Persona 5 Review

Bet ya didn't see this one coming.

After a very long time, I'm back to making reviews. I know I've been rather lazy, but now I'm making a new commitment. I will publish a new review for a game every 2 weeks on Fridays. Provided I get money and time, I may even do reviews on brand new video games. I am in college, so those reviews might take a while, but if I have no new games to review, then I'll simply provide a review on a game that I play and currently own.

HISTORY
Now, I don't have a lot of history with this other than me hearing about how good this game is. After getting into college and making friends with a fellow gamer, he suggested I play Persona 5. Problem is, at the time, I didn't even have a PS3. Never owned one. All I owned was my Xbox One, my worn 3DS, and my newest console, the Nintendo Switch, which was a present from my dad for graduating High School. I told him that I wanted to switch over to the PS4 anyways since the Xbox was , at the time, stale in terms of the games they offered. So the following Christmas after my first semester at college, I spared a nice chunk of Financial Aid, gathered my GameStop points, and because I'm a rather cheap guy, I traded in my Xbox One and the games I owned for it to get myself a 1 Terabyte PS4, NieR:Automata, and because it was a buy 2, get 1 free deal, I got Persona 5 for free, since it cost the least out of the three items I bought. I played through it a bit, I made a lot of progress without saving, then a random power outage occurred and wiped all that progress away, and that heavily discouraged me from playing it for almost a whole year. Eventually, I picked it back up and managed to get back all of that progress back, and then I basically marathon'd the game day by day whenever I had time. During that time, Joker was announced for Smash Ultimate, and I was stoked. I stopped playing the game to enjoy me some Smash when it released, then when Winter Break finally came, I took my increased free time to finally finish Persona 5. At the time of this review, I've beaten the game twice, and I'm currently on my third playthrough with the intention of getting the Platinum Trophy.

Without further ado, lets jump into my review of Persona 5.

STORY
In my past reviews, I normally go over the story in detail, but that won't be the case here. Yes, this is one of "those" stories where the less you know, the better your first time experience is. I won't even name characters. To better understand this review, however, I will sum up the basic premise of the story. Basically, you're an ordinary high school student (You can choose what to call him, but lets stick to his given code name: Joker) with no place in the world who bands together with other students of similar age, status and predicament. Together, you form a band of social reformers known as The Phantom Thieves, and enter an alternate plane of existence called the Metaverse, where distorted human cognition takes form. You infiltrate Palaces, which are ruled by humans with the most twisted desires, deal with Shadows, and take the Treasure-the central object of their desires-inside to make them have a change of heart and fess up to any crimes or sins they've committed. That's as far as I'm telling you, because the story leading up to these infiltrations are something to see for yourself.

PRESENTATION
I'll be straight: this is THE most aesthetically pleasing video game I've ever played. From the streets of Shinjuku, Akihabara and Central Street of Shibuya to the various Palaces found within the Metaverse like castles, pyramids, and even a space station. For a game also made for the PS3, the presentation is absolutely amazing, save for just a few areas like the neighborhood of Yongen-Jaya and especially Mementos. I'll get into Mementos later. Even the menu is vibrant and mobile, with the main protagonist shifting around int he background whenever you choose another menu option. Character portraits looks amazing too, and the battles are especially where the game pops. The UI in general is well-crafted. The hand-drawn cutscenes that appear every now and then are also wonderfully done. Though for as amazing as it is, this game was also made to run in the PS3 as well, and if you're on a PS4, it can be noticeable at certain points of the game. Such cases are certain particle effects, the edges on some polygons standing out, and certain backgrounds being nothing more than 2D images with a floor, or having the camera giving the illusion of there being a floor like at a certain persons' shack. Regardless, these few flaws are outweighed by the many great assets of the game, and I for one love it.

SOUND DESIGN, MUSIC AND VOICE ACTING
Whomever did the soundwork needs a raise, because the sound design is top notch. From sneaking around obstacles and enemies, landing a critical hit, shooting an enemy, playing a video game in this game, it all blends well into the gameplay. Again, even the menu is pleasing to listen to whenever you select an option.

