OnlyGoken
If I was to write everything I love about this game, it'd be a 2 hour long video essay, but this takes the best aspects of 1 and 2 and makes them better. My only complaint is a lack of levity at times, though
Do you like awful Rock Paper Scissors? Boy do I have the game for you! The only part of this game that isn't shit are the decently animated FMVs, despite the plasticine look I know most people hate in 21st century Dragon Ball.
This is honestly a masterpiece and one of Takahashi's best games. The "anime" complaint is really stupid because it's more tame compared to Megami Tensei, and even if it's in comparison to the first game, Riki's introduction is right there... the game's writing is amazing, the characters are fantastic, and the tutorials... are atrocious, but I can write about this game for hours and still find something new to praise about it. Don't listen to haters or reviewbombers but... please, play the first game first.
If you want a genuinely peak Action RPG, this is the game you go to. Absolutely stellar combat, challenging and incredibly rewarding boss fights, an amazing OST, this is EVERYTHING I want in a video game, even having a great story. This game series already means a lot to me, but 2FM in particular just hits different.
Nomura can't keep getting away with this fr. The game's writing is amazing, the music is fantastic, and I love how it expands on Midgar, turning an okay portion of the game into an extremely memorable, full-on experience, making Cloud one of my favorite protagonists in fiction.
Horrible story, horrible gameplay, decent music, but the command deck here is at its most braindead. It's just the Spam Balloonra game, and the mechanics just aren't fun at all. Flowmation makes the level design atrocious, and bosses have no hitstun, which is honestly why it gets a single star. The boss fights are so fucking dreadful as a result.
2016
This review contains spoilers
Even aside from Persona 5 Royal being better, regular Persona 5 just isn't very good imo. I love the first arc, I love the 6th Palace, but the game nosedives in the middle with the only real highlight being Palace #4. The messages of the game get so confused and muddled. "Grooming your students and sexually assaulting them are bad! Anyways, you can get groomed by your homeroom teacher and other adults." "Takameki-san doesn't want to be seen as objectified. Anyways, here she is in latex and a whip and is being objectified in cutscenes." It's hard to be engaged with Persona 5 with how it mixes the messages, and Yaldabaoth is the worst example of this. I hate how he comes out of nowhere just for the twist, and while it is a cool twist due to the hints in the voice, it's still really lame. It was a clever usage of having Igor's Seiyu pass away, I'll give it that.
When Persona 5 takes itself seriously, like with Futaba's Palace, it can be stunning. It's so great to see a character trapped by her traumas overcome them slowly and over the course of time. I also enjoy how the confidant arcs are... mostly. I wish say, if Yoshida's confidant is maxed out, he can run for office and change the story, or if Mishima's confidant is maxed out, he's less obsessive. It feels like not much changes within the world of Pesrona 5 due to the confidants. It sucks to be so harsh on Persona 5, especially because Royal does fix at least a few issues I have, but I think others would enjoy it more than I did.
When Persona 5 takes itself seriously, like with Futaba's Palace, it can be stunning. It's so great to see a character trapped by her traumas overcome them slowly and over the course of time. I also enjoy how the confidant arcs are... mostly. I wish say, if Yoshida's confidant is maxed out, he can run for office and change the story, or if Mishima's confidant is maxed out, he's less obsessive. It feels like not much changes within the world of Pesrona 5 due to the confidants. It sucks to be so harsh on Persona 5, especially because Royal does fix at least a few issues I have, but I think others would enjoy it more than I did.
1993
Honestly, one of the classics. It's not my favorite X game but holds up so well for the time. The game looks, sounds and controls great, and I always love going for 100%.
1994
Honestly, probably my favorite X game. It's always so much fun to 100% as well, and the bosses are less cheesable in some cases (with a few exceptions). I adore this game and I love everything it does, with my smallest criticisms still not bearing much compared to the greatness of X2.
If you ignore the mediocre story this game is actually fucking great and is the best Command Deck game. The flow of the game is phenomenal, music is really nice for being bit-crunched, and the gimmicks it adds are so fun. I think most of the hate comes from either their favorite YouTuber saying so, or the story, because let's not act like Dream Drop is better when it has a frustrating story AND bad gameplay. Olympus being a turn-based RPG is such a fun idea, and the Keyblades all functioning differently is such a cool concept. I love the buffs and debuffs the level system has, and I adored the mini-game-like level design the Datascape levels had. Come into this game with an open mind, I think you'll appreciate Re:coded for how great the gameplay loop is.
2020
Persona 5 Strikers takes every single narrative issue with Persona 5 and manages to improve upon them. There are no character arcs that get shafted, the new characters are phenomenal, and the music remixes are fantastic. It even takes the musou gameplay and does such a fun spin with the Megami Tensei mechanics, and Zenkichi is the best character in Megami Tensei since Maki, Maruki and Naoya imo.
The game is honestly fun, but what holds it back is the unbalanced nature of the game. And I don't mean pay to win, because honestly the game becomes piss easy with power creep as an issue. I loved how it was early on, a genuine challenge where the pay options didn't require being in it, but as more Premiums, Gemiums and Seediums got added, the game became an unbalanced nightmare. Porka spam through most of the game, and bam. It's still fun in spite of this, but it's a shame that it's a step up and down at the same time.
2008
Is it fair to judge this game so high because the Series X|S rerelease makes it run at 60FPS at 1080p with fast loads? ...Yes, because this game is absolutely phenomenal. Great story, tight and solid level design, challenging, goated Werehog sections, it's actually peak.
2000
Extremely flawed, yet I still love it. Another fun 100%, great music still, and my favorite X series story. But man when it's bad, it's baaaad...
2010
After the rough reception of Xenosaga after Episode II, I don't blame Monolith Soft for playing 1 so safe, but it's the least Xenogears-like of Takahashi's main games. It's SUPER impressive for a Wii game, with an incredible OST and a really engaging story, but the characters take a hit unfortunately. It's still a fantastic game, but play Definitive Edition, it's better in every single way.