P4 plays much better than P3 as long as you avoid the grinding inherent in trying to max everything. The first time you play it, choose specific social links to focus on, and keep your pace brisk. Then go all out the second time. That way you'll experience the story the way the developer wants you to, and then you can satisfy your own completionist desires.
P3 was much more difficult to make easy through grinding due to the fatigue factor, and it's nearly impossible, without following a very, very specific sequence to the letter, to max out every social link in a first playthrough. Unfortunately this also kills the pacing for about a 30 hour stretch.
The characters are certainly more accessible in P4, but I preferred the overall story and protagonist from P3. It's nice that p4 hinted at future games exploring the relationship between that protagonist and Elizabeth(The two of them as bosses/potential allies in a future main sequence SMT game is something I'd love to see).
