Twitter, the video game.

Believe in great causes. Equality justice, in young people, in the power of words. What is great, very gostozzo

Is also homophobic, sexist, and in the end all conflicts are solved by beating the shit out of some anime villain.
Above all, the game just Copies the structure of P3 without making any real sense here, only more restrictive even.

Katsura Hashino has destroyed ATLUS.

I think that most reviews I see for this game, and much of the discussion around it is prefaced with "I don't really play JRPGs" is very telling. Says nothing meaningful, does nothing meaningful, unless you think it's shallow message that feels equivalent to a "phones are BAD" comic, complete with the most absurd cardboard cutouts of "society's corrupt elite" to topple over and be done with, still has any sort of meaning. It puts up a veneer of teen rebellion and progressiveness but never does anything with it, and in most cases actively works against itself. Persona 5 is the kind of game that tells the player "Did you know creeping on and sexually abusing women is bad?" And then immediately heelturn and dress said target of abuse (who's 16 btw) in a skintight bodysuit with a big boob window, give her a whip, and call her "Panther".

Everything from it's gameplay to it's writing to it's setting has been done before and far, far better. But it sure does look and sound nice so I guess it's good

Few games exude personality as Persona 5 does--hell, it's in the name! When I say that, I'm not talking about the comic style or the jazz music or the radical theme its narrative is based around. No. It's easy to think of having a personality as having a long list of things that make you good. But at that point, you're more or less listing off affirmations about yourself. Personality, to me, is the idea that you are only human. You have flaws and strengths, and personality is the intersection of both. It's a balancing act on an individual level because if one side has too many cars, the other side cannot live at peace with itself. When you lend that out to a creative project, the intersection can go both ways: you either have a short road that ends in a cul-de-sac or a highway that sprawls into a city dotted with landmarks and littered with boisterous energy. The shorter the street is, the less-traveled it becomes. The less traveled the street is, the less noise there is to worry about. So imagine if that hypothetical city was large enough to be similar in size to the entirety of California. One hundred hours from beginning to end, with minivans and RVs and SUVs all along the way. But you're not in a minivan or an RV or an SUV; you're cruising down the street in a green Del Sol from the year 1996 with its roof sold for scrap. The choice of car is not random, nor is it done for oddly specific reasons. As Occam's razor might suggest, you're talking a small car on a mega-highway packed with big cars for every thrilling and frustrating moment that comes with being closer to something so utterly massive.

That experience is playing Persona 5 in a nutshell.

One does not need to be an aficionado of Japanese Role-playing Games to admire the scale of what Atlus' internal development team has created. One does not also need to be a fan of anime to know the exact tropes it occasionally falls upon. There's a lot to be said about the characters, optional content, and overall plot. Reviewing the game is grazing the side of writing that errs from being enjoyably over-the-top to questionable. And by questionable, I mean "adults dating minors is bad until you're the one pursuing that kind of a relationship, and also some gay stereotyping." The former is a bit weird, though, because the game expects you to project yourself onto the protagonist. With sporadic exceptions, all of his dialogs are voice acted in your head. It creates this strange dichotomy where you're playing as a teenager, and you have a lot of age-appropriate romance options. But then you might also be an adult playing the game, and it's weird for an adult to be lusting after a digital teenager, so there are options to go after adults as your teenage avatar. Both clash pretty harshly, and the best that the game does to make up for it is to play these romances off as bonuses. Get closer with your homeroom teacher, and you get to go outside after dungeon crawling, for example. The end result is that the game wants to immerse yourself in its world but pushes you so far out of the role it asks you to play that you end up seeing yourself more as an indirect player in what's going in. You are not Joker; you are the voice in his head that tells him what words are the best to say in a given moment, how best to approach a situation tactically, and what to do with his free time. This perspective does not absolve the game of its intentional or otherwise ick factor, but it at least helps you enjoy the whacky adventure he and his band of downtrodden peers go on much more.

