Atlus Persona 5

[cruel]

I started playing Persona 5 in June 2017. Finished it few days ago - this speaks much about how exciting the game was for me.

I liked it, overall, but it's much closer to 7+/10 than 10/10 and overall GOTY / best game ever praise. My main problem are problably the characters. In a game like this, it's very important, and unfortunately characters in P5 suck balls totally compared to Persona 4 Golden. Morgana was annoying, Anne was a stereotypical blonde, Ryuji was a stereotypical angry kid, Haru was so bland it's even hard for me to say anything about her. Yusuke and Makoto were OK. But overall, there were nowhere close to replicating the amazing chemistry we had in Persona 4, not even to mention characters (Teddie was hilarious, Yosuke was a bro, Yukiko was a waifu, Kanji was funny, etc.).

Second thing - all of the 'gameplay improvements' people were talking about (unique palaces compared to Persona 4 dungeons), were basically 'push the button' / 'solve the puzzle' types of stuff. I'm not playing a game to chase buttons for christ sake.

Third thing - story. It started good, but some of the plot twists were horrible. The explanation given on November 20 was reeeeealy hard to believe / didn't feel authentic.

And last thing - combat got boring after some time. Some of the palaces were repeating same enemies all over, which got old pretty fast. I don't know why they didn't try to experiment with combat system more - throw 8 or 10 weaker enemies at once, instead of repeating a group of 3 all over. Something like they did in Casino level, when your main character was forced to fight enemies allone - this kind of stuff done more would be really cool.

Still, don't regret playing this, not a bad game. But I will never get all the super-hype this game created. I'm hoping they will do better with Persona 6, mainly in character development side. In this game, I didn't even care about some of the confidants, because I felt they were created for 16 year olds.

 

[Viata]

An npc does mention a weird ritual going on in that room, though. Don't remember if he also cues you in about the full moon requirement.

The full moon cue is given when you go there earlier.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Persona 5 has a dick monster that beats out the one in Stones of Arnhem:

So you missed the side quest in Nocturne where a cult is trying to summon Mara? You missed some funny shit, man.

Found a clip of it. Yeah, that's hilarious.

 

[GhostCow]

(Teddie was hilarious, Yosuke was a bro, Rise was a waifu, Kanji was funny, etc.).

FTFY

 

[Psquit]

Is persona 3 and 4 worth getting into? also, fuck SMT IV NEUTRAL PATH, Atlus should eat broken glass for making me grind sidequest in that atrocious Tokyo map.

 

[GarlandExCon]

I loved 4. People tell me 3 is the best. The problem is that going from Persona 5 to 3 or even 4 might be jarring due to limitations and graphics.

 

[GhostCow]

4 is really good. 3 is a slog and really not that very good compared to the games that came after it. The story isn't very good either IMO. If you have to play it then do it on an emulator so you can hack the game to actually let you control your party members. Otherwise they will be AI controlled and do stupid things to piss you off constantly

Here's the code you'd have to put in a pnach file if you want to try that:

