Persona 5

[Azure Sen]

Just beat the game today, at around 76 hours of gameplay total. I have a few problems with it here and there, but overall I really enjoyed the game as a whole. I'll probably do an all Co-Ops completed run at some point in the future (I just did one for P4 recently), but not for a while as I'm a little burnt out.

[Radiant head]

is it possible to max hierphant before that scene where he finds out?  i mean i wasn't able to get that far by then, but wondering if the game blocks or the story  is just slightly altered?

[-Cynthia-]

27 minutes ago, Radiant head said:

 

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is it possible to max hierphant before that scene where he finds out?  i mean i wasn't able to get that far by then, but wondering if the game blocks or the story  is just slightly altered?

In general, confidant rank doesn't affect main story stuff so it doesn't matter either way.

 

[Konnor97]

3 hours ago, -Cynthia- said:

In general, confidant rank doesn't affect main story stuff so it doesn't matter either way.

Well, Sojiro's rank can't go past 4 before all of the events around the 4th palace are done, but I think that's the only character locked out like that, not including things like Kawakami not going past rank 8(?) during summer vacation or Toranosuke being completely unavailable starting ~halfway through November.

[Radiant head]

ok i thoroughly enjoyed this plot twist, the mc's shit eating grin was super satisfying.  

the exposition dumps are really annoying, but then again it's hard for this game as a medium to overcome that.  

 

 

Edited April 25, 2017 by Radiant head

[DodgeDusk]

Beat the game last night. Clocked in just shy of 123 hours, on Hard mode. Absolutely fantastic game, and one I'd definitely recommend to any JRPG fan out there.

Note: there are spoilers for the game (especially end game) in its entirety below.

 

Let's get the murky one out of the way: Akechi's final moments were, uh, abrupt, to say the least. The game trying hard to get the player to sympathise with him was also something I wasn't a fan of. Sure, the guy's past is tragic. Sure, the guy could've been a "good" person if he perhaps met Joker and co. sooner. But for the game to say, "yeah, this guy is a mass murderer who tried to kill you twice. Please forgive him" was just silly*. It's a shame, because Akechi's one of my favourite characters in the game. I wouldn't have minded if he had rejoined the party just for the Shadow Shido fight, but I think being killed by his own hands, so to speak, was a fitting end for him. It's a bit strange how he isn't really brought up much after the 7th Palace. I

love that he too had the power of the Wild Card. Always wanted to see an antagonist with that power. Haru was almost certainly rushed, and again, it's a shame, since she's a genuinely pleasant character, and one I wanted to spend more time with--and I maxed her Confidant link out!

I'm also struggling to see why the writer's thought they had to link Madarame and Kaneshiro to Shido, too. Kaneshiro I can sort of understand since Shido may have wanted powerful ties to the underground, but Madarame? Maybe the game explained it--I don't remember--but that stood out to me.

Seeing Satanael poppin' a cap in Yaldabaoth's head was great. Don't think there's been a ending to a video game that's left me with such a huge feeling of satisfaction and freedom, except maybe Trails in the Sky Second Chapter. And speaking of the ending, Hoshi to Bokura to rivals Kimi no Kioku as the best credits song I've heard in a video game. Sorry, Trails of Cold Steel 2 lovers.

Favourite palace was definitely Sae's Palace. Great atmosphere, great music, fun little puzzle. Really good dungeon.

In order of favourite main characters, I'd have to go: Makoto > Joker (if he counts) > Ryuji > Akechi > Yusuke > Futaba > Haru > Ann/Morgana. I was expecting Makoto to be my favourite from pre-release, but I'm surprised by how much I liked her. She's up there with Aigis and Junpei as favourite Persona characters. I just wish her Confidant link focused on, you know, her, and not the relationship between her "friend" and that club host piece of shit. Favourite Confidant link was probably Iwai's. What a good ol' man. Yoshida too.

Overall, this game will probably be my game of the generation. The wait since February 2015 has been long, but the catharsis was oh-so worth it. I'd start a New Game + playthrough, but I got other stuff to play.

*I'll be more than willing to expand on this. I just don't know how to express it right now. I think I was a bit harsh on my criticism here.

Edited April 26, 2017 by DodgeDusk

[TheEnd]

Finished this a couple days ago. I'm glad I managed to avoid spoilers, especially concerning confidants. Finding them and their respective arcanas by myself was a nice experience, notably concerning Sun and Temperance.

