#persona 5 fans should play this game

[otaku-babu-vibes]

I wish Persona 5 fans would play a game called Blue Reflection Second Tie (you dont need to play the first game, tho I do still recommend it.. its only a 30 hour game) All of the girls are freaking adorable, love their interactions with each other.. Like, all of the writing ppl wish was in Persona, is In Blue Reflection. ALL of the girls are cute, I love them all so much Q u Q (Uta is best girl tho). It is a shoujo ai, so all the girls are shippable and there is a canon lesbian couple... There is a LOT of gay in the game and I love every moment of it

there is no straight way to explain this o//w//o ...

The game is about a girl named Ao Hoshizaki getting isekai'd to lesbian island where she helps her friends regain their memories and to figure out where they are and why they're there(all while fighting demons). She's the only one that has all of her memories intact, tho she doesnt mind being on this island... Theres moments where you can "go on dates" with the girls around the island and after getting closer to them, you can hold hands >//u//<

I would honestly rate this game a 10/10, its freaking amazing, the characters are topnotch (ngl, the story itself is kinda generic but its the characters and the interactions that makes it amazing) The only bad thing is, the only way to get the true ending is to replay the entire game again (it is long, but its completely worth it... I still havent gotten the true ending yet, but I still plan on finishing it eventually)..

I heard about this game after I completed Persona 5 and I loved the original art style from Blue Reflection (its soooo freaking pretty). I wish they used the same style in second tie but oh well... I'm always gushing about this game b/c its soooo freaking good!!!!

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Just remembered a convo I had w/one of my coworkers a few months ago and it hit me like a fucking train yet again TT0TT

Me: You play Persona? Him: Yeah Me: Which ones? Him: Just 5. Me: Ok. Him: I didn't like it. Me: ???? Ok? Why's that? Him: It was just weird, I didn't like the gameplay. I also felt like the chars weren't that flashed out. Me: Ah I see. What about it didn't you like? Him: It was too same-y and grindy. Too repetitive. 4 looks interesting tho. Me: P4 is good, but you'll have to deal with the same grindy turn base. Him: Turn base? Me: ???? Yeah....you know.....P5's gameplay. Him: The one I played was more hack n slash. Me, paling: ..............................................................excuse? Him: Yeah you ran around hitting things! Me:.....y-...you....y-y-you mean.....P5.....Strikers?! Him: Yup that's the one! Me, clutching my heart: YOU STARTED WITH STRIKERS?????!!! Him: Yeah. Me, trying not to have a seizure: lkajsf'F'sdjkfjfaakjfkljfakljafkljdakfljklKJLSDJKFL Him: What's wrong? Me: I can't defend P5 in terms of char depth nor can I for Strikers, but to be fair to Strikers in this case....STRIKERS IS A SEQUEL! TT0TT You need to play P5 first holy shit Him: Oh...... Him: ....... Him: Oh! I did experience the original tho! Me, inhaling a sigh of relief: Oh thank god. So you played P5 or P5R? Him: Huh? No, I watched the anime. Me, seizing: kldsjfalkjafljafljf TT0TT Me: Nooooooo that's the worst adaptation too!!!! TT0TT Him: Hmmm maybe that's why I never finished it.... Me: Never fini-STOP I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYMORE YOU KEEP MAKING IT WORSE! TT0TT Him: So I'm guessing I should play the game- Me: YES YOU HAVE TO PLAY THE GAME TT0TT "Chars weren't fleshed out." P5 didn't have a fighting chance with you! TT0TT What, did you also just start Kingdom Hearts with KH3???? Him: *inhales* Me: DON'T ANSWER THAT YOU'VE LOST SPEAKING PRIVILEGES FOR THE DAY! TT0TT Him: *laughs*

[cochart]

Some SMT5 Characters in P5T style because it’s cute

I’ve been enjoying P5T during my little self-assigned winter break. I haven’t cleared the game yet, but it’s been a nice distraction.

Below is some of my thoughts on P5T if you’re interested or if you’re trying to decide whether or not to buy.

Overall, the game has been pretty enjoyable. It’s nice to see the characters you’re familiar with again and the story is decent. The art style is cute and the battles are enjoyable. The game is definitely more on the casual side and might be a tad bit disappointing for people who want a proper SRPG. On the flip side, even if you hate SRPG, you’d be able to pick this game up easily. I’d definitely recommend the game for P5 fans.

On the other hand, compared to P5S, the game does feel a little short for the price. I don’t regret preordering the game at all, but if your finances aren’t doing so well at the moment, I’d say wait till it goes on a sale.

1. As a Persona 5 spinoff

As a spinoff, I think it’s a pretty nice game. It’s nice to see the characters you love again in a different context, and the new characters are fun and likable. I’m actually quite impressed by the new characters as it can sometimes be difficult to insert new characters into a well-established franchise without making them overpowered or otherwise upsetting to the existing fans. Both Toshiro and Elle are likable, fun characters with decent stories of their own.

It’s also nice to see your favorite Phantom Thieves again. Overall, the tone of the game is more playful, so you can’t expect an in-depth character exploration you get in P5R, but it still feels like a treat.

2. As an SRPG

I think the game translated the elements of Persona franchise well into an SRPG genre. With 1 MORE and Tribangle system, you really do feel like you’re playing a Persona game. While it might be a tad bit disappointing that you can only use three characters per battle, trying to find the most efficient way to exterminate the enemies with Tribangle is pretty fun.

That said, for people coming from a more traditional SRPG like Final Fantasy Tactics or the Fire Emblem series, P5T can be a little lacking. Part of the fun in an SRPG is customizing units and building your army. In P5T, you level up the Phantom Thieves as a whole instead of individually. I think this was necessary to prevent users having to grind to level up different units, but it also makes it harder for you as a player to customize each unit meaningfully. In FE3H, for example, you can decide whether you want Felix to be a sword master or a wyvern lord. You can also decide whether you’d want your army to be sturdier with a lot of armored units or whether you’d take your chances by raising your units’ agility and hoping that they’d dodge enemy attacks. That you can’t do such customization can be a huge disappointment for people who enjoy SRPG.