Spoiler

// Controllable party members (by TGE)
patch=1,EE,0029AFC8,word,00000000 // nop check for if battle unit is not mc -> ai
patch=1,EE,0020207C,word,00000000 // load proper unit id for battle menu skill list
patch=1,EE,0020208C,word,8F84B6FC
patch=1,EE,00202090,word,8C840254
patch=1,EE,00202094,word,8C840030
patch=1,EE,00202098,word,8C8400A4
patch=1,EE,0028DE14,word,2405001B // fix escape
patch=1,EE,0029692C,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,0028AC5C,word,9683001A // disable persona menu for non-mc
patch=1,EE,0028AC60,word,3063FFBF
patch=1,EE,0028AC64,word,A683001A
patch=1,EE,0028AC68,word,96830018
patch=1,EE,0028AC6C,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,0028AC70,word,081A6AF8
patch=1,EE,0028AC74,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,0069ABE0,word,8F82B6FC
patch=1,EE,0069ABE4,word,8C420148
patch=1,EE,0069ABE8,word,14540004
patch=1,EE,0069ABEC,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,0069ABF0,word,34630400
patch=1,EE,0069ABF4,word,A6830018
patch=1,EE,0069ABF8,word,34630400
patch=1,EE,0069ABFC,word,080A2B1D
patch=1,EE,0069AC00,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,001FF518,word,8E300254 // fix skill requirements
patch=1,EE,001FF51C,word,8E100030
patch=1,EE,001FF520,word,8E1000A4
patch=1,EE,001FF524,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,001FF528,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,001FF52C,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,002D8210,word,00000000 // fix items
patch=1,EE,002D8220,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,002D8224,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,002D823C,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,002A3914,word,081A6B01 // fix boss battle camera
patch=1,EE,0069AC04,word,1240000B
patch=1,EE,0069AC08,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,0069AC0C,word,8E420030
patch=1,EE,0069AC10,word,844700A2
patch=1,EE,0069AC14,word,20030001
patch=1,EE,0069AC18,word,14E00006
patch=1,EE,0069AC1C,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,0069AC20,word,844200A4
patch=1,EE,0069AC24,word,10430003
patch=1,EE,0069AC28,word,00001021
patch=1,EE,0069AC2C,word,080A8E47
patch=1,EE,0069AC30,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,0069AC34,word,0C0BE210
patch=1,EE,0069AC38,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,0069AC3C,word,080A8E47
patch=1,EE,0069AC40,word,00000000

 

[Abu Antar]

3 on PSP was very good. Lets you control your characters. The difference is that exploration during regular life is menu based.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Eh I still feels like 3 is the better game in general.

Gameplay wise 4 is generally better if only because its more polished and having control of your party is a godsent. But as Abu Antar mentioned P3P also have that. On the other hand Fusion Spells (which are OP, but fun) is relegated into consumables in P3P so there is a bit of con as well.

P3P also lacks The Answer which, while mostly a dungeon crawler, gives a closure to the rest of the casts as P3 The Journey ending was left in ambiguous bittersweet way. It also lightly setup connection to the Persona Arena games which serve as sequel to P3 (albeit very minor) and P4. On the other hand P3P has the FemC campaign which is kinda nice with having different Social Links and all.

In general 3 is also more difficult I think? Which is in some part caused by no direct control of your party members I guess, but I remember The Journey and The Answer (post game expansion dungeon crawl) to have more bullshit resistance and all. Elizabeth also fucks you up harder than Margareth.

Story wise 3 is also better. While 4 has urgency in finishing the quest every full moon due to its plot

Spoiler

someone is kidnapped and will die every full moon if you dont save them

, 3 most of the time always feels that it has a bigger threat looming around

Spoiler

the Apathy Syndrome, the Arcana shadow each full which are implied to be able to fuck thing up in major scale

. Unlike 4 "whodunnit" where there is no clear villain for like 80% of the game, 3 also has various secondary villains which keeps the main story more engaging and focused. The main supporting villains in 3

Spoiler

Strega

are also better compared to 4's

Spoiler

Adachi

.

Character wise its kinda arguable I guess, but I liked 3 casts better. Both 3 and 4 (and 5) have a teen drama feel to it due to high schoolers casts, but unlike 4 where main party members remained mostly static and developed through social links (which in itself deals with their personal issue in their daily life), in 3 the character development is a big part of the main plot. Every single development is tied one way or another to the main plot which is both impactful story wise and character wise. 4 only have one character which is developed through the main story (whose S.Link basically level ups as story goes) and it was great as it deliver the punch 3 had with its character development.

Finally 3 has the better soundtrack in general. The final boss theme is very good.

 

[Viata]

I never played The Answer. I found it shit enough and the ambiguous ending of the original was quite cool and I prefer not knowing the real answer.

