jujsjujin
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Persona 3 Reload
2024
rating stands for reload specifically; think it's a pretty terrible swing at a definitive version of a game that, I guess, now, still doesn't have one. am I annoyed that I played through portable, a port they just released, twice, a year before they released this? yeah for sure. did I let it affect how I felt about this? honestly maybe a little, but what's shocking is how many issues I have with this. death from a thousand cuts type stuff.
like, this was never going to be my favourite persona release anyways; I knew they were never gonna radically re-shape the story and I think it's both the weakest and the corniest of the 3 Katsura Hashino titles... but for the script to be almost identical to the Portable one? a script that's fine in portable, it's a visual novel; but now where you can just see characters standing around, awkwardly monologuing and delivering pretty direct exposition? (also worth mentioning here I have also played FES)
I think there's a number of interesting changes and additions to this release, I prefer the implementation of Monad doors within Tartarus over the bonus dungeon approach, even if it's just okay. I love the revamped and improved shuffle time feature, especially with the bonus arcana cards, it's one of my favourite things about 3 and 4. but then theurgies are awkward. as an idea? sure, but they're badly balanced and make an easy game even easier. similarly, I like that there's more things to do at night... but only in the dorm. small events like cooking or watching DVDs with other SEES members is neat. but when there's also smaller social events designed to cover the absence of FEMC's links with the male party members (we'll get to that) that actively hinder your progress in levelling your stats so you can complete the ACTUAL social links? it's messy, and there's not much of an incentive to properly engage with dorm activities on a first playthrough until you're done levelling academics or charm at one of your part time jobs because you're too busy preparing to hang out with Mitsuru et al. it's really cool that these can tie back in to the theurgies and traits, creating some kind of cohesion, but it's so whatever and rarely rewarding in any way other than making an easy game easier.
with these additions though it's still not a FIX to the sheer balance issue to the calendar system and day/night link scheduling. can't help but think it's such a massive missed opportunity to something "definitive" when we're still burdened with events that take up entire WEEKS of your year for such little reason. does anyone give a shit about the sports week? the trip to kyoto with obligatory hot springs scene? can't really find a place to put this in either but honestly?? looks better on PS2. everything here is so bright, unshadowed, it really strips the moody identity and EMO feeling the original had and made its own, a selling point of sorts. Reload on the whole doesn't seem to care a whole lot for its source, maybe a little embarrassed by the dungeon crawling by making Tartarus so much easier and by trying to push a friendlier spin on SEES. the angst is what made it special.
I just think there's too much that's too identical to the original release(s) and what's new isn't necessarily better either. but it's a really bad product to actively leave out The Answer as an epilogue, except as pretty expensive DLC. and, sure, I can kind of get why they didn't bring FEMC back but I don't SEE why. partly bias I guess, but I think she's by far the best of the persona protags (even if she's also a little less emo). her exclusion makes even less sense when considering this game is literally re-using the portable script -- the version she's in. it's just more and more mounting issues, small to medium complaints, that hold this back. it fails to be a definitive edition. there's still just as much reason to gravitate towards FES or portable because this doesn't unify the titles in any meaningful way. it's provided a persona 5 experience in a persona 3 skin and little more.
is this going to be my preferred way of playing persona 3 from now on? hell, it probably might be, it's the breeziest, but can I recommend it over any of the other versions for a legitimate reason? not a chance.
like, this was never going to be my favourite persona release anyways; I knew they were never gonna radically re-shape the story and I think it's both the weakest and the corniest of the 3 Katsura Hashino titles... but for the script to be almost identical to the Portable one? a script that's fine in portable, it's a visual novel; but now where you can just see characters standing around, awkwardly monologuing and delivering pretty direct exposition? (also worth mentioning here I have also played FES)
I think there's a number of interesting changes and additions to this release, I prefer the implementation of Monad doors within Tartarus over the bonus dungeon approach, even if it's just okay. I love the revamped and improved shuffle time feature, especially with the bonus arcana cards, it's one of my favourite things about 3 and 4. but then theurgies are awkward. as an idea? sure, but they're badly balanced and make an easy game even easier. similarly, I like that there's more things to do at night... but only in the dorm. small events like cooking or watching DVDs with other SEES members is neat. but when there's also smaller social events designed to cover the absence of FEMC's links with the male party members (we'll get to that) that actively hinder your progress in levelling your stats so you can complete the ACTUAL social links? it's messy, and there's not much of an incentive to properly engage with dorm activities on a first playthrough until you're done levelling academics or charm at one of your part time jobs because you're too busy preparing to hang out with Mitsuru et al. it's really cool that these can tie back in to the theurgies and traits, creating some kind of cohesion, but it's so whatever and rarely rewarding in any way other than making an easy game easier.
with these additions though it's still not a FIX to the sheer balance issue to the calendar system and day/night link scheduling. can't help but think it's such a massive missed opportunity to something "definitive" when we're still burdened with events that take up entire WEEKS of your year for such little reason. does anyone give a shit about the sports week? the trip to kyoto with obligatory hot springs scene? can't really find a place to put this in either but honestly?? looks better on PS2. everything here is so bright, unshadowed, it really strips the moody identity and EMO feeling the original had and made its own, a selling point of sorts. Reload on the whole doesn't seem to care a whole lot for its source, maybe a little embarrassed by the dungeon crawling by making Tartarus so much easier and by trying to push a friendlier spin on SEES. the angst is what made it special.
