[ENG] Persona 5 - Review
(Polish Version Available Here! - [PL] Persona 5 - Recenzja)
(It's really easy to venture into spoiler territory when talking about Persona, but I'll do my best to keep them to a necessary minimum!)
(Since the game for huge majority prohibits you from taking screenshots or videos [using PS4 Share], I had to use screenshots I found on the internet)
(I kept the review to the necessary basics and because of that... It may appear somewhat short)
Persona 5. A game originally released in 2016 and to this day available only on PlayStation 3 and 4.
It's worth noting that I have never played any title from Persona/Shin Megami Tensei series, but I was interested in Persona for quite some time now and I finally bought myself a copy of Persona 5 about 2 months ago. I am aware that I know virtually nothing about anything in this series, but as far as I'm concerned – you don't need to know what Persona 3 or 4 was about to understand Persona 5 – the most you lose is not catching some references. I knew this game was quite good, but I didn't know that it will be THAT good.
I have a bad habit of checking achievements/trophies during or even before playing many games, but in Persona 5 – I did my best to restrain myself from checking anything and... You know what? I am really glad – not only I would spoil myself some story events, but I feel like I would really ruin my fun (Don't get me wrong – many times I feel like I don't miss or suffer from checking achievements but... This is a case, where I would really be mad if I did check it).
(The image that shows when starting the game)
Story focuses on the – for the sake of simplicity let's just use this – Joker. Our character has a pretty rough background and thanks to certain events, he is forced to live in Tokyo for a whole year and needs to attend to a new school for a whole year – Shujin Academy. Not only the background is rough, but when he comes to a place where he is supposed to live for the next year – Joker is sent to a dirty, rusty attic. On his way to a first day of school, he meets a vulgar, blonde boy and from there (excluding prologue) – our over 100 hours long (no, I'm not exaggerating) story begins.
The story is really well-paced, beautiful and emotional. One could say it's a mixture of a visual novel/life simulator and a jRPG (we'll focus on that part a tad bit later) and... He would be totally right.
Other than that, we are known as the 'Phantom Thieves of Heart'. We change hearts of disgusting, horrid adults that are using others for their own, selfish benefit. Change of heart is performed by stealing a 'Treasure' of certain person (don't worry, it's not that big of a spoiler aaand more of it is explained in-game).
Other than that, we are known as the 'Phantom Thieves of Heart'. We change hearts of disgusting, horrid adults that are using others for their own, selfish benefit. Change of heart is performed by stealing a 'Treasure' of certain person (don't worry, it's not that big of a spoiler aaand more of it is explained in-game).
(Phantom Thieves' logo)
Whenever I thought that – 'this story/plot just can't possibly get any more better. There is no chance for that' – the game was like – 'Yeah? Then look at this!'. Every single time I thought that it can't be better – I was proven wrong... And I'm fricking glad that I was proven wrong.
Talking more about the story puts me at risk of accidentally spilling an important story detail so... Let's just wrap the story segment here and move on!
Allow me for a small tangent. At this point I'm after quite a marathon of Japanese games – Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami; Danganronpa Trilogy; NieR:Automata and now Persona 5 – I must admit one thing – Japanese characters and storytelling are on a completely different level. I cried in most if not all of these games, whereas in 'non-Japanese' titles I have a hard time recalling last time I shed a tear.
I was really skeptical to Japanese games at some point but... I am glad I gave them a chance, they have shown me one of the most beautiful, well-crafted stories I have ever seen.
Audio and visual design of the game are amazing, but as in most Japanese games – many people can be thrown off by the 'anime-like' graphics, but... I really think these people are hurting themselves – by rejecting these games because of graphics, they reject themselves from one of the best stories out there. I encourage you – open yourself to more genres and graphic styles and I guarantee that you won't regret it! Persona and/or Danganronpa are the best examples of this! Personally I liked it, and I think this 'anime-style' can help the game grow older nicely, since this style of graphics will look good in years to come. The detail put into animations, Palaces, Personas and everything in this game is really satisfying if you ask me.
(As you can see, completing the game took me just a bit more than 102 hours. I 'professionally censored any information that could be bigger spoiler)
Audio and visual design of the game are amazing, but as in most Japanese games – many people can be thrown off by the 'anime-like' graphics, but... I really think these people are hurting themselves – by rejecting these games because of graphics, they reject themselves from one of the best stories out there. I encourage you – open yourself to more genres and graphic styles and I guarantee that you won't regret it! Persona and/or Danganronpa are the best examples of this! Personally I liked it, and I think this 'anime-style' can help the game grow older nicely, since this style of graphics will look good in years to come. The detail put into animations, Palaces, Personas and everything in this game is really satisfying if you ask me.
Intro of this game is one of these that... I just didn't have the heart to skip, I let it play entirely every single time.
About sound design – I think that combat theme – 'Last Surprise' – is quite recognizable at this point, but tracks like 'Beneath The Mask' or 'Rivers in the Desert' were almost instantly loved by me, so much so that I often just left the game with these certain tracks in the background when I was doing something else!
