JRPG Journal Entry 6 - Persona 5 Royal

Persona 5 Royal is now the third Persona game I've played in the last 4 months. Just for some quick calculations I finished P4 after 64 hours, I finished Persona 3 Reload after 67 hours, and because I started Persona 5 Royal on spring break I took it down in 110 Hours over 16 days. So that's roughly 241 hours give a few hours for save reloads and whatnot.

This game is massive. I went into the Persona series knowing the games were long but I've always was able to shave some time off of the estimated hours to completion. With Persona 5 I added 10 hours to the average completion time. This game, uncharacteristically I should add, made me take my time. Don't get me wrong, A LOT of the same criticisms I have with Persona 3 and 4 are here and this game has absolutely the worst section/arc/level in the ENTIRE series. But it also has some of its highest moments and it is all tied together with an excellent score to boot too.

So let's start with the positives. Gameplay has never been better. The introduction of Baton Pass makes the turnbased combat feel that much more fluid and reactive. The "one-more" system that Atlus uses for the Persona series has never been better. Persona 3 reload feels like a step down gameplay-wise. The introduction of actual level design when it comes to the Palaces are this game's biggest upgrade. Persona has always been a dungeon crawling/sim jrpg, and the dungeon crawling aspects have sorely lacked in the design department. With Persona 5 we get 8 completely designed and explorable Palaces/Dungeons that are actually make the game fun to play when not in combat.

As someone who was in high school in 2017 when this game came out, I GENUINELY feel like the dialogue in this game, as cringey and unbearable it is at time, is actually quite good and realistic. Trust me, I definitely sounded like Ryuji, Futaba and Yusuke at several points in my High School development.
Props to the localization team that did a really good job. While the story certainly showcases separate societal values and jokes, the localization feels really good. The characters in this game (minus Morgana and sadly Haru) are all incredibly well developed and voice acted. (I feel the need to highlight Cheramie Leigh as Makoto. You might remember that name from Female V in Cyberpunk. She is stellar in this game and made Makoto literally my favorite character probably in this series.) I still do like the cast of Persona 4 more due to everyone in that game getting the proper amount of time to have an arc. But it isn't as wide a gap between casts. I love them both in their own ways. SEES was cool and all but I need some actual friendships to actually have the power of friendship overcome the God of Control or whatever other God the main cast has to defeat. The side cast is also really stellar. Sojiro being the absolute best non-team member character in the whole series. When he called Futaba his daughter and Futaba called him "Dad" I literally teared up. An easy tug on the heartstrings? Maybe, but it still works and I loved Sojiro.

I have a bit of a hot take I think but I absolutely think that the protagonist of Persona 5 is the only protagonist with any sense of a character or a character arc. Ren Amamiya has a backstory that helps to define his character before we are given control of him. So if the player does wish to roleplay we have an idea of who Ren is before the game starts. Comparing him to Makoto and Yu is a no brainer. And I'm only talking about the games. Not the Anime adaptations. Makoto is given a backstory about dead parents and an MP3 player and Yu is only said to have transferred and is living with his uncle in Inaba. Throughout the game, depending on how you play both of these characters do not have any arc or defining moment that defines their character outside of being the blank protagonist. Ren is still a boring character compared to everyone else in the game but he is still hands down to best Persona protagonist.

Alright, time for the negatives. This game overstays its welcome. This is a problem that I didn't feel with Persona 4. It started to creep into view in the last ten hours I spent in Persona 3 Reload. Even thought I did enjoy my time spent in this game, the second the Royale ending starts after the original ending I felt that the game was going on too long. The DLC Royal ending bits are added into the game much better than Marie and her story is done in Persona 4 Golden. I will admit I didn't even know Kasumi was DLC until I saw her Social Link ended at 5 and I was like "Wait, is she DLC?" I did some research and with only about a day to spare I got Maruki to rank 10 and unlocked the third semester. The thing is, once I learned that Kasumi and Maruki were DLC it felt painfully out of place whenever the game would grind to a halt to put them into a part of the story they originally had no place in. So put yourself in my shoes, I know that there is another palace after Shido's, I know it is Maruki's, but the game is ending. I just defeated Yaldaboath and the game is ending. This winding down of the story I thought was excellent. It got to the point where I wish we saw some end credits and had the option to start the Maruki DLC in the main menu. But that's just a gripe I guess, BUT it is one that hampered my enjoyment of the last 30 hours.

That was a really roundabout way to say the game has pacing issues but I never promised this would be a quick one.

Onto the absolute worst part of any Persona game I've played so far, Okumura's Palace. The palace itself I didn't hate. It was the worst Palace but I still enjoyed it more than any randomly generated dungeon. The real problem with it is the Shadow Okumura Boss fight. This is the single worst boss fight I've experienced in any JRPG thus far. The Palace overstays its welcome and then you are forced to fight like 6 waves of robots that you HAVE TO KILL IN 2 TURNS otherwise he spawns more in and you can't hurt him. I shouldn't have to research a boss in order to fight it. I died like 5 times before I even got far enough to understand the fight. I took a frustration break and researched the fight in between my 5th and 6th attempt. This was a difficulty spike that was completely artificial and unfair in a game that I think really did a good job balancing the difficulty. Persona 4 really had me thinking strategically otherwise every boss would hand your ass to you. Persona 3 Reload was a breeze and I honestly regret playing that on Normal difficulty. Other then this boss fight I think every other boss is well balanced and a fun challenge to overcome. I'm a little dissappointed that Shadow Maruki really only has a one phase fight but I understood that fight almost from the get go so I had a lot of fun with it.

