Persona 5 Review

The Persona series has been one of the most successful spin-offs from the Megami Tensei franchise due to its relatable storytelling and avid enthusiasm inciting dreams and ambitions for the regular students going about the mundane life as we know it. And with Persona 5, our expectations going in remained the same.

The Persona series has been one of the most successful spin-offs from the Megami Tensei franchise due to its relatable storytelling and avid enthusiasm inciting dreams and ambitions for the regular students going about the mundane life as we know it. And with Persona 5, our expectations going in remained the same.

Persona 5 is the sixth entry in the series – and with that said, we’ve been eager to see how Atlus would take advantage of modern systems to develop the game. The company does deliver on this as we’ve seen in gameplay trailers, and they don’t hamper it down in the final release. There is but one problem, Atlus prohibits players to take even screenshots of the game, but we’ll still do our best to convey our thoughts for this one. On to the review!

I am thou… Thou art I…

Persona 5 follows the standard introduction of the modern Persona protagonist – a transferee from another place, but this time it’s because of a case our guy is involved with. In all honestly, it follows the exact same formula as with the previous entries when it comes to building up your whole team, but it does so without feeling too repetitive. Katsura Hashino’s mainline narrative has always been up to speed when it comes to making things fresh, and it’s always one to keep you glued.

When it comes to the story proper, Persona 5 starts off rather darkly. The easy giveaway is the NTR level of material that students of Shujin Academy went through under Kamoshida, with basically adults turning a blind-eye to it.

That’s the central theme of Persona 5 just to get it out of the way – adults having their own way, leaving teenagers to fend for themselves. It’s one dark theme from the onset, and it’s one riveting that it will make you want to see what kind of sins you’re going to explore inside palaces.

However, this is downplayed right after the first palace. Persona 5 quickly changes its tone. Not so much, but enough to say that it starts out loud with a bang but dies down soon after. It doesn’t stop there, too. There are certain plot elements that shift from one thing to another, leaving loose ends untied due to the lack of cohesion. It starts to fall apart when you approach its storyline methodically, but it’s still bearable for what it is. You’ll catch on to this once you get to the presumable final boss of the game, which we won’t really reveal here for spoiler’s sake.

Now, Social Links here, represented as Confidants, are very much still essential to the overall gameplay. Problem is, for some, it’s too much of a chore since the game can be told even without them. To make matters worse, Social Status gates in the form of Kindness, Guts, Intelligence, Charisma, and Proficiency halt your progress when you’re ranking up these relationships if they’re not up to a certain level.

Another thing to hate on is how annoyingly repetitive and noisy characters can get. One part is done story-wise, but it gets mind-numbingly dull. For example, they’re too loud for their secret operations, and you’d think they’d learn their lesson after covering that during an early part of the game. For real?!

The Velvet Room is a Prison of Sorts

It’s a different gimmick each time for Persona when it comes to Velvet Rooms, and for Persona 5 it’s a prison of sorts. That’s actually symbolic for the game, and it’s one you’ll realize more as you play through its course.

Fusing personas also now come in the form of executions. It’s basically the same concept wherein you fuse two or more personas, but it’s presented in a much more brutal way. What’s new though, is the Public Execution, wherein you take advantage of the internet connection and fuse stronger personas that are way above your level. Another new one is sacrificing a persona by to gain special items.

Last Surprise

If there’s one thing worth highlighting, Persona 5’s battle system is an evolution of sorts that improves upon that of the previous installments. Element weakness exploitation still feels totally right when you pull it off, and landing those critical hits feel so good. Adding to your victory is the chance for an all out attack, but this time you’ll also have the chance to negotiate with demons to be your own persona, get items, or money.

Baton pass, a new mechanic, is also a welcomed feature that lets you give your turn to another character and apply a charge up in attacking. Atlus even further expanded on it by adding attacks that take advantage of it, and it’s one you’ll be using a lot of times during boss fights or any other difficult battles ahead.

The randomness of its difficulty, if you don’t manage to ambush enemies can also be punishing. Be the one ambushed and you’ll likely get killed, especially if demons manage to exploit your weaknesses. It's a good idea to always take advantage of the game's sneaking mechanic to help you breeze through. But in terms of difficulty, Persona 5 seems to take it a tad too easy if you compare it to 3 and 4.

Like a Canvass

Shigenori Soejima's character designs are still as brilliant as ever, and it's even more so in Persona 5. In a word, it's stylish and striking, serving as a great match up to its picaresque storytelling. Its improvement isn't also limited to that. Persona 5's world revolves around Tokyo's busy streets. But it's done as a way for fast travelling, and you can still enjoy roaming around how the the locations are well done.

It doesn't end there, though. Going into palaces will transform the setting into something rather outlandish, and it gives the game a huge distinction from the previous titles. It's art in its own right, and we're digging it.

Jazz it up

We can’t talk about any modern Persona game without discussing its tracklist. Shoji Meguro’s music can greatly tell the mood. His work for Persona 5 serves as the perfect backdrop to the setting from the theme of heist to exploring the world. “Last Surprise” can get you pumped up even on normal battle situations, and “Alleycat” can really bring the melancholic acid jazz mood.

The Whims of Fate

Let’s get real here. Persona 5 is a decent JRPG that greatly improves upon from the previous installments. However, let’s not turn a blind eye here. There are so many things Atlus could have done to further improve the experience and storytelling. Persona 5 does everything better as compared to the other titles, but that’s looking at its technical prowess in presentation and user experience. Honestly, it’s a great game for the PlayStation 4, but it’s weak as a Persona title in terms of impact in the whole universe of the spinoff.

Still, that doesn't change the fact that it's one of the best JRPGs to come out for the PlayStation 4. Is it worth it? It's going to steal your heart.