I think the fact that this game was mostly a dungeon crawler with a visual novel attached made it a lot less daunting for me to get through than the other persona games. I'm not sure why I like Tartarus more than the personalized dungeons in P4. I'm not sure why the menus of Iwatodai are as memorable to me as P5's Tokyo or P4's Inaba. Despite it's less technically impressive exterior, this little game still oozes so much charm.
I think part of the reason why I love this game so much despite its flaws, is that I played it at the perfect time in my life and it spoke to me. I saw myself in a lot of the characters, and the messaging hit me really hard when I was in the midst of struggling to figure out how to navigate through depression and anxiety, while also questioning the meaning of my life and why I even live in the first place. It was cathartic to have a piece of media that felt like it came to my level on issues that I was struggling with. I think being able to play as the FemC really helped the message hit me. The way she interacts with the other characters made it easier for me to step into her shoes than the Male MC. Sure, the casual sexism really grated against me, but I think I had a lot more of a tolerance to it back then. I was able to ignore it and glean the actual worthwhile messaging that the game wanted to get across.
On top of that, I think the gameplay loop is really simple and fun. It's easy to backtrack and grab old personas you need for fusion crafting or the compendium. Some of the bosses can really surprise you and give you a run for your money on lower difficulties, but if you're used to the persona gameplay loop, it might be better to play on hard mode if you want more of a challenge.
I think it's easy to fall into a rhythm with this game where you progress your social links and social skills, and then grind for a little in Tartarus. It's kind of relaxing to me, although I'm sure for other people it can get a bit boring. Different strokes for different folks, I guess!
I think part of the reason why I love this game so much despite its flaws, is that I played it at the perfect time in my life and it spoke to me. I saw myself in a lot of the characters, and the messaging hit me really hard when I was in the midst of struggling to figure out how to navigate through depression and anxiety, while also questioning the meaning of my life and why I even live in the first place. It was cathartic to have a piece of media that felt like it came to my level on issues that I was struggling with. I think being able to play as the FemC really helped the message hit me. The way she interacts with the other characters made it easier for me to step into her shoes than the Male MC. Sure, the casual sexism really grated against me, but I think I had a lot more of a tolerance to it back then. I was able to ignore it and glean the actual worthwhile messaging that the game wanted to get across.
On top of that, I think the gameplay loop is really simple and fun. It's easy to backtrack and grab old personas you need for fusion crafting or the compendium. Some of the bosses can really surprise you and give you a run for your money on lower difficulties, but if you're used to the persona gameplay loop, it might be better to play on hard mode if you want more of a challenge.
I think it's easy to fall into a rhythm with this game where you progress your social links and social skills, and then grind for a little in Tartarus. It's kind of relaxing to me, although I'm sure for other people it can get a bit boring. Different strokes for different folks, I guess!