I watched the ER, then played it. Fantastic game.

I watched the first few episodes of the ER and then decided I wanted to play it by myself first. Then I watched the rest of the ER (and the Best of ER, too ,since that came out around the time I had finished P4G a second time, and P4A and still just couldn't let go).

Watched the ER, then bought a Vita and played Golden.

I watched it first and then played through it later.

(Then I watched the anime, barely played the fighting games and never touched the dancing game or dungeon crawler)

Well, I'll say that I hope that hearing about P4 tangentially for years hasn't overhyped you. If you liked P3, I'm confident you'll like 4 too. Also, good on you for avoiding spoilers for this long, but I thought I should mention I got one of the BIG twists spoiled for me just before the reveal; but because I would say Persona's longstanding strength has always been the characters and their S. Link arcs, it ended up barely affecting my enjoyment. So, you know, if you're an idiot like me and go looking for completely unrelated, combat information and spoil yourself, try not to feel bad.

If you're someone who enjoys a good JRPG level grind, maybe consider watching the ER during these sessions. The combat is JUST simple enough during long dungeons that I think you can safely watch while playing. It's how I spent my second playthrough and got through all of the ER and a good chunk of X-Files.

Played the entire game before I know about Giant Bomb, then stumble upon the ER and the rest is history.

If you are a completionist play through it the "right" way first so you experience everything the game has to offer first hand and then watch the ER. Assuming you aren't the type to get angry at them for making "wrong" choices. Although I do think they got most of the important stuff. There's also an extra layer of enjoyment from watching Jeff and Vinny getting excited over something that you know will turn out to be nothing or watching them get blind sighted by events you know it is coming.

See if you can get a New game+ save to give you a head start and save you some time grinding. Since you played through P3 you already know most of the mechanics and systems.

However if you are really press for time, I think just watching the ER is a fine way to experience the game perhaps from a different position where you will have the same insight as them.

Watched the endurance run about 5+ times. Finished regular Persona 4 at least 5 times, and Golden 4 times.

I finished Persona 4 before I even knew Giantbomb was a thing. After learning about the Endurance Run I watched it to completion many times.

I just beat it for the first time a couple of months ago. My absolute favorite JRPG of all time, which is surprising considering I knew pretty much nothing about it besides the battle system when I got it. Never watched the ER, nor do I feel compelled to do so anytime soon.

Yes-I played and beat Persona 4 on an emulator and became obsessed and deeply attached to all things Persona 4. Watched the Hiimdaisy dubs, the anime and eventually stumbled to the Endurance Run. To experience all my favourite moments in the game through Jeff and Vinny's eyes only made me love the setting and characters of Persona 4 even more, and ER ended up being my gateway into Giantbomb in general.

@poobumbutt: I have a strong track record of liking the 1st game I played in a series the best so my expectation is that I'll like it but not as much as P3, which is good I guess? At least better than being super hyped I think.

I like my grinding but it's also a sickness in me. A big part of the reason why P3 drained me so much is because I NEEDED to have the crew around the same level. Maybe I will take your suggestion at just watch ER through the grind.

Played P4 but didn't watch the ER. Persona is one of my favorite series. I'm definitely going to watch the ER someday though. I got into GB at the start of 2017 so I'm binge watching stuff like Unprofessional Friday, Demo Derby and others plus the current stuff. It'd be great if they did a P5 run but I doubt it'll ever happen. I like P5 better than P4 but both are amazing games!

I bought the game part way through the ER (I was completely up to date on ER) and completed it before ER finished, still loved ER all the same.

I've beaten P4 and P4G multiple times, and never watched the Endurance Run. It's kind of my white whale for the sites content. Just never gotten to it.

Didn't play it but watched the er, it dis get me to play persona 3 though and i am still contemplating 5 at some point.

got a vita and golden and played it first. then watched the endurance run. This was January 2014

then played P3. then played Arena. then played Ultimax, then played PQ. then went to go see the 3 lead singers perform Persona music live in Arizona at an anime convention. Then started cosplaying Persona. Then got P4 dancing all night. Then got P5. Still cosplay persona at conventions with friends.