I just think there's too much that's too identical to the original release(s) and what's new isn't necessarily better either. but it's a really bad product to actively leave out The Answer as an epilogue, except as pretty expensive DLC. and, sure, I can kind of get why they didn't bring FEMC back but I don't SEE why. partly bias I guess, but I think she's by far the best of the persona protags (even if she's also a little less emo). her exclusion makes even less sense when considering this game is literally re-using the portable script -- the version she's in. it's just more and more mounting issues, small to medium complaints, that hold this back. it fails to be a definitive edition. there's still just as much reason to gravitate towards FES or portable because this doesn't unify the titles in any meaningful way. it's provided a persona 5 experience in a persona 3 skin and little more.
is this going to be my preferred way of playing persona 3 from now on? hell, it probably might be, it's the breeziest, but can I recommend it over any of the other versions for a legitimate reason? not a chance.
Persona 3 Reload
2024
This review contains spoilers
mehhhhh but yessss but.... I'm so incredibly mixed on this game.
I have a lot of positives, big positives, negatives, and big negatives that are all from the same criteria, so oh boy. For context; I've played P3 FES & Portable & watched the movies before this game.
Let's start with what I liked.
The new songs are BEAUTIFUL. Color Your Night went straight in my playlist, and the new Changing Seasons is such a feel-good upgrade. Sometimes I'd just stop playing and spin the protag in circle to the rhythm of the song. Possibly my favorite element of the game, since I love music so much.
Almost all of upgraded environments are gorgeous. The whole city is beautiful, the areas before the bosses were done with justice, and each were done in a way that makes them slightly more unique than FES did. I think this was in the color scheme or filters they put; but nonetheless each felt much more distinct and cool. (Let me forewarn that this upgrade doesn't apply to all of them though)
Tartarus is SO SO SO pretty now. The movement in the background of the tower shifting is genius and something that couldn't be done on older engines; I think it was such a good visual decision to add. The level with all the black and neon colors gave me a little headache so I worry about other players, but it was still really distinct and cool.
The pacing feels a little better in this game; I think it's cause there's more to go/do at nighttime now.
The UI... do I need to say anything on how perfect it is? My favorite bit. It's perfect, we already knew that; such a visual feast and a concise/ingenius layout that's simple for players to navigate. PERFECT.
One of my favorite openings in all of Persona- beat only by 2 or 3 others. Banger song btw, I don't need to go into depth how good this opening was. Go watch it yourself and you'll know.
Ok... Now let me talk about why this game is a mixed bag for me.
I was very limited on what I can see with full honesty was good; because in these same elements had some real kicks that worsened them.
For example, I'm of the people who LOVED the new music, but the remasters/remixes of a lot of songs... were definitely worse than the og. I'm sure a person more experienced in music can explain the differences but I'll summarize my thoughts Iwatodai Dorm theme is weird and slower. Mass Destruction is little off in tone with the new singer. Burn my Dread... dear lord is it one of the worse songs to come out of Persona. That was the most disappointing one. If it's your first experience with P3; you'll probably love the soundtrack nonetheless. However, if you've listened to these songs before you'll take notice in how they've been butchered in this remake.
Gameplay...
I already did NOT like gameplay in Portable or FES; Tartarus was just: an enemy runs into you, somehow find their weakness, all out attack, repeat. And that's for EVERY single battle as you tower up.
So I was excited for Reload; I couldn't wait to see how they make Tartarus enjoyable. But they made it so... brainless. No matter the difficulty you choose; theurgys are SO overpowered, physical skills are BROKEN, and it's incredibly EASY to accidentally overgrind and boom; bosses are killed in seconds.
There's a theurgy that literally oneshots anything for the cost of all your sp & hp, but with Yukari's RIDICULOUSLY cheap healing and how EASY it is to get SP items, it's essentially a free xp grinder for the reaper. I got to level 96 after figuring this out and stopped because I realized the final boss was gonna be shit if I went to 99.
They also removed and worsened all the tactics in the original that made the game challenging and actually thematically immersive. The removed the tiredness system- which like, was a really good reoccurring reference to your final day and is not super challenging to get rid of. It's so easy to combat tiredness if you care for it, so I have no idea why they didn't just keep it. It also makes scenes like you randomly catching a cold from a typhoon make more sense than just a random time-event.
They WORSENED the AI to let party members act freely so much; it's useless and ACTIVELY PUNISHES THE PLAYER NOW. That was also one of my favorite bits of immersive storytelling; It's not like P5 where the characters are all united after joining the Thieves. These characters acting freely ESTABLISHES them as independent entities and their ongoing personal struggles. It made them more human and added to their characters, imo. I've seen people like it but most of them have not played the originals. So I don't know; I just don't like how they're using the P5 formula for their other games now.
I think the P5 formula is the biggest hinderance to this game. Whilst the upgraded graphics are beautiful; a LOT of the art and gameplay direction is missing the identity of the original.
The final battle was incredibly disappointing in both its difficulty and how it had the SAME visual elements as all the other bosses. Nyx in every other version has been darker; I don't even mind if they keep the damn green they love if they just made the fight more UNIQUE than every other boss.
I am a big storytelling lover, so this next bit has me tweaking. Except for the Aegis vs Ryoji cutscene (which is peak)... EVERY cutscene has been made worse. It's either:
1.) A 2D cutscene that is so stiff & lifeless; the characters have barely any expression, they can barely move, the original DIRECTION of these cutscenes has been stripped away for a rendition that is ineffective. The opening cutscene is the biggest culprit of this, but it's also in like the ship vacation scene. That new cutscene with them equipping their new outfits is laughably bad. The awkwardness of how slow the characters move with nothing but the music at a mismatch pace. It was a nothingburger of a cutscene that was placed for no reason in the story.
