Treasure Hunter November 2023 – Are the Limited Run Games Persona 3 and 4 Collections Worth It?

Treasure Hunter isn’t ever likely to come back in its full glory. That said, I’m not above dusting off this column every so often or in this case, every few years.

On our Discord server we’ve been occasionally talking about the Limited Run Games Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden collections. Drew, just having finished Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 Golden (on the Vita no less!) is uninterested in what Limited Run has to offer. Geoff is slightly interested in grabbing a physical copy of Persona 4 Golden on a newer system, even though he owns a copy on Vita. I’m personally not interested. I still own Persona 3 Portable on PSP and I just purchased a digital version of the game on Switch in January. On the Persona 4 side, I have a physical copy on Vita and a digital copy on Steam. This is in addition to owning Persona 3 FES and the vanilla version of Persona 4 on PS2, and a digital PS2 Classics version on PS3. I simply can’t bring myself to purchase these games yet again. Sorry Limited Run.

Those discussions about P3P and P4G receiving ports to newer systems got me thinking. Sure, no one on staff or in our group are interested in these new physical ports, but what about people who may have missed out on the original runs of the games? Or perhaps those who played the games digitally recently, but would love to have physical copies?

I’ll go right ahead and say it. If you’ve wanted physical copies of Persona 3 Portable and/or Persona 4 Golden, but you missed out on the PSP and Vita versions, the Limited Run Collections are your best bet. You can purchase just the games by themselves on the PS4, Switch, or Xbox One for $35. Once the pre-production period closes on November 12 for Persona 3 Portable and on December 10 for Persona 4 Golden, the games themselves will ship out in roughly four to six months after the pre-order window closes. The wait is lengthy, but these games have been available for over a decade on older systems, and were released digitally about a year ago. At this point, the physical version can be thought of as for safe keeping against digital games that can suddenly vanish. And if you haven’t played the games yet, what’s another six months if you’ve waited this long?

 

Physical copies of P3P and P4G on their original systems are expensive on eBay in comparison to what LRG is offering. New copies of P3P on eBay run as high as $700 while good copies run closer to $100– oftentimes without a case or manual. The prices on P4G are a bit more reasonable at around $80, but as high $270. Used copies are much more reasonable at $20 to $30, but the cheaper copies don’t always include a case. If you have a Vita or PSTV, there are still good deals to be found on P4G.

 

The collector’s editions are where the prices on eBay start to go off the rails. Again, new copies of the P3P pre-order edition average around $300 to $700. As far as the North American release goes, it wasn’t impressive. It was just the game on PSP and a replica of Junpei’s hat. At the time it cost about $40. The Solid Gold Premium Edition sits at an average of $250 up to a whopping $1990 (and shipping costs another $15). I actually wrote about this edition in the November 2012 Treasure Hunter. The edition sold out quickly, but it was only $70.

Limited Run being Limited Run, they offer Collector’s Editions of the vast majority of their games. The Persona 3 and 4 releases are no exception. Compared to the OG collector’s editions LGR’s editions feel reasonably priced.

 

Let’s start with Persona 3 Portable. The Grimoire Edition costs $70 and includes the game, a steelbook, a slipcover, and the Grimoire Book Box. Honestly, it’s a lot of extra packaging and isn’t very substantial. If I personally were looking to order, I’d either trade down and just buy a copy of the game, or trade up and go big with the S.E.E.S Edition.

 

The S.E.E.S Edition is impressive with everything listed in the Grimoire Edition, plus a 3D shadow box with a replica evoker, the P3P soundtrack, character trading cards, a school patch, a S.E.E.S armband, and a certificate of authenticity. $200 isn’t a bad price for all that’s included, though the expected ship time is nine months. This would probably be the edition I’d go for if I were in the market. The only thing missing from this edition is a cute plush Koromaru.

 

Moving over to Persona 4 Golden, the Grimiore Edition is pretty much the same as the P3P one. The only difference is the Grimoire book box is a replica of Margaret’s Le Grimoire and is visually more interesting. Still, I find it to be a waste of cardboard. Again, go one step down and buy just the game or go one step up and get the ultra fancy edition.

 

That edition would be the Midnight Channel Edition which is also priced at $200. Again, it includes all the cardboard from the Grimoire Edition. Fans receive a lenticular Midnight Channel box, Yu Narukami’s glasses with a display stand, a replica photo from the end of the game, a character trading card set, an All Out Attack 3D shadowbox, a Midnight Channel pin, a metal Teddie statue, the P4G soundtrack, and a certificate of authenticity. If I hadn’t purchased Persona 4 so many times over the years, including the vanilla version’s Collector’s Edition, this would be the one I’d go for. In fact, I find it to be much more interesting than the S.E.E.S Edition. Again, the wait for this version is nine months.

In addition to game collections Limited Run has also released variety of swag that can be purchased on its own. This includes stake decks, hoodies, various t-shirts, hats, and even Jack and Black Frost plushies. Honestly, having seen what Fangamer offers on their own collections, I can’t say I’m impressed by Limited Run’s offerings aside from the plushies. The only upside here is that no one really offers officially licensed Persona 3 apparel. It’s relatively bland, but it’s something.

Again, I think if you’ve been steadily collecting Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden games and swag throughout the years, Limited Run’s offerings won’t impress you. That said, if you missed out on the games and are curious about them, or missed the chance for Collector’s Editions back in the day, LRG’s selections are pretty good. If you’re on the fence, I wouldn’t wait too much longer to make your decision as pre-orders for both these titles close out soon.