If they have Baker or Hale in, I'll certainly give them a go. :tongue: What sort of games are they?
Persona 4 is a life-simulator with multiple choice dialogue options and a jrpg with randomized dungeons. And you have to do it all in a year.
If you do play it, keep in mind that you'll be spending a lot of SP, so on the first dungeon, keep going back down on the previous floors to get SP (spirit points -- magic) items.
That's if you're playing the PS2 version.
If you play the Vita version, you'll have to be careful with how you spend your SP, so I recommend Very Easy mode. Trust me, you'll thank me later. You can give it a go on normal, but I wouldn't recommend it for first time players.
You're probably most likely gonna go for the PS2 (more difficult) version, so swallow your pride, and go on easy mode.
After the first dungeon, you'll have access to an extremely extortionist fox who'll give you SP back in exchange for an arm and a leg. Go back to the previous dungeons and use physical non-persona attacks to get Yen to buy your SP back.
In the Vita version, he's a lot cheaper, but still... be careful.
Beat each single dungeon and do all the other side-quests (re-doing dungeons for extra bosses, etc.) in one day. Never take longer than a day.
When you're at level 34, fuse (create) Incubus so that you can absorb SP like a vampire. It's tedious, but better than having to keep going back to the fox.
When doing Social Links:
Forget about getting all the books (you'll get a hidden book if you hold back on the sports social link and it's not worth remembering for -- other than that, buy all the books available at the shop and see which ones you have time for... like the studying one) and focus on your sports and band/acting club activities first.
Then during your night social links, you will get stuck on level 4 or so with Nanako --
-- Instead of boosting your "Social Stats" with your books, go out and get a job (after boosting understanding and knowledge) being a tutor and hospital janitor.
Tutoring and After School Day Care raises your understanding high enough so that you'll be able to continue the Social Link with Nanako.
I made the mistake of trying to boost my stats through books only. In the end, I only finished eight of the social links.
Do NOT try to finish all the social links during your first playthrough. Just keep grinding at the ones you have until you get stuck.
When you get stuck, find another social link that will raise the stat you need to raise (this is basically what I said before, but I'm re-stating it here because it really is that important).
If you play the Vita version, make Adachi your first night priority social link. I didn't, and I ended up having to wait until my second playthrough.
Study. I don't think there's a social link for that one (unless you have exams coming up), so the only way to do that in the afternoon is by going to the library. Then at night, you'll have to study at your desk.
If there are other jobs (origami folding) or books that are available when there's no "social" way to raise your stats, do that instead.
Was this completely confusing? If it was, then sorry. I'm just trying to condense this (yeah, the game is that long) as much as possible while still keeping the vital parts intact.
If you choose to have a gf, then I suggest Naoto, simply because she's not a derp like the rest of them. I like Chie too, but she just... kind of comes off as needy.
Naoto is worthless as a party member, but as a social link, she's more or less the best one.
Anyway, in my next playthrough, I think I'll go with Yumi, the actress chick... not because I like her (I mean, there are some things she and I have in common, but shes' such a drama queen), but because I heard that at the very end of the game, everyone will be completely surprised that you'd be going out with her.
Not exactly worth it, but I figure, why not?
Oh, and as for club activities: Band and Basketball due to all the stat-boosting questions.
Don't use a walkthrough for this game. If you make a mistake, then it's all over. Just play the game blind (while trying to remember my hints) and just enjoy your mistakes. It's all part of the experience.
Anyway... I think that's all I can say without spiraling out of control with all the other explanations.
Fishing: If you want to finish the fox social link (so that his SP will be cheaper to buy), I think you'll have to master the art of fishing.
Oh, and go with one gf only, otherwise things will get awkward in the dungeons (and if you're playing the Vita version, things will get absolutely disastrous on valentines day).
Also: Don't fear the reaper (he'll appear on the first playthrough on the vita version).
Have fun. :3