2.) 3D Model replacements of cutscenes. I. Hateee this. Genuinely don't know ANYONE who prefers 3D scenes over the 2D. Shinjiro's death is the biggest culprit of being done dirty by this, but I mean at least the characters are forced to show emotion and movement in 3D modeling so hey that's something. It just looks worse, strips away the simplicity from the original cutscenes that even make it meaningful. The final scene being in 3D also made me pretty ticked, but it wasn't awful or anything. The intent of every frame from the original ending is lost as soon as it's transferred for smooth animation. I've heard it's possibly an animation error, but Aigis being portrayed as human in the final scene made me bawl when I first played through.
The persona 3 Movies are a PERFECT example on how to do a rendition of these cutscenes, and yet Reload butchers them in every way possible.
Now, this game made me hate Atlas as a company. If you don't know anything about how this game released; oh boy.
First off, this is a pretty amazing game, but a terrible remake for many reasons. There are 2 other versions of Persona 3 that have different content in them, and when this was first announced as a Remake; everyone was excited for a DEFINITIVE version of the game. The Femc and social links from Portable; the gameplay systems & The Answer from FES; all these and more coupled with intent to make it as definitive as possible.
Guess what happened? The game is $70 coupled with nonsensically high DLC pricing. Every bit of content from Portable is nonexistent; there is no Femc in Ba Sing Se. The Answer, that was originally part of FES, is now being sold separately as DLC for $35 which makes this an over $100 game with less than half the content it should have had. The DLC package for the Answer is also ridiculous, because to justify the pricing and removal of it from the main game; they include SCRAPS to make it seem like more. They just put music from P4 and P5, and a costume set. That's it. For $35 of something that should've been in the base game. And so much of the content in Portable was an upgrade to the storytelling; the social links were brilliant, and Femc as a whole should've been there. But developers say there was not enough time. This is not the real reason, but that's another rabbit hole to go down. Do a search on people's thoughts if you're curious. If you want a Femc mod; people already have a REALLY good one that they are now just working on editing dialogue/voice lines from portable & adding cutscenes.
If it seems like I'm a negative Nancy; it's because a lot of direction from this game was done better in the originals, and Atlus was a scammer upon releasing this game. However, I still had a lot of fun playing it. I meant every word of good as much as I criticize the game.
I vehemently think its a AMAZING game, but a terrible remake.
I have a lot of positives, big positives, negatives, and big negatives that are all from the same criteria, so oh boy. For context; I've played P3 FES & Portable & watched the movies before this game.
Let's start with what I liked.
The new songs are BEAUTIFUL. Color Your Night went straight in my playlist, and the new Changing Seasons is such a feel-good upgrade. Sometimes I'd just stop playing and spin the protag in circle to the rhythm of the song. Possibly my favorite element of the game, since I love music so much.
Almost all of upgraded environments are gorgeous. The whole city is beautiful, the areas before the bosses were done with justice, and each were done in a way that makes them slightly more unique than FES did. I think this was in the color scheme or filters they put; but nonetheless each felt much more distinct and cool. (Let me forewarn that this upgrade doesn't apply to all of them though)
Tartarus is SO SO SO pretty now. The movement in the background of the tower shifting is genius and something that couldn't be done on older engines; I think it was such a good visual decision to add. The level with all the black and neon colors gave me a little headache so I worry about other players, but it was still really distinct and cool.
The pacing feels a little better in this game; I think it's cause there's more to go/do at nighttime now.
The UI... do I need to say anything on how perfect it is? My favorite bit. It's perfect, we already knew that; such a visual feast and a concise/ingenius layout that's simple for players to navigate. PERFECT.
One of my favorite openings in all of Persona- beat only by 2 or 3 others. Banger song btw, I don't need to go into depth how good this opening was. Go watch it yourself and you'll know.
Ok... Now let me talk about why this game is a mixed bag for me.
I was very limited on what I can see with full honesty was good; because in these same elements had some real kicks that worsened them.
For example, I'm of the people who LOVED the new music, but the remasters/remixes of a lot of songs... were definitely worse than the og. I'm sure a person more experienced in music can explain the differences but I'll summarize my thoughts Iwatodai Dorm theme is weird and slower. Mass Destruction is little off in tone with the new singer. Burn my Dread... dear lord is it one of the worse songs to come out of Persona. That was the most disappointing one. If it's your first experience with P3; you'll probably love the soundtrack nonetheless. However, if you've listened to these songs before you'll take notice in how they've been butchered in this remake.
Gameplay...
I already did NOT like gameplay in Portable or FES; Tartarus was just: an enemy runs into you, somehow find their weakness, all out attack, repeat. And that's for EVERY single battle as you tower up.
So I was excited for Reload; I couldn't wait to see how they make Tartarus enjoyable. But they made it so... brainless. No matter the difficulty you choose; theurgys are SO overpowered, physical skills are BROKEN, and it's incredibly EASY to accidentally overgrind and boom; bosses are killed in seconds.
There's a theurgy that literally oneshots anything for the cost of all your sp & hp, but with Yukari's RIDICULOUSLY cheap healing and how EASY it is to get SP items, it's essentially a free xp grinder for the reaper. I got to level 96 after figuring this out and stopped because I realized the final boss was gonna be shit if I went to 99.
