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.