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Persona 5 Spoiler Free Early Impressions Thread

L

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.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
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.
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
Guess I can share my spoiler free impressions from the Japanese thread for those interested:
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.
Click to expand...
 
S

squall23

Member
BRSxIgnition said:
The latter is being used in the OT alongside this piece of eyecandy:

Swb9gH4.gif
Click to expand...
Honestly, that looks kind of weird.

"Look at me run around in a circle as I show you how much money and exp I gained."
 
C

Chrono Helix

Member
ChasingComets said:
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.
Click to expand...

I literally once had trouble finding the Ginza line in real life, and then remembered (mild spoilers for the starting of the game)
you have to take the Ginza line in the game to get to your school,
and navigated my way to it thanks to the game lol.
 
I

Iva Demilcol

Member
Chrono Helix said:
I literally once had trouble finding the Ginza line in real life, and then remembered (mild spoilers for the starting of the game)
you have to take the Ginza line in the game to get to your school,
and navigated my way to it thanks to the game lol.
Click to expand...

Who said games don't teach you useful stuff.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
CrazyDude said:
I am confused as to what you mean by this?
Click to expand...

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.
 
B

BRSxIgnition

Member
Holundrian said:
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.
Click to expand...

Are you referring to how some Confidants have returning voice actors?
 
V

VanillaCakeIsBurning

Member
So uh is this game like Persona 4 where the
path 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?
 
L

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

Member
Hasemo said:
Guess I can share my spoiler free impressions from the Japanese thread for those interested:
Click to expand...

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.
 
D

Deleted member 518609

Unconfirmed Member
VanillaCakeIsBurning said:
So uh is this game like Persona 4 where the
path 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?
Click to expand...

No. You will get the true ending without a guide.
 
N

NoctisVsStar

Member
Dungeons being unique and not random generated are a plus already. Music is very chill/jazzy but nothing has standout like "wow" yet. Characters are the best as usual.
 
N

Nachos

Member
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.
 
B

BRSxIgnition

Member
Holundrian said:
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.
Click to expand...

Hm, I've played P3P & P4G, but I'm not convinced that English is the best way to play P5 yet, need more feedback on that - especially after the 'English Trailers'.

Nachos said:
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.
Click to expand...

Damn, sounding more and more like Japanese is what I'll be going with.

I was hoping that their extra time was to correct stuff like this.
 
D

Deleted member 518609

Unconfirmed Member
Holundrian said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
nikos

nikos

Member
Played for 7.5 hours today. I'm half asleep, so the rest of my post will not be well written, but it's a 10 so far.

Dungeons seem longer than they were in P4G. There also seem to be a lot more ways to spend free time. Characters are great. I'm not as attached to them as I was to P4G's cast yet, but spent any time with them yet. I haven't really done any activities yet either, even after all of that time played. So far it's been mostly story development and dungeon crawling. The story was instantly engaging and keeps getting better. Combat is fun and has some interesting mechanics. Soundtrack and voice acting are fantastic.

If I were forced to complain about something, it would be the lack of PS4 Pro support but I don't even think about it while playing.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
fixyouregrammar said:
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.
Click to expand...

You think so? I think what I'm talking about has such added brilliance since it plays towards your history with the games. It toyed with me so well especially because I had major problems during most of the game but when it finally made sense it was truly something special. 6 months after I still feel like it's one of my favorite experiences in gaming. But then I had major attachment in prior games.

I think it shouldn't be underestimated especially based on certain reactions I've seen in the trailer threads.
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
Lunafreya Nox Fleuret said:
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.
Click to expand...
I did a lot of the side stuff, but definitely not everything.
 
wapplew

wapplew

Member
Online feature is nice touch, it show you what everyone else do at that day.
Like 58% hang out with a character I still haven't met, 20% at library, 10% dungeon. That person must be very popular because over 50% of players hang out with him/her everyday!
 
I

Iva Demilcol

Member
Holundrian said:
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.
Click to expand...


I was wondering about what you said and I think I finally got what you're trying to say.

Difficult to argue against that but the Japanese VO is so good... one of the best I've seen actually.

Watching a stream of the English version so I can give a more informed opinion.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
fixyouregrammar said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
L

Laekon

Member
While I know this is a really popular series would you still classify it as an acquired taste for a traditional western gamer? Like the last games I've played are ME:A, Deus Ex, and Witcher 3. I've played P3 on the PSP but only for maybe 10 hours. The repetitive dungeon was a negative but I don't remember much else.

I'm thinking I can always pre-order with Prime and trade it in for a small loss a few weeks later.
 
Copper

Copper

Member
I think I found a copy online but it's $105 and I'd only get it a week early. I'm already getting it on a discount on Amazon though.
 
D

Deleted member 518609

Unconfirmed Member
Holundrian said:
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.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I figured since I got my point through it's not worth keeping that post there if it means there's a chance of spoiling someone.
 
B

BRSxIgnition

Member
NoctisVsStar said:
He does, but it just sounds like an anime dub.. So I guess that's why I'm not particular thrown off by it.
Click to expand...

Hm.. It bothers me because P3 & P4 never had that issue.

If Cherami Leigh brings even half her performance as A2 (NieR: Automata) to Makoto, I may still go with English, but right now it's looking like I'll be waiting for the Japanese Patch.
 
wapplew

wapplew

Member
Doctrine Dark said:
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.
Click to expand...

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 anyone still on the fence.
 
I

Iva Demilcol

Member
I watched the first 30 minutes of the English version to compare the VA. There are some actors that nailed the Japanese voices so far, but some of the important ones missed the mark: (I don't think this is a spoiler but I'll write it as a spoiler just in case)
Sae and Morgana; the good ones are Igor and Sae's boss... Also MC's voice sounds good
. I'll watch a little bit more to tell you about the rest of the cast.
 
OfficerCrunk

OfficerCrunk

Member
wapplew said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.

I finally finished Zelda a few days ago after 100+ hours and have been itching for another JRPG to play after Berseria. I've seen mostly praise for the Persona series so I'm pretty excited to finally experience it myself.
 
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