They also removed and worsened all the tactics in the original that made the game challenging and actually thematically immersive. The removed the tiredness system- which like, was a really good reoccurring reference to your final day and is not super challenging to get rid of. It's so easy to combat tiredness if you care for it, so I have no idea why they didn't just keep it. It also makes scenes like you randomly catching a cold from a typhoon make more sense than just a random time-event.
They WORSENED the AI to let party members act freely so much; it's useless and ACTIVELY PUNISHES THE PLAYER NOW. That was also one of my favorite bits of immersive storytelling; It's not like P5 where the characters are all united after joining the Thieves. These characters acting freely ESTABLISHES them as independent entities and their ongoing personal struggles. It made them more human and added to their characters, imo. I've seen people like it but most of them have not played the originals. So I don't know; I just don't like how they're using the P5 formula for their other games now.
I think the P5 formula is the biggest hinderance to this game. Whilst the upgraded graphics are beautiful; a LOT of the art and gameplay direction is missing the identity of the original.
The final battle was incredibly disappointing in both its difficulty and how it had the SAME visual elements as all the other bosses. Nyx in every other version has been darker; I don't even mind if they keep the damn green they love if they just made the fight more UNIQUE than every other boss.
I am a big storytelling lover, so this next bit has me tweaking. Except for the Aegis vs Ryoji cutscene (which is peak)... EVERY cutscene has been made worse. It's either:
1.) A 2D cutscene that is so stiff & lifeless; the characters have barely any expression, they can barely move, the original DIRECTION of these cutscenes has been stripped away for a rendition that is ineffective. The opening cutscene is the biggest culprit of this, but it's also in like the ship vacation scene. That new cutscene with them equipping their new outfits is laughably bad. The awkwardness of how slow the characters move with nothing but the music at a mismatch pace. It was a nothingburger of a cutscene that was placed for no reason in the story.
2.) 3D Model replacements of cutscenes. I. Hateee this. Genuinely don't know ANYONE who prefers 3D scenes over the 2D. Shinjiro's death is the biggest culprit of being done dirty by this, but I mean at least the characters are forced to show emotion and movement in 3D modeling so hey that's something. It just looks worse, strips away the simplicity from the original cutscenes that even make it meaningful. The final scene being in 3D also made me pretty ticked, but it wasn't awful or anything. The intent of every frame from the original ending is lost as soon as it's transferred for smooth animation. I've heard it's possibly an animation error, but Aigis being portrayed as human in the final scene made me bawl when I first played through.
The persona 3 Movies are a PERFECT example on how to do a rendition of these cutscenes, and yet Reload butchers them in every way possible.
Now, this game made me hate Atlas as a company. If you don't know anything about how this game released; oh boy.
First off, this is a pretty amazing game, but a terrible remake for many reasons. There are 2 other versions of Persona 3 that have different content in them, and when this was first announced as a Remake; everyone was excited for a DEFINITIVE version of the game. The Femc and social links from Portable; the gameplay systems & The Answer from FES; all these and more coupled with intent to make it as definitive as possible.
Guess what happened? The game is $70 coupled with nonsensically high DLC pricing. Every bit of content from Portable is nonexistent; there is no Femc in Ba Sing Se. The Answer, that was originally part of FES, is now being sold separately as DLC for $35 which makes this an over $100 game with less than half the content it should have had. The DLC package for the Answer is also ridiculous, because to justify the pricing and removal of it from the main game; they include SCRAPS to make it seem like more. They just put music from P4 and P5, and a costume set. That's it. For $35 of something that should've been in the base game. And so much of the content in Portable was an upgrade to the storytelling; the social links were brilliant, and Femc as a whole should've been there. But developers say there was not enough time. This is not the real reason, but that's another rabbit hole to go down. Do a search on people's thoughts if you're curious. If you want a Femc mod; people already have a REALLY good one that they are now just working on editing dialogue/voice lines from portable & adding cutscenes.
If it seems like I'm a negative Nancy; it's because a lot of direction from this game was done better in the originals, and Atlus was a scammer upon releasing this game. However, I still had a lot of fun playing it. I meant every word of good as much as I criticize the game.
I vehemently think its a AMAZING game, but a terrible remake.
Persona 5
2016
cringe fans, cringe characters, cringe dialogue but valorant has them also and is still the worse game out of the two
Persona 5
2016
Might be the most overhyped game of all time, the beginning is the best part of the game and it's all downhill after that. Not even the interesting side characters can save you from the boredom that is the middle of this game, and the end doesn't even get any better. Unless you're a young teenager, or if you dislike JRPGs, steer clear of this game.
The most positive aspect of this game is the music and that's nothing special because Shoji Meguro has been behind plenty of great soundtracks in the past, also demon negotiation is actually pretty cool to bring back to Persona since it wasn't present for 3 or 4, however there's weird mistranslations and errors that just make it confusing. It just feels like content creep, the game. Way too much going on with no real focus. Anyone saying the main plot is compelling or engaging is straight up lying because the main characters forget important shit all the time and have to remind the player Oh Yeah That Happened even though you would know if you paid the smallest amount of attention. Not to mention the main motive for each dungeon past the first is just redundant Adults Bad reasoning, which continues all the way until the ending.
The most positive aspect of this game is the music and that's nothing special because Shoji Meguro has been behind plenty of great soundtracks in the past, also demon negotiation is actually pretty cool to bring back to Persona since it wasn't present for 3 or 4, however there's weird mistranslations and errors that just make it confusing. It just feels like content creep, the game. Way too much going on with no real focus. Anyone saying the main plot is compelling or engaging is straight up lying because the main characters forget important shit all the time and have to remind the player Oh Yeah That Happened even though you would know if you paid the smallest amount of attention. Not to mention the main motive for each dungeon past the first is just redundant Adults Bad reasoning, which continues all the way until the ending.
