Not just rational, but also succinct.
So. Let me
say this to start:
YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGH!
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU(p)!
In summation, yikesy
mikesy.
Really. Is
there any reason to analyze the trailer?
Okay, sure, there are some gameplay secrets that probably need to be
uncovered before release -- or even before the next bit of info trickles out --
but by the time you read this post, I’m going to assume that A) that’s been
done already, and B) it’s been done better than I ever could. Besides, my gut instinct is that Atlus/the
Persona Team didn’t put out the trailer they did because they wanted to inform. They wanted to get people excited -- hype
them up with an explosion of sights and sounds, colors and effects.
And they succeeded. Boy oh boy did they succeed…which is to be
expected when a trailer includes people skating on overpasses while doing poses
that wouldn’t be out of place in JoJo’s
Bizarre Adventure.
I mean, three seconds into the trailer, and there are more
colors there than a dozen other modern-day game trailers in their entire run time put
together. And it doesn’t stop
there. We see the style we’ve come to
expect from the Persona games -- from
menus, from HUDs, from aesthetics, from in-game elements, from gameplay
(stealth elements?! Eat shit, Splinter Cell), and especially in those
battles. You saw it, right? That All-Out Attack was a thing of
beauty. Somebody frame that shit and put
it in the Louvre.
It’s almost a given that P5 is going to be absolutely amazing, barring some cataclysmic
disaster behind the scenes. The trailer
helps confirm that impending quality, showing off some concrete evidence and
flash solely designed to breed hype. And
you know what? That’s cool. The trailer did more than just cause the
simultaneous detonation of a thousand pants; it’s a testament. It’s something that, in less than three
minutes’ time, gave us gamers something we’ve been asking for since Assassin’s Creed got annualized (at
least). It showed off a style,
character, and spirit that’s hard to even approach, let alone beat.
And yet, they did more than that. They gave us exactly what we wanted…by giving
us something we didn’t even know we wanted.
They could have stopped at “high school
shenanigans with a supernatural twist”, and I would’ve been fine with
that. But they didn’t stop there. They’re implying -- if they haven’t outright
confirmed -- that we’ll be playing as phantom thieves who may or may not become their Personas. THAT’S AMAZING. That’s different from the norm. Could anyone have guessed that that would be
the game’s core conceit, given the “You are a slave. Want emancipation?” teaser from a while
back? Maybe, but I sure didn’t. And considering the radio silence before and
after that teaser, I wouldn’t blame anyone for being nervous about the game’s
production. I got nervous at several points along the line. But now?
As a wise Monado-boy once said, I’m really feeling it.
You know what I love most about the trailer,
though? Besides the fact that it exists
and everything in it? It’s seeing the
reactions scattered across the internet -- 99.99% of which express hype,
excitement, and eagerness to get their hands on the game. It’s proof of the trust we’ve put into Atlus
and the Persona Team, bred partly from the respect they’ve shown us. They haven’t been trying to implant
excitement with media blitzes and a constant assault of news or products
(ostensible P4 milking aside); all
they had to do was drop one sizzling trailer, and people immediately said
“Okay. Got it. You know what you’re doing, so just give us
the goods -- in liquid form, if at all possible. I want
it inside my body.”
The Order:
1886 is just a week away from release, but it’s generated more concern than
excitement. P5 has a VERY dubious 2015 release, but it’s already got the
faithful lined up and ready to buy. Even
if the former outsells the latter (and it probably will, because lol PS4 haz
graet gaemz), which one do you think will be more successful?
And that’s all I’ve got for now. I’d tell you to get hyped, but if you’re
reading this? Chances are you’ve blasted
off to the moon from the sheer force of your elated screams. In which case I have to wonder how you’re
reading this blog after exiting Earth’s atmosphere.
Ah, who am I kidding? It’s probably because of the moon-men.
No context needed, I hope.