What makes the best moments of Persona 5 stick with me more than that ick is that, while it utilizes some of the worst that anime has to offer throughout its epic-sized hundred-hour runtime, it also provides the best. The pay-offs in this game are massive, the twists surprising. And the elaborate framing of each dungeon as a heist gives this game legs that it otherwise wouldn't have. But it goes beyond that. It's the music, the visual style, and the extra factor that the User Interface brings to the party. The cars in this game's highway of personality might be filled with incompetent drivers, middle-aged men and women prone to road rage, and teenagers on spring break when things get slow, but there isn't a single one that isn't eye-catching in some way. There's an argument to be had: should style be the pet of substance, or can it carry an experience when the substance starts to drain away? Whether or not you'll find enjoyment out of Persona 5 when it's not throwing ridiculously amusing wild cards at you depends on how you answer that question. If you can't let one or two bad moments past you, I can see why you'd have a lesser appreciation of this than I do. But if you, like me, put your controller several times, facepalmed for several more minutes, groaned, and then went right back in without much of a word--my friend, you're in the right club.

Again, I believe there's a lot to be said about this that can't adequately be covered in a single review. It's like expecting somebody to write a paragraph on why an eight-hour movie has merit. Roughly thirty-three times the length of Ben Hur, Persona 5 is the kind of game that opens up to opinions across multiple different subjects and experiences. If the fact that my covering didn't mention the combat or Mementos or Morgana bummed you out, I am sorry. But you'll find that discussion in fifteen other places.

Does anyone else think that persona helped cure their autism?

I played Persona 5 and I'm pretty much the main character but in real life, so I decided to try out things he did to make friends and get girlfriends.
I started by making a social link chart (like in the game) and writing down my social links. I act dangerous and mysterious like the main character and started wearing a blazer around when I'm outside (I bought a Shujin Academy pin).
I'm pretty far in my social link with girls in the apartment next door, probably 6 or 7 with both of them. I left a calling card too (like in the game) to let them know I was going to steal their hearts. (I know in the game if you date multiple people it's bad but I have until valentine's day to figure that situation out).
Discord servers are like Mementos where I can dive in and debate people until I improve the worldview of that server. That's like the public perception meter in the game and I keep track of that too. When I get 100% I think they'll give me Mod on the server.

Basically, does anyone else do this stuff? I used to struggle with making friends and only kissed a girl once (she did not like it). But after playing persona and seeing myself in the main character spot I definitely have become a lot cooler and more attractive.

I have undeniable proof that Goro Akechi is actually video game YouTuber Scott the Woz

So, Scott the Woz and Goro Akechi share a birthday. I was chatting with my friends and joking they were the same person. However, as the conversation went along, I realized that this was anything but a jest. The evidence is undeniable.

First off, basic appearances. They both have brown hair, a slim yet healthy build, and white skin. Now, you may be asking “Sansic, Akechi isn’t white, he’s Japanese!” I can explain this. Akechi’s mother was a sex worker who became pregnant with Shido’s child. So, it’s not impossible that Akechi’s mother was American, and Shido had sex with her, and had a half-Japanese/American baby, with mainly American traits showing. Ann is American but doesn’t look different from the rest of the cast, so it’s perfectly possible that Akechi is too.

There’s also a correlation in dates. Not only do they share a birthday, but there’s also that Persona 5 states its year is “20XX”, but it’s pretty clear it takes place the year of release, 2016, and most of the community agrees. By that logic, Akechi dies during late 2016. Wanna know when Scott started Scott the Woz? Late 2016. Coincidence? I think NOT! On top of the that, Scott didn’t have much of an age difference with Akechi, only 1-2 years. That may sound like a lot, but remember that P5 has an anime art style, so how young he looks is questionable. Additionally, it is a scientific fact that stress ages people faster, and Akechi’s life was nothing but stress, so it’s perfectly possible that he looks older than he is.

