Hey all! Since I am finally done with my homework for the week, I am going to take this time to review one of my new favorite games: Persona 5. If any of you has questions on how the new "Review" tag works, use this as an example of possible areas you could explore. Just a quick note about how I review: I am willing to give a game a 100/100. Why? I do not believe any game is perfect, but there are games that are perfect for me. Trying to view video games objectively can be ignorant of how the game actually impacted me, so I am fairly personal and subjective when exploring an art form such as games. Now, let's start! (spoilers ahead, but only within the spoiler heading. However, there may be minor spoilers before, depending on what you prefer. You have been warned!) Quick Background: Persona 5 is a game that accomplishes many things well, while having only a few weaknesses within its code. This JRPG hit from Atlas focuses on a young man, falsely accused of assault (we shall call him Akira for now). Akira attempts to save a woman from being sexually assaulted by a man, only to be blamed by the man, arrested, and ultimately placed on probation. He is sent away from home for the probation to the hub of Tokyo, where he lives with his new guardian, Sojiro Sakura (more about him later). Gameplay: A turn-based battle system will await you within this game, but it is far superior to every one that I have used thus far. The use of certain mechanics to speed up the battling makes it so much better. This, paired up with overworld non-random encounters, makes battling fun, non-tedious, and a great time overall. The battle system focuses on knocking down opponents by exploiting their weakness(es). After they are knocked down, the player may ask them to join their team, ask for money, ask for an item, or perform an all-out-attack (which is a strong attack featuring all active team members without serious status ailments). My playthrough lasted about 70 hours, and this system was fun, refreshing, and always had a hint of a challenge. This game also takes advantage of having the enemies appear in the overworld. Thus, you can see the enemies, and initiate the battle on your terms (unless you get caught first!). You are highly rewarded for stealth. Unlike many stealth mechanics, this game's mechanics are smooth, quick, and mostly easy. However, occasionally the game will mislead you by saying an ambush is available, leading you to jump out from hiding, exposed, which is never fun. The battle system in place is amazing. My only problem with it, is that it is turn-based combat, which is inherently not the most fun in my experience. The other side of the gameplay is the everyday life of a Phantom Thief. You can hang out with friends, go to the batting cages, take a bath, go shopping, study at a diner, study at the library, participate in clinical trials, hang out with a reporter, work at a bar while you're underage, hang out at the arcade, watch a DVD, invite friends to various locations, play video games, go fishing, better yourself as a person by improving skills, and more! All of these things affect how you fare in the cognitive world (where the battles take place). This is another reason why this game sticks out in my mind as unique: the real world events truly do matter in the cognitive world. Sound Design: The OST for Persona 5 is quickly becoming famous on the internet, and for good reason. These songs seem to never get old. As opposed to the orchestral music found in most JRPG's, there are a healthy amount of jazz forms, including, but not limited to: acid jazz, fusion jazz, alt rock, and jazz funk lounge. This OST is worth the listen, and will get stuck in your head endlessly. Another section of this are the sound effects. The menu sounds are squishy and pleasant to the ears. This, paired up with an incredible UI, makes for an aesthetically beautiful experience. No complaints here. Voice Acting: Many games have voice acting these days, and have incredible casts. Persona 5 is no exception. A lot of the game does not have voice acting, but the parts that do (which still comes out to many hours worth) sound great. None of the important characters sound dull or fake. The consistency is impressive, and the voice acting adds to an already great experience. User Interface: The UI is perhaps the most impressive and unique part of Persona 5. As Masahiro Sakurai said, it will stay as a reference for other games for years to come. The use of red, black, and white not only makes for some great blender jokes, it is gorgeous and stylish while maintaining its simplicity. This is the best UI I have seen in any game to this date, and I challenge all game designers to match it (I sure can't, but I'd like to see someone try). Graphics: The 3d Models won't blow your mind, but the aforementioned UI, along with the general vibe of the game makes for an aesthetically pleasing experience. 4k graphics are not necessary to make this game pop and feel real. This is a last gen game, but it still looks and runs amazing to this day. Plus, there are some well done anime-style cutscenes to help accent the whole experience. These are always a treat! Characters: There are a lot of characters in Persona 5, with many of them being playable. Most of these characters are memorable, unique, and are realistic in word and deed. Character development is fairly sporadic at times for certain characters, but the cast is great overall. I had no problems loving each of them. Not the best cast of characters in a JRPG, but one that does more than enough to accent a great experience. Also, Sojiro is best. @ me and I will argue. Minigames: This is the part of the game that drags quite a bit. In order to achieve the platinum trophy (which I am going for), the player must achieve a number of video games, which includes beating all the ingame video games and catching a certain fish from a pond. Both of these tasks were immensely tedious, difficult, and a waste of three hours of my time. Fortunately, the game makes up for it slightly by allowing 16 saves, which many games don't allow. The fighting video game is annoying and the second worst experience I have had in gaming this year (after suffering through Xenoblade Chronicles 2). We now enter the realm of spoilers. This will include the plot and You have been warned! Meet you at the end when I grade the game . Spoiler Plot: Are there tropes in Persona 5? Certainly! There are many generic parts of this game, yet the plot manages to use many tropes and turn it into a fascinating experience that will keep you thinking. Is the plot perfect? No, but it is a great plot worth mentioning in the grand scheme of video games. The events that happen in late November spun my head, fiddled with my emotions, and greatly subverted my expectations. I already loved the game at that point, but this event made me love it even more. Goro Akechi being the traitor was incredibly predictable, as well as something being fishy with Igor. The ending, when Morgana left, was such a great moment. It truly felt like a conclusion. In my opinion, Morgana should not have come back. While that is certainly the choice of the developers and designers, I feel it removed the importance of the event. At the end of the day, it does not make the game any better or worse for me. The Great Waifu War of Persona 5: I am Team Makoto until the end of the Earth. I know that she can be bland at times, but she certainly is not the Mary Sue that some make her out to be. She has plenty of flaws that are not all that hard to notice. Out of all the characters, I feel her Persona summoning is the best. I mean, it's a bike! Super cool and unexpected Persona, and a great character overall. Definitely the mother of the team. You are totally fine to romance whoever you'd like, but I find it weird that you can romance your teacher. For me, that's just not something I would ever do. Also, while Futaba is probably my second or third favorite character, she seems more like the sister type to me. Then again, this is a highly controversial subject, so perhaps I should not have spoken . Time to grade Persona 5! This game is normally a 100+ hour experience, but I finished at about 70 hours. This is an incredible experience that all JRPG fans need to try out at some point in time. One of the essentials in the PS4 library. Persona 5 is visually and orally pleasing and unique, with fun gameplay and the best social sim I have played to this day. Score factors: (Keep in mind that this is purely subjective) Music: Characters: 10/10 Plot: 9/10 Graphics: 10/10 Replayability: 9/10 Soundtrack: 11/10 Gameplay: 10/10 World: 9/10 User Interface: 11/10 Fun: 9/10 Memorable: 10/10 Bonuses: +2 Loading times are exceptional -2 The fighting video game is hell incarnate +1 Time mechanics done correctly Total Score: 99/100 Probably my second favorite game of all time, only behind the legendary Xenoblade Chronicles. Persona 5 accomplishes just about everything I like to have in a JRPG. Definitely a must-play!
