Atlus Persona 5

[Deflowerer]

I've been playing it on and off since it came out, maybe like twice a month (since I don't own a PS4 at my home and at the release, I was still serving in military). I'm at the 1st of September at this point.

The thing is, I can't really imagine playing it any other way. I'd probably kill myself from all the animu if I had to blaze through all of it in a month.

The combat is great, no doubt about it, and there's plenty of SMT-style butt-fuckery random encounters. Even since P3 it wasn't really my favorite permutation of the press-turn-system, but it's good. I do think the negotiations are pretty superfluous though, but again, I think only P1 got the demon negotiations really right.

Music and visuals are both fantastic, although I think it could tone down the style a bit and be better for it. Especially navigating the Velvet Room is so annoying because of the jumping menus.

Story so far is pretty meh. I think it just suffers from so much animuism. The constant hammering of the fact that ADULTS ARE SHITTY YO gets so fucking tiresome.

Worst part though is the incessant bullshit in dungeons, where EVERY possible puzzle or thing to figure out is spelled out to you clearly by your party members, even when it's fucking obvious what you have to do. It's like yo dudes, shut the fuck up.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I’m about 6 hours in to Persona 5.

The first 5 hours were a struggle. Drab, grey environments. A confusing intro, and the nightly dream sequences from the jailor even more confusing. Psychopathic teachers in a school where every student hates you. Each day featured barely interactive sequences where you jump from one cutscene to another.

I was prepared to give up on Persona 5.

Then, something happened during my sixth hour. Maybe it was the plot starting to make a bit more sense, with a little bit of purpose behind things - ok, everything is shit for a reason, and your task is to try to normalise things. Yes, I can deal with that.

Your character is a heap of shit with no personality. Just an emo, edgy Japanese kid. But your companions? They are interesting, and they inject some much needed colour and character into this world.

I was getting sick of the brotastic nature of the first few hours - where, if you aren’t sitting through depressing emo cutscenes, you are running down corridors in confusing dungeons accompanied by a whiny dork who could give Carth Onasi a run for his money.

The sixth hour had some much needed exposition and introduced a new companion (Ann) who helped create a vision in my head on how the story could move forward.

Tonight I got back to my sleazy flat above a coffee shop and saved my game looking forward to my next play session, and that is the first time I’ve felt that since starting Persona 5. While it still feels like I’m only part way through the longest tutorial in video game history, it does feel like the game is starting to open up.

I hope next time I’ll actually be able to play some more of the game’s advertised systems - the social aspects, the relationship making, the mini games, the going-to-school thing that I really wanted.

Bloody hell though, those first few hours were terrible. I don’t think I’ve played a JRPG as depressing.

 

[Jinn]

I must be fucked up, because I didn't find the opening hours THAT depressing. There was actually a lot of color that was springing out at me and just a feeling of an up-beat start to begin with.

 

[Deflowerer]

It's pretty restrictive for a few months in-game imho, with the cat constantly telling you to go to sleep.

 

[Cowboy Moment]

I found the oppressive atmosphere of the first arc to be one of the most compelling aspects of P5. Fighting injustice is one of the game's major themes, but you don't really feel said injustice as viscerally as you do during the opening hours anywhere else in the game. There was a real sense of helplessness and entrapment there, and the protagonists' decision to fight against it felt all the more significant for it.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

It's pretty restrictive for a few months in-game imho, with the cat constantly telling you to go to sleep.

I'm finding it weirdly became most restrictive starting in July. The game is this nice RPG / Time management hybrid where every day you get two turns to do activities to boost your stats or get money...or you can go into a dungeon which takes your two turns and uses your whole day. Now that open tutorial bit is restrictive in that it doesn't give you your two turns to do stuff yet, but you're also still doing gameplay stuff by going into dungeons and fighting monsters. But starting in July you start getting railroaded into these story bits that very annoying force you to skip turns and don't allow you to do anything you were maybe planning to do in the time management portion. To make them even more annoying these story sections can just skip the portion where you can save your game and can just run for a few game days...more than once now I've been planning to save the game so I could do something else (like sleep) only to hit one of these long story sections that just keep going.

This later game restrictiveness seem far worse to me, because by the point it comes the game had really opened up. It's like you get two whole Palaces of what it feels like the game should be, then it closes back up and forces you to skip turns. Seems like such an odd choice to make to me given the style of game they've created, in a turn based game where you want the player to maximize their time to improve skills, making them skip turns is a punishment...which kind of makes those story bits that can span a few days and don't allow you to do anything feel like a punishment.

That all said I am really loving this game, but this mid-year wrinkle they threw into the formula is an annoyance that wasn't there up to that point. The formula is also one I'm fucking loving. Why aren't there more RPG's like this? How did the west never hit upon this mix of turn based time management sim game to raise your stats and dungeon crawling? That's like two '90s PC genres smashed together. I do wish which there was a little more wiggle room in that time management portion, and it seems like there's more that could be done with that aspect of the game, but I'm really liking the combination of those two things.