I also didn't expect the teacher to be romanceable, which was something I had been meaning to pursue ever since P3.

While I wasn't too fond of Akechi, I can definitely appreciate the idea of him being another potential Wild Card. His lack of personas is also neatly explained by his obsession of doing things alone -- which means he probably never bothered to negotiate with any shadows he came across.

Also, the final dungeon felt like something out of Nocturne, haha

 

[Water Mage]

Some good news:

http://www.siliconera.com/2017/04/27/atlus-eases-persona-5-streaming-guidelines-offers-apology/

[DodgeDusk]

3 hours ago, TheEnd said:

Finished this a couple days ago. I'm glad I managed to avoid spoilers, especially concerning confidants. Finding them and their respective arcanas by myself was a nice experience, notably concerning Sun and Temperance.

  Hide contents

I also didn't expect the teacher to be romanceable, which was something I had been meaning to pursue ever since P3.

While I wasn't too fond of Akechi, I can definitely appreciate the idea of him being another potential Wild Card. His lack of personas is also neatly explained by his obsession of doing things alone -- which means he probably never bothered to negotiate with any shadows he came across.

Also, the final dungeon felt like something out of Nocturne, haha

 

Speaking of the Confidants, I'm surprised how many of them I actually enjoyed, especially Sun, Temperance, Hierophant, Hanged Man, and Tower. Those are characters I actually cared about.

Endgame spoilers below.

 

Especially once you start seeing them support the Phantom Thieves during Christmas Eve and after. Was really touching to see.

And yeah, the last two hours of the game or so are incredibly MegaTen. Slaying the four major angels and then popping a cap in Yaldabaoth's head as an interpretation of Satan/Lucifer was magical and enthralling. All to save Christmas.

Regarding Akechi: is it ever said which Persona he got first? Unless I'm missing something, I'd like to think he obtained Loki first, then awakened to Robin Hood once he started bonding with the protagonist. I imagine that's probably his first "link" with somebody.

Edited April 27, 2017 by DodgeDusk

[Water Mage]

1 hour ago, DodgeDusk said:

Speaking of the Confidants, I'm surprised how many of them I actually enjoyed, especially Sun, Temperance, Hierophant, Hanged Man, and Tower. Those are characters I actually cared about.

Endgame spoilers below.

  Reveal hidden contents

Especially once you start seeing them support the Phantom Thieves during Christmas Eve and after. Was really touching to see.

And yeah, the last two hours of the game or so are incredibly MegaTen. Slaying the four major angels and then popping a cap in Yaldabaoth's head as an interpretation of Satan/Lucifer was magical and enthralling. All to save Christmas.

Regarding Akechi: is it ever said which Persona he got first? Unless I'm missing something, I'd like to think he obtained Loki first, then awakened to Robin Hood once he started bonding with the protagonist. I imagine that's probably his first "link" with somebody.

I imagine Loki. If not mistaken, it is said that it's his Persona that drive people mad, and it seems more fitting for Loki to have that power than Robin Hood. Speaking of Akechi's powers, I wish we saw more breakdowns than one in the subway at the beginning of the game. And there was one thing I didn't get. Did the people that were driven mad also die?

[TheEnd]

4 hours ago, DodgeDusk said:

Speaking of the Confidants, I'm surprised how many of them I actually enjoyed, especially Sun, Temperance, Hierophant, Hanged Man, and Tower. Those are characters I actually cared about.

Endgame spoilers below.

  Reveal hidden contents

Especially once you start seeing them support the Phantom Thieves during Christmas Eve and after. Was really touching to see.

And yeah, the last two hours of the game or so are incredibly MegaTen. Slaying the four major angels and then popping a cap in Yaldabaoth's head as an interpretation of Satan/Lucifer was magical and enthralling. All to save Christmas.

Regarding Akechi: is it ever said which Persona he got first? Unless I'm missing something, I'd like to think he obtained Loki first, then awakened to Robin Hood once he started bonding with the protagonist. I imagine that's probably his first "link" with somebody.

I also liked how they made the confidants give practical benefits besides fusion experience. It really make it feel like they were accomplices.

 

Not just the rage against the heavens aspect, but also the scenario.

That would explain why it still had room for growth, being a recent persona and all.

