Gushing About "Persona 5"

 ‘SUP, NERDS?!

I'm kind of sort of obsessed with Persona 5. What better way to unleash my passion than to blog about it? Just to cover my ass, there are baby spoilers briefly mentioned, but I think you're okay and probably won't notice them.

The design is superb. You can make this your desktop background!

My Love for Persona

For those who don’t know, I absolutely love Megami Tensei games. I discovered Persona 3 when I was just a freshman in high school and bought it at launch solely because I was thirsty for more thematically dark or horror video games. Little did I know Persona 3 would be one of the most influential games I would play during my adolescence.

As a fan of both role-playing and simulation games, Persona 3 instantly gained a spot in My 5 Favorite PlayStation 2 games. Not only do I enjoy P3, but I was satiated by the delicious Persona 4 just a little over a year later, forcing my mother to drive through a snow storm to pick up my preorder.

To add to my Persona fangirl craze, I was thrilled to play the upgraded in addition to the numerous spinoff series… but the P3/P4 fatigue grew. After waiting over 8 years later for another title and exploring the rest of MegaTen, Persona 5 released right in time for my birthday.

Design

Am I allowed to cosplay every Phantom Thief?
. . .
Nah, I'd rather be one.

I can genuinely say that Persona 5 is the best entry in the series, the art design impressing me first. MegaTen games typically have unique character and demon designs, but sometimes the menus and levels appear bland. However, Persona 5 takes its design everywhere—even the loading screen. I admire every bit of dust particle floating in the game world air to Ann’s cute clovers.

When I select my class, I’m rogue in any RPG. I knew going into P5 that the theme was thievery, but my mind was blown by the main characters’ personas themselves. The moment Arsene Lupin was revealed, I felt shivers down my spine. Being familiar with Maurice LeBanc’s character, there couldn’t have been a better thief selected for the main character... except Robin Hood, which is a discussion for another day.

One of my biggest gripes with the previous Persona entries are how awful the characters are. Most of the women of P3 were unpleasant and as the P4 universe grew, I began to dislike everyone since fan service was pushed further than actual character development. To be honest, the cast of P5 didn’t annoy me beyond Morgana telling me to sleep.

Going out on a "date" with Yusuke.

Characters

My favorite characters are Yusuke, Makoto and Akechi. This is going to sound corny, but I spent my entire in-game summer going on “dates” with Yusuke than I did with any girls. Of all the confidants, he felt the most dedicated to the main character, not to mention he's quite poetic. His messages remind me of my sweet, real boyfriend who I saw a lot of in Yusuke. I relate to Makoto through similar struggles and share a similar relationship with my older brother. And Akechi. lol. I don't have a good reason.

The various messages of P5 strongly resonate, especially rebellion. Through my senior year of college, teachers asked for introductions each quarter and I consistently described myself as a “low-key rebel.” I love how this theme grew with confidants as they rebelled against an oppressive, controlling figure.

LATER DWEEBS!

I don't feel the need to go into detail about the gameplay, but battles are exciting for a turn-based game. My first playthrough was set to hard and a few boss battles made me sweat!

Did you like Persona 5? Are you a fan of MegaTen? Which are your favorite titles?! I dig the Devil Survivor games on DS and 3DS. It's basically Fire Emblem--but better.

Loverly Liz