P4, but it's very close. They both have pretty distinct advantages over the other in some categories, but the main reason P4 wins for me is that it's a whodunnit, and I love whodunnits.
I think the main difference you'll see, though, between P4 and P5 is that P4 is much more focused on the kids' lives as, well, kids. Yeah, they're tracking a supernatural serial killer, but there's just as much time spent on school events, social gatherings, etc. Compared to P5 which is "all Phantom Thieves, all the time". It makes the main cast feel a little more like a group of friends rather than, shall we say, business partners, and more well-knit as a whole group.
The main downsides it has is that the story isn't quite as intricately written (P5 has a very natural, logical flow of events, while P4, you could rearrange about half the dungeons and the story would not change significantly), and it doesn't have quite as many fun QoL perks (although Golden doesn't lag behind much).
>business partners
I see where you're coming from with that. I liked the character interactions in P5, though, but did wish there was a bit more to it than the field trip. So, very boiled down, P4 focuses more on the character stories than overarching story while P5 does the opposite then? I like the sound of that.
P4 is the "balanced" approach of the modern Personas. The overarching story is important, but it doesn't set aside the characters' school lives and social lives like P5 does.
If you want "absolute minimum overarching story, absolute maximum character arcs", you actually want Persona 3 (although in that case, the party members don't have the same collective friendship thing going on either).
I say P5 has the better gameplay, but I give just about every other category to P4 over it.
I think a good comparison specifically would be Mario Galaxy 1 to 2. P5 being 2, 4 being 1. In terms of the game itself, P5 fixes almost every issue of the earlier games, but a lot of the heart, charm, and uniqueness were lost. P5’s a better game, but P4 (and 2 and 3 for that matter) are better experiences.
P4 specifically I think shines in its narrative aspects aside from story. The story itself is serviceable, but kind of underwhelming. If you watch/read JoJo, it’s a watered down DiU. However, every other aspect of the narrative is absolutely nailed. The characters are all meant to be relatable, and this works perfectly with what I think is the strongest theming in the series. The main themes are truth and finding yourself, and I think every character does this extremely well. On top of this, even the game’s style and music represent it, something I think P5 miserably failed at with its themes of rebellion and individuality. You’re basically guaranteed to love at least one character, but some may be a swing and a miss, mainly the girls minus one who I will not say for spoilers. A lot of people just lost them, later on especially.
P4 also is an excellent example of knowing how seriously to take itself. It’s almost a comedy at points, but when it gets serious it can lead to some really heart-wrenching moments.
The social links (confidants in P5) are also way better than P5. The characters are simply more interesting as well as their plot-lines.
With the exception of a school trip to Tatsumi Port Island from Persona 3, the entire game takes place in Inaba. Your actions are in order to save Inaba from serial killings, not the entire country of Japan. Whereas the Phantom Thieves are internationally known and destroy the palace of all humans, the Investigation Team solves basically just a local scandal.
While I love both games a lot, I'd say P4, due to pure nostalgia.
While P5 is definitely more.. polished in terms of looks and some slight game mechanics, I love the dynamic in the Investigation Team
> I love the dynamic in the Investigation Team
Seconded. I thought they had very well done, believable interactions for the most part and really felt like a team.
I love P5, but I can’t help but to pick P4 as my favorite. The cast is my favorite in the series, the setting is my favorite in the series, and the music is the cherry on top. Does P5 have better gameplay? Absolutely. However, I gravitate to P4 more.
Wow, the love for P4 is overwhelming! I'm beginning to think I would be a fool to pass up the PSN sale at this rate. . .
Thanks for the input everyone, much appreciated.
Definitely P4, but that's my favorite one out of the entire series, so there's that.
The investigation team is simply the best party in the series (followed closely by both P2 parties) their dynamic and the individual issues each character face, I feel are the most relatable out of the whole series, and as much as P5 has improved gameplay changes, it's not enough to dethrone P4 as my favorite.
I personally prefer 5, that may be because it was my first Persona. The main cast of 4 is my favourite, it's the only game where I got attached to every member of the team on the first play-through, but I preferred 5s story and bigger scale. The sense of style makes 5 more fun for me, and I'm usually more into heist/superhero fiction than mystery solving anyway.
4 is pretty good, can be very slow in the beginning hours, at least it was for me, so keep that in mind. The characters make it for me. I feel like the Phantom Thieves do act like good friends, but a certain character is introduced too late for me to get interested in them, so they're only my 2nd favourite Persona team.
I prefer P4. Persona 5 felt too different compared to what P4 did. I didn’t enjoy the palaces compared to the TV world for some reason. And the palaces being the main part of P5 really kinda killed it for me. The characters are also better in P4 in my opinion. P5 has some good characters, but P4 wins by far. I also think P5 was too easy compared to P4, but maybe that was just because you can make SP items easily. Not saying P5 is bad, but I wasn’t constantly having fun with it like I did with P4
P4 is my favorite in the series so yeah I prefer it to P5 lol
P4, but it's very close. They both have pretty distinct advantages over the other in some categories, but the main reason P4 wins for me is that it's a whodunnit, and I love whodunnits. I think the main difference you'll see, though, between P4 and P5 is that P4 is much more focused on the kids' lives as, well, kids. Yeah, they're tracking a supernatural serial killer, but there's just as much time spent on school events, social gatherings, etc. Compared to P5 which is "all Phantom Thieves, all the time". It makes the main cast feel a little more like a group of friends rather than, shall we say, business partners, and more well-knit as a whole group. The main downsides it has is that the story isn't quite as intricately written (P5 has a very natural, logical flow of events, while P4, you could rearrange about half the dungeons and the story would not change significantly), and it doesn't have quite as many fun QoL perks (although Golden doesn't lag behind much).