Characters are a cherry on top of this cake – both friends and adversaries are really diverse. Quite often we form really unusual friendships which we can deepen and learn more about them by progressing their respective plots. Helping them out, spending time somewhere far away from the noisy town or simply hearing them out... I dunno, these things seem really simple but they have that calming, soothing feeling.
The game is divided into two parts. The first part is basically 'social life' – going to school, meeting with friends, doing various activities etc. But many of these things raise our protagonist's social stats – Kindness, Charm, Guts, Knowledge and Proficiency – it's quite profitable to raise these stats as certain levels are required for many things (For example... I dunno – Kindness 4 [There are 5 levels for each stat] to progress certain character's personal arc).
About sound design – I think that combat theme – 'Last Surprise' – is quite recognizable at this point, but tracks like 'Beneath The Mask' or 'Rivers in the Desert' were almost instantly loved by me, so much so that I often just left the game with these certain tracks in the background when I was doing something else!
(During the social life, you can participate in many different activities)
Characters are a cherry on top of this cake – both friends and adversaries are really diverse. Quite often we form really unusual friendships which we can deepen and learn more about them by progressing their respective plots. Helping them out, spending time somewhere far away from the noisy town or simply hearing them out... I dunno, these things seem really simple but they have that calming, soothing feeling.
The game is divided into two parts. The first part is basically 'social life' – going to school, meeting with friends, doing various activities etc. But many of these things raise our protagonist's social stats – Kindness, Charm, Guts, Knowledge and Proficiency – it's quite profitable to raise these stats as certain levels are required for many things (For example... I dunno – Kindness 4 [There are 5 levels for each stat] to progress certain character's personal arc).
Each action is time-consuming, through the majority of the game we can do up to 2 actions every day – be ware though – meeting with someone; working part-time job; reading books; watching DVDs – each and every single one of them is considered as one action so... We often need to plan what we want to do with our limited time.
By spending time with people and progressing their character arcs we can unlock certain skills that are really useful in combat situations (which is second part of the game, that more 'jRPG-y' part.), but not only. Other skills allow us to do more things in a single day which... Is really useful.
Deepening relations and raising social stats has another benefit – depending on relation with out friends we will be able to create stronger Personas.
Now let's talk about the jRPG part of Persona. As the Phantom Thieves we use the Metaverse to traverse Palaces so we're able to change hearts. Metaverse is like a separate realm/separate world where people's darkest sides – Shadows – come to life. And Palaces are enormous structures, inhabited by Shadows and ruled by Shadow of a certain person (Trust me... I really wish I could give you an example, but it would be a spoiler in itself so I have to hold myself).
(The very first Palace in the game)
Now let's talk about the jRPG part of Persona. As the Phantom Thieves we use the Metaverse to traverse Palaces so we're able to change hearts. Metaverse is like a separate realm/separate world where people's darkest sides – Shadows – come to life. And Palaces are enormous structures, inhabited by Shadows and ruled by Shadow of a certain person (Trust me... I really wish I could give you an example, but it would be a spoiler in itself so I have to hold myself).
To fight Shadows we use Personas – in other words – a manifestation of one's heart, of one's rebellious soul. Of course, our protagonist is special and as the game progresses further, we are able to have multiple Personas. Many Personas are based on beliefs, myths, legends and so on which... I dunno, I found it pretty cool. (Oh, and if you have Ultimate Edition you can get Personas from other parts – this is an example of references you won't be able to catch if you haven't played/seen Persona 3 or 4).
Combat is turn-based. Majority of the fights can be finished in span of several seconds if we exploit a weakness of certain enemy. There are a lot of elements and damage types so... Finding this one weakness sometimes can be time-consuming (Oh, and of course there are also enemies without weakness so... You need to score a critical hit.) When all of the enemies are knocked down due to weakness or crit – 'negotiations' begin. Of course, we can simply unleash hell and finish off all of the enemies, but... We can ask for money, items or – most importantly – power. If negotiations for power are successful – we gain a new Persona.
Combat is turn-based. Majority of the fights can be finished in span of several seconds if we exploit a weakness of certain enemy. There are a lot of elements and damage types so... Finding this one weakness sometimes can be time-consuming (Oh, and of course there are also enemies without weakness so... You need to score a critical hit.) When all of the enemies are knocked down due to weakness or crit – 'negotiations' begin. Of course, we can simply unleash hell and finish off all of the enemies, but... We can ask for money, items or – most importantly – power. If negotiations for power are successful – we gain a new Persona.
We can use items within Metaverse or sometimes in the real world, whereas we spend money in the real world to upgrade our team, perform various activities and so on!
As far as I know, in earlier installments of Persona there were procedurally generated dungeons and... Well, Persona 5 also has them in form of Mementos – the Palace of general public. Yes, it's enormous. I've heard that in Persona 5 they put more effort into already made, diverse Palaces rather than focusing the gameplay around these random dungeons.
