jayish
2022
Weird.
Cute and unique. I remember it being a bit of a slog in terms of tutorials, but it’s fun once it hits its stride. Something something edgy and unfunny vore joke.
Sure.
2020
Probably the worst I’ve felt playing a video game in a long time, and yet it holds an odd place in my heart. I think that it has the most solid narrative of the modern Persona games. Its gameplay is good. The presentation is amazing. It just fails all of its characters so, so bad that it’s hard to give this objectively good game a higher rating. Nothing I could say on this topic would be anything no one’s said before, but while the themes are good in theory it feels as though the game never fully commits in a way that is meaningful- a negative quality that bleeds into its successor. That all said, I think that everything centering the main antagonist narratively is great, and I just wish it kept up that sort of energy for the rest of the game, but instead I have to put up with something that’s somehow aged worse than anything I’ve ever played before.
2009
Full disclosure: I played the FeMC route for the social links. Anyhow, I liked it. Turn-based combat does it for me and the characters and presentation were fantastic. Unfortunately, it tends to be a bit dull in terms of the gameplay loop and narrative (the latter which only really picks up in the final stretch, and which is carried by how seriously solid the characters and their dynamics are), but it’s a worthwhile play nonetheless.
It’s fine. It drags, and a lot of the characterization is so bad that it ruins the whole hook regarding the P3 and P4 characters interacting, but it’s fine. I like the gameplay loop. I think that drawing out the maps was fun. I remember really liking the final boss, as gimmicky as it was and as much of a chore the boss that precedes it is. Otherwise, I don’t have a whole lot to say besides that it’s as tasteless as Persona usually is and that the original characters/story are unsurprisingly underwhelming.
2012
The segmented story with alternate versions of itself is confusing and awkward, but Labrys is definitely a highlight. The portrayal of the characters ranges from very bad to very good but overall isn’t as offensive as other Persona spinoffs. Above all else, the gameplay and presentation is pretty great. Not that bad, honestly.
It can be a grind but honestly? It’s pretty good, for how much it’s aged. The story is fun for how outlandish it is and Maki is a good character. The gameplay loop is alright. The worst offenders of the game can be found in the SQQ route but you don’t really have to do that anyway.
It’s hard to explain what I love about the game without spoiling anything, but it has one of the best Persona narratives with the most impactful ending and characters. Sure, the bar is low, but it really is astounding just how good Innocent Sin is. As for the gameplay, it shows its age, but it still isn’t bad.
The gameplay is rough, but the characters and story are good, even if they aren’t quite as good as Innocent Sin’s. Tatsuya Suou is one of the characters of all time.
2021
It’s simple and fun and appeals to my nostalgia in a very specific way. The game looks really good, too, and I think that the selection of Illumina Pokémon was fitting and nice. It’s nothing fantastic, but it’s a good time with plenty of charm.
2021
It’s a $60 port of a great game that you could be playing for $40. That said, the customization for the Miis is so good that it’s almost worth it, and it’s still Miitopia, which means it’s good and silly fun.
2016
An objectively good game with good gameplay and great presentation, but it’s a conservative company’s portrayal of social justice and it’s very, very rough to play through if you’re actually as smart as the game thinks it is. Narratively it’s dull regardless, with some truly baffling decisions in terms of the writing and a shocking lack of commitment to any concept it chooses to half-heartedly explore. If you really want to play Persona 5, then you should just play Persona 5 Royal, anyway. It has a lot of the same issues, but at least it’s an improvement a little.
2006
It’s alright, but any charm that it has can be found in later Ranger games that are much better than this one. The mechanics are expanded and improved upon in later titles, too. Nonetheless, I still wouldn’t say that this is a bad play; if anything, I appreciate it for utilizing the DS’s touchscreen in a way that is unique and fun.
2020
Every problem I had with Persona 5 and its narrative are increased by tenfold in this entry, but the gameplay is very, very fun in a way I wasn’t expecting. As IS expected, the art, animations, and soundtrack are all great; I simply wish the story didn’t drag it down so much for me. I liked Sophia well enough, though.