On the other hand, adopting such traditional job/class system might have turned P5T into a poor man’s FE. I feel like the developers had to choose between a traditional approach at the risk of making the game look like a FE ripoff and trying to make use of Persona-typical systems at the expense of being a solid SRPG.

Overall, the game plays more like a fun puzzle game than an SRPG. If I were to compare P5T to any game, I’d actually compare it to some of the puzzle maps in FEH. My advice is if you’re looking for a solid SRPG like Fire Emblem, you should pick up a Fire Emblem game.

3. Others

While the game doesn’t feel unfinished—like Crimson Flower route in FE3H in which you feel cheated out of Edel’s story—it does feel a little short. I haven’t gotten to the final boss, but I can look at the level and guess where I am. I’ve been playing this game in bits and pieces, but I’m already 60% finished with the game. I think at this rate, I’d finish at about 35~40ish hours. Keep in mind that when I play games, I eat and drink, so it takes a little longer than it would if I were to focus completely on the game.

One thing that shortens the game is that there isn’t anything to do aside from battling. I know some people hate it when games involve little side activity like walking around and talking to characters—though you can technically talk to characters in P5T when there’s a Talk event—or farming, but I do wish there was something to do. The quests are fun, but there aren’t that many of them.

On the other hand, because you don’t have anything to work for besides getting on with the story, I’m not sure if the developers could have made the game longer without making the battles feel too repetitive. If there were job/class systems or any unit customization available, there would be something to work for, but there isn’t.

I do think there is more potential to the premise of the game though. The Kingdoms of P5T is sort of set up like Silent Hill in that the bosses are incarnations of one’s fear. I think the developers could definitely have expanded on that.

I’ve also seen some complaints that the game is too easy. The game is definitely easier than some SRPG I played. But then, I don’t think this game was made with hardcore SRPG players in mind. Also, despite the game being a bit more casual, I didn’t feel bored playing the battles. So I think the difficulty level might actually be more suitable for the general public. Aside from something like Dark Souls, games of all genres have been getting easier over the years. I know it might be disappointing to people who want more challenging games, but I don’t see the trend reversing soon. I think the best course of action if you want more challenge is to try looking into some indie games.

[theotherseapancakes]

Psssst. You mentioned no one cares about Philemon, but now I'm curious if you have any thoughts about his role in the games after he disappeared. And for sillies sake, does he have anything to do with the Dance games?

I have been waiting my entire life for this. Anon do you realize how verbose I'm going to get. DO YOU REALIZE? I hope you like read mores. Let me preface this with I am aware and have seen some popular theories, so I'm going to sidestep a lot of them and present one I've built since... well, I became a Persona fan as a teenager. MAJOR PERSONA SERIES SPOILERS LIKE THE ENTIRE THING OK? OK. yes even royal.

The P2 PSP additional scenario is so incredibly important and I think everyone missed the point of it. THE PERSONA 2 PSP ADDITIONAL TATSUYA SCENARIO!!!! It's beyond important, because it reveals to us Philemon can have more than one Avatar we know about, just like Nyarly. (Casual reminder he's like half the shopkeeps in P2. Time Count, anyone? Why was the Time Count so hot. Anyway.) Disclaimer: I'm just a casual fan who has played a LOT of Persona and SMT. I haven't gotten around to all of them, but I've played/finished both paths of 1, 2, 3 (and p3p) as well as 4 and 5. Didn't manage to get my hands on Golden but I've seen enough of it. (It's funny you ask about the dance games, they're the only ones I don't have right now! But my roommate does, and will be gone for a few months soon, perhaps I will take the time to start with p4DAN. I'm atrocious at rhythm games though so more than likely I'll find a video. Anyway.) WHAT is Philemon? If we can't define that, we can't talk about The Positivity Guy Ever.

So let's talk about Phil. He's a fascinating character. His Persona is just a form of Himself, But Cooler. And he seems to HAVE no set shape, not unlike Nyarlathotep. People have various theories about Shadows and their origins etc., but Phil is more like that vote of confidence in people. I think, personally, that after the end of Innocent Sin, Phil's been pretty weak. We see in Eternal Punishment he's fading pretty roughly, and has a hard time talking to the party. Presumably ending Nyarly might to some degree fix things when Deja-vu Boy goes home, but... the problem is, we don't know how fixed they truly ended up being, or the full depth of how much he could/did expend!

In fact, the first time we even see Phil without the dumb mask is when Tatsuya decks him. Pay close attention to that fact. To the mask motifs here. I want you to really soak in Phil's everything. He's a leader. A kind soul. He's the good of people. He wants to believe the best.

Anyway, most of these things overlook what I find really interesting as we've gotten more games worth of lore: he and Nyarly aren't the only eldritch entities walking around like that. Yes, Nyx is one too. Yes, it's probable she may even be their 'mom'. It's possible they all came from Nyx initially, but it's also possible (and should be considered) they too may have been outsiders at one point. We need to ask ourselves how far the human collective unsconsciousness can go. Is that sea infinite? Could it affect other worlds? Think about Aion in Devil Summoner Soul Hackers 2. Yes, I am asking you to think about Soul Hackers 2. Deal with it, I don't care. They're sister series. They share many things. SO! Did the shape of the human mind change a bunch of eldritch creatures and make them interact with us even more after Nyx smacked the moon a gazillion years ago? Is there multiple worlds? Weird bullshit? Just the two? Hmm. Well... I, personally, think so. I think he was touched by humanity just like Nyarlathotep, but in the other way. The reason I bring this up is two-fold. The first is Nodens. Now, we don't know much about the actual Nodens, unfortunately, just some speculation. Which is a shame. (If anyone has more info I'd love to have it, ngl. As a pagan this shit fascinates me.) But what we do get on him in Lovecraftian lore can provide us some intriguing possibilities about Phil's everything, which the games love to keep really rather vague. (And this is putting aside that his human Persona is based off the obviously bogus Jungian Spirit Guide, but we love an old guy in a mask anyway. He probably felt that was more 'friendly' for humans, hah.) I believe that Nodens, and Phil by extension, are just as responsible for nurturing and keeping the collective unconsciousness alive and positive. We see the butterfly symbol everywhere. We see it with Lavenza, too. "This is truly an unjust game." So was the bet Phil made with Nyarly, a game he rigged. Phil made the mistake of thinking the Crawling Chaos wouldn't cheat, a mistake he is never making again, I assume, if he can help it. Shit, you could view his boss fight in P2EP as him trying to train the EP crew to beat the snot out of Nyarly, even. But off topic. If Nyarly is basically the father of all Shadows, and they and Personas are the same coin, it makes me wonder a lot of things. The two have always been portrayed as simultaneously diametrically opposed, but also not? They have identical halls in P2. They have similar powers and talents... I think after Persona 3, Phil's remnants sank into the Collective Unconsciousness, to attempt to rehabilitate humanity from what it lost, from what he himself lost. I think Igor took over the room, because he took a backseat to recover. It would go a long, long way towards explaining why only SOME characters have the tier of the Wild Card, which is similar to the 'original' Persona power. (Having multiple.) He was took weak to remain in his Spirit Guide (Philemon) form, and had to abandon it to return to the depths as Nodens... So. Let me go back to Nodens and make some notes about design.

