This review contains spoilers
I was legitimately surprised what a large leap this was over Innocent Sin. That's not to say that EP fixes every issue but it feels like a much more complete product overall.
The combat feels way more involved and interesting without becoming too easy either. It felt like I was actually meant to plan out each turn and not just autobattle everything to death which was a nice change of pace, and made SP management way less of a nuisance and fusion spells way more fun to use. It compensates by making battles more difficult, which is a welcome change and there are plenty of ways it throws a wrench into your setup. I won't go as far as to call it perfect, because I still ended up estoma-ing through some dungeons, but it's probably the best way to maximize this system. The dungeon layouts are probably the area that's seen the least improvement, probably the weakest aspect of the P2 duology as a whole. The less random traps is nice but the sprawling layouts didn't really do much more for me.
I would be lying though if I said the story isn't where this game is at it's best. The cast is absolutely fantastic and made me actively want to talk to them in every location, I'm honestly surprised so many people seem to like IS' cast better. There's a really strong overarching theme with how each of them struggles with adulthood, from past regrets to uncertainty about the future, and the new drive they each get at the end feels really satisfying. I really enjoyed the spin on Tatsuya's character as well, Innocent Sin really helped to put you in his shoes and EP delivers on that. It does a really good job of showing the pain he's been through, and his struggle with leaving behind his friends feels powerful after having a whole game to see those bonds. There were real stakes at play and they were delivered on excellently by the ending, I appreciate how it has real consequences for Tatsuya even if it is tragic. Also worth mentioning how amazing the last FMV is too, while Maya doesn't have the character she had in IS due to being the protagonist I think it was a great way to show how she's learned from others to not let the past torment her.
(Side note but I don't have much to say about the Persona 1 stuff since I haven't played it yet, though I knew enough for it to be enjoyable enough)
This game was a much different tone and feel than the other Persona games I've played, but I appreciate it a lot for that. I'm not sure whether they'll make something like this again, and that speaks to how unique it feels, like it was on the border between old and new Persona and Atlus as a whole. EP really brings out the best of what IS does well, while making a lot of it's own improvements and bringing a really strong story and cast to the table as well.
The combat feels way more involved and interesting without becoming too easy either. It felt like I was actually meant to plan out each turn and not just autobattle everything to death which was a nice change of pace, and made SP management way less of a nuisance and fusion spells way more fun to use. It compensates by making battles more difficult, which is a welcome change and there are plenty of ways it throws a wrench into your setup. I won't go as far as to call it perfect, because I still ended up estoma-ing through some dungeons, but it's probably the best way to maximize this system. The dungeon layouts are probably the area that's seen the least improvement, probably the weakest aspect of the P2 duology as a whole. The less random traps is nice but the sprawling layouts didn't really do much more for me.
I would be lying though if I said the story isn't where this game is at it's best. The cast is absolutely fantastic and made me actively want to talk to them in every location, I'm honestly surprised so many people seem to like IS' cast better. There's a really strong overarching theme with how each of them struggles with adulthood, from past regrets to uncertainty about the future, and the new drive they each get at the end feels really satisfying. I really enjoyed the spin on Tatsuya's character as well, Innocent Sin really helped to put you in his shoes and EP delivers on that. It does a really good job of showing the pain he's been through, and his struggle with leaving behind his friends feels powerful after having a whole game to see those bonds. There were real stakes at play and they were delivered on excellently by the ending, I appreciate how it has real consequences for Tatsuya even if it is tragic. Also worth mentioning how amazing the last FMV is too, while Maya doesn't have the character she had in IS due to being the protagonist I think it was a great way to show how she's learned from others to not let the past torment her.
(Side note but I don't have much to say about the Persona 1 stuff since I haven't played it yet, though I knew enough for it to be enjoyable enough)
This game was a much different tone and feel than the other Persona games I've played, but I appreciate it a lot for that. I'm not sure whether they'll make something like this again, and that speaks to how unique it feels, like it was on the border between old and new Persona and Atlus as a whole. EP really brings out the best of what IS does well, while making a lot of it's own improvements and bringing a really strong story and cast to the table as well.