#i saw some of a playthrough of it and now i’m sorta intrigued

[michi-chelle]

to play or not to play slow damage

[shadyb00ts]

Persona 5 - A Review

I should probably preface this by saying that the screenshots I’m using for this review are not my own, since Atlus has extremely strict policies about sharing footage of this game; PS4 Share features are completely unusable. The ones I do have, I got off of Google.

I should also probably mention that this is my first Persona game; I never played the previous titles, so I’m not biased towards the franchise in any way and I had no idea what to expect going into it. 

I was originally pretty iffy about getting this game, despite my love for JRPGs. I think I was a little worried about the micromanaging aspects and the deadline system. After Lightning Returns, I sorta avoided games with deadlines and limited time since I didn’t want to deal with the anxiety that comes with it. I like playing games at my own pace, and I also like to completely see EVERYTHING a game has to offer, and games with a limited time system obviously means you’ll have to miss out on certain things unless you follow a strict point-by-point guide that somehow lets you do all the things. From what I saw of this game, it seemed like it would be stressful having to manage social stats, relationships with people, a school life, etc, all while being a magical thief that literally steals hearts. 

So yeah, this game was definitely an impulse buy for me and, truth be told, I don’t regret it for a second. I got totally taken for a ride.

The first thing you should know if you plan on playing this game is that you need to have a lot of free time on your hands. This game is such a time sink that I basically lost track of the days. Once you’re in, you are IN. You immediately become attached to these characters and basically live out your life as this unnamed protagonist, raising various social stats such as knowledge and charm to name a few, maintaining strong bonds with the people around you, tackling high school life including getting pop quizzes and doing exams. It can be pretty overwhelming the first time around, at least probably if you’re a newcomer to the franchise like me. I even got a game over very early in the game cause I procrastinated too much and was met with the deadline. I overestimated how much time I actually had to do the stuff I wanted to. It takes a while to get into the groove of this game, but once you know where everything is, you start planning what you want to do, which skills you wanna develop and people you want to spend time with. It can be a lot to deal with, but it does feel rewarding when you max things out and learn to become more efficient.

The story, for a JRPG, is pretty impressive. You play a regular young Joe Shmoe who got unfairly tried for standing up to a shady powerful man and is now labeled a delinquent. He gets sent under the care of a cafe owner for probation and becomes a student in Shujin Academy where he ends up stumbling upon some weird shit, forms friendships with various other young misfits and they form the Phantom Thieves, a group of kids who seek to change the hearts of criminals and horrible adults so they’ll grow a conscience, own up to their horribleness and redeem themselves. That’s all I want to say about the story since I don’t want Atlus to sue me for posting spoilers. But like I said, I was extremely impressed by the story in this game, especially being a JRPG. I say that because, let’s be honest, JRPG stories are normally very predictable and endlessly cheesy. Of course, this game has those moments where it’s so clear how Japanese and Anime the game is from how the characters speak and whatnot, but there were a lot of points in the story where I genuinely had no idea what to expect and certain plot twists I didn’t see coming. 

Not to mention pretty much all the characters were very interesting and likable that it’s so easy to form attachments to each of them. Well, except for the protagonist, of course. I’m not sure what it is with JRPGs but it’s very often in games like this where the protagonist is completely mute and not even the slightest bit interesting. Maybe it’s so that it makes it easy for you to put yourself in their shoes, but I was never a fan of that. I prefer protagonists that have their own voice and distinct personality, so I personally wouldn’t mind if more Japanese games started taking a page from Western games when it comes to this kind of stuff rather than just have milquetoast, blank protagonists. That’s one gripe I have in regards to the story elements. Another big one is how empty and meaningless a lot of the dialogue choices really are. Oftentimes you’d see two or three options that basically consist of different versions of saying the same thing. And as far as I can tell, the options don’t really have any lasting effects either. If you’re a dick to somebody, they won’t remember you were a dick. A lot of the options also give you the illusion of choice; the game makes you think that there’s a decision to be made when really there’s only one outcome anyway. These things are basically my biggest problems with the game; it lacked weight when it came to the protagonist and the dialogue system. (Oh yeah, you also can’t be gay, which I was a little salty about but eh, I guess I’ll let it slide. It probably would’ve been too much to expect anyways.)

But enough of that, let’s get to the good part; the combat system. You have no idea how much I adore turn-based combat in JRPGs. I haven’t had this much fun with a JRPG since World of Final Fantasy and Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, which are pretty similar to Persona 5 now that I think about it. I loved the hell out of the combat in this game and also the Persona collecting and creating. It did a great job of teaching you how everything worked and letting you differentiate between the skill types, Persona types, etc. Unlike the real-world aspects of the game that overwhelmed me, I was able to digest the combat system pretty quickly. Fusing Personas to create new, more powerful ones is also a lot of fun, I find. I could spend an hour or two just in the Velvet Room alone fusing and strengthening Personas, filling up the Persona Compendium (gotta catch ‘em all, after all). So yeah, honestly I don’t think I have anything bad to say about the combat system. It’s extremely enjoyable and easy to get used to. 

By the way, I have to say that this game is one of the most visually intriguing games I’ve ever played. Stylish is honestly the perfect word to describe it as a whole. Everything is constantly moving and the transitions between battles especially are just cool as fuck. The dungeon designs and especially the Persona designs are something to behold. It all just looks sooooo damn good. I’m always so excited when making new Personas cause I can’t wait to see what they look like. I also get very excited whenever it’s time to go to a new dungeon--or Palaces, as they’re called in-game. Each one has its own unique setting and theme depending on the person in charge of it. It was all just so.... cool. I know I sound lame right now, but I swear to god I don’t know what else to say about it, I was just so thoroughly impressed by this game’s style and aesthetic.

Oh yeah, and I rarely talk about the music in games, but the soundtrack meshes perfectly with the overall look and feel of the game. I found myself humming and singing along to the songs after a while, and they got stuck in my head afterward. As far as the English voice acting goes, I also liked it for the most part. Of course there are some cringey parts, that comes with the territory, but overall I think the VAs did really well. I think I recognized a couple of their voices, too. 

I spent around 80 hours in my first playthrough of the game, and with all the stuff that carries over from that save data to a New Game+, my experience with this game is far from over cause there’s still so much I haven’t seen from it even despite the amount of time I’ve spent on it. It is a HUUUGE game with a lot of content, so you definitely have to keep that in mind before buying.

I think I’ll give this game a solid 8/10. Next to World of Final Fantasy, I think this is the best JRPG I’ve played in a long while. I do have some problems with it, and it probably isn’t for everyone; if you’re not really a fan of JRPGs then I’m not sure how much you’d enjoy it. It’s not as action-oriented as, say, Final Fantasy XV, so if you’re looking for something more FFXV-ish then it would probably be wise not to get this game. But if you love turn-based combat, monster collecting and micromanaging the life of a high-schooler, this is right up your alley. All I can say is that this won’t be my last Persona game, that’s for sure.