Persona 5 is a dungeon crawling, turn-based JRPG, crossed with a high school social simulator. The newest game in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series boasts gorgeous aesthetics, an amazing soundtrack, a combat system that manages to stay interesting and a story that will keep you playing into the wee hours of the morning. A perfect entry-point for those who are new to the series.
The story follows a young male who, after being put on probation for an assault he did not commit, is sent to Tokyo’s Shujin Academy for a year. Here he must prove that he can live a normal student life by befriending classmates and teachers, getting good grades and abiding by the rules. But before he can even start his first day at school, an app on his smartphone sends him and a fellow schoolmate to an alternate world. Locked inside the dungeon of a Palace ruled by a twisted king, our protagonist awakens to his Persona power and becomes a masked vigilante. Now he is ready to steal the king’s most prized possession in hopes of changing his heart in the real world.
Genre: Single-player role-playing, social simulation
- Available for:
- PS3
- PS4
I played: around 120 hours, just to complete the story
Likes
- The turn-based combat manages to stay fresh. Use your Persona's skills to hit an enemy's weak-point and make them stand down or even join you as one of your new Persona.
- The story and characters are really fleshed out, pushing you to build up the relationships with your favourite confidants or play just a little bit longer so you can kill that boss in the Palace before you reach your deadline.
- Even though the game was originally created with PS3 in mind, the overall aesthetic is a sight to behold; from the flashy menus, over the handcrafted dungeons, to the almost one on one copy of famous locations in Tokyo, Persona 5 looks gorgeous.
- The soundtrack is catchy and upbeat, even managing to make the turn-based combat feel like a rhythm game.
- The English translation is very decent. The game oozes in Japanese culture and sayings, but manages to keep the typos to a minimum. The English voice acting is, in general, really good, but for the full experience the Japanese voice overs are available as a free download.
- Morgana, a talking cat who keeps you company during your year in Tokyo, is by far the most amazing cat in videogame history!
Dislikes
- The series still manages to stereotype its characters, which is kind of a shame.
- There is so much to do in Persona that managing your days can be a pain. Luckily, there is a new game plus that lets you carry over some of your statistics.
- Some Persona aren’t very tasteful, from a male genitalia on a chariot to half-naked, chained-up slaves.
Comments (0)