MultiVersus
2022
1 beta fechada e aberta + 3 anos para isso? monetização MUITO pior (honestamente pior que suicide squad), otimização pior(stutters que não estavam presentes no UE4), UI pior(aquele meme de UI triple A moderna), controles/jogabilidade pior (parece lagado, duro de controlar) e outros.
Honestamente para ser um "Smash Killer" ainda tem que chegar nos pés do Super Smash Bros 64, mas talvez daqui a mais 3 anos consigam?
Honestamente para ser um "Smash Killer" ainda tem que chegar nos pés do Super Smash Bros 64, mas talvez daqui a mais 3 anos consigam?
Persona 5 Royal
2019
There's something amusing about seeing a lot of big fans of Persona 5 in my circle rag on Persona 4 constantly when, in reality, the core issues of both of their stories are near-identical. They both have very formulaic story structures that wear out their welcome by the time they do start shaking things up, they have fairly weak casts that are severely underwritten past their initial arcs, and they're both very non-committal or even contradictory with presenting their main themes. If this is the case, then why do I view Persona 4 in a somewhat more positive light while Persona 5 gets worse for me as time goes on, despite the fact that the lowest lows of 4 are far worse than 5’s? Well, not only does Persona 4 have its own unique strengths that 5 fails to capture, but these direct parallels in shortcomings give me the impression that Atlus learned practically nothing from the shortcomings of 4 after a near-decade, aside from slightly getting the memo that homophobia might not actually be that funny. (Emphasis on slightly)
The main cast is probably the worst out of any modern Persona cast. Not to say that they’re all irredeemably terrible, but they just become incredibly flat once their specific arc is concluded, which makes it even more damning when characters like Haru don’t even have that to their name with how poorly implemented Morgana’s arc is. It doesn’t really take long for them to neatly slot into their respective archetypes without branching out much beyond them. Ann probably gets this the worst, she doesn’t really get to go beyond being “the girl” of the group when she had so much going on during Kamoshida’s arc. I think a better approach would’ve been to limit the cast just to the initial trio. Their dynamic in the early game is very strong and could totally carry a whole game on its own. Yusuke felt pretty out of place once he fully joined the Phantom Thieves, and the sidelining of growth for each party member becomes very apparent once Makoto joins. I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch to say it would work, with how often the series tries to push a “main trio” of their parties. Even Persona 4 directly did it, when it arguably started off with more of a quartet than a trio. I don’t know how it would affect the rest of the game, but what I do know is that the characters do need a lot more than they get, especially in a series that prides itself on interpersonal relationships like Persona does.
I don’t see myself as someone that’s too harsh regarding the “Show don’t tell” critique. I like a good chunk of media that are very in your face about their messages and themes. The point where I do feel it’s right to make that critique is when it feels like a piece of media is talking down to me, which is absolutely the case with Persona 5. It never trusts the player to come to their own conclusions about what they’re being presented, so it feels the need to spell the meaning behind every interaction out in meticulous detail so that a 3 year old can keep up with it. For example, there’s a reoccurring puzzle throughout the Pyramid of Wrath, (Which is my least favorite stretch of the whole game for a myriad of reasons that I don’t intend to go into) where you put together hieroglyphs that depict parts of the palace ruler’s past, and their relationship with a close family member. I thought it was a cool way to let the player piece together the trauma that they endured, especially with how that comes together with the palace’s boss, but every single time you clear one, the characters explain exactly what it means and tell you exactly how to feel. It’s really frustrating when it feels like it has to spell out every single interaction in the entire game. I feel like you could shave off 10 hours from the game just by giving it a tighter script, it’s unnecessary bloat that does nothing but dampen the storytelling. It’s even more baffling that it has this approach when ultimately, it doesn’t really have anything to say until the Royal arc hits. It’s trying to tackle much more grandiose themes of society and rebellion, but it always feels like it’s only putting a single toe into an incredibly deep pool. Let me be clear, I don’t need the PTs to start picking apart every aspect of each corrupt system in the nation. I feel like too many critiques go down that route, especially since it does place more of an emphasis on personal conflict. But even so, it could do a lot better with acknowledging it than the “All’s well that ends well, right?” approach we’re given. That’s honestly my biggest problem with the modern series. It’s so non-commital with presenting these potentially interesting ideas that the stick it’s hitting the issues it tackles seems to be more like a damp pool noodle.
As I’m writing this, I’m noticing a major pattern between each of this game’s aspects. I really like everything about it on paper. The general theme of rebellion that has sparks throughout the whole game, that’s cool! Too bad the ways it explores that theme are pretty paper-thin, even with the social links that usually thrive with conveying themes just as well as if not better than the main plot. Having social links teach you more specific abilities to use throughout the game for a sense of growth, that’s cool! Too bad that the way they’re balanced makes them range from practically meaningless to game-breakingly powerful. Every single addition to the game’s combat, the baton passes, the guns, all of that is cool! Too bad none of the game is balanced around it and it makes even a normal playthrough one where you’re stupidly overpowered. I think this is why Persona 5 fails for me in ways that the other games in the series don’t quite as much. As much as 3 and 4 had their low points and downsides, both of those did have consistent strengths that they were able to bring out exceptionally well. For every great and fresh idea that P5 has that isn’t strictly related to its presentation, there’s something else that ends up completely undercutting it.