The music, though, is a whole other beast. With the exception of the regular Mementos theme, every single track in this game is memorable in some way. You'll find invigorating themes like "Awakening" and "Life Will Change", some epic music like "Blooming Villain" and "Willpower", some really funky ones like "Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There", "Tokyo Daylight" and "The Whims of Fate", some surprisingly emotional music like "Alleycat" and "Swear to my Bones", and the song most think of when it comes to this game, "Last Surprise", the standard battle theme. My personal Favorite is "Rivers in the Desert", which plays during those extra special boss battles. I could go on and on about how each of these songs I've listed are good in their own right, but that would make this review longer than it probably already is.

Last, but certainly not least, the voice acting. Never have I been more satisfied with a cast of voices in my life. While both the English and Japanese voice actors do fantastically, this is one of the few JRPG's where I prefer the English voices. It's done so well! Xander Mobus does a nice job at voicing Joker, though I do wish he was given more spoken lines outside of battle (where he gets significantly more talkative) and a select few cutscenes. Other English actors like Cassandra Morris, Max Mittelman, Erika Harlacher, and Matt Mercer all do their jobs extremely well, to a blissful extent, as well as the rest of the English Actors I didn't name. I'm not dissing the Japanese cast either, however. People like Jun Fukuyama, Ikue Otani, Rina Sato, Aoi Yuuki, and Suichi Ikeda, and the rest of the Japanese cast reprise their roles well.

GAMEPLAY
Okay, this section will be a bit long, so I'll separate it into a few sub-sections, because there's SO much to cover.

-Palaces and Battles
In the real world, you do your best to live as an honest citizen of Tokyo. In the Metaverse, however, things get a whole lot more interesting. Again, you enter Palaces to take the Treasure hidden inside, which is usually hidden in the deepest part of them. Each Palace has some kind of gimmick to it to shake things up, and moving around the Palace is relatively easy. There's also loot scattered around in objects and chests, though besides money items, I never really found a use for them. There are some puzzles, but most of them are a breeze to do. There are also Safe Rooms you can take a breather in and warp to. It's also the only way to save in Palaces, so get to one as soon as you spot one. Moving around isn't too easy, though, as Shadows lurk around to defend the Palace. It's possible to sneak up behind them via hiding behind objects or walking up to them while they aren't looking to ambush them, but don't be seen or they'll chase you down to ambush you. Whomever hits who first, the battle will begin, and the Shadow will reveal its true form.


There is a certain flow to the battle system. You have 3 kinds of attacks: Weapon, Gun, and Special Attacks. Weapon attacks is your standard attack, Gun attacks are useful for taking down most flying enemies and also have a higher chance of landing a critical hit, though beware of your ammo count. Lastly, Special Attacks call upon your Persona to deal special attacks that consume either HP or SP, and the damage of all of this is dependent on the equipment you have and the strength of your characters' Persona. Each teammates Persona specializes in a different Element. Thanks to these Elements, there's a weakness chain. Some enemies will take half the damage from certain elements, or even outright reflect the attack or gain health. However, that same enemy may take double the damage from a different kind of attack, resulting in them being knocked down until their turn. On top of that, you will get a One More, which allows the character that did the knockdown to act again. Be careful, though, as enemies can do the same. While you can simply kill the Shadows and advance, the main goal is to knock all of them down to initiate a Hold-Up, and that's always satisfying to do, and can be very easy to pull if you know what you're doing. During a Hold-Up, Joker and his teammates will hold the now-defenseless enemies at gunpoint, and he can negotiate with the Shadows to either give him money, an item, or he can just do an All-Out Attack to heavily damage all enemies, and if you kill them all in one fell swoop, the character who knocked down the last enemy will preform a special finishing animation which is basically candy for the eyes. Defeating Shadows yields EXP and money, which is used to level up and purchase equipment and items in the real world respectively. There is a fourth option, however: lend Joker their power. If you choose this option, you must convince them to join you, otherwise they might surprise you with an attack or simply give you an item and run away. If you convince them to join you they will become a new Persona for Joker to use. Joker has the unique ability to hold multiple Personas at a time along with their skills and switch between them, making him extremely versatile.