 

[Puukko]

Let us not forget Persona 2, lads. Can only vouch for 1 for the meme value but both IS and EP were solid games, with EP feeling more complete due to its length and most importantly the difference in difficulty going from PSP to PSX - still on the easier side by series standards but at least you can't autopilot till the end with freebie Personas.

 

[Vorark]

P3P also lacks The Answer which, while mostly a dungeon crawler, gives a closure to the rest of the casts as P3 The Journey ending was left in ambiguous bittersweet way.

That's actually in favor of P3P.

The Answer botched the sublime ending of P3, which was faithful to the themes presented over the course of the game, with a bunch of unnecessary explanations; sometimes things are better left unsaid. In addition to that, it was also a chore to play: no compedium, no social links to improve fusions or to provide a break between all the fighting, extremely grindy and, to top it all, still lacked party control.

Heartful Cry and Brand New Days were catchy tunes tho.

 

[Viata]

My favorite is Persona 1.

 

[Terra]

Is persona 3 and 4 worth getting into? also, fuck SMT IV NEUTRAL PATH, Atlus should eat broken glass for making me grind sidequest in that atrocious Tokyo map.

You just reminded me that I never finished SMT4. And that is exactly why I never bothered; accidently stumbled onto the neutral path during my first and only playthrough and couldn't believe that I'd have to slog through a bunch of sidequests to get to the end.

P3 & P4 are both worth a playthrough I'd say.

A lot of people complained about the Answer but I enjoyed it for what it was, though some of the enemy setups are rage inducing. There was supposed to be a fan-patch that gives you full party control for P3, you may want to look into that unless you're very fond of Marin Karin.

 

[Puukko]

The neutral sidequest block was the worst part of IV's pacing and difficulty problems. Still worth it in the end for the extra amount of content, but I want to see the person who did all of that without a guide. I treat IV as more of a supplement for IVA which I consider to be the superior game by a decent margin.

I swing back and forth between whether I should play P3/4 but every time I actually consider playing them (3 first, most likely) I just put it off and remind myself that having 2 be my last memory of the Persona series is more than fine.

 

[Viata]

I prefer to think IV and IVA were never made. It makes me sleep well, tbh.

 

[Psquit]

I don't hate them, It's just that Persona is leaking into SMT with all those animu characters... that said, Isabeau, is Bae. 10/10 would kill the Hebrew god.

 

[Viata]

True that. In my case, I really hate the demons' design. Holy fucking shit.

 

[Puukko]

The guest artist demons were pretty bad.

 

[Psquit]

The minotaur and some other demons are fine... but Medusa, the Archangels and the rest are awful (Too edgy).

 

[InD_ImaginE]

In addition to that, it was also a chore to play: no compedium, no social links to improve fusions or to provide a break between all the fighting, extremely grindy and, to top it all, still lacked party control.

Honestly, the Answer is the closest Persona series been in term of combat to main SMT line. Not having party member control really did make it much harder than it should be, but on the other hand a lot of things that makes the main game easier is simply not there making everything really hard.

I really like that you can't activate portal before bosses.

And a lot of the normal Shadow boss fights are way way harder than even the final boss of both Journey and Answer. Kinda frustrating when you fight them but feels incredible after you did it.

 

[Readher]

Royal sales below expectations according to Sega. Good riddance.

 

[Hyperion]

Yeah, but this better not jeopardize an already precarious future for SMTV, Etrian Odyssey Switch, and Project Re: Fantasy.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

So now Atlus could finally decide to concentrate their energy to make Persona 5 Cippa Lippa All Toghether Now, exclusive for the playstation 5.

 

[Deflowerer]

I mean, Sega had an unrealistic goal of selling 3.3 million units of new titles in Japan for the fiscal year. They revised it down to 1.8 million now with this latest report, but that 3.3 was ridiculous goal to begin with the Japanese market in mind.

Also, rereleases and such always sell relatively poorly in Japan, yet P5R had the best performance out of all Persona games still. I think the main disappointment for them was New Sakura Wars.