(Okay, okay, I know - it seems like a lot, but calm down - everything is explained in the game and after few fights this menu doesn't look so overwhelming)
As far as I know, in earlier installments of Persona there were procedurally generated dungeons and... Well, Persona 5 also has them in form of Mementos – the Palace of general public. Yes, it's enormous. I've heard that in Persona 5 they put more effort into already made, diverse Palaces rather than focusing the gameplay around these random dungeons.
Aaaand it's better not to dwell in one level of Mementos for too long unless you wish to meet probably one of the toughest adversaries in the game. The Reaper. There is a cheesy method to beat him. Am I gonna tell you this method? No! It's satisfying to figure it out for yourself or endure the entire fight with him... Ooooor you can just look up this method, I can't tell you what to do!
Oh, and by entering Palace or Mementos you need to be aware that you're giving up the entire day since you won't be able to do anything else (That is... Unless you have a certain skill obtained from relation with one character).
I admit, I really wanted some good, turn-based jRPG for quite some time by now and... Persona 5 gave me more than I wished for! I'd dare to say that Persona 5 is an example of how jRPGs should be made.
We collect Personas, but what then? Oh do I have an answer for you! Velvet Room!
It's a special place between dream and reality, ruled by a mysterious, long-nosed man called Igor. You can fuse two or more different Personas together to create an entirely new one with some skills inhabited from original Personas. As the game progresses, we unlock more and more options in the Velvet Room.
It's a special place between dream and reality, ruled by a mysterious, long-nosed man called Igor. You can fuse two or more different Personas together to create an entirely new one with some skills inhabited from original Personas. As the game progresses, we unlock more and more options in the Velvet Room.
Suffice it to say, we spend a lot of time in this Room – fusing Personas to make them stronger, collecting the 'Persona Compendium' and trying to learn more about Igor and Velvet Room Guardians – Caroline & Justine.
When you enter the Velvet Room, you often end spending an entire hour inside.
I bought Persona 5 right before Persona 5 Royal was released, Royal – extended edition of basic Persona 5, with a lot of new things, characters, items, arcs, secrets etc. I admit, I will play through the Royal version in it's entirety if I will have an opportunity to do so!
That wraps up the most basic of basics about Persona 5 and... I really would like to talk about the entirety of the plot, characters, twists but I really think everyone should experience it for himself. It's a long story filled with amazing characters, emotional moments and well-made combat system. Audiovisual layer is soothing for eyes and ears, even right now, at the moment of writing this review, I am listening to 'Beneath The Mask' which... I admit, easily became my favorite track of the game. Melancholic, nostalgic, sad in a good way... Beautiful.
Give Persona or even Japanese games a chance and I guarantee that you won't regret it. Get Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal if you're feeling fancy – it's a really amazing, long game which... To be frank, you don't feel the length, especially during the endgame segment. I really regret not trying Persona 3 when I had my PS2 and PSP but at the same time I'm glad that today I'm not so prejudiced.
Persona 4 Golden was released for PC literally 2 days before I finished Persona 5. But not about it – it's Persona for PC. It's something quite unbelievable but it's a light of hope that Persona 3 and 5 maybe will be released on PC in the future as well. Not only it was ported really well, but the price... It's 20$ without any discounts!
(This is Mementos - and it goes much deeper than this picture)
I bought Persona 5 right before Persona 5 Royal was released, Royal – extended edition of basic Persona 5, with a lot of new things, characters, items, arcs, secrets etc. I admit, I will play through the Royal version in it's entirety if I will have an opportunity to do so!
That wraps up the most basic of basics about Persona 5 and... I really would like to talk about the entirety of the plot, characters, twists but I really think everyone should experience it for himself. It's a long story filled with amazing characters, emotional moments and well-made combat system. Audiovisual layer is soothing for eyes and ears, even right now, at the moment of writing this review, I am listening to 'Beneath The Mask' which... I admit, easily became my favorite track of the game. Melancholic, nostalgic, sad in a good way... Beautiful.
Give Persona or even Japanese games a chance and I guarantee that you won't regret it. Get Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal if you're feeling fancy – it's a really amazing, long game which... To be frank, you don't feel the length, especially during the endgame segment. I really regret not trying Persona 3 when I had my PS2 and PSP but at the same time I'm glad that today I'm not so prejudiced.
Persona 4 Golden was released for PC literally 2 days before I finished Persona 5. But not about it – it's Persona for PC. It's something quite unbelievable but it's a light of hope that Persona 3 and 5 maybe will be released on PC in the future as well. Not only it was ported really well, but the price... It's 20$ without any discounts!
Suffice it to say that after Persona 5 I am really eager to check out another installment and spend another tens of hours in this beautifully crafted world with brilliant characters!
I'm off to checking out Persona 4, first I have to buy it and the finish it, but when I finish it... Maaaybe there will be review in the future.
Kind Regards,
Wing.
Steal Their Hearts!
Kind Regards,
Wing.
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