Nodens, as seen here, sort of resembles an iron maiden. It really brings to mind the idea of maybe Tatsuya or someone's humanoid form sleeping within it, doesn't it? Fitting for an aspect of Philemon! ... You probably can see where I'm going with this, but let me pull up some screens to finish the point:

That's right! It's Azathoth, Baby! I believe that unlike mythology, he's yet another aspect of Philemon. Eldritch positivity, in too much force, could be used for accidental bad, too. (Reasons Maruki is my favorite Law Hero, haha.) Let me explain. I think Philemon always existed in... let's call it parts. Azathoth is said to be a dreaming god in whom's universe we all just happen to be alive inside, right? "Dream of butterfly" (Philemon) "Or is life a dream? Don't wanna wake up. Cuz I'm happy here." That sure is thematic to what Maki goes through in Persona 1, and what Maruki's beloved suffers, isn't it? ISN'T IT. The "true reality" he creates... would help Maruki create in the additional Semester--would be something most humans would never pass the muster to even try to control. But we have seen Phil test a few people and find them worth passing before! However, that seems like ages ago. Why has he been so quiet? I think because he was spending time conserving his energy. He believed in humanity enough to give Makoto a push when it was needed in p3 (or femc, if you play her), but otherwise trusted Igor while he restored what needed it. But in Persona 5 Royal, he hand-picked Maruki, didn't he? At first, when I played Persona 5 Royal, I really thought it was some part of Nyarly, but I no longer believe this to be the case. The coloration and symbolism in the background (the golds, the whole garden of eden themes, the way his Palace was laid out), the whole sea of soul motifs in P3Re later... mmm. I have a lot of thoughts about this, but this post is already way too long for one simple ask. So let's wrap up by going one step further and looking finally at Nodens' dialogue to the party in the Extra Scenario in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PSP). The following is a transcript, you can find a video here:

Nodens: This is the memory of the lost child whom you all seek. Nodens: Memory occasionally brings about much distress and suffering, but it is absolutely vital to distinguish oneself from others and manufacture one's own psyche. Nodens: Ever since it began, life's memory has accumulated unbroken, passing through individual experiences and spanning several generations. Nodens: And so it has given shape to Kadath and the Collective Unconsciousness, thereby becoming a foundation for the next generation. Nodens: Even if the roots of the world are directed by fear and anxiety, never forget that the true essence of life is brimming with joy. Nodens: You must not stop seeking the answer for why life was born in a cosmos progressing towards absurdity and chaos. Nodens: Life brims with joy, bringing about balance in a universe predestined to heat death, and that allows the world to live a long time.

So to answer your question, I think he's taken a much subtler role. I think he's influencing people by pretending to be a Persona for Maruki, because he believes it will help them grow. I don't think he was intending a forever-control vice grip, but rather to prove a point. No matter what, the primordial chaos of humanity will rise up for chaotic good, lawful good, whatever "good" is needed. Azathoth is... interesting. Adam Kadmon is also interesting. But mostly I HIGHLY suspect we may see him again in Persona 6, or at least I'm hoping so. It's my personal pet theory by then he'll be less faded and come back to us in a new form of some kind. He's never had a set one, after all. Now for funsies about the dancing game, well, he's a positive guy, he wanted to just make sure everyone had their fitness regimen checked off. Obviously. (This is a joke.) Did the devs intend this? I'm honestly not sure? Like there's a lot of nods to older Personas in 5 and now 3RE especially, but it's definitely worth chewing on. I could go on and on about things I think he's connected to, but ultimately they have the final say lol. I'm just a crackpot conspiracy theorist on tumblr who really likes Philemon. He and the Room are my favorites. :) Ask me about attendants for additional dumb, sometime, I guess lol.

[quinn-fucks-shit-up]

so I decided (like a foolish fool) to take a little break from Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice to play a some Persona 5 Royal (a great game in every way)

but I was taken quite aback halfway through as there was a bit of dialogue while doing (spoiler) Sae Nijima(a prosecutor i would love to argue with)s palace that claims in Japan 99.9% of all trails end with a guilty conviction (100% true btw, look it up)

now this is just my opinion, but I feel that info should be more known to AA fans because that explains SO MUCH

[just-antithings]

Antis needs to get out of the persona Fanbase and stop playing the game because it's clear they either aren't actually a part of the fandom and never touched anything about the Games or they are truly showing their hypocrisy. I'll even list it

Persona 3 Reload

The start of kenji's social link is about how he wants to romance a teacher in his school.

Some students (+ chairman) spies on the protagonist while he sleeps.

Persona 3 portable

if you picked the female character you can date Ken Amada, He's a romancable character even though he's supposedly around roughly 11 (at the oldest) according to online posts.

In Persona 4 golden

In Antis eyes kanji & Rise should be considered sexualised in the game!

And before any antis claim Rise had some meaning besides sexualising she's in a strip club, didn't need to be in a strip club and could have been in like a TV or stage set or something to showcase corruption of Fame while under 18 instead of like her being a pole dancer in a strip club lol. It was cool tho

Oh also you can date the Loli character if you join a club, I think the music club specifically.

Persona 5

Just look at the romance-able character.

