List of mods I used available on my pastebin post here. I should also note that “Mastered” in my case means getting all the achievements, leaving out a handful of Thieves Den Awards that become active or otherwise easier to nab in NG+.
For an RPG I heavily played well over a month, fresh and pampered from revisiting Persona 3 in its original and remade form prior, as well as the hot button topic it’s become over the years, you'd expect I'd have a lot to say about Persona 5 Royal. Well... I don't, really. All I can think about in my sleep deprived state is how my 200+ hour venture - and that's generously ignoring inflated idle times Steam's counter acclimates - is how woefully underwhelming the package was save for a few bright spots, and how dispassionately apathetic I became after finally finishing and scouring out for the light.
It’s funny I mentioned my time investment a bit off the heels of a discord within FF7 Rebirth’s activities and planning, cause it should be mentioned (and emphasized) that it’s actually pretty easy to focus and fine-tune your palette into whatever it is you desire. No one except yourself, and perhaps foolish pride, is forcing you to do all of those activities after all, unless they’re particularly easy to nab off the beaten path. That is, of course, neglecting the key component: the focal point where all points are stitched and huddled around, an area P5R constantly falters over. Already saw a flashback sequence? Fret not, you’re gonna be subjugated to it not 10 minutes after. Got a good grasp of the ongoings of the story, be it by themes or event details? Alright, but you’re gonna have to bear the condescending attitude as you watch the character(s) exposit these things anyway. Grew a form of investment over a beat and how it unfolds before and during the main show? Slow your roll there bucko, you haven’t heard about the overly unnecessary and outright damaging undercurrent that ruins it! Sure, it sounds like hyperbole, and as you go along many of these detriments are either quelled or nulled, but it doesn’t change the fact that they’re present, nor does it alleviate their weight of bloat and the meekish presentation of what are honestly some pretty simple themes. The fact it took my entire first session of play to get to the initial true Free Time event on the 18th, whereas P3 - both versions, might I add - give me that freedom within just a few short hours and P4 just about half of this, is appalling.
The writing woes extend to the Phantom Thieves themselves, which I suppose isn’t a Hot Take or anything since there’s been a bit of a debate surrounding them over the years. To dispel some common points, I don’t believe the notion that they are “centered” around Joker - on the contrary, not only is this running along the recurring theme of “kinship through displacement”, there’s already a bit of an established line between Ann and Ryuji, Futaba and Sojiro, and, though faint and dubious, Makoto and Haru. As a group, there’s a rather believable sense of friendship and camaraderie developed and finalized throughout the course of the story amidst the hustle and bustle of urban civilization, which is a bit of a surprise since I was pessimistically expecting the opposite. What did come true, unfortunately, is the lack of individualism and the expression that's delivered from it. The handling of Ann and Haru are criticized enough that I don’t think I can add anything to the former’s blobby mold of an archetype and hypocritical implementation of her supposed freedom of self-expression, and the latter’s seed of growth taken away due to the already mentioned bloat plaguing the game; same with Ryuji and how his (great) Social Link about reliance on others and strength through teamwork is routinely undermined by him being treated as a joke within the main cutscenes. Futaba is ostensibly headcanoned as one under the Autism umbrella, and while the intent is competently delivered and well-handled, the amount of #GAMER allusions are poor and clumsily handled, leading to a bumpy state of her psyche. Yusuke, who’s SL arc revolves around the dichotomy of man and their drive of passion within the hobbyist and professional mindset, is often treated as The Quirky Oddball One of the group with superficial understanding as to what art is since they did this like, twice before I guess and believed third time is truly the charm, which is also why they made Morgana have the same arc as Teddie and Aigis but without any of the things that made those two compelling. Of the group, Makoto is the one with the fewest weights holding her down; her arc is straightforward, explored to its fullest in her SL with little downplay within the narrative, and her importance in the group is always front and center. Her straight-edge nature can be too plain at times, granted, as are her connecting points regarding resolve and resolution, but compared to everyone else? It’s way easier to swallow. To reiterate, however, my main issue isn’t with the characters themselves, honestly I only truly despise Morgana and his obnoxious (albeit small in intensity) demeanor - it’s just kind of hard to truly feel connected with the group when the game seems to treat them more so as dolls for amusement than actual people, something even P4 never fully succumbed to during its outing.
I kind of wish I had more to say, really, cause it’s not as if I totally hate P5R or anything. There’s some good bits in here, like the full exploration of escapism as a theme finally being done here thanks to the “Royal” part of the game desperately giving the endgame a sense of closure, some of the non-essential confidants like Hifumi, Mishima, Chihaya and Yoshida being great to explore despite the drawbacks, and the superbosses being a fair bit of fun to go over. But, like, I’m not really sure what more I can add unfortunately. I’d sort of just be repeating common talking points and, compounded by the fact I’m facing burnout from both writing and my aforementioned time allocation, it just feels fruitless to go over? Like I don’t want to be the umpteenth mouthpiece going over how ridiculously easy this game is even excluding Merciless’ baffling(ly hilarious) modifiers pertaining to player favor and the constricted dungeon design making it so that ambushes are a rare, if ever present, occurrence one can face, cause everyone already discussed that. Did you know that, even in the original team, there were some Etrian Odyssey battle planners? Really makes me wonder how the hell it ended up so milquetoast in engagement, dungeon layout, and the us v them nature of gameplay routing when EO1’s first two stratums already had more going on. It’s also why I’m hardpressed to mention my adoration with Third Semester, cause I can’t quite word it in a way that isn’t already brought up by the people, what with Maruki, Akechi, and Kasumi being the ethos, pathos, and logos of Joker’s - and by principle, Yuki and Narukami’s - Wild Card slot and the reflection they face should his life be altered ever so slightly. I dunno man, it’s like… expansion aside, this is the RPG that got a lot of people into the genre now? The Atlus mega-hit? I’m a lot cooler on the problems than others seem to be, and I wouldn’t cynically berate others over this cause that’s stupid and rude, but it does leave me scratching my head and wondering what else I had missed in my long, long journey as an urbanite Fool.
For an RPG I heavily played well over a month, fresh and pampered from revisiting Persona 3 in its original and remade form prior, as well as the hot button topic it’s become over the years, you'd expect I'd have a lot to say about Persona 5 Royal. Well... I don't, really. All I can think about in my sleep deprived state is how my 200+ hour venture - and that's generously ignoring inflated idle times Steam's counter acclimates - is how woefully underwhelming the package was save for a few bright spots, and how dispassionately apathetic I became after finally finishing and scouring out for the light.
