Finally beat peak yesterday! I already knew how much I absolutely adored the soundtrack and art style prior to finally playing and beating it, but experiencing it in context of the game made me love it that much more. The characters are mostly all really likeable and have their own distinct personalities and are brought to life with great writing. I say mostly because idk characters like Haru or Yusuke were cool, but those kind of character architypes aren't really my thing. But the really shining star of this game was the damn gameplay. And wow is it the best turn based gameplay I have ever played by a landslide. I loved the velvet room and the different ways you can create personas. All the palaces had not just their own unique aesthetics and themes, but their own gimmicks in puzzle-form that were all fun. As someone who finds it a chore to get through games that are dialogue heavy, it did not affect me at all because I was so engrossed with the story and confidant hangout interactions. This game really feels like a gigantic journey. You feel the stakes, and the characters start to feel less like jumbles of code with an audio file over them, but like your own buddies. For being such a long game, I think it has fantastic pacing and the hours fly by when you're having this much fun. The anime cutscenes are very well-done and are always a joy when they come on. This game is just the definition of raw lol. The Phantom Thieves are so sick and you are on board with what they are trying to accomplish. But how magnificent the gameplay is cannot be understated. As you level up your confidants and progress the story, you get more and more layers to the gameplay that make it feel fresh. Like showtimes, follow-up attacks, ailments being cured, using your grappling hook to ambush enemies, and sometimes firing a ton of bullets at enemies at the start of battle just to name a few. The way the story is told and how it interweaves with stuff in the past and sets up things to be unveiled later on is great. Oddly enough though, I was left desiring a few more twists or some more substance to the overall narrative. Because while always a treat, the game definitely follows a pattern of how the events transpire from big bad to big bad. And I just feel like it could've had more depth with the length and quality that it has. While we're on my negatives, I do like Mementos more than others do it seems. But yeah it isn't the best and I have my gripes with it. For example, how stingy flower points are and how much grinding you have to do to purchase a single good item. Also the fact that you lose them when you leave. I also didn't like how you can't just find all the stamps throughout a given path. Like, you have to go through it again to go through more procedurally generated areas to find more. Also the fact that you have to find a safe room in order to fast travel to the entrance to leave. Which gets very annoying when you're nowhere near one in the later areas of Mementos. Also, I didn't feel like the villains were always the strongest. It always made sense that they needed a change of heart and that we needed to go after them, but I'd say half of them weren't menacing enough. Also, some felt like they didn't have the required build-up and hatred the player feels towards them, like some others do. Other than that, this is a phenomenal video game and has easily become one of my favorite, if not my favorite, video game of all time.