1. Futaba Sakura, The 'sister' vibe character who depends on you at the start a lot.

2. chihaya Mifune who's an adult

3. Sadayo Kawakami is Teacher and maid, (double power dynamics)

4. Tae Takemi, the shady doctor

5. Ichiko Ohya, Journalist who takes you to a bar and gets drunk a lot.

Sorry for the rant, I'm just sick of antis having issues with Persona fanworks while this is the game they claim to be fans of!

[randoimago]

Hello I saw you were writing for persona 5 so i was just wondering if I could ask for some headcanons on how yusuke ryuji ann and haru from persona 5 would be like with a badass punk rock s/o who is also a phantom thief I just like to imagine the reader is extremely easy going and free spirited as a person and also a complete badass I can imagine them using their guitar as a weapon in battle as well like how serval does in honkai star rail

With a Punk S/O

Fandom: Persona 5

Character(s): Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Haru Okumura, Yusuke Kitagawa

Type of Request: Headcanons

Note(s): Haven't played HSR (I've spent enough money on Genshin, I'm not doing that to myself xD), but there's a video game called Fable 2 where you can get a lute (it's set in fantasy) and it makes fun instrumental noises when you hit enemies so I like that idea a lot.

Ann

She knows of the punk rock style a bit due to her modeling and her looking into different styles and clothing and just being rather interested in the subject.

I can see her being a huge fan of punks. It reminds her of the villains she admired in cartoons, but moreso since punks have such a stigma to them when she can see how much good you're actually doing.

Definitely cheering you on as you hit shadows with your guitar. Every pang from the strings causes her to get extra excited.

Haru

Haru has so much pent up rage in her body that I can 100% see her thriving with the punk scene and just letting it all out due to how injustice all the systems that are supposed to help people are.

That said, she probably wouldn't really be super aggro or outspoken when she's at school or a more public area just because of her own image since she owns a company now. But you still get her full support.

Like Ann, she's cheering you up as you smash shadows with your guitar. Feels a bit bad because she really hopes that your guitar doesn't get hurt. But if you let her, she wouldn't mind giving it a few swings too.

Ryuji

I feel like Ryuji would thrive with a punk S/O. He's very much sick of corrupt adults and is glad to have someone else that gets in trouble due to their uniform being altered and hair not looking how it should.

Can't help but feel a bit of pride when he hears the "delinquent" comments now because usually you're paired up with him in those comments. It just feels like a weird "matching couple" thing and he likes the fact that others know that you're together.

Thinks it's so freaking hot that you hit things with a guitar in Mementos and palaces. He does worry a bit because guitars can be pricey and he doesn't want you to break it

Yusuke

Yusuke definitely is taken aback by how blunt you are when it comes to speaking out against corrupt figures as well as being ready to fight if things come to that. He's not against it, but it does surprise him a bit to see that.

Might have to hold you back a bit just because he doesn't want to see you constantly being suspended during school. In the palaces, he doesn't mind if you go ham, but school is already annoying enough, he can't have you getting in trouble and leaving him to deal with everything alone.

Absolutely stares as you smash a shadow with your guitar. It's such a great scene and he immediately has inspiration to draw. Yusuke can't help a comment about hoping to find a safe room soon so he can begin sketching.

Taglists: @reo-the-leo

[mobblespsycho100]

👍psychoanalyze ur kabru playlist now boy

yes I shall #1 boykisser... 🫡

ask game thing

anyway formatting the last post was kinda hell for me. which is why I'll do the same exact formatting for this one...

(rambling all over the place is commencing)

1. Valley of The Dolls by MARINA

baby. where do i freaking begin.

"In the valley of the dolls, we sleep" -> his adoptive mother, Milsiril, is a big fan of collecting dolls. Like, plushies of everything. She animates them to fight, but they're also there to soothe her. She also adopts a lot of children from short-lived races who don't have a family and she got allegations that she treats them all like her dolls lmao... I mean she kind of does in the sense that they're all precious to her. She does respect their autonomy but uhhh still living with such a doting and overbearing/overprotective mother makes u wanna break outta the dollhouse the cage . be free . hashtag transgenderism also gosh im getting off topic . anyway i bet Kabru slept with a lotta those dolls. in his comfy bed . that he left behind because hes not abt that life mama he wanna see the world and save it and get killed in dungeons. boy.

"Got a hole inside of me / Living with identities / That do not belong to me" -> Grouping these lyrics together because it makes sense for my twisted narrative i mean my very real and based takes. Anyway, he's got a hole inside of him the void in his heart (in his mind) and thats why. his autism and ptsd masking swag. thats as eloquent as i can put it. theres a lot more i can say though

"In my life, I got this far" -> He survived the tragedy of Utaya his hometown . the bloodbath because of the dungeon. It has to be for a purpose ™ . It's because he has to save the world from suffering the same fate and it's his burden to bear it's his purpose it was why he survived (the survivor's guilt... goodness man. trauma processing of all time. :[ )

"Now I'm ready for the last hoorah" -> boy . letting these panels speak for itself. putting it under the cut because spoilers for the peeps seeing this maintagged and they're not caught up with manga .

yeah boy hes falling. fallen. uhm. in the pit. Ready for the last hoorah in this case like. yeah 🤣 just leaving it up to laios (Liar . kabru and mithrun dungeon adventure speedrun)

"Dying like a shooting star" -> guy keeps dying. not even like a shooting star really. well. ig hes going out in style somewhat id getting crushed by Falin's chimera dragon claw counts as shooting star style

2. Lip Sinking by The Hoosiers

We all know Sash does not play about The Hoosiers which is why I have 26 damn The Hoosiers songs on there I should get awarded tbh .

Now Lip Sinking is really good because it's another one of those scammer / masking guy anthems i keep talking about. These lyrics in Verse 5 in particular is really easy to match to Kabru's character moment™ though, so let's break it down.

"I float above my body" -> Common depersonalization experience. For trauma reasons, Kabru probably feels like this a lot sometimes but specifically in this scene...

(apologies for no alt text peeps . but this is the friendship confession scene for those in the know if it hasnt loaded in yet)

anyway, back to the show (psychoanalyzing Kabru) . I think this disconnect with his words VS his thoughts and his heart is so real. Like. seeing urself out of ur body is again a depersonalization thing, and idk if hes feeling depersonalization in this moment specifically but he was really out of it and in a sort of , scrambled and intensely anxious state. His usually calm and cool persona slash facade is Crumbling and man he hates that .