It’s funny I mentioned my time investment a bit off the heels of a discord within FF7 Rebirth’s activities and planning, cause it should be mentioned (and emphasized) that it’s actually pretty easy to focus and fine-tune your palette into whatever it is you desire. No one except yourself, and perhaps foolish pride, is forcing you to do all of those activities after all, unless they’re particularly easy to nab off the beaten path. That is, of course, neglecting the key component: the focal point where all points are stitched and huddled around, an area P5R constantly falters over. Already saw a flashback sequence? Fret not, you’re gonna be subjugated to it not 10 minutes after. Got a good grasp of the ongoings of the story, be it by themes or event details? Alright, but you’re gonna have to bear the condescending attitude as you watch the character(s) exposit these things anyway. Grew a form of investment over a beat and how it unfolds before and during the main show? Slow your roll there bucko, you haven’t heard about the overly unnecessary and outright damaging undercurrent that ruins it! Sure, it sounds like hyperbole, and as you go along many of these detriments are either quelled or nulled, but it doesn’t change the fact that they’re present, nor does it alleviate their weight of bloat and the meekish presentation of what are honestly some pretty simple themes. The fact it took my entire first session of play to get to the initial true Free Time event on the 18th, whereas P3 - both versions, might I add - give me that freedom within just a few short hours and P4 just about half of this, is appalling.
The writing woes extend to the Phantom Thieves themselves, which I suppose isn’t a Hot Take or anything since there’s been a bit of a debate surrounding them over the years. To dispel some common points, I don’t believe the notion that they are “centered” around Joker - on the contrary, not only is this running along the recurring theme of “kinship through displacement”, there’s already a bit of an established line between Ann and Ryuji, Futaba and Sojiro, and, though faint and dubious, Makoto and Haru. As a group, there’s a rather believable sense of friendship and camaraderie developed and finalized throughout the course of the story amidst the hustle and bustle of urban civilization, which is a bit of a surprise since I was pessimistically expecting the opposite. What did come true, unfortunately, is the lack of individualism and the expression that's delivered from it. The handling of Ann and Haru are criticized enough that I don’t think I can add anything to the former’s blobby mold of an archetype and hypocritical implementation of her supposed freedom of self-expression, and the latter’s seed of growth taken away due to the already mentioned bloat plaguing the game; same with Ryuji and how his (great) Social Link about reliance on others and strength through teamwork is routinely undermined by him being treated as a joke within the main cutscenes. Futaba is ostensibly headcanoned as one under the Autism umbrella, and while the intent is competently delivered and well-handled, the amount of #GAMER allusions are poor and clumsily handled, leading to a bumpy state of her psyche. Yusuke, who’s SL arc revolves around the dichotomy of man and their drive of passion within the hobbyist and professional mindset, is often treated as The Quirky Oddball One of the group with superficial understanding as to what art is since they did this like, twice before I guess and believed third time is truly the charm, which is also why they made Morgana have the same arc as Teddie and Aigis but without any of the things that made those two compelling. Of the group, Makoto is the one with the fewest weights holding her down; her arc is straightforward, explored to its fullest in her SL with little downplay within the narrative, and her importance in the group is always front and center. Her straight-edge nature can be too plain at times, granted, as are her connecting points regarding resolve and resolution, but compared to everyone else? It’s way easier to swallow. To reiterate, however, my main issue isn’t with the characters themselves, honestly I only truly despise Morgana and his obnoxious (albeit small in intensity) demeanor - it’s just kind of hard to truly feel connected with the group when the game seems to treat them more so as dolls for amusement than actual people, something even P4 never fully succumbed to during its outing.
I kind of wish I had more to say, really, cause it’s not as if I totally hate P5R or anything. There’s some good bits in here, like the full exploration of escapism as a theme finally being done here thanks to the “Royal” part of the game desperately giving the endgame a sense of closure, some of the non-essential confidants like Hifumi, Mishima, Chihaya and Yoshida being great to explore despite the drawbacks, and the superbosses being a fair bit of fun to go over. But, like, I’m not really sure what more I can add unfortunately. I’d sort of just be repeating common talking points and, compounded by the fact I’m facing burnout from both writing and my aforementioned time allocation, it just feels fruitless to go over? Like I don’t want to be the umpteenth mouthpiece going over how ridiculously easy this game is even excluding Merciless’ baffling(ly hilarious) modifiers pertaining to player favor and the constricted dungeon design making it so that ambushes are a rare, if ever present, occurrence one can face, cause everyone already discussed that. Did you know that, even in the original team, there were some Etrian Odyssey battle planners? Really makes me wonder how the hell it ended up so milquetoast in engagement, dungeon layout, and the us v them nature of gameplay routing when EO1’s first two stratums already had more going on. It’s also why I’m hardpressed to mention my adoration with Third Semester, cause I can’t quite word it in a way that isn’t already brought up by the people, what with Maruki, Akechi, and Kasumi being the ethos, pathos, and logos of Joker’s - and by principle, Yuki and Narukami’s - Wild Card slot and the reflection they face should his life be altered ever so slightly. I dunno man, it’s like… expansion aside, this is the RPG that got a lot of people into the genre now? The Atlus mega-hit? I’m a lot cooler on the problems than others seem to be, and I wouldn’t cynically berate others over this cause that’s stupid and rude, but it does leave me scratching my head and wondering what else I had missed in my long, long journey as an urbanite Fool.
completed persona 5's missing points, great overall with amazing new set of music tracks, gameplay is engaging and visually fun to play.
I wish I could enjoy this game without half the fanbase being pedophiles.
Best game I've played in a while
This review contains spoilers
La vd nose exactamente por donde empezar.
