Heh, that cosplay was pretty sweet.
Awww maaan, Nocturne is hard to find? I just passed up buying a copy a few days ago for 14.99 'cause I'm frugal. I may just have to call that store and have them hold it...
I got hooked on the SMT series with P3. Then came P4, which may be my favorite so far, followed by Devil Summoner, which is pretty amazing. Then came P2 (borrowed from a friend), which I haven't finished because the graphics make me sad and the gameplay is kind of hard! I finished one dungeon at a higher-than-necessary level, then the next one immediately kicked my posterior. It's a good story, though... but the Joker thing made me giggle at first after the Dark Knight.
I'm excited for the PSP port of the original Persona game too! Maybe I'll catch the allusions in P2 now!
In regards to the Raiho plushie package of DS2, there are quite a few still floating around my local gamestops (though they're all in the back due to the beastly packaging) and I think they lowered the price to $35. ...Maybe.
Heh, P4 definitely has more likable characters. I started playing the Answer and all I could think is 'Wow, Yukari's being a hyper-bitch to Aegis'. Then I tried to replay the game itself and within minutes I was like, 'Daaaang, Yukari's doing it again.' Chie and Naoto definitely win over her.
...But it always struck me that Naoto looks startlingly like Raido. Maybe it's the hat... I mean, she goes on about her family's detective heritage and that always makes me laugh in a 'where-is-your-black-cat-then' kind of way.
I tried to get a friend into P4 too (I even agreed to read the Twilight books in return! I am a good friend, guys!) Perhaps it was a mistake to have her start a new game, because the introductory set-up is pretty long and my friend is pretty impatient. Teddy almost saved her, but I think the riding on a bike with Yosuke thing put her off. Le sigh.