It took me a few tries to get into this game, but I'm happy to say that I walked away from it really enjoying it.
Although I think Persona 5 Royal slightly edges this out, it's a fantastic game in its own right. The mystery surrounding the plot was well done, and it kept me guessing throughout most of the runtime. The turn-based combat was as fun as ever, although the dungeons were a bit of a slog (I think having P5R as my first Persona game really spoiled me).
Where this game really shined for me, though, was its cast. The characters and the dynamic of the group as a whole was very well done; the banter between them was entertaining and they definitely elevated the experience.
The game did have its drawbacks, however, mainly in the sheer amount of downtime it gives you and the way it affects the pacing. I know the point of the Persona games is to be a mix of a social sim + dungeon crawler, but when you finish the dungeons in one run and then have to spend a month straight socializing, it gets pretty tiring. The social links were mostly enjoyable, but I found myself zipping through most days just to get to the next story beat.
As my second Persona game, I thought this was an extremely solid follow-up to P5R. I think I'll give the series a bit of a break since they're known to be long and then dive into Persona 3 FES.
Although I think Persona 5 Royal slightly edges this out, it's a fantastic game in its own right. The mystery surrounding the plot was well done, and it kept me guessing throughout most of the runtime. The turn-based combat was as fun as ever, although the dungeons were a bit of a slog (I think having P5R as my first Persona game really spoiled me).
Where this game really shined for me, though, was its cast. The characters and the dynamic of the group as a whole was very well done; the banter between them was entertaining and they definitely elevated the experience.
The game did have its drawbacks, however, mainly in the sheer amount of downtime it gives you and the way it affects the pacing. I know the point of the Persona games is to be a mix of a social sim + dungeon crawler, but when you finish the dungeons in one run and then have to spend a month straight socializing, it gets pretty tiring. The social links were mostly enjoyable, but I found myself zipping through most days just to get to the next story beat.
As my second Persona game, I thought this was an extremely solid follow-up to P5R. I think I'll give the series a bit of a break since they're known to be long and then dive into Persona 3 FES.