Creo que me subio mucho la vara que tenia de Persona 5. Aunque el original me parecio un grandioso JRPG, lo que mas me tiraba abajo era en gran parte su historia, que aunque era buena, hay muchas partes que la tiran para abajo. Asique:
Historia: MEJORÓ TOTALMENTE. Y con mejoro me refiero a que todo lo que agregaron me encanto, Maruki no es solo un villano, es un gran ANTAGONISTA. Cuando un antagonista realmente me hace empatizar con sus ideales es cuando de verdad digo "es cine" y dios Maruki como personaje es increible, y en su primeras fases de su batalla, aun estando al maximo y con el mejor persona, me dio una pelea, eso si que es un gran jefazo final. Y Sumire? dude, MI VIEJA WE. La amo como personaje. Lo unico que puedo decir esque ella debio haber sido parte de los Phantom thieves desde mas temprano, desde el palacio de sae o de haru almenos. Supongo que no querian quitarle el highlight a los PH presentados en esos palacios, pero para la historia, su entrada como PH se siente tardia. Aun asi, su participacion en el arco del Tercer semestre me encantó mucho, en general ese arco es PEAK.
Gameplay: abr, que puedo decir del persona con el mejor gameplay? incluso aunque P5R es un juego facil, talvez el mas facil de la saga, jamas me senti alumbrado por ese hecho. Yk, el estar jugando algo tan facil que te aburre? pues no, porque joder hasta grindear lo hicieron ameno. Y todas las nuevas cosas que incluyeron lo hacen mucho mas divertido aun. Dartin? check. Nuevas fechas? check. Arreglos en el combate? check. Una mayor utilidad a los accesorios? check. Que si, que hace el juego aun mas facil, pero vete alv es divertido af. Todo esto hace al juego, aunque muy facil, muy entretenido, y si me veo haciendo el NG+ en un futuro.
Ost: Sin palabras 20/10 y GOD
Ahora, porque luego de chuparle los cocos no creo que sea perfecto? pos:
-Aun sigue acarreando muchos de los problemas de historia del P5 Vanilla (en especial el como tratan a mi compita ryuji, y MORGANA)
-Lo de Sumire entrando muy tarde a los PH
-Lo de estar bien facilote
-Un platino decepcionante la vd (Te lo puedes hacer de una run y quitaron muchos logros)
-Algunos Nitpicks mios
Fuera de eso, P5R aun con todo, sobrepaso todas mis expectativas. Es probablemente el Persona con mis SL favoritos, con mi OST favorito, mi gameplay favorito, etc etc. Que mas puedo decir que no se haya dicho? Ryuji my goat, Sumire mi vieja, Morgana chupalo.
Creo que me subio mucho la vara que tenia de Persona 5. Aunque el original me parecio un grandioso JRPG, lo que mas me tiraba abajo era en gran parte su historia, que aunque era buena, hay muchas partes que la tiran para abajo. Asique:
Historia: MEJORÓ TOTALMENTE. Y con mejoro me refiero a que todo lo que agregaron me encanto, Maruki no es solo un villano, es un gran ANTAGONISTA. Cuando un antagonista realmente me hace empatizar con sus ideales es cuando de verdad digo "es cine" y dios Maruki como personaje es increible, y en su primeras fases de su batalla, aun estando al maximo y con el mejor persona, me dio una pelea, eso si que es un gran jefazo final. Y Sumire? dude, MI VIEJA WE. La amo como personaje. Lo unico que puedo decir esque ella debio haber sido parte de los Phantom thieves desde mas temprano, desde el palacio de sae o de haru almenos. Supongo que no querian quitarle el highlight a los PH presentados en esos palacios, pero para la historia, su entrada como PH se siente tardia. Aun asi, su participacion en el arco del Tercer semestre me encantó mucho, en general ese arco es PEAK.
Gameplay: abr, que puedo decir del persona con el mejor gameplay? incluso aunque P5R es un juego facil, talvez el mas facil de la saga, jamas me senti alumbrado por ese hecho. Yk, el estar jugando algo tan facil que te aburre? pues no, porque joder hasta grindear lo hicieron ameno. Y todas las nuevas cosas que incluyeron lo hacen mucho mas divertido aun. Dartin? check. Nuevas fechas? check. Arreglos en el combate? check. Una mayor utilidad a los accesorios? check. Que si, que hace el juego aun mas facil, pero vete alv es divertido af. Todo esto hace al juego, aunque muy facil, muy entretenido, y si me veo haciendo el NG+ en un futuro.
Ost: Sin palabras 20/10 y GOD
Ahora, porque luego de chuparle los cocos no creo que sea perfecto? pos:
-Aun sigue acarreando muchos de los problemas de historia del P5 Vanilla (en especial el como tratan a mi compita ryuji, y MORGANA)
-Lo de Sumire entrando muy tarde a los PH
-Lo de estar bien facilote
-Un platino decepcionante la vd (Te lo puedes hacer de una run y quitaron muchos logros)
-Algunos Nitpicks mios
Fuera de eso, P5R aun con todo, sobrepaso todas mis expectativas. Es probablemente el Persona con mis SL favoritos, con mi OST favorito, mi gameplay favorito, etc etc. Que mas puedo decir que no se haya dicho? Ryuji my goat, Sumire mi vieja, Morgana chupalo.
I originally played P5 in 2018 and it quickly became my favorite game of all time. I then replayed it in 2020 when Royal came out and this only reaffirmed my love of the game. I've spent the past few weeks replaying this game for the first time since then. However I don't know if it hold the same place in my heart anymore. I think the game is too long, has too many fake out deaths, and really beats you over the head with its themes. Despite my problems with it, I still love it. The music rocks from cover to cover. The characters are charming, with exception of Mishima. The combat is still amazing and the level you can customize persona's in this game is simply unmatched.
I love this game, I really do. My deep love of this game keeps me from giving it an honest review though.
I love this game, I really do. My deep love of this game keeps me from giving it an honest review though.
comfort game
Easily my least favourite Persona but still a good game nonetheless
"Persona 5 Royal" es más que un simple juego, es una obra maestra que cautiva desde el primer momento y te sumerge en un mundo repleto de intriga, emoción y amistad. Desde su impresionante estilo visual hasta su profunda narrativa, cada aspecto del juego está meticulosamente diseñado para ofrecer una experiencia inolvidable.
Destaco su estilo artístico único. Cada detalle, desde los vibrantes colores hasta los elegantes diseños de personajes, crea un universo visualmente deslumbrante que te atrapa desde el principio. Los escenarios, que van desde los bulliciosos pasillos de la escuela hasta los oscuros callejones de Tokio, están llenos de vida y personalidad, transportándote a un mundo donde la estética es tan importante como la misma historia.
La trama está llena de giros sorprendentes, momentos emotivos y personajes inolvidables que te mantienen enganchado hasta el final.
