Well, I say that
it’s going to be lickety-split, but this is Persona
5 we’re talking about -- a game so long that you could clear anywhere from
2 to 10 other games in the time it takes to finish this one. Also, it’s me we’re talking about, so temper
your expectations. And cancel all your
prior appointments. Just to be safe.
Also? It
should go without saying, but this post WILL have spoilers in it. Not through the end of the game, because I’m
not that far along. But I’m at the start
of the sixth as of writing, so if you’re scared? There’s your warning.
Also, also?
This post WON’T have anything about waifus in it. I’m keeping that bullet in the chamber for
later. (Husbandos are fair game,
though.) So without further ado, let’s
do this lickety-split. Relatively
speaking.
--I think one of my favorite things from the
entire game is the Persona awakening scenes.
There’s no better way to establish the tone and impact of a new
installment than by completely demolishing the tone and impact of the previous
one. So while P4 treated awakenings like a moment of triumph and solace, P5 treats it like an abject nightmare --
wrought with pain and struggling, and in the end it comes off as a really bad thing to give clearly-dysfunctional
teens access to such monumental powers.
--With that said?
Now that I’ve seen all of the awakenings (that I know of), I feel like
there are diminishing returns on some of them.
I was chomping at the bit to see the extremes that Haru’s would take me
to (since I assumed hers would be the most violent of all), but then I got to
it and she just gets a little headache.
Akechi had his awakening offscreen, and I would’ve loved to see what
that entailed, but NOPE. Futaba’s just
had her pulled into a UFO via naughty tentacles, because of course it did. Granted she gets a pass because her struggles
were immensely based on the mental
torture rather than the physical, but…ehhhhhhhhhhhhh. They started off with striking imagery, and
petered out by the end.
--If I had to rank the awakenings, I’d go Ryuji
> MC > Ann > Makoto > Yusuke > Futaba > Haru. It’s not like any of them are bad, but some
are definitely stronger than others.
--But speaking of petering out, I think that
that’s an issue with P5 as a
whole. Don’t get me wrong; I think it’s
a great game, and good enough to surpass P4
(which I’m on record of saying is one of my favorite games ever). But just because something is really, really
good doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have flaws -- and having put more than 65
hours into the game, there are indeed flaws.
My biggest gripe? The Kamoshida
arc was so good that it ended up being too good for the rest of the game. It set expectations way too high.
--Okay, sure.
Pretty much all of the targets the Phantom Thieves steal from are bad
people who commit some heinous crimes.
(Even Futaba, potentially, because who knows what a genius hacker like
her did in her spare time.) Okumura’s
abusing his workers and using them as stepping stones for a political
career. Kaneshiro’s a mobster running a
student-harassing crime ring. Madarame’s
a plagiarist leeching off of his students and posing as an artist. But those guys don’t feel nearly as immediate
or potent in their execution as Kamoshida does.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he’s voiced by DC
Douglas. You know, this friendly fellow:
--Each Palace (i.e. dungeon) that I’ve seen so far
forces the characters to have a personal conflict with the target that adds
some extra stakes -- including Akechi, who has a professional relationship with
Sae. But Kamoshida’s arc feels the most
personal -- the most immediate, the most threatening, and the most potent. The Phantom Thieves have barely gotten
started, so the routine of “meet a shitty adult, explore his palace, send a
calling card, steal his treasure” isn’t quite so routine. You really feel the pressure as he exerts his
authority over you. And since this is
happening inside a school that he “rules”, his iron grip is emphasized a
thousand times more than the rest.
--That’s to say nothing of what actually happens in his arc, like the
abused students scared into silence and the attempted suicide of Ann’s closest
friend. Kaneshiro may threaten Makoto
with a ruined life and impending prostitution, but it’s exactly that: a
threat. Even if the blubbery boss has
tendrils running through Shibuya, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s
Kaneshiro’s implications of crime (as bad as they are, make no mistake) versus
Kamoshida’s executions of crime. We see it unfold more in the first arc than
anywhere else.
--It doesn’t help that we see more of Kamoshida in
action than any of the other targets.
There’s a long and weighty lead-up to the coach’s inevitable downfall, which
gives us plenty of time for the hatred to bloom. We do see that Madarame’s taking advantage of
his students (Yusuke especially at the moment) in his art exhibit, but while
that arc is also empowered by Yusuke’s enabling, it doesn’t hit quite as hard
as Kamoshida’s.
