I have a lot of issues with this game. As a tactics game its really well done. As a persona game it struggles. The fusing and Personas are by far the least compelling in the series so far. It eschews Persona Customization for a more simplified system which works in this context but is so much less fun.

Having said all that its the Thieves and those are my best friends forever and ever. And the Original Characters are great and their story is incredibly heartwarming. I really love the small hints at established series lore dropped through.

There are also a couple references to problems and issues the Thieves have that hasnt really been dealt with since their individual Palaces in the first game, which while not major I did appreciate it.

Btw Toshiro and Erina are trans women. That was one that started as a joke but became more real as the game went.

i am so deeply disappointed in this game. I enjoy the gameplay more than I expected, especially compared to FFXV but story wise this is one of the worst games I've played in a while. Any time the game tries to pull an emotion out of me i struggle to care because of how little these characters matter. Clive is one of the blandest video game protagonists in a while and everyone around him just exists to make him feel special.

Sure it might be "better" than FFXV but at least that game i felt something after playing it. I wanted the game to be more than it was. There's nothing in this game I'm wishing was better. I have no feelings.