In a way, that’s why despite how fun it can be to dunk on Atlus and this game, I don’t like the distaste that I have for it. It does have some genuinely fascinating ideas, I can see a spark of something truly spectacular trapped inside of this. The Royal arc proves this, it’s a fantastic piece of work that’s only weaknesses are the foundation that it’s built upon. If Atlus really is capable of being a tour de force in video game storytelling and can capitalize on the strengths of Royal’s writing, then Persona 6 could be the first game in the series that I really like without any caveats. All I need is proof that modern Atlus has that bite in its narratives, which it’s mostly consistently proven to not have over this decade. I want to believe that Atlus can pull through, and bring us one last surprise…
(Also maybe don’t have a prominent party member that plays into every single autism stereotype in the book at maximum capacity with the core point being “ooh she’s such a quirky gamer girl!” Cool? Cool.)
The main cast is probably the worst out of any modern Persona cast. Not to say that they’re all irredeemably terrible, but they just become incredibly flat once their specific arc is concluded, which makes it even more damning when characters like Haru don’t even have that to their name with how poorly implemented Morgana’s arc is. It doesn’t really take long for them to neatly slot into their respective archetypes without branching out much beyond them. Ann probably gets this the worst, she doesn’t really get to go beyond being “the girl” of the group when she had so much going on during Kamoshida’s arc. I think a better approach would’ve been to limit the cast just to the initial trio. Their dynamic in the early game is very strong and could totally carry a whole game on its own. Yusuke felt pretty out of place once he fully joined the Phantom Thieves, and the sidelining of growth for each party member becomes very apparent once Makoto joins. I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch to say it would work, with how often the series tries to push a “main trio” of their parties. Even Persona 4 directly did it, when it arguably started off with more of a quartet than a trio. I don’t know how it would affect the rest of the game, but what I do know is that the characters do need a lot more than they get, especially in a series that prides itself on interpersonal relationships like Persona does.
I don’t see myself as someone that’s too harsh regarding the “Show don’t tell” critique. I like a good chunk of media that are very in your face about their messages and themes. The point where I do feel it’s right to make that critique is when it feels like a piece of media is talking down to me, which is absolutely the case with Persona 5. It never trusts the player to come to their own conclusions about what they’re being presented, so it feels the need to spell the meaning behind every interaction out in meticulous detail so that a 3 year old can keep up with it. For example, there’s a reoccurring puzzle throughout the Pyramid of Wrath, (Which is my least favorite stretch of the whole game for a myriad of reasons that I don’t intend to go into) where you put together hieroglyphs that depict parts of the palace ruler’s past, and their relationship with a close family member. I thought it was a cool way to let the player piece together the trauma that they endured, especially with how that comes together with the palace’s boss, but every single time you clear one, the characters explain exactly what it means and tell you exactly how to feel. It’s really frustrating when it feels like it has to spell out every single interaction in the entire game. I feel like you could shave off 10 hours from the game just by giving it a tighter script, it’s unnecessary bloat that does nothing but dampen the storytelling. It’s even more baffling that it has this approach when ultimately, it doesn’t really have anything to say until the Royal arc hits. It’s trying to tackle much more grandiose themes of society and rebellion, but it always feels like it’s only putting a single toe into an incredibly deep pool. Let me be clear, I don’t need the PTs to start picking apart every aspect of each corrupt system in the nation. I feel like too many critiques go down that route, especially since it does place more of an emphasis on personal conflict. But even so, it could do a lot better with acknowledging it than the “All’s well that ends well, right?” approach we’re given. That’s honestly my biggest problem with the modern series. It’s so non-commital with presenting these potentially interesting ideas that the stick it’s hitting the issues it tackles seems to be more like a damp pool noodle.
As I’m writing this, I’m noticing a major pattern between each of this game’s aspects. I really like everything about it on paper. The general theme of rebellion that has sparks throughout the whole game, that’s cool! Too bad the ways it explores that theme are pretty paper-thin, even with the social links that usually thrive with conveying themes just as well as if not better than the main plot. Having social links teach you more specific abilities to use throughout the game for a sense of growth, that’s cool! Too bad that the way they’re balanced makes them range from practically meaningless to game-breakingly powerful. Every single addition to the game’s combat, the baton passes, the guns, all of that is cool! Too bad none of the game is balanced around it and it makes even a normal playthrough one where you’re stupidly overpowered. I think this is why Persona 5 fails for me in ways that the other games in the series don’t quite as much. As much as 3 and 4 had their low points and downsides, both of those did have consistent strengths that they were able to bring out exceptionally well. For every great and fresh idea that P5 has that isn’t strictly related to its presentation, there’s something else that ends up completely undercutting it.
In a way, that’s why despite how fun it can be to dunk on Atlus and this game, I don’t like the distaste that I have for it. It does have some genuinely fascinating ideas, I can see a spark of something truly spectacular trapped inside of this. The Royal arc proves this, it’s a fantastic piece of work that’s only weaknesses are the foundation that it’s built upon. If Atlus really is capable of being a tour de force in video game storytelling and can capitalize on the strengths of Royal’s writing, then Persona 6 could be the first game in the series that I really like without any caveats. All I need is proof that modern Atlus has that bite in its narratives, which it’s mostly consistently proven to not have over this decade. I want to believe that Atlus can pull through, and bring us one last surprise…
(Also maybe don’t have a prominent party member that plays into every single autism stereotype in the book at maximum capacity with the core point being “ooh she’s such a quirky gamer girl!” Cool? Cool.)
