I love everything about the series. the music, the look, the style. And it has given us some of the holiest girls in R34 history, god bless.

However, I had a very polarizing experience with the persona games, specifically
Persona 5. I played it more like a typical RPG. I spent a lot of time grinding, I stretched out the time limits, and I didn’t do any confidants. I got stuck in the 3rd palace without key abilities (or time.) that would’ve made things waaay smoother. I got frustrated and deleted my save.

As someone interested in what the hype is all about, I have some questions. Should I replay the game knowing more about it than my first attempt? should I play the older games? And is there anything I should know about how to have a better time with the series?

you can start with any of the games. In terms of playing the game. just beat the dungeon as soon as you can. Spend the other days doing the confidants. Don't worry about losing days. That's about it. Also in terms of mementos you only need to go into it when you have requests and until you get to the deepest layer. That's about it.

The 3rd palace is still very early into the game and is in no way designed to stump people into frustration so intense they delete their save. My only advice is to get to the last boss of the dungeon quickly, then do other stuff in between before the deadline where you then immediately beat the boss to maximize your growth.

If beyond that you're still having trouble the game probably isn't for you. Just because you like the music/theme doesn't mean you'll get used to playing the game. And just because some people say it's good doesn't mean you're going to enjoy yourself. Hype is for marketing, not for saying how much you enjoyed yourself.

Either way good luck, but P5 is one of the best/easiest in the series, so going back to an earlier game isn't likely to help you.

Persona 5 is my #1 favorite game of all time, I could honestly gush for a good couple of hours on how perfectly designed the feedback loop of palace-real world-palace is, the complexity of all the characters you meet, the music tracks and the hidden themes they carry, etc. That's a lot of talking...or typing in this case. I'm gonna point you to a video from superbutterbuns about how to get the most out of your P5 experience. You don't have to follow everything, but I would at least consider what she says. Have fun stealing the hearts of shitty adults. ^_^

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR0f83wdzIE

ButterBuns is my messiah. Thank you ;)

Oh absolutely! The more people who get to experience this gem, the better. Plus, if you beat it before the end of the year, you'll be ready for Persona 5 Royal when IT drops. =D

I quite agree here that P3 really should be played if you are liking Persona so far! Even though i only played the P3 FES version (Which is basically like an updated version of the original with so much more content) but P3P is kind of the same as it includes a new story but changes various gameplay aspects from the orignal. Though P4 is the one i started with i still must say it was amazing! Hell, before P5 that was basically the face of Persona because on how many games Yu Narukami appeared. But yeah, like various have said already you should really beat palaces before the deadline as well as try and get confidants if possible.

Oh, and if you are also interested, Persona Q2 is coming to the 3DS in June which actually puts together P3, P4 and P5's gangs in one single game. Though keep in mind this time they wont be dubbing the game so... yeah, that part is a bummer.
(Persona Q1 only included P3 and P4 characters alongside with some OCs but since it came out way before P5 you could even play in the Citra emulator)

I’ve decided! I’m still burnt out on persona 5, only 3 palaces is still like 15 hours. So I’m gonna try my hand at P3FES and Persona 4 and then return to it with a fresh perspective! Thank you for all the help!