like.a.ser
Member
I preordered digitally (because I never sell Persona games) so, alas, an early copy is not in my future. Definitely subscribing here, though.
I'm tempted to pick up the US version to play through the game again. That's how much I absolutely adored P5.
Time to clear: About 105-110 hours on Normal.
Let me preface this by saying that I found both Persona 3 and Persona 4 (and 4G) very tedious, both in and out of dungeons and were never able to put more than 10-20 hours into them.
Thanks to its style, Persona 5 looks really great, low quality textures aside. I honestly don't understand this decision, since they really stick out when everything else looks good. Style aside, it's not a technical masterpiece, but some signs here and there aside, I really liked the look of the whole package.
As for the music, I enjoyed most of the BGMs and would even leave the game running while doing other stuff.
Gameplay-wise, I feel that P5 is a huge step up from P3 and P4 in almost every way.
A ton of changes like being able to see if there are any Social Link (here Cooperations) people in any of the locations, Coops giving you access to a ton of useful passive and active skills, non-randomized story dungeons and other things like that made the game a much better experience.
The social stuff felt much more streamlined, with people texting you when they are free etc. and not being tied to strict schedules as much as in P4, which made the social part much less tedious. If I were to complain about something, it would be high stat requirements for certain socializations and the fact that some of the coop storylines felt a bit one note. Mind you, they were still good, moving stories there, but I think I expected more surprises in them.
Speaking of stories, I really enjoyed the P5 main storyline and didn't find the predictable parts back at all. On the contrary, I was glad that I wasn't in the dark, going from one target to the next for most of the game. The whole thing started and continued to go in a much darker direction than what I was expecting. And while the P4 story sometimes felt more like Twin Peaks, Persona 5 is trying to tackle very real issues present in modern day Japan. I really liked the last stretch of the game and found the story resolution very satisfying.
Regarding the characters, in the end I liked most of them and no one got on my nerves enough to never want them in the party. A part of the cast was a bit to quirky for me, but they all became quite likable at one point or another.
Dungeon wise, I loved what they did with not only making dungeons non random, but also adding puzzles etc. to most of them. While all felt on the easy side, it was a nice change of pace from fighting the same few types of enemies in each dungeon for hours. As for the length, as soon as I got my hands on SP recovering accessories I started doing them all in one in game day whenever possible and aside from a few instances, didn't really feel like they dragged on for too long. 2-4 hours per dungeon, if there's only a few of them in the game isn't so bad in my opinion.
As for the combat, the Baton Touch system allowing you to switch to another party member after getting a One More was great (for saving SP). It really changed the dynamics of battles, making them snappier. That said, I had one problem with it - you had to raise up the coop with each character to a certain level (sometimes unlocking it would be enough) to be able to use Baton Touch with them. If I'm not mistaken, for most new party members this could be only done after finishing the dungeon where they joined you. That made them pretty much useless in my eyes (BT also increases your damage) for that dungeon, which was a bit of a bummer.
One thing regarding the combat I wish they addressed, is having only one animation for each character after the all out attack finisher. Those, while looking great, got old very early on and didn't change for the whole game. Oh, and OHKO skills are still as annoying as they always were in SMT games. At least high level Personas could nullify most of them.
Another feature I loved was the return of demon conversations, one of my favorite parts of SMT games. Here the conversations felt much less random, because each enemy had a specific personality, based on which you knew what type of answers they expect (in theory).
All in all, while the game still had flaws, like some parts dragging for a bit too long etc., during my whole week+ of marathoning it, I never once felt tired of it enough to put it down. All I wanted to do was to keep playing, because each dungeon felt very fresh, and the story was very satisfying from the beginning to the end. Even grinding in the random dungeon didn't feel bad, because the battles felt much faster than in previous games.
I approached P5 very cautiously, because of my experience with P3 and P4, but now after finishing it I can say that I'm glad that I gave it a chance. I think it's one of my favorite games ever and I can't even imagine how good an improved Persona 6 would be.
Honestly, that looks kind of weird.The latter is being used in the OT alongside this piece of eyecandy:
I actually visited Shibuya a bit after I played the game, and I was blown away by replication of the place, right down to some shops in the game, like the bakery next to the Ginza line exit, being themed after the actual shops in the same places.