Además de su cautivadora historia principal, Persona 5 Royal ofrece una amplia gama de actividades secundarias que te permiten sumergirte aún más en su mundo. Desde fortalecer lazos con tus compañeros hasta participar en una alta variedad de actividades. Siempre hay algo nuevo por descubrir y experimentar. Esta variedad de contenido no solo aumenta la rejugabilidad del juego, sino que también te permite desarrollar una conexión más profunda con los personajes y el mundo que te rodea.
A través de sus temas de rebelión contra la opresión y la lucha por un futuro mejor, el juego inspira a los jugadores a enfrentarse a los desafíos de la vida con valentía y determinación. Es un recordatorio poderoso de que, incluso en los momentos más oscuros, siempre hay luz al final del túnel si tienes el coraje de seguir adelante.
Es una experiencia que perdurará mucho después de haber apagado la consola. Es un viaje inolvidable que te dejará con recuerdos duraderos y un profundo aprecio por el poder del juego para tocar nuestras vidas de maneras que nunca imaginamos.
I carnally desire Maruki
Man this game looks good. Every single aspect just drips with style. The soundtrack is also fantastic. Combat flows really well with the one more/baton pass system. It is a bit easy, even on hard mode, but combat looks sounds and feels so good it kind of doesn't matter. The additions from Royal are all great, darts, showtimes, the new music. The third semester is a wonderful epilogue that complements the themes of the base game nicely.
Why do they keep abusing Ryuji though bro does not deserve it
Why do they keep abusing Ryuji though bro does not deserve it
Persona 5 will no longer be continued due to the fact that Morgana is such a fucking terrible character I am afraid his influence will turn me into a cat hater.
Insane art direction, which basically carries the entire game. The themes and ideas are memorable and pretty well executed, but they do struggle valiantly to escape the typical anime-esque tropes, with mixed success. It's just takes what could have been an extraordinarily dull and repetitive gameplay loop and makes it extremely fun and rewarding.
thank you for existing
Vaya puto juegarraco, le doy 5 estrellas me suda el nabo vaya me he ligado a todas y no veas el protagonista ha pinchao la d Dios.
Ya enserio, este juego sobre todo con el final me ha hecho sacar más d una lágrima, ya sea por el parecido en algunos aspectos que puede tener con la vida de cada uno o simplemente porque te acabas encariñando de algunos personajes (en mi caso d todos), el palacio final (el final Royal claro) muy guapo e incluso puedes llegar a entender al enemigo (cosa que muchos juegos intentan, y pocos consiguen) y el final tan emotivo que este juego trae, como ves todos los personajes que has ido conociendo a lo largo del juego, que se han apoyado en ti, que cada uno te ha contado su historia, y lo que es el protagonista para ellos en su vida, y te darás cuenta de que no solo pasa en el juego, si no que a lo largo de tu propia vida las personas van y vienen, y los momentos que pasas con ellos, ya sean largos, cortos, buenos o malos, te forjan y te hacen la persona que eres hoy.
-Por los que se fueron, por los que están, y por los que vendrán.
Buen juego
Ya enserio, este juego sobre todo con el final me ha hecho sacar más d una lágrima, ya sea por el parecido en algunos aspectos que puede tener con la vida de cada uno o simplemente porque te acabas encariñando de algunos personajes (en mi caso d todos), el palacio final (el final Royal claro) muy guapo e incluso puedes llegar a entender al enemigo (cosa que muchos juegos intentan, y pocos consiguen) y el final tan emotivo que este juego trae, como ves todos los personajes que has ido conociendo a lo largo del juego, que se han apoyado en ti, que cada uno te ha contado su historia, y lo que es el protagonista para ellos en su vida, y te darás cuenta de que no solo pasa en el juego, si no que a lo largo de tu propia vida las personas van y vienen, y los momentos que pasas con ellos, ya sean largos, cortos, buenos o malos, te forjan y te hacen la persona que eres hoy.
-Por los que se fueron, por los que están, y por los que vendrán.
Buen juego
Enjoyment - 9/10
Difficulty - 3/10
MORE PERSONA 5!
Since I already played Persona 5, I decided to play on HARD which was a nice challenge. Even on HARD, it was still fairly manageable.
Fantastic game. Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal opened my eyes to a great series that I previously ignored. Must buy, must play!
🏆
Difficulty - 3/10
MORE PERSONA 5!
Since I already played Persona 5, I decided to play on HARD which was a nice challenge. Even on HARD, it was still fairly manageable.
Fantastic game. Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal opened my eyes to a great series that I previously ignored. Must buy, must play!
🏆
I don't envy anyone who has to develop a new installment in a popular, on-going franchise with a passionate fanbase. But I personally believe in the philosophy that "less is more," and in the case of PERSONA 5 ROYAL, Atlus went all in on MORE, to the detriment of a great core concept and strong JRPG gameplay.
Compared to PERSONA 4 GOLDEN, my franchise entry point, P5R offers a longer story, larger cast, actual dungeons with intricate designs, a sizeable overworld, expansive amounts of confidants to befriend, dozens of activities to maximize stats, and an entire RNG mini-dungeon mode for loot grinding. P5R never leaves you bored, but for me, it often left me frustrated at how all this content is so poorly paced or optimized that the size of it all starts to feel less like a wealth of options and instead it feels like bloat.
The chief culprit is the narrative, which shows its best hand in the opening episode and never reaches that height again. The Komishida arc has such high stakes, an intense ethical conflict, and conveys it all through a unique dungeon, that the rest of the game's enemies and heists almost feel tame as a result. It also doesn't help that as the game goes on, it frequently throws up inconsistencies in tone that undercut a lot of the emotion it's so desperately trying to mine.
As this all plods on, the narrative structure gets SUPER tiring. P5R is eager to tell you everything at every moment. The flash-forward cutscenes tell you who the next bad guys are, the visual novel conversation scenes keep reminding you of the stakes and the rules, the CONSTANT in-game text message chains between you and your party keep hammering out the same points over and over. It's no surprise I'm bringing up INCEPTION, which P5R has a lot in common with: Not just its concept of altering one's cognition by invading their minds, but also the fact that the cast never stops dropping exposition, even into the climax of the story.