However, this versatility comes at a cost: if Joker is felled in battle, its game over. Even if all of your teammates are still up with several revives, all of that is irrelevant if Joker dies, so do your best to keep him alive at all costs, lest you want to restart from your last Safe Room, or in the case of Boss Battles, the beginning of the fight. There will be some bosses that mostly target Joker, and it can be especially infuriating when you die over and over again. Still, I love this battle system so much. I usually dislike turn-based RPGs, but this game is an exception. Once you get the rhythm of the battles, it becomes so satisfying to pull off a stylish victory.

Once you've secured an Infiltration Route to the treasure, you then need to send a Calling Card to the owner of the Palace, making the Palace itself go on high alert the next day. Though before you take the Treasure, you must engage in a boss fight with the Palace Ruler. Defeat them and the Treasure is yours, though you lose access to the Palace after that. Do be aware that you have a deadline to meet when it comes to the Calling Card. Miss the Deadline and its game over. If you know what you're doing though, this should never be a problem.

-Mementos
Mementos is an area you can explore after a certain point in the game. In Mementos, you explore numerous randomly generated floors to encounter Shadows from cleared palaces and find lots of loot. If you can't find any in a palace, then this is the perfect place to go. As you clear more Palaces, the number of floors you can access increases. Here, you can also take on requests to change the hearts of humans, allowing you to take on mini bosses and earn rewards. There are also Safe Areas in this place as well. Just don't stick around too long on a single floor or a frighteningly powerful Shadow will come after you. If I'm being honest, the place is the most boring area in the game, even more so than the real world, as nothing often changes save for the state of the Shadows, which changes depending on the weather. These weather changes can prove useful as you trek through Mementos.

-Persona Fusion
After a certain point in the first Palace, you'll  have access to a place called the Velvet Room, which you can access at the entrance of every Palace, in Central Street in Shibuya, or the entrance of Mementos. In this room, you can take the Personas you've gathered and fuse them to create new, stronger Personas, which can inherit the skills of the Personas you've fused. There's almost no limit to what you can have, so with enough time and patience, you can seriously deck out certain Personas to be practically invincible, or literally invincible in one case. As the game progresses, more and more rituals will become available to strengthen your Personas. You can also summon any Persona you have collected in the Compendium, though it costs a fee. You also cannot create a Persona whose base level exceeds your own which can suck if you're in need of a powerful Persona. Though Personas you can make may become stronger than their base level though how far you've leveled the Arcana it belongs to, which brings me to my next point.

-Confidants, Arcana, and Social Stats
When you're not risking your life going into the Metaverse, you're doing your best to live an honest life in the real world. In the real world, you can partake in various activities like reading, studying, fishing, making coffee, playing video games, going to school, all the normal things in society. Here in the real world is where you can also purchase new gear and recovery items for use in the Metaverse. You can even partake in part-time jobs to earn some money. Most importantly, however, this is where you can spend time with your allies or friends you meet, better known as your Confidants. By spending time with them, you get to learn more about their character, and choosing the right dialogue with them will increase your affinity with them. If your bond grows deeper, your Confidant will level up, unlocking new abilities for use in the Metaverse and charging the Arcana the Confidant belongs to, which in turn grants even more power to your fused Personas of the same Arcana in the Velvet Room. There are 21 Arcanas in the game, meaning there are 21 Confidants in the game. Once you max out an Arcana, you'll unlock special Personas to fuse, and these are extremely powerful. Though in the game, to continue your bond with your Confidants, you need to be at a certain level with your Social Stat, otherwise your bond won't develop any further. As you do various activities in the game, you'll increase your Social Stats in the game, which can also help you do better in the activities you preform. Gonna be honest, I'm not a big fan of this wall to halt progression, which leads me into one of my last two remaining points.

ISSUES
For as wonderful a game Persona 5 is, this game is NOT without issues, and some of these aren't exactly small issues either. Firstly, I almost forgot to mention that the game is on the biggest time limit I've ever seen in gaming. You only have so much time to do certain tasks before late in the game you get to a point where you cannot progress with your Confidants any further. I also almost forgot to mention that you can only do two actions during the day you're on (Provided its not story-related) before you move on to the next day. If you decide to enter the Metaverse and then leave, you're forced to go to sleep and move on to the next day, provided you have yet to max out a certain Confidant. Even so, something as mundane as reading a book will take the day to evening, at which you have one more action before you hit the hay. Fortunately, moving to the various areas of Tokyo and purchasing gear doesn't move the day, but you need to spend your time wisely.