"Must be out of my mind / Cos I watch myself / Getting it wrong everytime" -> He's like. man what the hell am I saying

letting the page speak for itself again because It's like. its there i mean its in tha text what am I supposed to dissect hes dissecting himself already 🤭😭 okay. 'What am I saying' 'I can't find the words' so true man idk what the hell im saying either rn

"I can't tell you how I'm really feeling" -> because he doesn't know his own emotions. He thinks he does, he has been so good at controlling them and like being fake about what he's truly feeling in his heart, adjusting his personality for others' sake. So they trust him, believe in him, listen to him. But for Laios, how does he even say anything? Before this, the words just spilling out, he didn't even know how he felt about Laios. It sounds ridiculous even to himself and that's why he clamps his mouth afterwards but indeed it Is what he was truly feeling all along... (and then Laios thinks he's lying and hes like "NO BITCH!!!? what?!!!?! im being vulnerable and honest rn?!?" )

"Cuz I'm just lip-syncing" -> for so long that's what he's been doing. lip syncing, saying things he doesn't really mean to influence others' perception of him... but this time his mouth moved faster than his mind racing with thoughts. that he's able to convey what he truly wanted all along and finally admit to himself and his own consciousness. like. aaaahgh. man hes so special to meeee....

bonus: the outro's lyrics is rlly good aha. he can finally say what he actually feels... he can be #real.

3. Allies or Enemies by The Crane Wives

This one is . a lot of vibes I think.

"Are we allies or enemies? / This will be the death of me / This will be the death of me" -> He legit says this to Laios . like hes still wondering if they're allies or enemies . Technically he doesn't want them to be enemies. he's cautious but he knows Laios isn't really a bad guy but like, his mind just keeps fixating on Laios and the steps he takes to get the dungeon under control so. hes desperately trying to figure it out because goodness this guy is so. waugh

"All is fair in love and war, but I can't fight with you anymore / This will be the death of me" -> his mental conflict is sooo tasty to me. like . all is fair in love and war !!! any method is justifiable !!! means justifies the ends but also he understands that in the end he can't fully wrap his head around Laios' love of monsters but he knows that Laios will be the one to conquer the dungeon because he also loves his family. He can't fight with him anymore and he can't "kill" him anymore because somehow this man has wormed his way in. well, he never wanted him dead in the first place but I find that he often thinks about killing him to save humanity from his... well. freakishness (complimentary) (concerning sometimes) ;;; but in the end Kabru lets him go and is willing to trust and support Laios till the end ... also once again the repetitiveness of "this will be the death of me" because he's stressed as helll!!!!

"What happens now, do we have another go?" -> I think this is post-Marcille being talked down out of being dungeon lord . Kabru's probably like ok so now what. well. Laios goes its my turn with the dungeon lording 😭😭 (and shit goes down) (but its okay he got it covered)

"Do we bow out and take our seperate roads?" -> Now this is probably when they're (the whole gang) is like "WHERE'S LAIOS DID HE DIE?" no he lives guys its fine. and namari toshiro and kabru run at him in relief. wauh. and also ofc the whole people coming together to eat faligon meat and save Falin ... yippeee... so yeah they don't go seperate roads because Kabru is like yeah imma be Laios' pr manager . #royaladvisor . sticking with him fr fr

"I'll admit I had my doubts / But I want to be let in, not out / But I want to be let in, not out" -> again the repetition ... of him wanting to help. I've mostly been talking abt how this entire song is Kabru's conflicted thoughts @ Laios but this can also be Kabru lending a helping hand to Mithrun at the end of everything. Because he's the one to like help Mithrun realize that there is a purpose to living and like . new desires and ppl who care abt him... but also yeah Kabru "i want to be let in, not out" because he wants to help out Laios with running the new kingdom instead of being in the background again and being ignored ahhaa he wants to be friends for real (and maybe even . lovers. lets go gay people)

ANYWAYYY YEAH THATS THE END WOOOOO idk how to close this out. happy belated birthday kabru and ty juno for sending this in ajshjdhsb :33 ♡

[tanimuradefender]

I'm coming out of my Yakuza burnout to say that yeah, based on Majima's popularity a Majima game was bound to happen at some point. He has been on the top of the popularity polls multiple times and the reason why he was such a major player in Yakuza 0. But I'm somewhat hesitant about the fans who haven't played through Yakuza 5 and don't know what information is revealed about Majima. But I guess it's my time to actually talk about my thoughts regarding Majima and how he's involved with the plots in game and Park aspect.

Spoilers below for Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 5 mostly but references from Yakuza 1-4, vague and not in detail.

these content warnings are ALSO spoilers so CW: abortion, underage marriage, domestic abuse and character death

Yakuza 0 was of course my first introduction to Majima and the series as a whole. I don't really need to explain how fantastic his story in that game is, and how he stole the spotlight from Kiryu in numerous ways. However, something that bugs me is that there is absolutely no reference to Park or being in a previous relationship when it would've been fairly recent. Majima only remarks on how he would enjoy someone calling him "daddy" during a substory (in a non sexual context, it was from a child). it always felt somewhat odd to me that there wasn't a single reference to it. In hindsight we can assume he didn't pursue Makimura because of how poorly his previous relationship was but that somewhat ignores what actually happens to them in the game. it would be a grave simplifying of Majima's character arc.

From Yakuza 1 to Yakuza 2 (ignoring the Majima saga and Majima everywhere), Majima is lightly used throughout the story of these games and is mostly used to play off Kiryu which does make the scenes he's involved in enjoyable, but I don't understand how small his involvement is got him so unbelievably popular. His appearance is even more hollow in Yakuza 3.

I also personally don't believe that the transition into his Mad Dog person made all that much sense in Yakuza 0 but that's something else I could go on a tangent about. regardless we got plenty of references to Saejima throughout Yakuza 0 and it shows how important his brother was, what about the woman he was previously married to?

edit: someone let me know I got the timeline wrong, so it would actually make sense there's no reference to Park here. adding it here so the main post is intact but this criticism is inaccurate. that is my fault.