 

[Silva]

Why aren't there more RPG's like this? How did the west never hit upon this mix of turn based time management sim game to raise your stats and dungeon crawling?

Xcom and Jagged Alliance are doing this since 1993.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Why aren't there more RPG's like this? How did the west never hit upon this mix of turn based time management sim game to raise your stats and dungeon crawling?

Xcom and Jagged Alliance are doing this since 1993.

Not in the same way. In X-COM you're managing a base, in this you're managing a character. They could also have you managing characters in a similar fashion, especially in the new XCOM where you're ever going to need a small handful of characters anyways, but they don't.

This seems more akin to how in boxing games you'd have time between rounds in the gym to raise different stats, or something slightly similar to The Sims, and even San Andreas with its stat system. Playing this I'm just kind of surprised no western developer hit on this forumla for an RPG first, and more so that no western developers have done something similar since Persona 3. (This formula seems like what Dragon Age 2 should have been if wanting to put you in the feeling of being in a smaller adventure was what they were actually shooting for) Just seems like a nice simple system for an RPG to use to raise stats...just sending you're character to do jobs and activities to raise them.

 

[Raghar]

Why aren't there more RPG's like this? How did the west never hit upon this mix of turn based time management sim game to raise your stats and dungeon crawling?

Xcom and Jagged Alliance are doing this since 1993.

Not in the same way. In X-COM you're managing a base, in this you're managing a character. They could also have you managing characters in a similar fashion, especially in the new XCOM where you're ever going to need a small handful of characters anyways, but they don't.

This seems more akin to how in boxing games you'd have time between rounds in the gym to raise different stats, or something slightly similar to The Sims, and even San Andreas with its stat system. Playing this I'm just kind of surprised no western developer hit on this forumla for an RPG first, and more so that no western developers have done something similar since Persona 3. (This formula seems like what Dragon Age 2 should have been if wanting to put you in the feeling of being in a smaller adventure was what they were actually shooting for) Just seems like a nice simple system for an RPG to use to raise stats...just sending you're character to do jobs and activities to raise them.

Mana Khemia is like that.

And if you mean these activities that increases your INT, then Princess Maker 2 had them as well.

 

[Silva]

Darklands had it too. Even if different in implementation than Persona.

 

[Villagkouras]

Finished this after 120 hours.

Some points:

1. I don't have time for long games.
2. I hate anime. It's one of my hidden steam tags.
3. This is the first Persona game I've played.

This is my 2017 GOTY. There are so few games that make me sad that I finish them and Persona 5 is clearly one of them. How the fuck a 120-hour game feels shorter than a 10-15 hour game?

How the fuck after I've played so many games, this one made me actually care for many of its characters?

Are there flaws? Of course. First, the plot which took a David Cage turn at the end of the game. Thankfully, the writers somehow knew about this and it didn't end suddenly, they added a much needed hour to unwind this turn and return to more normal things to end the game.

Also, as other guys mentioned, the constant repetition of the plot bugged me, but I guess it's for people who might want to play it in a larger time span.

But if someone stays in these, he'll miss many great things that the game has to offer:

Combat may be simple but it's effective. It also has great flow. Fantastic UI for PS4 buttons. Also, abilities you unlock from confidants offer something substantial each time, making combat fun while keeping it simple. I've played on Normal, I made some wrong things in fusions, I had some party wipes. The game was an ok challenge. But I don't think I would move higher up in difficulty, due to the length of game.

Nothing from the above would matter if the palaces weren't strong enough. They were fun, while not complex. Of course anything goes to SP management, but up to 4th Palace, things were intense for me.

Presentation is top notch, the best I've seen. I've already mentioned the UI. Music was great, some tracks are better than others, but overall I liked it very much. Also, the camera cuts are excellent. Even simple things like the Bullet Hail ability were so greatly presented in game. The portraits were gorgeous.

About the social links... As I mentioned earlier it was my first Persona game and I didn't know at first how to approach them. I went blind too, so I didn't know when it was going to end. So, as I was moving towards the end, getting to the date of the interrogation, I had to think which confidants I had to max (and fuck). This made it much more interesting for me.

I decided to romance most of the women I faced outside my party and Makoto, because why not? This led to a genuinely funny scene towards the end of the game.

Anyway, I was so happy I overcame my resistances and tried this game. Too bad it's only for PS4 and some people won't have the chance to try it, I hope Atlus change their mind and go for PC. I feel that if it was released to PCs, the list of best 2017 RPGs would be different.

The game made me feel like a kid and immersed me into a different world (Japan). Also, in 120 hours, it never became tiring. It had distinct characters and excellent presentation. Too many checkboxes filled for me to consider it a great game.

 

[Nathir]

You can already play the game on PC from start to finish though.

 

[Vorark]

The game is on the Golden Week PSN sale, -45% off or -55% if you have Plus.