A very good and frankly VERY overhated entry. I love it exactly because it plays on traditional JRPG tropes, a breath of fresh air for this franchise. Plus the gameplay is peak JRPG.
Main character seems like the kind of guy who would review games on backlogged.
its fucking peak, one of the best games out there.
Once you beat this game ask yourself if there is a single change in the story that you prefer over the original. I get that isnt the point of the game at all but i cant stand this modernization and re-imagining shit that theyre doing
For the first 10 hours I was screaming “hell yeah!” because i do genuinely love these characters and i don’t think ill ever get bored of seeing them interact with each other, on top of that seeing the remade locations from the original and hearing the music from the best soundtrack ever remade in stunning orchestrations is as phenomenal as it is nostalgic, however a good 60% of the time it either feels like ive played this game 40 times before or i just hate it.
I could go on for days about why the gameplay, strictly the combat, is amazing and easily the best action based system in the series (even though the bar is nonexistent), though it stops being as impactful when all im doing is grinding out the uneventful and unneeded filler main story quests that are there just to make the game 30 hours longer to get to the fun combat. Push object A to point B then climb a yellow wall while following a map marker that shows you exactly where to go at all times I LOVE CONSUMING SLOP😋 Of course this also heavily applies to the mundane and surprisingly small “open world” which is cool for the first 30 minutes and then quickly becomes boring as you realize there’s really nothing to do in it aside from fight enemies and do occasional QTE sequences. It’s not the worst thing in the world, it’s just very generic.
The story is just fan service and while some elements are cool its actual slop and that’s alright because sometimes it’s ok to treat yourself to some junk food (shit like this game) after eating healthy greens (the original game) there was another joke i wanted to make but i can’t even remember i think im developing alzheimers something something cell degradation
Once you beat this game ask yourself if there is a single change in the story that you prefer over the original. I get that isnt the point of the game at all and that this is supposed to be its own thing or whatever, but i cant stand this modernization and re-imagining shit that theyre doing because they’re doing it so horribly wrong
For the first 10 hours I was screaming “hell yeah!” because i do genuinely love these characters and i don’t think ill ever get bored of seeing them interact with each other. That very well could be the best part about this game, because there wasn’t a point where I got bored of the character writing, and honestly it was one of the few things getting me through the boring ass story aside from seeing the remade locations and music, however a good 60% of the time it either feels like I’ve played this game 40 times before or I just hate it.
I could go on for days about why the gameplay, strictly the combat, is amazing and easily the best action based system in the series (even though the bar is nonexistent), though it stops being as impactful when all im doing is grinding out the uneventful and unneeded filler story that are there just to make the game 30 hours longer to get to the fun combat. Push object A to point B then climb a yellow wall while following a map marker that shows you exactly where to go at all times I LOVE CONSUMING SLOP😋and of course this also heavily applies to the mundane and surprisingly small “open world” which is cool for the first 30 minutes and then quickly becomes boring as you realize there’s really nothing to do in it aside from fight enemies and do occasional QTE sequences. I want to make it clear that im not one of those console warrior people who care about the world size and loading screens because i really could give less of a shit but I am a firm believer in quality over quantity and like most open slop games this doesn’t follow that mantra. It’s not the worst thing in the world, it’s just very, very generic. Also Charley or whatever that assholes name is has to shut the fuck up
The best way I can summarize my thoughts on the story is that it’s just fan service for really hardcore final fantasy 7 super fans who either dont know how to read between the lines or read between the lines too much. Like I’ve said about pretty much everything in this game… it’s cool…. But its just slop… and that’s alright because sometimes it’s ok to treat yourself to some junk food (shit like this game) after eating healthy greens (the original game) there was another joke i wanted to make but i can’t even remember i think im developing alzheimers something something cell degradation
I think what it comes down to is that this game is always either way too scared to do anything impactful during key story sequences or when it’s somewhat impactful it completely fumbles by doing some weird multiverse bullshit that shouldn’t have even a suggestion. I have not been a fan of anything they’ve done with FF7 and its characters since the original game and i guess crisis core and this is a key reason why. That being said, am i going to buy Final fantasy vii: reborn? Of course. I love slop💕😋 and i love final fantasy
For the first 10 hours I was screaming “hell yeah!” because i do genuinely love these characters and i don’t think ill ever get bored of seeing them interact with each other, on top of that seeing the remade locations from the original and hearing the music from the best soundtrack ever remade in stunning orchestrations is as phenomenal as it is nostalgic, however a good 60% of the time it either feels like ive played this game 40 times before or i just hate it.
I could go on for days about why the gameplay, strictly the combat, is amazing and easily the best action based system in the series (even though the bar is nonexistent), though it stops being as impactful when all im doing is grinding out the uneventful and unneeded filler main story quests that are there just to make the game 30 hours longer to get to the fun combat. Push object A to point B then climb a yellow wall while following a map marker that shows you exactly where to go at all times I LOVE CONSUMING SLOP😋 Of course this also heavily applies to the mundane and surprisingly small “open world” which is cool for the first 30 minutes and then quickly becomes boring as you realize there’s really nothing to do in it aside from fight enemies and do occasional QTE sequences. It’s not the worst thing in the world, it’s just very generic.