3 hours ago, Water Mage said:

 

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I imagine Loki. If not mistaken, it is said that it's his Persona that drive people mad, and it seems more fitting for Loki to have that power than Robin Hood. Speaking of Akechi's powers, I wish we saw more breakdowns than one in the subway at the beginning of the game. And there was one thing I didn't get. Did the people that were driven mad also die?

 

 

I believe the people who got mad either killed themselves (like crashing the vehicle they're driven), died like the principal, or got "cleaned" by that yakuza or someone else.

 

 

Edited April 28, 2017 by TheEnd

[Ebony]

On 4/27/2017 at 2:28 PM, DodgeDusk said:

 

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Regarding Akechi: is it ever said which Persona he got first? Unless I'm missing something, I'd like to think he obtained Loki first, then awakened to Robin Hood once he started bonding with the protagonist. I imagine that's probably his first "link" with somebody.

It's never said which Persona he got first. There are points kinda leaning to Loki being either. It fits the "mythological trickster" of the Ultimate Personas, though it could be his Initial Persona since that's how he got the power to make people go berserk.

I'll offer an alt look at it - Robin Hood was his Initial Persona, and Loki is actually the Ultimate Persona he reached upon finalizing his goal. It's not a very... healthy one, and the amount of corruption could fuel into his powers. Alternatively it's symbolic of his "link" with Shido.

[Water Mage]

16 minutes ago, Ebony said:

 

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It's never said which Persona he got first. There are points kinda leaning to Loki being either. It fits the "mythological trickster" of the Ultimate Personas, though it could be his Initial Persona since that's how he got the power to make people go berserk.

I'll offer an alt look at it - Robin Hood was his Initial Persona, and Loki is actually the Ultimate Persona he reached upon finalizing his goal. It's not a very... healthy one, and the amount of corruption could fuel into his powers. Alternatively it's symbolic of his "link" with Shido.

 

 

Shido might have something to do with that and his multiple Personas. I just remember that Shadow Shido saying that it was only after meeting Shido that Akechi started using his powers properly. Considering Shido knew about Wakaba's Cognitive Psicience research, I don't think he was lying. In fact, it was probably only after meeting Shido that Akechi started killing people in the Metaverse.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Water Mage

[Ebony]

15 minutes ago, Water Mage said:

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Shido might have something to do with that and his multiple Personas. I just remember that Shadow Shido saying that it was only after meeting Shido that Akechi started using his powers properly. Considering Shido knew about Wakaba's Cognitive Psicience research, I don't think he was lying. In fact, it was probably only after meeting Shido that Akechi started killing people in the Metaverse.

Well the multiple Persona thing and the Wild Card is due to Yaldabaoth. He gave both the MC and Goro the power of the Wild Card to see what humanity wanted - basically to be ruled over by him or be left alone. He ignored that. Still, Yaldabaoth is the one who gave him the power of the Wild Card. He just couldn't develop it properly, and then Shido happened.

[Water Mage]

37 minutes ago, Ebony said:

 

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Well the multiple Persona thing and the Wild Card is due to Yaldabaoth. He gave both the MC and Goro the power of the Wild Card to see what humanity wanted - basically to be ruled over by him or be left alone. He ignored that. Still, Yaldabaoth is the one who gave him the power of the Wild Card. He just couldn't develop it properly, and then Shido happened.

 

Speaking of Yaldabaoth, I wonder for how long he has taken the Velvet Room. I believe it was for at least the two years Akechi had his powers, considering that Igor and the others would have tried to guide Akechi towards the right way, like they did with Sho in Ultimax. Yaldabaoth probably took over the Velvet Room in other to prevent that. Now that I think about it, Yaldabaoth probably set things up so Akechi would become a murderer or at least take the "wrong" path in life. Yaldabaoth was rigging things from the start after all.

[Azure Sen]

57 minutes ago, Water Mage said:

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Shido might have something to do with that and his multiple Personas. I just remember that Shadow Shido saying that it was only after meeting Shido that Akechi started using his powers properly. Considering Shido knew about Wakaba's Cognitive Psicience research, I don't think he was lying. In fact, it was probably only after meeting Shido that Akechi started killing people in the Metaverse.

Spoiler

It's mentioned that Goro "experimented" with his powers before meeting Shido, which means he had been causing breakdowns since before even getting involved with Shido; this also supports the idea that Loki, which he demonstrates his power with, is his true Persona.