The most annoying main cast member in all of Persona is Morgana. I absolutely hated him and would refuse to put him in my party until I found it absolutely necessary. The next game really needs to chill it with the animal/mascot figure that is absurdly attracted to one of the underage girl cast members. I know I said I didn't really like Haru and I do feel sad about that one. She is a late addition to the cast and one that has absolutely no fan fair. She joined and that was that. I didn't even know she had a social link until I saw she was on the roof. She never sent a text like the other characters and so I didn't even level her up once until after the Shido fight. And still, her social link is pretty lame. A lot of lame coffee talk and poor rich girl shenanigans. She is really nice and calm. She is a pleasure to see interact with the team but she just did almost nothing for me character-wise. Everyone else on the cast, including Akechi, I really liked.

I'm so tired right now I'm not even sure that this review makes sense but I literally couldn't sleep if I didn't type out these thoughts. So this is an excellent game. Cost per hour is insane. I spent $30 bucks on this and I got 3 times that back in hours per dollar. That is pretty commendable seeing as a good majority of this game is really good to really solid.

However, this game is weighed down by it's annoying characters like Morgana and Mishima, and actually might be too long. After 90 hours I was REALLY feeling the length and I had another 20 hours left.

Either way, this was still an excellent time and a game that I won't soon forget. I really am glad to have experienced this series and while I think this might objectively be the best of the series, my heart will always belong to Persona 4.

I can officially say that Persona 6 is one of my most anticipated games of all time and one I am glad to have learned to love. Hopefully my next review will finally be for Nier Automata. Thank you for reading,

The score is excellent as ever, but I have a caveat. Persona 4's score has me whistling and singing to myself all throughout the house. Persona 3's OST had me working out to Mass Destruction and lip singing "Disturbing the Peace..." The music here is still incredible, but I wasn't feeling them as much as the other 2 scores. This one was hyped up too. I heard some of this music before I'd even played a Persona game. The only real earworm/GOAT song I feel is on the track is "River in a Desert." That one might be the best Persona boss theme out of all the one's I've played.

I didn't replay the game but I am slowly but surely chipping away at that Platinum, gearing up for a Hard Mode run.

I just was reminiscing to early December last year when the Game Awards show was going on and Loren Allred performed "No Promises to Keep." I hadn't even thought about playing FFVII Remake let alone knowing I was gonna play Rebirth.

I think I had just started Persona 4 and was really taking my time with that.

I picked up Remake because I knew I was gonna get laid off from my job and I knew if I subscribed to Playstation Plus I'd be able to play a bunch of games through the subscription.

So I'm broke, I no longer have a job, I'm taking 5 classes and drowing in school work, barely able to make ends meet and for my birthday I received Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Truth be told, I'd have probably had to have waited to play this game if I didn't get it for my birthday. I tear through this game like it's my job, like it's my major. 20 days later I complete the game and I cannot stop thinking about it. Shortly after beating it I write my review and put it in my top 5.

A week later I can't stop listening to the soundtrack. I was just at a Comic Con and I spent what little money I have on posters from Final Fantasy VII. I'm constantly listening to what is probably now my favorite video game score of all time.

I'm brought back to "No Promises to Keep."

Some random song I heard while eagerly awaiting Baldur's Gate 3 to win GotY.

3 months later whenever I hear the song I am brought to tears. Remembering the time I sunk, the game I experienced, the characters that made this experience as unforgettable as it was.

I'm not even that excited for part 3, I'm just stuck on Rebirth. It's an experience I won't forget. One that I CANNOT forget. I haven't been this moved by a game since The Last of Us Part II. I cried when Joel died but I was able to move passed that. I was able to remember what that game made ne feel and it became a life changing experience. I am having a similar life changing experience with Rebirth. I don't know exactly why I am feeling this way. Maybe it's just how quickly I wrote off this whole Genre. This whole world of games. Persona 4 and Rebirth and two of the best games I EVER played. And I wouldn't dare even imagine playing them mere months ago.

I am literally applying to jobs right now not to pay for classes, but to be able to see the Final Fantasy Orchestra in August when they play in LA.

I'm not the same person I was and it is because of these games.

When people say that "games aren't art" or that "it's still a burgeoning medium" I am appalled. 10 years ago we got The Last of Us. 6 years prior to that we had Bioshock. Before that Half-Life 2, in 97 we had the original Final Fantasy VII. Games have always been art. Since their inception they have been the most superior way to experience characters and stories. If I watched this game I'd have hated it. But playing it, experiencing it, watching as the fourth wall itself dissappears and you are left feeling like you are in a whole new world is something only video games have ever done. This is one such game that reminds me of that, that inspires my creativity and gives me hope for the future of this medium.

Gaming is not dead. It has never been more alive