There are also some personality similarities and correlations. Scott obsessed over virginity in a lot of his videos. Despite claiming otherwise in some videos, he identifies himself as one who will never have sex. This makes perfect sense when you think about him being Akechi. Akechi was an illegitimate child of a sex worker who was driven to suicide due to her employment and unwed and fatherless child. His resentment towards sex makes perfect sense under this logic. This can also represent his unwillingness to be close to people. As Akechi, he was only ever close to one person, the protagonist. It’s due to his time with him that he starts to understand the value of having friends. However, he’s taken away from Akechi soon after he becomes close. This may have given him Philophobia, the fear of close relationships. (This word is generally used as just a term for a fear of falling in love, but it can be used platonically as well, and I shall use it like that.) All of Scott’s friends are friends he’s somewhat close with, but it takes a long time before he’s able to confide with them. He also shows apathy towards death, though considering the Scott the Woz universe that’s not entirely strange.

Scott claims to be nothing more than a nerdy Ohioan, but he leaves a dark secret that has taken 5 years to be uncovered. His looks, dates of birth, “death” and appearance as Scott the Woz match up. He claims not to be an RPG Guy, but in reality, he may not like it, but he is one, in a literal sense.

not to beat a dead horse but persona 5 is the epitome of style over substance

one of the most overhyped games of all time, and i kind of regret the 140 hours i sunk into it when i played it initially in 2019. i liked it at the time but it was also the first big jrpg i had played at the time, and the more games in the same genre or that tackled the same themes i experienced, the less love in my heart i had for persona 5. theres a lot there but other than the aesthetics (which im not a fan of) and the music (which is basically just baby's first acid jazz sampling) there isn't much to whats there. the characters give you the facade of being deep and intricate when they get introduced but unless you're akechi or fucking morgana you either don't get development past your introduction or that development practically gets disregarded for the rest of the story.

the story itself is also noncommittal to the idea of rebellion that it sells itself on. empowering the underdogs of society but only in a way that supports that status quo. we wouldn't want to actually try to say anything now would we? the closest thing to challenging the status quo that these kids actually do is by targeting a single corrupt politician.

i know there was a lot of drama a while ago about people experiencing the game by watching it and how that "isn't how you're supposed to" but you genuinely lose out on nothing and i honestly might have a higher opinion of this game if it was just the story bits and not the insufferably droning jrpg with a 3/10 dating sim tacked onto it.

overall i just genuinely do not like this game and after 3 years of stewing on those feelings i don't think much is going to change my mind. i think a large part of that is that i don't like the presentation much (it wore off on me pretty quickly when i initially played and i never reacclimated to it) and the ost is only really good for 2 or 3 songs unless you've just never listened to any form of jazz fusion or its derivatives.

i wouldn't call persona 5 a bad game but with how long it is and how much time i invested into it, i can't help but be frustrated with how shockingly little i actually got out of the experience positively.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I haven’t played this game in like four years.

Persona 5 wrote itself the fattest check in its first story arc and didn’t cash it for the rest of the game. You love to see a game open with one of the most uncomfortably grounded depictions of abuse in any work of fiction I’ve experienced, only to spend the rest of its 96-hour runtime using these same abused teenagers to reenact cringe anime tropes. A game that alludes to themes of systemic violence, abuse of power, justice and, ahem… “””””rebellion,””””” but ultimately has little, if anything, to say about the society it claims to be critiquing.

The hits in this game’s writing only make the misses so much more frustrating. Likable, sympathetic Ryuji is treated like shit by the narrative while the annoying, misogynistic fleabag Morgana gets far more respect than he deserves. You get beach “fanservice” with a sexual harassment victim and a depressed 15-year-old. You can date your homeroom teacher/maid in this game, a few hours after taking down the predatory PE instructor, but you still can’t romance even one guy… I could go on. This is supposedly a game about sticking it to the man and protecting society’s most vulnerable and marginalized from those who would exploit and abuse them, that periodically stops to laugh at women and gay people or ogle at minors. I won’t say the story here isn’t compelling- it very much is, it’s a real page-turner when it wants to be- but it’s so bogged down in mean-spirited low comedy antics and hentai-brained horny fuckshit, things that would be egregious even if they didn’t undercut the story’s own professed themes.