--It’s a long-ass time before you even meet
Kaneshiro in his arc, and even then you only see his real-world form briefly --
which means that even though you see people suffering via his Palace (and
hearsay picked up from the streets), it can’t hold a candle to the scared
students running through Shujin. You
don’t even see Medjed in action -- something that makes sense given plot
reveals later on (and it IS more about Futaba than anything), but it’s another
rival to knock down and move past.
Okumura’s even worse on that front because the Phantom Thieves --
outside of Haru -- pretty much never see the guy in the flesh. Nor do you get actual evidence or even a
glimpse of him mistreating his employees or harassing competitors.
--No joke: I legitimately thought that there was a
plot twist coming where it was revealed that Okumura was actually a pretty
decent guy, who had a Palace because public perceptions -- like the Phan-Site
-- distorted his sense of reality and made him doubt himself. And then the Thieves would lash out, and
accidentally kill his Shadow. I’m OK
with how things play out in the actual game, but…well, I’m no stranger to
letting alternate scenarios play out in my head. I wouldn’t be a writer if I didn’t.
--I feel like the clock is ticking down towards
the moment when Akechi royally screws over the Phantom Thieves, but for
now? I’m glad he’s in the game, because
he did something I really like and did
something that I feel is pretty important.
As someone who believes that the worst evil imaginable is to strip a
person or persons of their free will, the Thieves’ actions left a nasty taste
in my mouth. They had to do what they did to stop the targets’ crimes -- and preserve
their lives/secret -- but it doesn’t change the fact that they’re still
effectively brainwashing people so that only one option is viable. It ventures into “the end justifies the
means” territory that I doubt a bunch of rebellious teens on the fringes of
society would care about.
--But a ways into the game, Akechi comes straight
out and voices his opinion on TV -- and says that what the Phantom Thieves are
doing isn’t justice. Honestly, I think he has a point. It’s true that they’re doing what the police
and the rules can’t do, but those rules are there for a reason. As romantic as it may sound in your head, vigilantism is
still a crime. If everybody tried to
impose their values and justice on others, then wouldn’t the Phantom Thieves be
viable targets by way of completely rewriting a person’s brain without their
consent? Possibly. But most of the game’s heroes don’t really
dwell on that possibility, or the concept that they’re not in the right. That’s
kind of to be expected when a decent-sized chunk of your team is full of
idiots.
--The existence of the MetaNav app raises a lot of
questions and interesting implications, though.
If people are finding this impossible-to-delete app on their phones one
day, then is there anything really stopping more widespread usage of the
Metaverse as a whole? I guess the
biggest roadblock is that the proper conditions have to be met to enter a
Palace -- a name, a location, and a distortion signaling what the target sees
the location as -- but the MC and Ryuji stumbled onto the first one by
accident. What if others could, too? Or what if they didn’t even bother going that
far and just had a run-in with Mementos?
You think the Phantom Thieves would be so quick to claim that they’re
just if and when they see other
people using the Metaverse for their own ends?
--On the other hand, it’s not as if the prospect
is inherently bad if used correctly.
Futaba’s arc showed that it’s possible (relatively and offensively
speaking) to uncross someone’s wires in their brain. The hacker girl went from a shut-in who
effectively couldn’t leave her room
to…well, not entirely cured, but at least able to be around others (she trusts)
without a complete breakdown. Can you
imagine what it’d be like if the Metaverse was used by psychologists and other
experts in the field? Do you suppose
they could make revolutionary breakthroughs and help people who would otherwise
be entirely helpless?
--There I go again on a wild tangent. I have to stop doing that one of these days.
--I kind of feel like P5 is going to give me a panic attack one of these days vis a vis
all of the planning out a schedule and micromanaging. Having just made it to November, I’m sweating
over the fact that I’m running out of time to clear as many Confidant story
lines and stat upgrades as I can. I’ve
gotten through Ryuji’s and Yoshida’s, with Mishima sitting at Rank 9. But getting through my party members’ ranks
is a top priority, and that got stalled because I had to grind out stat
increases so I could prove my worth. And
on that note?
--I can’t help but resent the game for gating off
Ranks -- and the right to even begin Confidant
storylines -- until I have high enough social stats. How many times do you think I had to deal
with Morgana reminding me about Iwai’s bagged-up gun and how I didn’t have
enough Guts? And do you know how
frustrating it was to progress through Yusuke’s story, only to have a brick
wall shoot up because I didn’t have high enough Proficiency?
--I don’t know how much time I have left in the
game, but my biggest concern is that I’m going to run out it well before I
accomplish everything I want to. Soooooooooo…sorry,
Futaba, but it looks like no one’s ever going
to help you overcome your social anxiety again.
I’m just not kind enough, you see.