Did I mention I like Persona

Watched all of the ER and then played Golden on the Vita.

That might be the best way to do it. The new content helped keep me going even though I knew the broad story beats.

Played P4G before I even started visiting the site (I listened to podcasts though, so maybe they mentioned it briefly on there). Beat it, loved it, went back to watch the ER, quit about 20 episodes in. It's just such a tremendously long series that I couldn't commit myself to finishing it.

Tried to play P4 a few months back. Got up to the Marukyu Striptease, I think. There's something about that game though that was really stressing me out. I always felt like I was playing it "wrong" or leaving something important undone, even when people told me not to worry so much about it. I loved the characters, but I felt like the game puts a lot of pressure on you to not waste time.

So it kinda fell off for me. I'd love to see that game get a PC release though. It would be more convenient to play for me on there, and would be worth restarting for.

What's silly about this is that I won't watch the Endurance Run because I'm still telling myself I'll play through it some day.

I played it for the first time this year after playing and loving Persona 5. I had watched some of the ER before (several times), but I always fell off after a while. I found it way more fun to watch after actually playing the game, because I was anticipating their reactions to the specific scenes I loved (or hated, in the case of the camping trip).

I'd definitely recommend playing it first and then watching. I think both are probably more fun that way.

Played Persona because of the Endurance Run which then made me go on and try out the mainline SMT series which I ended up enjoying more than Persona. Giant Bomb changes lives.

I watched most of the ER, but lost interest eventually. I tried to play P4 and bounced off of it really hard. I think those modern Persona games have some really strong qualities, but there are a few things that prevent me from enjoying them. I hate the time management stuff; HATE it. I know I won't manage my time effectively (w/o playing alongside a F.A.Q, and at that point why even play it), and then I'll miss out on story content/true ending stuff. I don't think the choice offered in these sections of the game really amount to anything more than an opportunity to miss out on story content.

I would love a version of Persona 3/4/5 that didn't allow you to screw yourself out of completing an S. Link.

@relkin: You can easily see what you missed online and the way I look at it, you can't become best friends or S-link with everyone in real life and making the "wrong" choices becomes your story, your play through.

I watched the endurance run first, but only part way since I didn't want any more spoilers about the game beyond "bitches and whores." I eventually got Persona 4 Golden in 2014, beat it within two weeks and watched the endurance run as background noise while grinding. I've probably watched the endurance run three times and beat the game almost twice. My latest 260-something hour long new game plus save is just before a certain boss of which is proving to be quite the challenge for me.

I watched the ER and then bought the game partway through.

FWIW, I think I enjoyed the ER more than the actual game.

I played persona 4 in December 2008 and I watched the Endurance Run in 2009.

I watched the endurance run first around 4 years ago then I started playing the game and beat it then finished watching the endurance run

I voted for only watch. I did buy the game and acquire a PS2 to play waaaay after the fact. Put about 2 hours into it. May actually try and finish it one day.

I played Persona 4 based on some rumblings from friends. It was the kind of game that I had constant butterflies in my stomach playing, because I'd never connected so well with a game before (some right place, right time, right themes there). Later, I checked out the Endurance Run based on some rumblings from the same friends. Spent basically every minute of the next week or so of my Christmas vacation watching the entire playthrough (before video game playthroughs were a dime-a-dozen fad), and have stuck around GB ever since.

In short: friends, Persona 4, and Giant Bomb are all Very Good Things.

I played it and then watched the ER when it came around. The style and tone of P3 and P4 are pretty different but even as one of the strange people who likes 3 more than 4 I'd still say you should definitely play it because it is a fantastic game. There are slight QOL improvements over 3 that will definitely help prevent your breakdown while you play.