I advise people that are only familiar with the English vo of past games to still play in English you might miss out on certain things otherwise.
I literally once had trouble finding the Ginza line in real life, and then remembered (mild spoilers for the starting of the game)and navigated my way to it thanks to the game lol.you have to take the Ginza line in the game to get to your school,
I am confused as to what you mean by this?
Well can't really elaborate on this given that would be spoilers. But if you have a history with the series you want to play the game in the language you have the most familiarity with regarding the series.
Are you referring to how some Confidants have returning voice actors?
Guess I can share my spoiler free impressions from the Japanese thread for those interested:
So uh is this game like Persona 4 where thepath to the true ending is hidden behind multiple choices at different points? Some of which not being obvious unless you looked at a guide before hand?
No
Edit: In case you're a total newcomer to the series it won't matter. In that case play in whatever language that pleases you.
If you had problems with how Ryuji pronounced his name in his trailer, every single character pronounces every Japanese name like that. They pronounce Mishima as Mashima.
Well can't really elaborate on this given that would be spoilers. But if you have a history with the series you want to play the game in the language you have the most familiarity with regarding the series. As far as I can tell the localization team went through the effort to replicate stuff in English. Personally I think it would be a damn shame for people to miss out given that they might not have the context to appreciate stuff the same way if they jump languages.
If you had problems with how Ryuji pronounced his name in his trailer, every single character pronounces every Japanese name like that. They pronounce Mishima as Mashima.
I don't really agree with this. I won't elaborate, for the same reason as you, but I don't think that the average player is going to lose anything by playing in Japanese - even if they've played the past titles in English.
I'm kinda glad to hear this. It was charming at first In P4 but it got a bit out of hand.To add to this, honorifics are toned down as well.
I did a lot of the side stuff, but definitely not everything.Those impressions look amazing. I have a feeling I'm really going to like this game so much. Cheers for posting without spoilers as well. Was 105 hours for story only or did you do side stuff? I know Persona games are really long.
I'm kinda glad to hear this. It was charming at first In P4 but it got a bit out of hand.
To add to this, honorifics are toned down as well.
Well can't really elaborate on this given that would be spoilers. But if you have a history with the series you want to play the game in the language you have the most familiarity with regarding the series. As far as I can tell the localization team went through the effort to replicate stuff in English. Personally I think it would be a damn shame for people to miss out given that they might not have the context to appreciate stuff the same way if they jump languages.
I've heard that was the case in the Japanese version, too.
No. You will get the true ending without a guide.
To add to this, honorifics are toned down as well.
Really? Here I thought it was only on the western side of things to not turn off the people.
Yeah despite spoiler tags let's take this to another thread maybe or pm. I think I was so vague obtuse and partly misleading I doubt someone can figure it out so far.I'm hesitant to even have this discussion in a thread like this, so I'll keep it as vague as possible and spoiler tag it.
Can you speak about the English pronunciation?
Does Ryuji still call himself Ryuji Suh-keh-muh-toe?
Yeah despite spoiler tags let's take this to another thread maybe or pm. I think I was so vague obtuse and partly misleading I doubt someone can figure it out so far.
But I feel like even if really small someone accidentally clicking the spoiler tag or someone giving in to the temptation could work it out based on what you wrote and I really don't want it to be ruined for anyone. I will say though I think I agree on the part where you say it might work better. As for the other stuff I have doubts although I might not give people enough credit.
He does, but it just sounds like an anime dub.. So I guess that's why I'm not particular thrown off by it.
So if my experience with Persona is limited to the fighting games only, would it be easy to jump into Persona 5? I do love RPG's.
when does the review embargo lift?
when does the review embargo lift?
So if my experience with Persona is limited to the fighting games only, would it be easy to jump into Persona 5? I do love RPG's.
Story stands completely on its own. There aren't even any cameos.
This is really good to hear. I've never played a Persona game before but was looking up JRPGs to play around the time Berseria released, the art style of P5 and music grabbed my attention. Preordered the TYH edition and have honestly been on the fence since as to whether or not I'd enjoy this game.Persona 5 is very very accessible, they did a fantastic job ease you into all the mechanics while keep you engage from the very beginning.
Game open up at great pace, you won't get lost or overwhelm, can't recommend enough for people on the fence.