wow! i did NOT expect to have as much fun with this game as i did. i love strategic rpgs but i’ve never played one so focused on hiding behind covers and strategically placing party members. it never felt stale, and even up until the end the game was still introducing new gameplay elements that kept evolving the gameplay foundations already established! i adored the plot, and even though the Phantom Thieves kind of take a backseat in their own game, i wasn’t mad about it. Toshiro and Erina’s story is well-written and tugs at the heartstrings, the whole tale is cleverly an amalgamation of all the struggles the Phantom Thieves went through in the base game, and it felt great to witness those characters give Toshiro their words of advice and experience regarding those struggles. it kind of felt like *i* was the one giving Toshiro an empathetic pep talk, because i also went through those events in the original game. the style and artwork for this game are phenomenal, honestly the “chibi” style is so creative that it’s not stale at all, and fits each character extremely well. the soundtrack is banger after banger, with a he battle themes deriving inspiration from rock and roll it’s hard not to feel pumped during battle! a small-but-big thing i noticed is how the music doesn’t stop and restart when you undo a turn or retry the battle, and i love that. more games should have uninterrupted music during the loading screen! overall a fantastic and worthwhile game for Persona 5 fans like me.