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Knocking another game off the list of games I should have played a long time ago, and this one is just… so so so so good. Ever since I booted it up I was absolutely absorbed into the game the entire way through. I don’t think I really had Persona in my sight until Joker was announced for Smash a while back, and then this game was always like “I really need to at least interact with it like I have every other character in Smash”, but that obviously took a while. I am glad I waited though, cause from what I’ve heard, Royal is just objectively the better experience. For what is my first entry into the series, it completely hooked me and I am in for the rest (and also SMT but that’s later)
Turn! Based! RPG! Of course I’m gonna fucking like it I love turn based RPGs. But like actual shit, there’s two aspects to this game and I love them both.
Battling/Hanging out in the Metaverse is very fun. All turn based needs to really pop off in the modern day is fun options, and I feel as though I am given that. Baton passing alone is all I really needed, as it makes me think of the optimal order to take down each enemy for the best result. I absolutely loved the magical elements used. Like yeah you got the classic Fire, Ice, Wind, Electricity, but then you also got fucking Psy, Bless, Curse, and my new favorite of all time Nuke???? I love Nuke so much it’s such a cool concept! They each have like, their own unmentioned counters/duos which is super cool! Also Almighty goes incredibly hard. Then you add on the buffs and debuffs. I FREQUENTLY used all of them and felt like they were critical to fights which is awesome. Combine these two for technicals, certain statuses making a weakness when hit with certain elements, it’s just such a joy and it makes battles where I can actively use all of these something I look forward to (and then when you have a stupid bullshit fight and your name is Okumura, I hate you forever and I’m going to date your daughter in revenge, FUCK that fight eternally it was the only boss I actively disliked).
The other half of the game is your slice of life student simulator. The other half of the game is also like crack, and I swear they put demons in the game cause something would possess me whenever I got to roam the world. Despite the limited clock, I relished managing my time. I loved thinking of who to spend my time with, when to focus on skills rather than confidants, how to optimize my Mementos trips, knocking out an entire Palace all at once so I could have maximum time for the rest of the month, it was so addictive! It really came to a head in the Royal Third Semester section where I literally created saves and calculated if I had enough time to do everything I wanted to, and finished it on Literally the last free day. Also, when like 75% of your game is writing, it helps when the writing is good, and I absolutely loved reading everything, but maybe I’ll talk about that more later.
Last bit that I’m gonna expand on why I love more later, but I was NOT expecting this game to be a monster collector. Regardless, I loved the flow of collecting new guys, then seeing what I could fuse together to obtain.
I! Love! This! Cast! I love them to the bottom of my heart! The best way to make me love an RPG is by making me care about the core group to the bottom of my heart and I do. When I write these, I mean the tag of game ramblings literally cause this is all just stream of thought, so I have a feeling this is gonna be the longest section. Sorry in advance.
The Phantom Thieves of Hearts is a name that goes incredibly hard (and I wish they didn’t make me name the group separately cause I just stuck with the default anyways (I’m a default daniel)), and a group that I hope keeps their group chat open for the rest of their lives and is always friends.
Now everyone else. The other confidants were very enjoyable. Sojiro is like, EASILY the best one out of the whole group. He’s my actual literal dad, and I wish Joker could have stayed with him cause fuck his real parents, if no one got me I know Sojiro got me! I also really enjoyed Iwai I’m just a sucker for dad type characters. While I don’t really fuck with the whole maid-master shit, I did still really like Kawakami too. The only one I didn’t really care for was Ohya. I just like… couldn’t lock in with her or her story line (we love Lala though!) Everyone else, even Shinya, I wanted to see through their story, and was excited for each bit I got. (Shoutouts to Yoshida, the ONLY good politician. This is how you can tell this is a fictional game)
The villains as I look back, aren’t exactly the peak of characters compared to most of the list, but they were still enjoyable. Kamoshida was the perfect introduction, an absolute scumbag the game made sure you would hate, and someone that set the tone for me of what the rest of the game would look like. Like, once I noticed the middle name of his boss fight being one of the princes of hell, I got really excited. Madarame and Kaneshiro were fine, I more appreciated what they served narratively over their actual characters. Okumura is a piece of shit and I hate him forever (but jokes aside there was something very cathartic about a game presenting a CEO as a cartoonishly evil pile of garbage), and Shido I felt was a nice way to tie everyone together, having connections to everyone from the start. I can’t really call Sae a villain per se, but I will put her here anyways. I thought her palace was super cool, and her turn from antagonist to support was appreciated. Yaldabaoth I think was a cool reveal character, and an awesome classic JRPG ending, but overall I think I appreciated Shido more.
