So this year I ended up playing and finishing several Atlus games: Dragon's Crown, Shin Megumi Tensei: Nocturne, and Persona 5. I'm saying goodbye to my PS3 and shoved some RPG gaming through when I hung out by myself and Guitar Hero/Band Hero when I had friends over. I hadn't heard of Atlus before 2019, but it seems to be a really cool company and I'm glad it exists.
Anyway, I literally finished Persona 5 last night and here are some thoughts on this JRPG/dating sim:
+/- The combat was both a positive and a negative in comparison to Nocturne. Persona 5 has a party of heroes, which I do prefer over playing a single player character. There's also a ton more stuff you can do, from ambushing monsters, to using guns, to hold ups, and so on. This makes combat a lot more fun, but it also makes it too easy. Nocturne was much more challenging, while Persona 5 leaves you with so many options.
+ I really liked the characters. Generally I put combat over story, but enjoying the script can aid in enjoying a game. The villains were over the top and cookie cutter, but the banter between your allies can be a lot of fun.
- The story had a so many plotholes. I had to turn my brain off a few times and tell myself to just enjoy the ride. On the other hand, there are small moments that really stood out, such as with Igor at the end of the game or with Yusuke when he goes to a Christian church for art inspiration.
+ Romancing waifus. Well-played Atlus. Well-played.
+ Capturing and fusing personas never got old in any iteration of the Shin Megumi Tensei or Persona games. I have a mobile SMT game that I like to take out every so often just for the capture and fusion aspect of the game. Now I see why Pokemon must be so addictive to people.
+ The game is as long as Nocturne, but I never felt that it dragged like Nocturne. A lot of people put Nocturne over Persona 5, but I wonder if they are wearing nostalgia goggles. The amount of grinding and random encounters in Nocturne was excessive and many of the dungeons just dragged. I never felt like I had to grind in Persona 5 and I thought the palaces were well-designed. Towards the end of Nocturne I found myself casting magic that let me avoid random encounters. In Persona 5 I enjoyed the game mechanic of sneaking by them instead and if I screwed it up there were consequences.
- Towards the final third of the game battles seemed to be won (or at least won quickly vs being dragged out) if you were able to ambush the enemy and then if you hit the enemy in its weakness. That aspect of combat really got stale up until the end boss.
+ I really enjoyed being able to mix and match different weapons, armor, accessories, and guns. I didn't ever get around to customizing equipment but I'm glad the option was there.
+ I liked the confidant system. It had the potential of making combat too easy, but it gave a reason for interacting with people.
+ I'm an adult but I love animation. And I really liked the animation in this game and wish there was more of it.
- I'm not the audience for this game. It seemed like it was meant for teenagers and not adults, and some of the philosophies and ideas were meant for a younger crowd. I didn't find anything in the game's philosophy to be all that deep or meaningful. My 16 year-old self would have loved it a lot more.
+ This was supposed to be the best of the Persona series as Nocturne was supposed to be the best of the SMT series. It has a lot going for it and I found myself curious about other SMT/Persona games. I prefer games that are more tactical and mature in nature, so it's not going to make any of my best RPG lists, but I did find it very enjoyable.
This does scratch that collecting/completionist itch of mine and I would definitely recommend the game. The music and styles reminded me of Cowboy Bepop in some ways, and I think I recognized a voice actor from the Cowboy Bepop series. I'm glad Joker's story is over, but I am looking forward now to Persona 6.
