I can barely form a coherent thought about what I just finished but I feel weirdly seen by Final Fantasy VIII and its protagonist in particular as this understanding of specific feelings of capitalist alienation that I've been unable to articulate for the longest time. I don't have any official diagnosis and especially do not want people I barely know armchair diagnosing me online but Squall's struggles to process the most basic social interactions in terms of anything other than capitalist obligations like school or work, "shut up and get the job done" mentality, and specific jaded outlook are core parts of myself I never expected to see reflected in this fashion. While I narrowly prefer the basic bitch choices of VI and VII in terms of Final Fantasy games, this surreal response to the cultural zeitgeist of the latter game and weird as fuck (complimentary) use of Marxist theory (specifically the "annihilation of space by time" described in Grundrisse and expanded upon over a century later by David Harvey) in the same way that most RPGs use religious/mythological concepts solely because it sounds cool is a game that will no doubt have a special place in my heart from now on.

Undoubtedly one of the best monster tamers of all time, its mechanics are so varied and creative that one playthrough will probably only scratch the surface of just what is possible to do in this game. Combat is extremely challenging yet satisfying. I think this game's biggest downsides are a lack of small QoL changes to make battles faster, the post-game content becoming way too repetitive, and one of the last super bosses is simply just not fun to fight. The plot and characters are also great, and the monster designs are spot on.

i am not immune to akechi goro or kitagawa yusuke

can't tell if it's just the time between me playing p5 initially as a teenager and playing royal now or if there are that many changes to the experience (playing with the female protagonist mod probably helped a bit), but royal made me fall in love with persona 5 again.
the game still has its issues; ann and ryuji are treated terribly, morgana is still not nearly as compelling of a character as the game seems to think he is, the okumura arc is still not great, and haru/makoto are still without much substance, etc. etc. likewise however the game still hits a great stride with sae's palace onward, and the new third semester content makes that stride even better.
akechi was already the best character in base game and giving him more of a spotlight was one of the best choices atlus has ever made. maruki and the story and themes of the third semester in general are also some of the best work atlus has put out in a long time as pretty much anyone will tell you, but sadly yoshizawa does not hit that same mark at all. she's definitely at least somewhat compelling near the end of it all but i really don't think she was important enough to be like the biggest head on the boxart and i do think i would've preferred her as just a female protagonist option or something.
playing royal honestly made me stop feeling insane seeing people i know talk about how great persona 5 was after my impressions of vanilla made way for me not really caring all that much, and while it isn't the best persona game (it isn't even the best out of the modern trilogy lol) it's a really great time and i'm glad i wasted 100+ hours of my life again on this one. you really just have to take modern persona for what it is instead of what you want it to be and you'll end up enjoying yourself a lot, i think

When I heard that the Sonic Mania team were making an original 3D platformer of their own it was an instant day one purchase for me no matter what. Despite obvious Mario Odyssey / Galaxy inspiration, this is really going to be unlike any platformer you've played before. At first the movement feels strange and it's a lot to learn and get used to, and this will cause some people to fall off it and give up on it much like with 3D Sonics, but if you are willing to put in the time it eventually becomes second nature to rack up massive stylish combos in these stages. Using the right stick for the yoyo makes everything feel so much better. Skill ceiling is crazy high here and there's so many ways to use momentum to your advantage to save so much time. Visual style is remincent of the later SEGA consoles and Tee Lopes has outdone himself with the soundtrack.

I'm not going to pretend the game doesn't have its fair share of jank, but it was honestly such a refreshing joy to play and I have already replayed its levels a bunch and can see myself continuing to do that. I remember Mania having problems at launch too so I think it will become more polished over time. If you like deceptively complex platformers that have lots of player expression, or liked Odyssey movement but want challenging level designs that actually make use of all those tricks, I think it's going to be a game for you. I'm not so bitter about the fact Mania 2 will never exist anymore...

This update FUCKS.
When Mc. Pig described it as a new game +, he wasn't lying.
This update changed a lot of little details overall for Noise's playthrough, and they're all kickass.
Lets start with the big one, ITS THE NOISE.
So Noise has a different focus than Peppino, instead of climbing walls, he bounces around instead, and the moment he touches ground, he can start at mach 2, making him far easier to get fast startups, but keeping it for him is harder, as he can't keep speed that well as he's unable to climb, and using ledges to propulse himself is incredibly hard as the only dive that he can use that does it, is the one when he's stationary, but that tradeoff is still worth it in the end, as he can pull tricks Peppino could never, specially with being able to super jump at any time.
Every level feels new because of Noise's different moveset.
It also helps that the powerups also change with noise.
Knight armor bounces when crashing instead of stopping, chilli wings fire is floatier, ghost can dash instead, etc, it all feels new and fresh, makes approaching the levels even more engaging.
And also they can have bullshit like being able to kill the horses of Fast Food Saloon, Noise cheating and always getting Primo Burg in Golf, most of the levels have new quirks, bossfights too, but no spoilers.
And the new tracks are awesome.
The new John Gutter theme, the Pizza Time and Lap 2 theme, a fucking Unexpectancy part 3 remix, and a new theme for The Crumbling Tower of Pizza called "I need a Noise", which is my new favorite PT theme.
In general this update added so much new content that makes this game even MORE replayable than it was before, and it elevates it even further, which, is insane for what was already one of the best 2D platformers ever.
But that's the power of The Noise
If you beat PT, try playing as The Noise, trust me, its incredible, and you won't regret it.
Top tier update.