In Yakuza 4 we actually see the writing that makes me enjoy Majima. In Kiryu's absence he drops his Mad Dog persona and acts aimless and doesn't seem to really seem to enjoy what he's doing. his dynamic with Saejima is also revealed in this game and it's probably my favorite part of Majima - it just has to involve a character I prefer significantly more. something something rubber bullets. but overall his appearance is to help Saejima's scenes and his character arc.

So, finally Yakuza 5. the main plot drive here is Majima's believed death. but there's also something I've left out about Park and Majima's relationship. revealed by Park in Haruka's part, she explains how she was an idol married to a man who beat her after she had an abortion. so, about this:

Majima, at his youngest, would've been around in his 20s when he married Park, who would've been under the age of 18.

Majima beat an underage woman who he impregnated after she received an abortion to keep being an idol.

if your instant response to this is "Park could've been lying" or somehow blaming Park, she didn't have a reason to lie to Haruka. there is no single benefit to lying to Haruka, the whole scene where she tells her is framed as an quiet moment between a mother figure and her daughter. also she was in a relationship with an adult man that should be able to control his anger enough not to physically assault his wife.

ultimately, both Park and Majima did not do the best thing they could have in this situation. however, it reveals two character traits for Park and Majima: that Park is willing to sacrifice anything for her own career or the career of others, and that Majima has the potential to be physically abusive.

btw Park dies after she reveals this information.

Yakuza 0 was released after Yakuza 5. So even with this detail revealed amongst the public, Majima still maintained being a popular character.

I'm not here to say that we should completely ignore this information involving Majima or that it should suddenly make you hate a character you love. canonically this event happened multiple decades ago, but something that makes me nervous is that idea that this information will be erased or retconned or changed if we get a Kiwami 5. RGG knows of Majima's popularity, why else is he getting his own stand alone video game? this information was already omitted from Yakuza 0 and is only within Yakuza 5, it would be as simple as removing that line from Park or even changing Majima into a whole other character.

I'm not "Anti-Majima" or a Majima hater or hate Majima fans, I just want people to be aware of this and the possibility of it being retconned or edited.

At the end of the day, I do care about this series but this is just really connected to a greater issue I have with the series in that it's the really strange and creepy age gaps between characters. This is just one of many.

regardless, play Yakuza 4.

[xmascritter]

Ive seen people be like "how on earth can they follow up botw and totk with another zelda game?" Which is fair, but those people seem to forget there are two sides to zelda. The very serious side, and the silly side. And Im not just talking about moments, Im talking about whole games. Botw and totk both leaned pretty heavily into the serious side, even though the link is probably one of our silliest yet.

So the only logical conclusion is that the next couple games should be the exact opposite.

Im talking like, triforce heroes and spirit tracks levels of chicanery. I need these next couple games to have game specific mechanics and themes so ridiculous that the game reviewing sites will pre-emptively call it stupid before its even out.

I need the world to be so silly and wacky that link almost feels like the straightman to a joke, but the whole thing is played so sincerely that it cant help but make you smile.

I need the villain to not be ganondorf; its either vaati, or the villain needs to be one of those one of single game villains made only for this specific setting of zelda, that fans will love and beg for more of and then never see again.

I need the technology to be weird and look oddly advanced with no explanation despite the fact every single character looks like they just came from the local ren faire.

I need the style to be toon link. We havent seen the lad outside of smash bros in nearly a decade. And not only do I need it to be toon link, I need the entire game to be stylized in a way that throws all the older zelda fans completely off like windwaker did. I want this to be the persona 5 of zelda games, so visually distinct it changes how all other toon link zeldas are shown in media by extension.

I need link to have a companion again, and they have to be the most annoying little shit. Im talking navi levels of annoying. But then the game makes you attached to them and sucker punches you at the end when you eventually have to part ways.

And I want another alternate world that I personally will be begging for more lore about, only to never see it again in the zelda franchise.

The only way to truly follow up a game that takes such dedication and respect to the previous iterations of the franchise while subverting many of the tropes you'd find in the games is to make a game so pack full of the tropes but so earnest about it you can't help but enjoy yourself. And the only way to really do that is to lean hard into silly Zelda.

[snapscube]

Hello, Penny! Question for ya. You've said that Dragon Quest 11 helped you really get into that genre of RPGs, but i am curious. Who or what made you decide to try it out in the first place? I wasn't super interested in that kind of gameplay myself until i saw you playing DQ8, and i was able to relate to what you liked about it. It's kind of neat how one game can open the door to a whole bunch of others for you. :)

Honestly I have another JRPG, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, to thank haha! I had been streaming Y7 and got just like... so into it. But I was running out of side content to do off-stream and was really itching for the general gameplay loop. Since the main character of Y7, Ichiban, is a huge Dragon Quest fan in canon and it was an inspiration for the style of game Y7 would become I decided I should give DQ a shot. I had actually years prior rented a copy of DQ11 but then subsequently turned it off and returned it in like, the opening screen of the game. I couldn't tell you why lmao, I just wasn't feeling it. But this time I was properly primed for the gameplay loop and really down for something of that pace, and I figured DQ11 would be a very similar game to Y7. It ended up.... not really being a similar game to Y7 aside from the basics of being a turn-based RPG. But that actually was perfect because it scratched a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT itch I didn't even know I had, while also giving me something to play in between Y7 streams.

Once I finished both Y7 and DQ11 back to back I was like ohhhhh okay this genre fucks. Then I played Persona 4 Golden and while I had my issues with it, a majority of the experience REALLY clicked with me (and also made me fall back in love with my Steam Deck). Then I played a chunk of Trails of Cold Steel and had a great time with that, though I didn't finish it. Then down the road I finally finished Persona 5 Royal after years of failed attempts to play past the 2nd dungeon. And that was the moment where I was like Ohhhhhh okay this actually might be one of my favorite game genres ever.

[pupmon1]

*thinks too much about Digimon and ISAT*

What if I gave Siffrin a BlackGatomon that digivolves into Cyberdramon during act 5. Everyone mistakes it for just an off-color Gatomon, and Siffrin likes it that way. It used to be an impmon, but no one needs to know that...