 

[GarlandExCon]

Funny enough, I finally finished this the other day. I quit for like...two months before the last palace because I got busy and then I quit for another month when you have to go back into Mementos. As usual, I got sad finishing a persona game because I get attached to the other characters... but more off I get pissed because it's impossible to complete all of the social links and when at the end of the game you walk around to visit people one more time it's like "That's ALL the characters I maxed out? wtf?"

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

So shorty after I made that post talking about the problem I had with the game, that problem never came up again. It almost feels like they made the game linearly, saw that locking you into long stretches of cutscenes where you can't save because it skips multiple days wasn't a good thing, and stopped doing it...but also never went back to correct it.

Anyways, finished the game a while back now and love it. This is probably the best game I've played in a very long time.

 

[Whisky]

Finally playing this after a long time. I got burned out on Persona and with games being so expensive these days, I couldn't justify purchasing it.

But now I found the PS3 version used and cheap, so...I got it.

So far, I'm enjoying it. I was shocked as hell to see how retard-easy Normal mode was, but a quick adjustment to Hard made it acceptably difficult.

Morgan is the anthropomorphic representation of the game's major annoyances. The periods outside of the dungeons feel like one big series of events that, instead of making me interested in the plot, make me think, "Oh great, an event...now when its the Evening, I'm going to have to be forced to go to bed by a cartoon cat instead of doing something useful." I don't remember the amount of wasted days being this high in the previous games.

Still, this is probably the most RPG I've played in awhile. Just haven't been in the mood to play games lately.

 

[GarlandExCon]

I kind of envy you getting to play this and experience it, whereas I already have so the magic is over.

 

[Vorark]

Did the game give headaches to anyone? I can barely last 2 hours per session, it's fucking annoying. Tried turning down the ingame and tv brightness & play in an well lit room but no luck. Although it looks slick as heck, the UI is too busy, the battle screen is one of the worst offenders. The game color scheme isn't the best either, I had the same problem with Persona 4.

Fuck. Tempted to sell it and wait for a miraculous toned down Vita port.

 

[Abu Antar]

Try it on the PS3 emulator.

 

[Whisky]

Completed it. Was an excellent game in the end and re-kindled my love of the franchise. Last two dungeons were pretty weak, but on the whole, the game was outstanding.

Morgana is still the worst character in the franchise though. Holy shit, that goddamn hissy fit after you got Futaba.

Replaying P4 now. Turns out there's a shit ton of stuff I forgot about.

 

[Silva]

Morgan is the anthropomorphic representation of the game's major annoyances. The periods outside of the dungeons feel like one big series of events that, instead of making me interested in the plot, make me think, "Oh great, an event...now when its the Evening, I'm going to have to be forced to go to bed by a cartoon cat instead of doing something useful." I don't remember the amount of wasted days being this high in the previous games.

This is the reason I dropped it, even if I loved P3. I don't remember the last time I felt so constrained/forced to adopt such a passive stance for hours on end in a videogame. Morgana is the personification of rape. And while I liked other parts of it, no amount of good content would justify enduring the rape.

Ended up playing Nier Automata instead and being much happier (even with it's flaws).

 

[Whisky]

Morgan is the anthropomorphic representation of the game's major annoyances. The periods outside of the dungeons feel like one big series of events that, instead of making me interested in the plot, make me think, "Oh great, an event...now when its the Evening, I'm going to have to be forced to go to bed by a cartoon cat instead of doing something useful." I don't remember the amount of wasted days being this high in the previous games.

This is the reason I dropped it, even if I loved P3. I don't remember the last time I felt so constrained/forced to adopt such a passive stance for hours on end in a videogame. Morgana is the personification of rape. And while I liked other parts of it, no amount of good content would justify enduring the rape.

Ended up playing Nier Automata instead and being much happier (even with it's flaws).

It gets a bit better once you get through the second palace in Persona 5, but it's still very obvious that you end up taking a more passive role during down-time.

I thought I might have been looking back at the previous games with rose-tinted glasses in my original post, so I started playing P4 and I was right. While there are days where you can't do any things, there's way, way less of them.

Stuff too like finding the information needed to unlock character's dungeons. In Persona 4, you have to talk to NPCs yourself and find the information and every day you do this, you can then hang out with someone after that and in the evening. In Persona 5, those end up taking all of After School, often multiple days, and then when you get back to the cafe...

So yeah, I totally understand. And Nier: Automata is a fucking primo game, so you went with a good choice.

 

[aweigh]

he has a great jaw

 

[aweigh]

i'm enjoying persona 5 quite a bit, though it is definitely way more linear than any previous entry. as a character, i think Morgana is much better than the equivalent ones from P3 and P4 (especially much better than the one from P4), and it's not the character's fault the designers made the game as linear as possible in order to sell more units.

 

[aweigh]

also the redheaded chick being introduced in catherine full body is a tranny/otonoko.