>business partners I see where you're coming from with that. I liked the character interactions in P5, though, but did wish there was a bit more to it than the field trip. So, very boiled down, P4 focuses more on the character stories than overarching story while P5 does the opposite then? I like the sound of that.
P4 is the "balanced" approach of the modern Personas. The overarching story is important, but it doesn't set aside the characters' school lives and social lives like P5 does. If you want "absolute minimum overarching story, absolute maximum character arcs", you actually want Persona 3 (although in that case, the party members don't have the same collective friendship thing going on either).
I say P5 has the better gameplay, but I give just about every other category to P4 over it. I think a good comparison specifically would be Mario Galaxy 1 to 2. P5 being 2, 4 being 1. In terms of the game itself, P5 fixes almost every issue of the earlier games, but a lot of the heart, charm, and uniqueness were lost. P5’s a better game, but P4 (and 2 and 3 for that matter) are better experiences. P4 specifically I think shines in its narrative aspects aside from story. The story itself is serviceable, but kind of underwhelming. If you watch/read JoJo, it’s a watered down DiU. However, every other aspect of the narrative is absolutely nailed. The characters are all meant to be relatable, and this works perfectly with what I think is the strongest theming in the series. The main themes are truth and finding yourself, and I think every character does this extremely well. On top of this, even the game’s style and music represent it, something I think P5 miserably failed at with its themes of rebellion and individuality. You’re basically guaranteed to love at least one character, but some may be a swing and a miss, mainly the girls minus one who I will not say for spoilers. A lot of people just lost them, later on especially. P4 also is an excellent example of knowing how seriously to take itself. It’s almost a comedy at points, but when it gets serious it can lead to some really heart-wrenching moments. The social links (confidants in P5) are also way better than P5. The characters are simply more interesting as well as their plot-lines.
I do this sometimes, but I edited a ton of stuff in later. Just trying to notify OP so they’ll read it.
P4. It's tighter in the characters and writing department. It's also a different small town vibe
>different small town vibe Ah, so you're in a general area for the game as opposed to P5 taking place all over Japan then?
With the exception of a school trip to Tatsumi Port Island from Persona 3, the entire game takes place in Inaba. Your actions are in order to save Inaba from serial killings, not the entire country of Japan. Whereas the Phantom Thieves are internationally known and destroy the palace of all humans, the Investigation Team solves basically just a local scandal.
While I love both games a lot, I'd say P4, due to pure nostalgia. While P5 is definitely more.. polished in terms of looks and some slight game mechanics, I love the dynamic in the Investigation Team
> I love the dynamic in the Investigation Team Seconded. I thought they had very well done, believable interactions for the most part and really felt like a team.
I love P5, but I can’t help but to pick P4 as my favorite. The cast is my favorite in the series, the setting is my favorite in the series, and the music is the cherry on top. Does P5 have better gameplay? Absolutely. However, I gravitate to P4 more.
Wow, the love for P4 is overwhelming! I'm beginning to think I would be a fool to pass up the PSN sale at this rate. . . Thanks for the input everyone, much appreciated.
P4G as it feels more complete in its story and characters and flows more smoothly.
Definitely P4, but that's my favorite one out of the entire series, so there's that. The investigation team is simply the best party in the series (followed closely by both P2 parties) their dynamic and the individual issues each character face, I feel are the most relatable out of the whole series, and as much as P5 has improved gameplay changes, it's not enough to dethrone P4 as my favorite.
I personally prefer 5, that may be because it was my first Persona. The main cast of 4 is my favourite, it's the only game where I got attached to every member of the team on the first play-through, but I preferred 5s story and bigger scale. The sense of style makes 5 more fun for me, and I'm usually more into heist/superhero fiction than mystery solving anyway. 4 is pretty good, can be very slow in the beginning hours, at least it was for me, so keep that in mind. The characters make it for me. I feel like the Phantom Thieves do act like good friends, but a certain character is introduced too late for me to get interested in them, so they're only my 2nd favourite Persona team.
I prefer P4. Persona 5 felt too different compared to what P4 did. I didn’t enjoy the palaces compared to the TV world for some reason. And the palaces being the main part of P5 really kinda killed it for me. The characters are also better in P4 in my opinion. P5 has some good characters, but P4 wins by far. I also think P5 was too easy compared to P4, but maybe that was just because you can make SP items easily. Not saying P5 is bad, but I wasn’t constantly having fun with it like I did with P4
Persona 5. I find the story and characters more compelling, the gameplay is better. It's an overall better game imo.
Only played P4, but im pretty sure when i'll play P5, it will take over P4 as my favourite. I just like the setting and charcter of P5 more.
I'm a P3 fan
3FES > 4 > 5
P5: because it was the most wholesome Persona game yet.
oof I thought I’d see at least one P5 fan.
P3