Loop's Hackmon used to be a normal Gatomon but, alas, when Loop hopped realities it's data got a little fucky.

Bonnie should have a Motimon that digivolves into a Gotsumon...as a treat. It does it when Bonbon is in danger. Or tries to. It can't in-game because it's upset Frin, and BG, got hurt because it couldn't protect Bonnie.

Obviously Odile is getting a Socerimon, look at her. They just go together. He doesn't think staying in Vaugarde is a good idea, but, like his partner, leaving it up to a bunch of rookies is going to cause him indigestion. He's the only one who can freely digivolve into his ultimate form, Wisemon, and back again.

Isa gets a Dorumon. A scrappy little guy who plays into the 'head first into adventure' persona perhaps a bit too much. They used to be a Ryudamon, but they changed as Isa did, and that's okay.

I'm torn on Mira. On one hand, I could give her a Kudamon, it would match the whole holy vibe but I'm not the biggest fan of it on a design front. I don't think it matches the rest of Mira. I think, if I'm giving anything like that to anyone it would be to Euphrasie. No...hmm... Oh I know! I'm going to give her a Patamon! Quite literally the face of an angel, but she doesn't digivolve into Angemon, instead she can warp digivolve into a Piximon. If she went by stages her champion form would be a Unimon, but Mira gets so revved up, especially during that last king fight, she just skips it.

[tarotcard0]

So, I have now officially beaten every NES Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior) game. I'm currently playing Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, and I'm almost at the end, but I have to wait for the switch to recharge before tackling Chapter 8.

In the meantime, I want to write down some of my thoughts on Dragon Quest here.

Dragon Warrior 1 (NES) - Dear lord, just play one of the Remakes, the original is so tedious. There's a remake for Gameboy, there's a remake for Mobile, there's a remake for SNES, there's even a fan made RPG Maker Remake. Any one of those is a better choice than the original. Only play the original if your curious, or for studying purposes. Oh, on that note, the SNES version is Japan Exclusive, so you'll have to get a patch to translate it to English.

Dragon Warrior 2 (NES) - Not only is this the best game of the NES Quadrilogy, it's just the best Dragon Quest game I've played. How did they do so well on their second try!? It's so hard to describe the feeling I got playing this and realizing "Oh! This is the game all those other RPGs are referencing!" Now, I'm biased. I liked drawing my own maps and taking my time with that, so if you don't I also recommend going to the remakes. Again, they're available for Gameboy, SNES, and Mobile. Again, the SNES version is JP exclusive and has an English translation patch.

Dragon Warrior 3 (NES) - It's hard to describe why I felt a little disappointment with this one... Dragon Warrior 2 was just... So good! Like, how do you follow that? For some reason, everything in 3 felt... slower. Despite several quality of life changes, things like re-organizing my inventories felt more tedious than it did before, and when the story reached the Second Act (I'm not sure I used that phrase right) I fell into that same emotion that I had while playing persona 5 where the game just felt like it was dragging on. And because I can probably beat Dragon Warrior 3 4 times over in the time it took me to beat Persona 5 once, I have reason to believe this has to do more with the context of the plot, than the runtime of the game itself. I guess I'll go ahead and recommend playing he GBC or SNES remakes again, they certainly sped things up.

Dragon Warrior 4 - This game SUCKS! It's easily the worst of the NES quadrilogy. It's not the worst Dragon Quest game (Dear god it's not the worst), 9 takes that dishonor (At least, of the ones I've played so far), but the baffling decision to have all party members except for the Hero controlled by AI once you gain control of said Hero, makes it a very close second. I can't even recommend the remake, because I can't get very far in it. Once we enter the Remake dimension for this game, we exit Dragon Warrior and enter Dragon Quest, where the development team thought it would be a great Idea to transcribe everyone's accent to a ludicrous (and sometimes racist) degree. And, surprising no one, RPGs are just slightly impossible when you can't read.

---

I can't do another "Keep Reading" break, so those 3 dashes will have to do.

Well, now that I've beaten all 4 of the OG Dragon Warrior games, I'm wondering what I should do next (After beating TTYD of course)

Should I keep on with the series and go to Dragon Quest 5, or should I start on the NES Final Fantasy games (Of which, I've only beaten FF2)?

I'll end this post with a Poll.

Of course, I'm biased in favor of Dragon Warrior 2, but I'd like to hear what reasons others have for liking the ones they do.

Oh, and just to make sure this gets a decent sample size; the remakes count. If you've played Dragon Warrior GB, but not Dragon Warrior NES, then you've played Dragon Warrior.

[saikolikes]

I Played Persona 5 Tactica, Here Is What I Think About It

I have long awaited Tactica since the first announcement trailer (yes, the one that got "accidentally" published by Atlus). After playing through the main story + DLC I needed to sort my thoughts & have decided to subject every other person on the internet to it.

First of all a few disclaimers: Did someone ask me to write this? No Do I care? No Do I need to sort out my thoughts out loud? Yes :D There will be spoilers for the entire game + DLC so read this post knowing that! Lastly, this post is highly critical but it comes from a place of enjoyment of the game and love for the series. If that hadn't been the case, I would've never spent literal days collecting all these words in one place.

So.

Let's start by: have I enjoyed my experience? Yes, most of the time. Would I recommend the game to someone else? Now that is a good question. Let's start from the theory.

What does Tactica want to achieve?

According to this interview by Business Producer Nomura, Director Maeda, and Composer Konishi, P5T had -- extremely summarized -- three main goals:

Maintaining the Persona 5 allure and imagery despite having a different gameplay and visual style

Making a strategy rpg accessible even to non-fans of the genre and non-navigated trpg players

Capturing "the straightforward and highly passionate feelings of the high school students, along with a slightly precarious, fleeting danger inherent in their straightforwardness" (Maeda, quoting from the Persona Central article previously cited)

If we hold what it said into this interview as our sole criteria for judging the game, Persona 5 Tactica aces most of it. I will go into each section deeper as this post goes on, but this game was clearly made with passion by people who have very clear in their minds what Persona 5 means, sounds, and feels like.

There is only one problem: it's not as clear who this game was made for.

Who's Tactica targeted at?

