day and let me go on about it for 2 hours and even if we never talk again I’m a little in love with them for that alone.

Reading tags, sort of falls in with above, but reading tags makes me gooey n happy

Coffee, I’m addicted to the stuff and I love it.

Finally getting time to work on ideas, I have so many and theres not enough time in existence to get them all down

5 things I’m currently in to

SteveTony, feels like a cop out answer, so wishing S/T I’m currently reading To The Victor, and despite being someone who doesn't cry at fiction easy, this has had me on the verge or tears more times than I can count

The Adventure Zone / MBMBAM, after watching a couple people I follow whether the finale, I got into it, and god is it good, I'm a couple episodes from the ending and desperate for it not to be over

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver: I don't know if this counts as a thing I'm “into” but its the only thing I watch on TV really anymore, I'm too busy to sit down with TV anymore but i’ll make time for this

I’m reading through The Ultimates, I found a way to get my hands on them and I'm making it my main reading quest, which is why I won't shut up about it ever

Uh I’ve run out of things, does school count? I’m so busy with it I barely have time to sleep, but I love this foundation course so much.

5 things on my to do list

A hush hush super secret time sensitive project, more will be revealed soooooon

STH, I feel awful about how long this is taking, but I'm just about finished with the sketch for one and the planning for another, once the sketches are down I can finish it inside or 2 days, but its getting the time to flesh the sketch out thats making it take so long, apologies to both my auction winners!

Floomies, Ferret and I finished writing book 2 a couple days ago and we’re taking a short break before diving into the edit and filling in more little bits of the series we have planned. With all accounts we might be posting into April next year or even longer.

College work, there’s a lot of it and its perpetually on my to do list

Multiple comics! some 1 page short and some up to 10 pages long, some written and scripted and some just sketchy baby ideas, I have so many its stupid and I want to draw them allllllll, comics about Ults, comics about tony and the multiverse, comics about Riri, about steve and moreeee, I have a lot of plans and no time

This doesn't begin to cover my WIP list and ideas hutch, I’m stocked with ideas for years

Tagging: @sabrecmc @alstonwiggles-study @foldingcranes @festiveferret @ashes0909 @ishipallthings I feel bad tagging you guys in everything but I'm also not gonna stop doing it because you’re the least likely to be annoyed ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

#tagged in #Ask memes #text post #misc