The turn based combat rules. Baton passing is an ingenious concept. I love the new elemental types and I think there are some fights in here that just go buck-wild once you get a good system of attacks and buffs into a rhythm. The system wherein you "hold up" defeated enemies at gun point to rob them is an ingenious mechanic, and it shows a lot of commitment towards making sure the stylistic and thematic ideas of the game make their way into the gameplay.
On the social simulation side, I enjoyed the new means of buffering your stats: Watching DVDs and reading books to get better skills, being able to work out or meditate to increase HP and SP. The one downside is that the game offers you so many ways to increase your social skills that I never bothered to get a part time job like I had to in P4G. There was no point in my mind: In-Game battles leave you drowning in cash, and playing an NES game will get my kindness up, so why the hell should I serve coffee? TOO MANY SYSTEMS at the expense of others, IMO. Additionally, once certain stats are maxed, activities like Baseball or Fishing just seem fruitless. Wish there had been more incentive to keep going with all of the activities.
There are winners and losers amongst the Confidants and they make the bulk of the side-content worth exploring. But the big anchor around the neck of the side quest system is how a majority of them are tied into Mementos, the RNG overworld mini-dungeon. I truly disliked how you would get text messages about people you've never met having problems, go find the correct RNG floor with the side quest boss, beat it, and then get a text message going "Good job, that person is happy now!" It's so impersonal and boring, despite the game's efforts to add emotional weight to every instance. A more intimate side-quest system where you actually meet the people you're helping would've felt more satisfying.
The amount of critical acclaim P5R gets ultimately puzzles me, but I guess sometimes "more is more." It's certainly one of the most captivating games in terms of design and UI aesthetics; but the ROYAL content feels very shoe-horned in, less like a meaningful extra chapter, and more like an awkward re-do of the first ending (and IMO, the two "endings" going back to back really reveal that they should've just picked one, as Maruki's plan is just the original threat, with extra steps).
I spent 82 hours on this, and I know others have spent hundreds. It's not a bad game, not by a long shot, and for your purchasing value, it's certainly something that will give you your money's worth. But I also think it's a game that's too long and unwieldy for its own good. It’s fitting, considering that the mark of an expert thief is ensuring a mark is so distracted that they never realize they're being robbed.
Compared to PERSONA 4 GOLDEN, my franchise entry point, P5R offers a longer story, larger cast, actual dungeons with intricate designs, a sizeable overworld, expansive amounts of confidants to befriend, dozens of activities to maximize stats, and an entire RNG mini-dungeon mode for loot grinding. P5R never leaves you bored, but for me, it often left me frustrated at how all this content is so poorly paced or optimized that the size of it all starts to feel less like a wealth of options and instead it feels like bloat.
The chief culprit is the narrative, which shows its best hand in the opening episode and never reaches that height again. The Komishida arc has such high stakes, an intense ethical conflict, and conveys it all through a unique dungeon, that the rest of the game's enemies and heists almost feel tame as a result. It also doesn't help that as the game goes on, it frequently throws up inconsistencies in tone that undercut a lot of the emotion it's so desperately trying to mine.
As this all plods on, the narrative structure gets SUPER tiring. P5R is eager to tell you everything at every moment. The flash-forward cutscenes tell you who the next bad guys are, the visual novel conversation scenes keep reminding you of the stakes and the rules, the CONSTANT in-game text message chains between you and your party keep hammering out the same points over and over. It's no surprise I'm bringing up INCEPTION, which P5R has a lot in common with: Not just its concept of altering one's cognition by invading their minds, but also the fact that the cast never stops dropping exposition, even into the climax of the story.
The turn based combat rules. Baton passing is an ingenious concept. I love the new elemental types and I think there are some fights in here that just go buck-wild once you get a good system of attacks and buffs into a rhythm. The system wherein you "hold up" defeated enemies at gun point to rob them is an ingenious mechanic, and it shows a lot of commitment towards making sure the stylistic and thematic ideas of the game make their way into the gameplay.
On the social simulation side, I enjoyed the new means of buffering your stats: Watching DVDs and reading books to get better skills, being able to work out or meditate to increase HP and SP. The one downside is that the game offers you so many ways to increase your social skills that I never bothered to get a part time job like I had to in P4G. There was no point in my mind: In-Game battles leave you drowning in cash, and playing an NES game will get my kindness up, so why the hell should I serve coffee? TOO MANY SYSTEMS at the expense of others, IMO. Additionally, once certain stats are maxed, activities like Baseball or Fishing just seem fruitless. Wish there had been more incentive to keep going with all of the activities.
There are winners and losers amongst the Confidants and they make the bulk of the side-content worth exploring. But the big anchor around the neck of the side quest system is how a majority of them are tied into Mementos, the RNG overworld mini-dungeon. I truly disliked how you would get text messages about people you've never met having problems, go find the correct RNG floor with the side quest boss, beat it, and then get a text message going "Good job, that person is happy now!" It's so impersonal and boring, despite the game's efforts to add emotional weight to every instance. A more intimate side-quest system where you actually meet the people you're helping would've felt more satisfying.
The amount of critical acclaim P5R gets ultimately puzzles me, but I guess sometimes "more is more." It's certainly one of the most captivating games in terms of design and UI aesthetics; but the ROYAL content feels very shoe-horned in, less like a meaningful extra chapter, and more like an awkward re-do of the first ending (and IMO, the two "endings" going back to back really reveal that they should've just picked one, as Maruki's plan is just the original threat, with extra steps).
I spent 82 hours on this, and I know others have spent hundreds. It's not a bad game, not by a long shot, and for your purchasing value, it's certainly something that will give you your money's worth. But I also think it's a game that's too long and unwieldy for its own good. It’s fitting, considering that the mark of an expert thief is ensuring a mark is so distracted that they never realize they're being robbed.
maruki my beloved...
It has its problems but it was still an enjoyable experience. The characters were all fun and the final palace had some phenomenal moments as well.
I only really thought it was perfect when I first finished was because I hadn't played a jrpg before or a Persona game so I had no idea how either worked really. But after getting a few more under my belt and seeing how the other Persona games worked it kinda dropped down a little bit. Not to say that it wasn't a fun game regardless.
I only really thought it was perfect when I first finished was because I hadn't played a jrpg before or a Persona game so I had no idea how either worked really. But after getting a few more under my belt and seeing how the other Persona games worked it kinda dropped down a little bit. Not to say that it wasn't a fun game regardless.