 

4 minutes ago, Water Mage said:

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Speaking of Yaldabaoth, I wonder for how long he has taken the Velvet Room. I believe it was for at least the two years Akechi had his powers, considering that Igor and the others would have tried to guide Akechi towards the right way, like they did with Sho in Ultimax. Yaldabaoth probably took over the Velvet Room in other to prevent that. Now that I think about it, Yaldabaoth probably set things up so Akechi would become a murderer or at least take the "wrong" path in life. Yaldabaoth was rigging things from the start after all.

 

Spoiler

What a convenient way to absolve Akechi from all blame for his own terrible life choices, even though there's little evidence Yaldabaoth did little anything but give Akechi his power and sent him on his way. 

[Water Mage]

31 minutes ago, AzureSen said:

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It's mentioned that Goro "experimented" with his powers before meeting Shido, which means he had been causing breakdowns since before even getting involved with Shido; this also supports the idea that Loki, which he demonstrates his power with, is his true Persona.

 

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What a convenient way to absolve Akechi from all blame for his own terrible life choices, even though there's little evidence Yaldabaoth did little anything but give Akechi his power and sent him on his way. 

"Absolve" Akechi of his crimes? I never said any of that. Akechi became a hitman by his own choice, and it's his fault that lot of people suffered. He is responsible for those deaths. But at the same time, I'm not gonna be so naive to say everything was Akechi's fault. He suffered a lot, and he got those powers when he was a young, naive and scorned youth and the only person who was there to guide him on how to use his powers was Shido. And Yaldabaoth possibly prevented the people from the Velvet Room to guide him into the tight path. It's no suprise he ended as messed up like that. Which is I believe a "redemption" arc could work for Akechi as opposed to Adachi, who actually got a "redemption" arc of sorts. But again, I never said that Akechi should be absolved for his crimes. I never said he wasn't guilty.Quite the opposite in fact. He should be held responsible for actions. I just believe the game could have handled that in better way than him dying. 

[Ebony]

2 hours ago, Water Mage said:

 

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Speaking of Yaldabaoth, I wonder for how long he has taken the Velvet Room. I believe it was for at least the two years Akechi had his powers, considering that Igor and the others would have tried to guide Akechi towards the right way, like they did with Sho in Ultimax. Yaldabaoth probably took over the Velvet Room in other to prevent that. Now that I think about it, Yaldabaoth probably set things up so Akechi would become a murderer or at least take the "wrong" path in life. Yaldabaoth was rigging things from the start after all.

 

I genuinely think that Yaldabaoth didn't corrupt Goro. I believe he basically just gave him the power. Goro could have been steered in a way that was healthy in life, but it was too late. He likely did, however, give him the power knowing the path done life he was going through. I think he was already heading down a dark path and Yaldabaoth didn't do anything to actually influence it. 

 

I do want to say as much as I love Goro, and I plan on writing a small paper of Goro thinking, I don't think he did nothing wrong. I do believe there's something actually wrong with him besides just being a villain, but I think he deserves punishment. I just don't think him being killed and then conveniently forgotten about is fair to him when he was such an important character.

[Water Mage]

11 minutes ago, Ebony said:

 

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I genuinely think that Yaldabaoth didn't corrupt Goro. I believe he basically just gave him the power. Goro could have been steered in a way that was healthy in life, but it was too late. He likely did, however, give him the power knowing the path done life he was going through. I think he was already heading down a dark path and Yaldabaoth didn't do anything to actually influence it. 

 

I do want to say as much as I love Goro, and I plan on writing a small paper of Goro thinking, I don't think he did nothing wrong. I do believe there's something actually wrong with him besides just being a villain, but I think he deserves punishment. I just don't think him being killed and then conveniently forgotten about is fair to him when he was such an important character.

 

That's another thing that bothered me about Akechi. After his final scene, it's almost like he was completely forgotten by the plot. For someone who was a major antagonist and temporary party member, that felt really wrong. And I don't think Yaldabaoth corrupted Akechi or anything like that. What I meant was what Ebony said. He picked someone who was already miserable, angry at the world and going down a dark path, and gave him powers knowing he would misuse them. Maybe he was hoping for the same thing when he gave the protagonist his powers. I mean, when the protagonist got his powers he was in a period of his life where his miserable, and it would be very easy for the protagonist to go down a dark path just like Akechi. But he didn't, and even went beyond Yaldabaoth's expectations. To be honest, I actually find the parallels between Akechi and the protagonist to be really interesting.