--Speaking of Morgana: STOP TELLING ME TO GO TO
SLEEP YOU JACKASS ANIMAL.
--I know it seems like I’m really down on the
game, but I’m actually not. Again, I
think it’s better than P4, which
means that in my eyes it’s officially a Hall-of-Famer. But in the interest of (acting like I’m)
keeping this post short, I’d prefer to save more in-depth thoughts on the story
and gameplay for later. Till then? Even if the gameplay is fundamentally the
same as earlier entries, it’s still solid and holds up remarkably well. The battles are strategic, but snappy enough
to let you blow through it in an instant or plan dozens of moves in
advance. Or you could be like me and
play as sloooooooooooooooooooooowly as possible.
--I think my favorite new feature of the battle
system is the Baton Pass feature. It’s
tactically relevant, of course, but it helps to emphasize the teamwork and
synergy between the Phantom Thieves.
Plus you get to see the flourishes of their personalities each time you
do one. Granted it’s not as if the
Thieves or P5 as a whole are lacking
in chances to show off some personality, but I don’t mind seeing another aspect
thrown on top of the pile that’s the size of Mount St. Helens.
--Cripes, Yusuke looks so ridiculously violent
during his critical cut-in. I like it,
though, buuuuuuuuuuuuut I feel like Makoto’s the prime candidate for snapping
and murdering anyone that crosses her.
--Okay, I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about
waifus, but it’s worth noting that Makoto decides to -- instead of writhing on
the ground like Ryuji -- she’ll instantly call out to her Persona and tank the
pain just so she can become a Kamen Rider that much faster. That’s…that’s an irresponsible level of coolness
that has to be respected.
--So like…was there a single element of the presentation and user interface that wasn’t stylized? Nothing springs to mind, which would help
explain why the game got delayed for as long as it did. Atlus and crew put in some serious work, and
it shows. And there was just enough
restraint applied so that it stayed just below the line of being too tacky or
excessive; that’s how you know you’re dealing with professionals. Although now that I think about it, it’ll be
a way to put the devs of every other game out there on notice.
--With that said, I think that overall I prefer P4’s boss designs to P5’s.
The symbolism in the prior game was…obvious, but none of them made me
hold back snorts like P5’s Madarame
boss.
--So the opening minutes of the game imply that
there’s a traitor among the Phantom Thieves, and I’m not looking forward to
finding out who it is -- mostly because I like and enjoy the mere presence of
the cast. The idea that one of them is
destined to become my enemy is a sobering prospect, for sure. But with that said, I have a theory. I’m not committing to it yet, but I feel like
if they’re going for another seemingly-out-of-nowhere reveal, then it’d be with
that character. Motive, opportunity, modus operandi; you need
those three things at a bare minimum to have your culprit nailed, and there
might be one guy who fits the bill. So
we’ll see.
--I hope I’m wrong, though, because I like that
guy, too.
--I’m going to talk about this later, but I think
that P5 made me face one of the most
difficult choices I’ve ever had to face in a video game, if not my life in
general: whether I should spend time in Hawaii with Ryuji and Mishima, or hang
out with Makoto (who asked for me specifically). It’s like…okay, Ryuji’s an idiot and naïve as
all get out -- in that adorable “kids rule, adults drool” sort of way -- but
he’s still my bro through and through.
But Makoto’s a Kamen Rider -- oh, and nice, and smart, and level-headed,
and all of that jazz. But Ryuji’s my
bro. But Makoto’s a Kamen Rider. But Ryuji’s…
--Real talk, though? Yusuke = fantastic husbando material. Seeing him walk into the scene with a pair of
lobsters made me laugh in a way few games ever have before. He’s basically the Kakyoin of the Phantom
Thieves: comes off as reasonable and intelligent at first, but every so often
he does something utterly bizarre that makes him strangely irresistible.
--Is “irresistible” the right word to use? Maybe not, but I already typed it, so it
stays.
In any case, that’ll just about do it for
now. There’s plenty more I can say about
P5, but I think it’d be best if I cut
this post off for now. It’ll still be a
while before I beat the game (I hope), so anyone who wants to see some
conclusive statements will have to hold onto their butts. In the meantime, though? Don’t worry.
One of these days, I’m gonna talk about waifus. These waifus in particular. I’m sure it’s the sort of thing that won’t cause unbridled fury and the
potential collapse of society as we know it.
I mean, it’s already long since been confirmed
that Makoto Sako from Devil Survivor 2 is
the best girl in all of the games in all of the world. Why even bother having a debate at this
point, I wonder?
Welp, I’ve thrown my Molotov into the ring. GGGGGGGG TIME TO DISAPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAR.
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