If I reviewed this at 2 AM when I finished the game I would have put 5 stars, but the characters and story didn't compare to 3 and 4 for me. I loved the unique Dungeons of 5 but some story elements and characters just didn't "feel" right (idk if that makes sense).
This game was something else. I really enjoyed it but I think by the end I just felt exhausted. I personally get this feeling when I play some JRPGS where by the end I just want to finish it and move on and nothing else and unfortunately I felt it here. I felt with other great games like FF7 and Trails Into Reverie. Great cast of characters, I really enjoyed the third semester
I hate this stupid cat.
Fue un gran descubrimiento y me enamoré de la música y la estética muy rápidamente. Es un RPG con turnos muy divertido, aunque quizás demasiado largo con diálogos que alargan la experiencia. A pesar de eso, para mí es un 10 y uno de mis favoritos.
100% completion on Steam!
Yusuke.... my beloved..... my sweet summer child.......
Yusuke.... my beloved..... my sweet summer child.......
all time JRPG with fantastic combat (albeit a little too easy) and fun as hell social sim mechanics. I'm a big fan of JRPG minigames and other non combat focused mechanics to help break up pacing with how long these games are and the Social sim mechanics are just as fun as the combat for me. Nearly a perfect game apart from some minor nitpicks.
This review contains spoilers
I really enjoyed my time playing P5R, but it was something that, despite my enjoyment, all my grievances come to mind first.
I am someone coming into Persona 5 Royal with practically no experience with the base game. I have played a couple of Shin Megami Tensei games; I enjoyed them, but not overly so. I have played Persona 4 before, and it is my least favorite game ever. I didn't expect to come back and try out P5 ever again, but it happened for some reason. Due to my experiences with P4, I came in with really bad impressions, but I quickly found myself very addicted to the gameplay loop.
Just in terms of gameplay, I think P5 is very impressive and stunning. I have a lot of respect for the series for recognizing that things can be done to make its systems better, but not jumping to overhaul every single thing. I like turn-based combat, and I think the transition to everything becoming action RPGs is a little sad. I appreciate that the SMT series kept its core. I really like the technical status effect mechanics, I love everything with the guns, and I am very overjoyed to see demon negotiation and enemies that are not gloves and tables.
Palace designs are equally fun; even the typical SMT-type bland-ish dungeon, Mementos, is not boring to explore. Not all puzzles are winners, but most do not overstay their welcome. I think they also do a good job of changing up the palaces. By the time things get stale, they introduce Futaba’s palace, which is a very big shakeup. Afterwards, even the return to the more common type of palace is a little different due to how Haru was integrated and introduced.
The gameplay is near perfect, but turning to the story is where things get a bit troubling. P5 has a very similar issue to P4 in the way that it can be very hypocritical.
I think the most defining moment of P5 is when Ann is telling Kamoshida off for the way he treats women and minors, and then the game transitions into the battle screen, where Ann is always positioned bending over with her ass out in the camera. Ann is repeatedly made uncomfortable and harassed for “humor”. There are instances where control is taken away from the player in cutscenes and the main character makes Ann uncomfortable, and the player is invited to be creepy to her.
Kamoshida is a good villain, his palace is good, and he serves to show a real problem in the world, but it is hard to take the game seriously when it is often just as bad as him. He sexually harassed teenage girls; the game sexually harasses teenage girls. He abused the young men on his team; the game often has Ryuji getting hurt as a joke. He is a teacher that has relationships with his students; you can have a confidant with your homeroom teacher and date her. P5 wants to talk about issues in society when it cannot recognize that it itself, as a series, has existed making fun of minorities, being weird about women, and overall just putting people down.
Ann's arc is especially frustrating as the game opens by detailing the sexual harassment she faces, and the game follows this all up by introducing Yusuke through sexually harassing her. Yusuke's introduction is very aggravating, as he is not a standard "pervert character". He is a joke character in his introduction, and the joke is that he is so socially unaware that he sexually harasses Ann. Ann is told to repeatedly put up with it by her friends so they can get information on their next target, even though the entire opening of the game was about holding Ann's sexual harasser accountable and bringing his abuse to the public's attention. Overall, it is terrible to Ann's character for putting her through more abuse just for the sake of it, and it is terrible to Yusuke's character for treating his neurodivergencies as a joke and creepy.
I feel as though Persona's misogyny problems cannot go away due to how essential sexism is to the way Persona operates. Women cannot just exist in Persona. Women cannot just be friends, they cannot just be teachers, they cannot just be sisters, they must all fit into the dating simulation format; and they must all secretly want you no matter what. It frustrating. It feels like all of the girl's confidants cannot be serious and complex, as they all need to end with them confessing their feelings, since, as the protagonist, you are always effortlessly perfect, wanted, and irresistible.
I think the hypocrisy is the worst issue, but I also think it is sometimes hard to take the game seriously with how on the nose it is. It does do a lot of interesting things, but it doesn't seem to have a lot of faith in itself or the player. In Futaba’s Palace, each mural describing her life is described to you by the characters. When you hear about someone doing bad things in the world through a Mementos request, all of the characters reinstate multiple times why what the person is doing is wrong. In the late game, I had a lot of issues with how "society" was represented in the game. Some things really reminded me of those "people are being controlled by their phones" type comics.
Once you meet Yaldabaoth, and it is introduced as the true main villain, you learn that its stance is that society is a mindless mass; the game rejects this, and yet this is directly how it has been portraying the people of the world. A mindless mass that will follow even the cruelest of people. There are multiple reasons why bad people get support besides direct approval. There is fear, oppression, coercion, restriction of knowledge, and a multitude of other things. P5 will sometimes acknowledge these things, but for the most part, the way it portrays the general masses of people in the world lacks nuance. Many of the scenes in between days or loading screens showing dialogue between people were very weak. The game's messaging feels very sloppy in terms of its final boss.
I think the framing of P5 is neat. I like the integration, and I like the suspense of knowing what's going to happen. I think they can cut back to the present too often, but for the most part, it is very good. I think Akechi is a great character. He's a perfect twist villain, though I don't feel fully right calling him that because I think the point of him is that you are supposed to know. The best parts of P5 come from it being a game about waiting for the other shoe to drop with multiple people and story beats. Talking to Akechi is tense and suspenseful since it's all about waiting for the moment when they're going to drop the character portrait where he has sharp teeth and hazy eyes. Not only that, but despite being a character you go in feeling like you know nearly everything about, he still manages to surprise by not being a sudden face-heel turn villain; he is telling you too much at every corner. Akechi is always just a couple words away from revealing it all when you would expect a character like him to keep playing dumb.