Another problem I mentioned before are the Social Stats. I'll be blunt: unless you're probably looking at some guide, you will NOT max out a single Social Stat on your first playthrough of the game. They take a painfully long time to level up, which means you won't be able to max out certain Confidants at all on the first playthrough, limiting what you can do. Speaking of playthroughs, I need to mention that there is a New Game Plus feature that allows you to replay the game after beating it the first time. While your Social Stats, Equipment Items, the Persona Compendium, money and certain items carry over, EXP levels, Confidant Ranks, money items and healing items will NOT carry over, which still means basically restarting the game even though you proved yourself by beating the game the first time. Some content is also locked behind New Game Plus too, and they require high levels to properly access, which sucks.

Another problem is the level locking behind fusing Personas. Without a certain Confidant ability, you will be locked out of creating the most powerful Personas, and even that ability has an issue on its own, so if you want to work around that problem, you'll need to make use of an exploit in the game to level up fast, which can't be done until you're close the end of the game! And that has a issue of its own, because once you get to max level, the rest of the game becomes somewhat of a cakewalk.

The next problem problem in the game are story segments. Now, I love the story of the game, but certain story segments will take up the entire day, and even though the game makes you think you can go out, you actually have to go to sleep. All we did was talk about stuff, and that tuckers you out.

Next is how you need to handle Palaces if you want to optimize your time with your Confidants. Certain Palaces can have an Infiltration Route to the treasure made in one sitting. The problem is, these Palaces are NOT short, and you can only get so far before your HP and SP start wearing down as you infiltrate the Palace, risking a Game Over. If you have a good understanding of the game and come prepared, this won't become much of a problem, but VERY early in the game it will. That's not even mentioning that your teammates annoyingly rush you to get through the palace and might even refuse to hang out with you until you send the dang card! There are some Confidants during certain parts of the story that won't even be available to hang out with until much later, especially when you probably need them.

My second-to-last problem I'll mention are the difficulty spikes. Some Shadows are stronger than others, and these Shadows can give you a tough time, especially those without weaknesses. Some Palace Bosses are also pains to beat, especially the 4th Palace Boss, whom usually targets Joker and hits like a truck. Need I remind you that if Joker dies, you must restart the ENTIRE fight, no matter if you have other teammates alive or even a revive.

The last problem is... this game is too long. Yes, I love the story, and its an interesting narrative that keeps you hooked from beginning to end, and the gameplay is so satisfyingly good, it should be a crime. However, my first playthrough clocked in at 114 hours, and the game in general is ranked up there as one of the longest games to finish, especially with its lengthy cutscenes. Some parts, especially towards the very end of the game, feel like they drag out for far too long. For comparison, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (another JRPG I love, arguably even more than this game) has even lengthier custcenes and is arguably harder, but because I knew what I was doing, I was able to beat it in 60 hours. It's the same case with this game, but it took me nearly double to time to finish because it goes on for so long, kinda like this review.

THE VERDICT
Well... it's finally over. As I've said at the beginning of this review, Persona 5 is one of my favorite JRPG's of all time, and this review proves it. It's a wonderful game with memorable characters, a smoking hot soundtrack, top-quality sound design and sound quality, and satisfying gameplay. Sure, there are a few glaring issues, but there are so many positives that I often find myself overlooking them unless things get really ugly.

I rate this game a 9.5/10. I do feel there are some things that hold this game back, but I like this game too much to often really care about those flaws. I STRONGLY recommend this game to anybody with a PS4, some money, and lots of free time, and even to those who just like JRPGs in general.

That's about it for my review of Persona 5. If you've read this far, then I thank you for your time. I do want to become a better reviewer, so if you want to, leave behind any comments on what I did right, what I did wrong, and what I can improve on. In other words, give me an honest critique.