Persona!

[owlmoose]

We finished Persona 5 last night. When I last posted, we were about halfway through the third palace. It was also around the time that T and I both got fairly obsessed with it, and working on the game became our main pastime almost every evening it was possible. Although I have a few quibbles here and there, overall it's my favorite new game in quite awhile, and now I'm wondering why I waited so long to give this series a try.

Overall I was quite content with the ending and pleased with how the story wrapped up. I had a sense that Morgana's connection to the Metaverse was deeper than anyone realized, but the exact circumstances of his creation were both interesting and unexpected -- especially since his recurring dream made his origins seem darker than they actually were. The bit with the twins/Lavenza did surprise me, though, and the twist with fake!Igor being the true Big Bad was well realized. But much as I liked the ending, nothing about it was quite as amazing and satisfying as the gigantic fake-out and plot twist in the aftermath of the Casino -- the reveal of Akechi's true nature, the plot to fake Joker's assassination, and the perfection with which that was pulled off. This leads to one of my quibbles with the ending: the fact that we never learn Akechi's exact fate in the real world. Given that he just disappears from the story, I feel like the final confrontation with him came too early. I kept waiting for him to reappear in the depths of Mementos, and when he didn't, and we never got closure on his arc otherwise, it was a bit unsatisfying.

The other thing about the ending that bugged me (besides how darn long it is -- seriously, there was at least an hour of cutscenes and conversations with team members that came after the final battle; I certainly wanted some of that, but it felt like a bit much) is this: why did the protagonist have to go home? His decision, or alternatively whatever circumstances are requiring him to leave despite his wishes, is never adequately explained. It seemed like Sojiro would be fine letting him stay, he only has one year of high school to go, he has friends (including a girlfriend -- we chose Makoto as a our romance option) and other important connections in Tokyo, and there is zero indication, ever, that he particularly misses his hometown. Seriously, a whole year goes by, and we never see a single phone call from his parents, or text from a friend back home? I'm not saying it's not a defensible choice, but the game puts in no work to defend it. So the whole extended leave-taking sequence felt unnecessary and unearned.

But in the grand scheme of things, those issues feel comparatively minor. (Less minor is the constant objectification and sexualization of Ann, but that's another post.) I'll overlook a lot for a game with such a strong story and interesting suite of characters. If you like JRPGs and/or social sims, I highly recommend it. And now that it's over, I have to figure out what to do with my life.

Comments

[lassarina]

(quick drive by avoiding the spoiler portion of the post)

figure out what to do with my life

Obviously, New Game Plus and then fall headfirst into the entire rest of the SMT catalogue, like I did back with Persona 3!

[lassarina]

So now that I can read this: the leaving at the end of the year thing is kind of What Happens with Persona games, although there were better reasons for it in Persona 3 and 4. I always had the impression that him being in Tokyo was only to do with probation, though it's never explained why his parents aren't involved, unless that's something where the translation glitched and we're meant to interpret it as his parents being well rid of him, but no longer willing to pay his upkeep with Sojiro? I'm not sure.

I wanted more of an update on Akechi, too :(

I also agree that the end of the casino was in a lot of ways more epic than the actual end; I loved everything about that stage of things. I also really appreciated the bits we got to see of people trying to preserve what Shido had accomplished.

One thread I super appreciated throughout the game was Sae; suspicion into belief into unwitting accomplice into intentional accomplice, and then especially the way she closed things out; she knew there had to be a fall, and she knew MC was most capable of taking it, and she trusted him, and then she didn't betray him. Sae is just. Gosh. WOW.

[owlmoose]

the leaving at the end of the year thing is kind of What Happens with Persona games, although there were better reasons for it in Persona 3 and 4.

I can see that. I just wish they had done a better job of making the decision make sense. I wonder if I am a bit ruined for voiceless protagonists now -- while I appreciate the flexibility to roleplay a character a bit more, I think I'm almost always going to prefer game protagonists with a stronger sense of identity. (And there weren't THAT many meaningful choices you could even make, at least not that I found.)

Totally agree with your love for Sae. Her character grew and changed so much and it was wonderful.

[lassarina]

Agreed regarding the voiceless/choices, although the fandom has done some deeply fascinating things, conceptually, with how the silent protagonist works in Persona games. (Usually deeply fucked up, too.)