The story is just fan service and while some elements are cool its actual slop and that’s alright because sometimes it’s ok to treat yourself to some junk food (shit like this game) after eating healthy greens (the original game) there was another joke i wanted to make but i can’t even remember i think im developing alzheimers something something cell degradation
Once you beat this game ask yourself if there is a single change in the story that you prefer over the original. I get that isnt the point of the game at all and that this is supposed to be its own thing or whatever, but i cant stand this modernization and re-imagining shit that theyre doing because they’re doing it so horribly wrong
For the first 10 hours I was screaming “hell yeah!” because i do genuinely love these characters and i don’t think ill ever get bored of seeing them interact with each other. That very well could be the best part about this game, because there wasn’t a point where I got bored of the character writing, and honestly it was one of the few things getting me through the boring ass story aside from seeing the remade locations and music, however a good 60% of the time it either feels like I’ve played this game 40 times before or I just hate it.
I could go on for days about why the gameplay, strictly the combat, is amazing and easily the best action based system in the series (even though the bar is nonexistent), though it stops being as impactful when all im doing is grinding out the uneventful and unneeded filler story that are there just to make the game 30 hours longer to get to the fun combat. Push object A to point B then climb a yellow wall while following a map marker that shows you exactly where to go at all times I LOVE CONSUMING SLOP😋and of course this also heavily applies to the mundane and surprisingly small “open world” which is cool for the first 30 minutes and then quickly becomes boring as you realize there’s really nothing to do in it aside from fight enemies and do occasional QTE sequences. I want to make it clear that im not one of those console warrior people who care about the world size and loading screens because i really could give less of a shit but I am a firm believer in quality over quantity and like most open slop games this doesn’t follow that mantra. It’s not the worst thing in the world, it’s just very, very generic. Also Charley or whatever that assholes name is has to shut the fuck up
The best way I can summarize my thoughts on the story is that it’s just fan service for really hardcore final fantasy 7 super fans who either dont know how to read between the lines or read between the lines too much. Like I’ve said about pretty much everything in this game… it’s cool…. But its just slop… and that’s alright because sometimes it’s ok to treat yourself to some junk food (shit like this game) after eating healthy greens (the original game) there was another joke i wanted to make but i can’t even remember i think im developing alzheimers something something cell degradation
I think what it comes down to is that this game is always either way too scared to do anything impactful during key story sequences or when it’s somewhat impactful it completely fumbles by doing some weird multiverse bullshit that shouldn’t have even a suggestion. I have not been a fan of anything they’ve done with FF7 and its characters since the original game and i guess crisis core and this is a key reason why. That being said, am i going to buy Final fantasy vii: reborn? Of course. I love slop💕😋 and i love final fantasy
The Hog Rider card is unlocked from the Spell Valley (Arena 5). He is a very fast building-targeting, melee troop with moderately high hitpoints and damage. He appears just like his Clash of Clans counterpart; a man with brown eyebrows, a beard, a mohawk, and a golden body piercing in his left ear who is riding a hog. A Hog Rider card costs 4 Elixir to deploy.
StrategyHis fast move speed can boost forward mini tanks like an Ice Golem in a push. At the same time, he can also function as a tank for lower hitpoint troops such as Goblins as he still has a fair amount of health. Most cheap swarms complement the Hog Rider well, as they are nearly as fast as him and usually force more than one card out of the opponent's hand.
The Hog Rider struggles with swarms, as they can damage him down and defeat him quickly while obstructing his path. Barbarians in particular can fully counter him without very strict timing on the defender's part, though be wary of spells.A Hunter can kill the Hog Rider in 2 hits if placed right on top of it. However, if you place something in front of the Hog Rider, the Hunter's splash will damage the Hog Rider and hit the card in front of it more.
The Hog Rider in conjunction with the Freeze can surprise the opponent and allow the Hog Rider to deal much more damage than anticipated, especially if the opponent's go-to counter is a swarm, or swarms are their only effective counter to him. Skeletons and Bats will immediately be defeated by the spell, while Spear Goblins, Goblins, and Minions will be at low enough health to be defeated by a follow up Zap or Giant Snowball.
However, this strategy isn't very effective against buildings as the Hog Rider will take a while to destroy the building, giving the opponent ample time to articulate another counter.
StrategyHis fast move speed can boost forward mini tanks like an Ice Golem in a push. At the same time, he can also function as a tank for lower hitpoint troops such as Goblins as he still has a fair amount of health. Most cheap swarms complement the Hog Rider well, as they are nearly as fast as him and usually force more than one card out of the opponent's hand.
The Hog Rider struggles with swarms, as they can damage him down and defeat him quickly while obstructing his path. Barbarians in particular can fully counter him without very strict timing on the defender's part, though be wary of spells.A Hunter can kill the Hog Rider in 2 hits if placed right on top of it. However, if you place something in front of the Hog Rider, the Hunter's splash will damage the Hog Rider and hit the card in front of it more.
The Hog Rider in conjunction with the Freeze can surprise the opponent and allow the Hog Rider to deal much more damage than anticipated, especially if the opponent's go-to counter is a swarm, or swarms are their only effective counter to him. Skeletons and Bats will immediately be defeated by the spell, while Spear Goblins, Goblins, and Minions will be at low enough health to be defeated by a follow up Zap or Giant Snowball.
However, this strategy isn't very effective against buildings as the Hog Rider will take a while to destroy the building, giving the opponent ample time to articulate another counter.
Palworld
2024
falar a verdade... eu me diverti. Isso faz o jogo ser incrivel? não, mas eu me diverti.
boo hoo depression game just pick up a fucking football
Persona 3 Reload
2024
Imagine paying more money for less content than on the PS2 FES from 2007. Absolutely not. This ain't it.
Persona 3 Reload
2024
the P5 and it's consequences have been a disaster for the human race