This is an RPG that is carried almost entirely by its gameplay and aesthetics. To its credit, every element of its design is dripping with style, from the menus and UI to the character designs to the animations to the endlessly listenable acid jazz soundtrack. This game looks and sounds so damn cool, not only does it mostly distract you from the questionable writing while you’re playing it, it underscores those occasions where the game actually takes itself and its premise seriously, making for a handful of incredibly hype, deeply memorable moments. What’s more, combat feels just as good as it looks and sounds. I suspect this game’s greatest crime will be ruining Persona 3 for me, because this is the best iteration of the “one more” system yet. It’s fast, intuitive and, as mentioned, slick as hell.

It took me 96 hours to beat vanilla Persona 5. I remember largely enjoying my time with this game, even as aware of its flaws as I was at the time. Yet, the more I think about it the less I want to open up the copy of Persona 5 Royal that’s been sitting on my shelf for over a year.

Persona 5 Royal is, according to a cursory google search, 125 hours long. In 125 hours, I could:
-Knock The Caligula Effect 2, Pyre, AI: The Somnium Files and Hollow Knight off of my backlog
-Watch all 69 episodes of Columbo
-Walk to Mexico from my home
-Make $906.25 at the federal minimum wage
-Spend 125 hours with my friends and loved ones

Maybe I’ll get around to it one day, I dunno.

Worst game I ever played.
A boring, terribly paced dumpster fire that progressively gets worse.
None of the characters are interesting or worth caring about, they're all 2 dimensional and boring and it is impossible to care about them because of how badly they are written.
There is no real chemistry between the main cast, it feels like they are held together by duct tape, they don't feel like an actual friend group but rather people that gather together just to talk with the protagonist.
It's also terribly easy, there is not a single fight that is challenging even on the merciless difficulty, a massive step down from the previous entries. Most encounters end within seconds and you don't even have to make use of the weakness system to defeat them in one turn.
Soundtrack is good though

[This is from the elk vault, a fully finished review that i never posted. Written back in february. I thought better release it before the leakers get it, u know what im saying? pls enjoy.]

I’ve given this game so many chances. When i was playing hollow knight i was thinking “damn its so good when i play a critically acclaimed game and it lives up to the hype.” Well why don’t I go back in time and dunk myself in a pool of cat bones for jinxing it so hard? I have been playing this game since 2019. I started when I was in high school and now it’s been so long that it’s become creepy for me to play this. Nothing in this game was cut, they threw all the shit they wanted in there with no regard for anything. With every second that goes by I dislike the game more. Which sucks for the game because it's 100 billion hours long. The game overall just feels like it’s only working because all the parts are stuck together with sticky tack and rubber bands. Your character controls soooo shittily. So crap. The way you maneuver around is so unnatural and weird and bad. It feels like I’m controlling a car in the shape of an anime boy with 3 kilograms of hair. Some parts you can only progress by using the detective vision to see which of the 3 little steps you have to press x on to jump. Or rather activate the jump cutscene and to teleport you onto the next platform. There is nothing in this game that feels smooth or natural except the turn based combat, which is pretty fun and stylish but oh my god it gets so old. I’m sick of it. The same song every time and usually in dungeons you fight a pool of like 4 or 5 enemies total. Once u figure out their weaknesses you use the same moves with the same animations on the same dudes and u stun em and u ask for their money or do the big all out attack animation again.

“Oh elk u hate turn based combat”

No I don’t, assface… Chrono trigger is fun. Like a dragon is fun. This is a cool system with some cool stuff I admit. But the enemies u fight r lame. The dungeons are boring too. They try to do a little baby stealth thing and tell u to ohh maybe sneak around but the stealth is soooooo dogcrap-diabetes tier that you can stand in front of a guy and he won't see you. You hide on a corner and wait for him to pass and go. If you wanna get rid of him you gotta fight 4 of these guys you already fought. You hit em with the attack they’re weak to, wait 35 minutes for the outro animation where ann does a strip show for the camera and u can continue with the game. Gameplay? MOSTLY BAD.

