i like this game a lot but it's slightly overhyped

gameplay-wise, it's the hardest to revisit because there's so little to do compared to future entries (especially during ng+)

story-wise, it has the best final act out of the three modern persona games, but the rest of the story is pretty much about on-par with 4 and 5 imo

the main cast is probably my least favorite between 3-5 (i don't like yukari, koromaru doesn't really add anything to the party's dynamic, and ken is just kinda irrelevant to anything outside of akihiko's character arc) but junpei, akihiko, and aigis are probably some of my most favorite characters in the series

for a first-time playthrough, i think the game is still good, but it's still very jank and barren compared to future installments in the series. replaying it after finishing p5r just kinda makes even more apparent.

i still respect and enjoy this game for what it is, but i feel people look past all its issues way too much because of all the persona 4 bad and persona 5 cringe shit takes on twitter.