Now since this is Royal, the real MVP is Maruki. I love this dude. I appreciated him at the start, a therapist character I feel like, isn’t something super common? I loved how much it seemed like he genuinely cared about people. And that was his whole deal, even to the end. He wasn’t a bad guy, he honest to god cared about people. Like yeah, he wasn’t doing anything the right way, and even his outfit being like a bishop or a pope showed that he was Not there mentally, but he was such a cool character. A hurt and sad man who lost too much, wanting to prevent others from feeling the same way. I think he especially makes me appreciate how the Phantom Thieves’ methods don’t kill, because it gave him a semi happy ending. Now, I think I’ve rambled about characters long enough, but again, I did really enjoy this whole cast.
I think the fact that I played this game at this time in my life rather than when it came out is nothing but a benefit, because the story of a group of people hurt by society fighting back against the shitheads and taking down the corrupt really hits different (although it does have a bit of an FFVII effect where the mass popularity and marketing of the game kinda goes against the original message, I can’t help but think of the possible Okumura or Kaneshiro in the background). But regardless. I was locked in the whole way through. Most of my love for the writing of this game comes with the characters and their interactions and stories, but that major theming of rebellion, fighting for the people, just sits well in my heart.
Like I mentioned before, this was my first Persona game. It also feels weird to like, Say this, but I am a big fan of Jojo as well, Part 4 being my favorite. Persona hits that same itch, that slice of life setting, a group of high schoolers having fun, enjoying their life, but also fighting against the people harming their city and way of life. It’s like, a venn diagram that’s a circle (I’ve heard 4 is even more similar and I’m looking forward to playing that next).
The writing felt very modern, like whoever was behind it was in tune with what they were portraying. The dialogue, the subjects, things that felt real, even if they were caricatured or something like that, I could see that this was a real world, and I really appreciated that.
Holy fuck this game is aesthetic incarnate. The style imbued into every single pixel; the menus, the transitions, the bits where the model of like Joker, or Iwai, or Takemi moving around; the ransom letter aesthetic with the flat colors and everything MY GOD it’s such a good looking game!
The music is an essential part of this as well. There’s a joke I’ve seen occasionally (it might just be exclusive to a community I’m in but I could be wrong) that Persona 5 invented jazz, and I’d believe it honestly. The soundtrack feels like, perfect background music. It’s usually not the Highlight of the scene (save for any vocal track stealing the show), but it’s ALWAYS the enhancer of any moment. I can feel the stress of battle, I can feel the chill vibes of a rainy day, I get hyped when we’re stealing a treasure, etc.
This game is an A+ class example of style, making any activity you’re doing enjoyable.
I mean. Fuck. I don’t think I’ve felt this entranced by a game in a good while. VII Rebirth was up there for sure, but something about Persona just felt addicting.
Something I really really really loved about this game that I couldn’t quite fit anywhere else, but makes me super excited to check out the rest of the series, is the usage of mythology. Mythology is sick as fuck. But what really got me hooked, is how EVERY sort of mythology was used. You got your classic Greek and Egyptian. You have plenty of Japanese Yokai, but then you also have gods and monsters from like… things that people still actively worship??? From religions that are in my head as “religion” and not “mythology”. Seeing angels and demons from Abrahamic religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even seeing some old Zoroastrianism in there? Also like, to bring it back to the start, using mythical creatures from everywhere! I saw European monsters, Celtic creatures, American cryptids, the whole thing was so cool! This alone is a huge part of what made me addicted to this game. I wanted to keep seeing just where they would pull inspiration from, and I was constantly surprised and overjoyed, reading the backgrounds for everything, and going to look up where some of them came from, trying to guess what else would be next. I genuinely cannot wait to play more Persona and later Shin Megami Tensei to get more of this kind of stuff, but also I think I need to take a break so I don’t get burned out hahaha
I loved my time playing this game. I can see why it’s so loved. Sure, there were a couple things that I wish hit my heart or I connected to a little more, but overall I am very satisfied with my experience.
9.7/10. Great characters, great concept, amazing style and super cool inspiration. Some things just needed a little extra to really hit home for me for a perfect 10, but still an experience that will stick with me.