Story? Don’t get me started. This is anime. And not good anime like 1 punch man. This is crap anime like that stuff YOU watch. (sorry elksters I don’t mean to insinuate that you have bad taste in anime. I'm sorry! -editorial) I legit was considering fully dropping the game by the beach cutscene. And they still keep the -san, -chan, whatever stuff in the english dub. So they're saying hey john chan do you want to go eat at that restaurant? And it's weird cause it's in english but they've got the chan stuff. Whatever. U know what? I don’t care. I just remembered how much I don’t care about the story. It’s bad and that’s all you need to know. I just want to go home. So i’m gonna write a couple dozen more paragraphs on why I hate every one of the characters and you can like the review and we can leave, okay? Does that sound good to you? Good. That’s good. Hang in there pal.


Ryuji. My buddy. My homie. You’re alright. You’re safe from my wrath. You were the only one I could stand. Morgana. Shut the fuck up and stop being so mean to Ryuji. Stop following me into the bathroom. You’re not a cat, you're a dude that looks like a cat. It’s creepy. Ann. You’re also sort of chill but your voice is annoying. Stop inviting me to your modeling things. Yusuke. You’re kind of funny but I wouldn’t want to be friends with you in real life. You’re an anime stereotype. If you were a real person I would request a restraining order. You’re like the Pierce Hawthorne of the group. No offense. Pierce was my favourite. Well, actually Troy is my favourite but Ryuji is Troy. Kawakami. Get the fuck out of my dm’s before I demolish you. Creepy bitch. Grown ass woman hitting me up at night calling me master. Restraining order on this chick too. Reporter chick, same as above. Mishima. Same as above but just the ‘get out of my dms’ part. Maybe not a restraining order, maybe I’d just block his number and avoid him at school. Makoto. Anyone ever told you it’s not cool to come to a group of friends and say “let me join you or else I'm telling the teacher you’re excluding me” ? and then you come in and be mean to Ryuji. If we’re letting you in, I know you won’t stop being a total nerd loser but at least don’t be mean to Ryuji. Futaba. Wahhh my mom my mom wahhh get over it and get over it NOW. I don’t care, stop crying about it and go take a shower. Shut up about being a gamer and push your glasses up; they look like they're about to fall. And stop being mean to Ryuji. Iwai. Hiiii how are you hahahahhaha gosh Iwai you’re so cool. Can you tell me what THIS gun does? Oh my goshhhh you’re so freaking smart hahahhaa loll. Haru. You are fine. I hope you have a wonderful and fulfilling life. Good luck on those plants. But you are rich and I’m still the one buying all the guns and shit for the phantom thieves. It’s like Clark Kent buying the justice league a space station on a daily bugle reporter budget with Bruce Wayne right there. Akechi, why do you talk like that? Your voice is weird. You talk like one of those “boyfriend comforts you after a nightmare” ASMR audios. Not that I would know.

The music is great at least and the hud stuff is unique and cool. I love the subway system. The whole first palace was really fun and actually pretty hype. It’s a unique setup having to go to school and balance life and secret dream dungeon stuff, even if it was really shittily done. I hope a competent developer takes over that idea and we get, like, a shazam game where you have to go to school and at any time during any cutscene or whatever you can press a button to say shazam and turn into captain marvel and get arrested and game over. Wouldn’t that be sick?

What else? Oh whatever, I’m done. This game sucks, the story sucks, and you have one friend who you can stand while random older chicks spam your dms all the time while you’re trying to do pull ups in the attic. Well, I guess it is pretty accurate to my high school experience in that way.

Enjoyment - 9/10
Difficulty - 5/10

This game made me a Persona fan. Now I am obsessed!
🏆