[Radiant head]

who did you guys use for endgame?

i used futsunishi and yoshitsune to death in p4 and kinda want to do something else, and a certain persona isn't available in the first playthrough :/

Edited May 1, 2017 by Radiant head

[Konnor97]

I used Yoshitsune (never used him in P4), Alice, and Shiva. Stuff like Vishnu, Kohryu, and Ishtar were made, but they didn't do much fighting.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Got the game the other day. Still halfway through the first dungeon and grinding up experience by auto battling low level enemies that go down in one round of auto attacks. On normal mode, but game seems to be a bit harsh. Already hitting me with the enemies that almighty attack all party members for an instant game over. I played P3 to death, and about half of 4, so I know the first dungeon in this series is typically the hardest since you have fewer means to break the game. Still, I should probably consider restarting on easy now just to take the grind out and enjoy the plot, what do you guys think? 

Love the aesthetic style, definitely tapping into maturer themes than the previous two with these characters. Music is a miss for me. Besides the one minute theme for the opening movie, no track is something I particularly enjoy. Snapping to cover feels like Gears of War 1 era clunkiness. I've hidden when I meant to ambush an enemy. Plus rooms aren't designed at all for sneaking through and ambushing enemies in a backwards direction. The level designers didn't seem to give that any thought. But I'd much rather have these intricate dungeons over the randomly generated kind in previous games.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Gustavos

[DodgeDusk]

4 hours ago, Radiant head said:

who did you guys use for endgame?

i used futsunishi and yoshitsune to death in p4, and kinda want to do something else, and a certain persona isn't available in the first playthrough :/

I pretty much went through the last 20 hours or so using Trumpeter and Orpheus. I also had Raphael by the last stretch, which helped a lot.

 

1 hour ago, Gustavos said:

Snapping to cover feels like Gears of War 1 era clunkiness. I've hidden when I meant to ambush an enemy. Plus rooms aren't designed at all for sneaking through and ambushing enemies in a backwards direction. The level designers didn't seem to give that any thought. But I'd much rather have these intricate dungeons over the randomly generated kind in previous games.

The stealth system is a bit clunky, but you should definitely try and get used to it. You may have also figured this out, but I'll tell you anyway: if you're in cover and you're in an enemy's line of vision, they still won't target you. Abuse this as much as you can. And your complaint regarding ambusing enemies in a backwards direction really only applies to the first Palace, and even then, that's a stretch. There were many instances in future dungeons I had to backtrack, and I never once felt the dungeon design and enemy placements didn't accomodate for that.

[Water Mage]

8 hours ago, Radiant head said:

who did you guys use for endgame?

i used futsunishi and yoshitsune to death in p4, and kinda want to do something else, and a certain persona isn't available in the first playthrough :/

I used Siegfried and Lilith. Physical skills that hits multiple enemies are very useful against the Final Boss. 

[Tryhard]

On 5/1/2017 at 8:43 AM, Gustavos said:

Got the game the other day. Still halfway through the first dungeon and grinding up experience by auto battling low level enemies that go down in one round of auto attacks. On normal mode, but game seems to be a bit harsh. Already hitting me with the enemies that almighty attack all party members for an instant game over. I played P3 to death, and about half of 4, so I know the first dungeon in this series is typically the hardest since you have fewer means to break the game. Still, I should probably consider restarting on easy now just to take the grind out and enjoy the plot, what do you guys think? 

Love the aesthetic style, definitely tapping into maturer themes than the previous two with these characters. Music is a miss for me. Besides the one minute theme for the opening movie, no track is something I particularly enjoy. Snapping to cover feels like Gears of War 1 era clunkiness. I've hidden when I meant to ambush an enemy. Plus rooms aren't designed at all for sneaking through and ambushing enemies in a backwards direction. The level designers didn't seem to give that any thought. But I'd much rather have these intricate dungeons over the randomly generated kind in previous games.

This was my first SMT game and I wasn't having too much trouble on Normal but you're right in that the first dungeon is pretty SP restricting. If you're trying to do it all in one run, just leave it for two days. It is possible to do it in one day, but it's pretty difficult. Who was the almighty attack enemy in the first palace to be honest, I can't remember them. The most annoying enemies are the Berith ones so make sure you get something that can use Bufu.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Tryhard