Things were nearly perfect, but then the game wanted to be smart. It wanted the player to think it was smart. I think they started to think about things on too many levels. They realized that everyone would know Akechi was a villain and didn't realize how perfect it was since they needed to be the ones on top. It feels like they wanted the twist not to be that he was villainous, but that everyone knew.
I think the story section where the game is finally in the present day is, frankly, terrible. Having the game purposely leave out things that the main characters were doing and saying, just so it can come back later and go "Of course everyone knew. Now all of the characters will explain to you all the cool stuff they did, while all the side characters comment on how cool and smart they are", is frustrating to experience. P5 so badly wants to seem smart at this moment, but it never has been. It's hypocritical, lacking in subtlety, and at this moment it's just cheap and annoying.
P5 can have small moments where it is smart or sneaky. Yeah, it's cool that there are hints at Akechi's true intentions. It's neat that the player may be able to pick up that he heard Morgana, but all of that is ruined when the game replays the "pancakes scene" over and over multiple times. It doesn't feel like a fun moment that the player may pick up on; it feels like a moment they made to rub in your face so you can praise the game. They do much better with the false Igor, which makes the fact that they did all of this so weird. Overall, it's just a very cheap and annoying part of the game.
I will be polite and end on a nicer note. Futaba’s Palace was perfect. A great shakeup and a good character study. I don't like the way the game treats Futaba like an animal that must be trained after the fact, but her palace itself is good. I equally loved Sae’s palace. I think the tension at this point is really good, and it’s just a palace kind of built for me to enjoy due to personal preferences. I really liked Akechi's purpose in the story, and I think his moment in the engine room as the climax of his character was also a highlight of the game. I think he works well as a character who has done a lot wrong but is still sympathetic and a sign of what the phantom thieves work to prevent and how many of them could have ended up if their lives didn't get better.
I thought the third semester was very good. I feel as though I have nothing to really add to the conversation there, as this is a pretty widely viewed opinion. Maruki, Sumire, and Akechi are all given a shocking amount of complexity compared to the writing of the base game. I think my one critique to give is that I wish ATLUS was braver. I think the limited party sections should have been much longer, and your other party members should have been obscured by delusions for much longer. Besides that, though, the final portion of the game is extremely enjoyable.
You always fight final bosses multiple times in RPGs. I enjoyed how the royal final fights justified themselves with desperation. I do think the game really struggles with letting itself end once March comes around, but I cannot deny P5 is talented at being sentimental.
The gameplay is incredible, and the high moments are wonderful, but there is nothing more aggravating than a Persona game during its many low points. I already want to restart and replay again, though. So despite all my grievances, I am forced to admit it is addictive and something very special.
I am someone coming into Persona 5 Royal with practically no experience with the base game. I have played a couple of Shin Megami Tensei games; I enjoyed them, but not overly so. I have played Persona 4 before, and it is my least favorite game ever. I didn't expect to come back and try out P5 ever again, but it happened for some reason. Due to my experiences with P4, I came in with really bad impressions, but I quickly found myself very addicted to the gameplay loop.
Just in terms of gameplay, I think P5 is very impressive and stunning. I have a lot of respect for the series for recognizing that things can be done to make its systems better, but not jumping to overhaul every single thing. I like turn-based combat, and I think the transition to everything becoming action RPGs is a little sad. I appreciate that the SMT series kept its core. I really like the technical status effect mechanics, I love everything with the guns, and I am very overjoyed to see demon negotiation and enemies that are not gloves and tables.
Palace designs are equally fun; even the typical SMT-type bland-ish dungeon, Mementos, is not boring to explore. Not all puzzles are winners, but most do not overstay their welcome. I think they also do a good job of changing up the palaces. By the time things get stale, they introduce Futaba’s palace, which is a very big shakeup. Afterwards, even the return to the more common type of palace is a little different due to how Haru was integrated and introduced.
The gameplay is near perfect, but turning to the story is where things get a bit troubling. P5 has a very similar issue to P4 in the way that it can be very hypocritical.
I think the most defining moment of P5 is when Ann is telling Kamoshida off for the way he treats women and minors, and then the game transitions into the battle screen, where Ann is always positioned bending over with her ass out in the camera. Ann is repeatedly made uncomfortable and harassed for “humor”. There are instances where control is taken away from the player in cutscenes and the main character makes Ann uncomfortable, and the player is invited to be creepy to her.
Kamoshida is a good villain, his palace is good, and he serves to show a real problem in the world, but it is hard to take the game seriously when it is often just as bad as him. He sexually harassed teenage girls; the game sexually harasses teenage girls. He abused the young men on his team; the game often has Ryuji getting hurt as a joke. He is a teacher that has relationships with his students; you can have a confidant with your homeroom teacher and date her. P5 wants to talk about issues in society when it cannot recognize that it itself, as a series, has existed making fun of minorities, being weird about women, and overall just putting people down.
Ann's arc is especially frustrating as the game opens by detailing the sexual harassment she faces, and the game follows this all up by introducing Yusuke through sexually harassing her. Yusuke's introduction is very aggravating, as he is not a standard "pervert character". He is a joke character in his introduction, and the joke is that he is so socially unaware that he sexually harasses Ann. Ann is told to repeatedly put up with it by her friends so they can get information on their next target, even though the entire opening of the game was about holding Ann's sexual harasser accountable and bringing his abuse to the public's attention. Overall, it is terrible to Ann's character for putting her through more abuse just for the sake of it, and it is terrible to Yusuke's character for treating his neurodivergencies as a joke and creepy.
I feel as though Persona's misogyny problems cannot go away due to how essential sexism is to the way Persona operates. Women cannot just exist in Persona. Women cannot just be friends, they cannot just be teachers, they cannot just be sisters, they must all fit into the dating simulation format; and they must all secretly want you no matter what. It frustrating. It feels like all of the girl's confidants cannot be serious and complex, as they all need to end with them confessing their feelings, since, as the protagonist, you are always effortlessly perfect, wanted, and irresistible.
I think the hypocrisy is the worst issue, but I also think it is sometimes hard to take the game seriously with how on the nose it is. It does do a lot of interesting things, but it doesn't seem to have a lot of faith in itself or the player. In Futaba’s Palace, each mural describing her life is described to you by the characters. When you hear about someone doing bad things in the world through a Mementos request, all of the characters reinstate multiple times why what the person is doing is wrong. In the late game, I had a lot of issues with how "society" was represented in the game. Some things really reminded me of those "people are being controlled by their phones" type comics.
Once you meet Yaldabaoth, and it is introduced as the true main villain, you learn that its stance is that society is a mindless mass; the game rejects this, and yet this is directly how it has been portraying the people of the world. A mindless mass that will follow even the cruelest of people. There are multiple reasons why bad people get support besides direct approval. There is fear, oppression, coercion, restriction of knowledge, and a multitude of other things. P5 will sometimes acknowledge these things, but for the most part, the way it portrays the general masses of people in the world lacks nuance. Many of the scenes in between days or loading screens showing dialogue between people were very weak. The game's messaging feels very sloppy in terms of its final boss.
I think the framing of P5 is neat. I like the integration, and I like the suspense of knowing what's going to happen. I think they can cut back to the present too often, but for the most part, it is very good. I think Akechi is a great character. He's a perfect twist villain, though I don't feel fully right calling him that because I think the point of him is that you are supposed to know. The best parts of P5 come from it being a game about waiting for the other shoe to drop with multiple people and story beats. Talking to Akechi is tense and suspenseful since it's all about waiting for the moment when they're going to drop the character portrait where he has sharp teeth and hazy eyes. Not only that, but despite being a character you go in feeling like you know nearly everything about, he still manages to surprise by not being a sudden face-heel turn villain; he is telling you too much at every corner. Akechi is always just a couple words away from revealing it all when you would expect a character like him to keep playing dumb.
Things were nearly perfect, but then the game wanted to be smart. It wanted the player to think it was smart. I think they started to think about things on too many levels. They realized that everyone would know Akechi was a villain and didn't realize how perfect it was since they needed to be the ones on top. It feels like they wanted the twist not to be that he was villainous, but that everyone knew.
I think the story section where the game is finally in the present day is, frankly, terrible. Having the game purposely leave out things that the main characters were doing and saying, just so it can come back later and go "Of course everyone knew. Now all of the characters will explain to you all the cool stuff they did, while all the side characters comment on how cool and smart they are", is frustrating to experience. P5 so badly wants to seem smart at this moment, but it never has been. It's hypocritical, lacking in subtlety, and at this moment it's just cheap and annoying.
P5 can have small moments where it is smart or sneaky. Yeah, it's cool that there are hints at Akechi's true intentions. It's neat that the player may be able to pick up that he heard Morgana, but all of that is ruined when the game replays the "pancakes scene" over and over multiple times. It doesn't feel like a fun moment that the player may pick up on; it feels like a moment they made to rub in your face so you can praise the game. They do much better with the false Igor, which makes the fact that they did all of this so weird. Overall, it's just a very cheap and annoying part of the game.
I will be polite and end on a nicer note. Futaba’s Palace was perfect. A great shakeup and a good character study. I don't like the way the game treats Futaba like an animal that must be trained after the fact, but her palace itself is good. I equally loved Sae’s palace. I think the tension at this point is really good, and it’s just a palace kind of built for me to enjoy due to personal preferences. I really liked Akechi's purpose in the story, and I think his moment in the engine room as the climax of his character was also a highlight of the game. I think he works well as a character who has done a lot wrong but is still sympathetic and a sign of what the phantom thieves work to prevent and how many of them could have ended up if their lives didn't get better.
I thought the third semester was very good. I feel as though I have nothing to really add to the conversation there, as this is a pretty widely viewed opinion. Maruki, Sumire, and Akechi are all given a shocking amount of complexity compared to the writing of the base game. I think my one critique to give is that I wish ATLUS was braver. I think the limited party sections should have been much longer, and your other party members should have been obscured by delusions for much longer. Besides that, though, the final portion of the game is extremely enjoyable.
You always fight final bosses multiple times in RPGs. I enjoyed how the royal final fights justified themselves with desperation. I do think the game really struggles with letting itself end once March comes around, but I cannot deny P5 is talented at being sentimental.
The gameplay is incredible, and the high moments are wonderful, but there is nothing more aggravating than a Persona game during its many low points. I already want to restart and replay again, though. So despite all my grievances, I am forced to admit it is addictive and something very special.
PERSONA 5 IS SAVED
none of these people know that i was an undesirable child
Finnally got around playing Persona 5 Royal after a couple of years delaying it.
I came across Persona during one of the most painfull phases of my life and on that time I watched a playthrough of Vanilla Persona 5 and cried when it ended and got the urge to play the game but didn't have a way to do it and when it launched on the switch i decided that i was eventually playing it but I delaying it a bunch.
2024 with the hype around P3R I finally had a month where i could start and play it whenever I wanted and what a game it's been the story can be childish sometimes but (most of) the characters are really well written and the hardships that each goes through is always something relatable to someone, the combat is extremely fun even when fighting lesser demons (big number makes brain go yippie).
I'm loving every second of it and will continue to love throughout NG+.
Goro Akechi is best character btw.
I came across Persona during one of the most painfull phases of my life and on that time I watched a playthrough of Vanilla Persona 5 and cried when it ended and got the urge to play the game but didn't have a way to do it and when it launched on the switch i decided that i was eventually playing it but I delaying it a bunch.
2024 with the hype around P3R I finally had a month where i could start and play it whenever I wanted and what a game it's been the story can be childish sometimes but (most of) the characters are really well written and the hardships that each goes through is always something relatable to someone, the combat is extremely fun even when fighting lesser demons (big number makes brain go yippie).
I'm loving every second of it and will continue to love throughout NG+.
Goro Akechi is best character btw.
One of the best JRPG made. Its entire design is so great, Its story is interesting and its soundtrack is so good that makes me want to hear most of times.
I played the base game and I loved it so much so I tried this one because everybody that played this said it was better than the base.
It added several thing to the base game and each of them complements some dubious part from the story, others just adds QoL to the game and there are 2 new characters that if you max "friend rank" with them will unlock extra story
I played the base game and I loved it so much so I tried this one because everybody that played this said it was better than the base.
It added several thing to the base game and each of them complements some dubious part from the story, others just adds QoL to the game and there are 2 new characters that if you max "friend rank" with them will unlock extra story