At its core, despite being a game that most likely only the more passionate P5 fans will buy, especially so far from P5's original release and so close to both P3:RE and the (plausible?) announcement of P6, Tactica's main story is so clearly made with the intent of being enjoyed by every possible P5 fan that the hardcore fanbase would probably be the last segment of players I would suggest that should play this game. Right from the start, it supplies you with practical notes about who is who, what key places you need to know, and other recap information from the previous game -- a nice feature, and very helpful... but clearly targeted at people who haven't touched P5 since 2017, or at least haven't been participating in some form of fandom in the past 6 years.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing bad with wanting to appeal to every possible player -- Strikers, too, was purposefully designed to be enjoyed no matter your starting point for the series, the game, the anime, or the manga (or none of these things, actually). I find some form of contradiction, however, in the fact that not only the DLC, which acts as a prequel to Tactica's main story, technically has light spoilers for Royal, but also... of all the people I know -- irl, on the internet, among gaming creators -- who played P5 the majority of them still has only played P5. They haven't been interested in the slightest in all these spinoffs that have come out in the meantime, not even in Royal. (more about this on Reddit)

My point is: at this point in time, with the infamous cow-milking reputation Atlus has especially regarding P5, the people who have bought and are going to buy the spinoffs no matter what are the hardcore fans. But this game isn't made for them for the most part -- and that is something that can sour the whole experience.

I won't get into the debate about the canonicity of the P5 timeline, but Tactica seems to have a few ideas and well-confused about the whole thing. Because the DLC is Royal compliant, even touches upon "Kasumi"'s bond with her sister, and is technically set parallel to Sae's Palace. Which sort of makes sense since Royal and Tactica share their producer (Wada). But then there is no mention of Royal canon whatsoever in the main story (01.29.24 EDIT: I stand slightly corrected, as Maruki does get hinted at... but I also stand by the fact he's not mentioned in a way that truly matters, and my point about the Third Kingdom I talk about later on is still valid). Sure, much like Strikers, Tactica does not contradict Royal. But between not contradicting and actively enforcing there is a world of difference.

During the game, specific events of P5 are referenced, much more heavily than what happens in Strikers, with Shido and the political scandal being addressed more than once -- to the point where the December calling card is what prompted Toshiro out of his subservient attitude towards his father. Even Yaldabaoth is mentioned and compared to Salmael, the Big Baddie of Tactica, something that in Strikers was left much vaguer ("it's been x months since we fought a god"). And this does not happen for any of the Royal content. Despite the DLC, the Royal-compliant DLC, very clearly linking its story with the main one. Even more, the Third Kingdom and Salmael have an unmissable resemblance with the themes of the Third Semester and what Maruki was planning, parallels so apparent that you would expect someone to at least hint at what happened between January and February at some point.

Instead, there is silence. The themes are loudly there (and I don't know if it's just me, but the Hideout -VT- ost has interesting similarities to Ideal and the Real - End Version -) yet not once, not in the slightest does Maruki ever get mentioned or referenced or hinted at. (01.29.24 EDIT: as I added before, Maruki does get hinted during a conversation that takes place in the Thrid Kingdom... but it's no where near how deeply interwowen Tactica's story is with the ending of vanilla P5. This is what I meant in the following sentence where I say there is a disparity of treatment because there absolutely is.) It's clear to me, given the disparity of treatment, that Tactica's main story doesn't want to contradict Royal in the same way that Strikers didn't, but Persona 5 vanilla is clearly the game you're supposed to have played before starting this one. Which, of course, is also reinforced by Akechi and "Kasumi" being locked behind the DLC. And I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that, if you're a hardcore fan (= most likely to buy Tactica), this probably isn't what you would have wanted from this game.

What Tactica does best

Tactica is a good game for the most part. As I was saying in my introduction, 2 out of the 3 main goals for this game have been not only achieved but aced.

Gameplay-wise, the loop can become quite addicting, especially between the last portion of the First Kingdom and the first half of the Second Kingdom, where imho the story peaks. The development team has done a damn well good job in reducing the structure of a trpg to its core and mixing it with what makes Persona 5... Persona 5. Much like the base game, for example, getting the upper hand through chains of One Mores and All-Out Attacks is basically how you progress through maps. Each Thief has his own Persona + 1 equippable sub-Persona -- even Joker can only use Arsène -- but they made sure to translate each different element into a different mechanic. I adored that, exactly like it happens in the first game, despite the combat being turn-based the characters seem to dance on the battlefield, with each action flowing into the next one as the hype builds up and either Lyn's voice or catchy drums accompany you turn after turn. Don't expect something too complex, as the game is designed to be accessible even to non-strategy players -- and surely I was disappointed by having to play with only 3 characters at a time -- but the fun is there, and to an extent, you can build each character how you most like them through a minimal but very efficient skill tree.

The music is another thing Tactica does very well. By now (Strikers, Royal, and Tactica) it's clear that Konishi favors aggressive guitars over groovy basslines and I didn't mind it one bit, as this became kind of his personal signature. The first portion of the game especially is full of banger hits that get later reprised and remixed as you progress through the Kingdoms. Some of my favorites:

Maxim, like many tracks, has an excellent use of percussions that resemble war drums

Tension, with clear Life Will Change influences

Infiltrate, back at it with the Life Will Change vibes and an exceptional use of strings that resemble horse hooves running on the cobblestones of a medieval city

Master of the Castle, which plays during the Marie bossfight, is an excellent mixture of the Tension theme with the addition of a more aggressive guitar and... bells! Because she's about to get married!

Amusement Park of Trauma, a strong detachment from the general mood of the Second Kingdom that perfectly serves its purpose

Recollection, a melancholic theme that through its notes perfectly sets the mood for what the player is about to go through as soon as they set foot in the Third Kingdom, much like Gentle Madman before it

01.29.24 EDIT: as the beta version of Last Surprise was discovered, I was able to catch a bunch of notes between 0.18 and 0.30 that I am fairly sure are present, rearranged/with guitars only, inside one of Tactica's OSTs too. I just can't seem to find it so I will add the specific one as soon as I spot it lol

Along the new tracks, some very neat rearrangements like Beneath the Mask (which somehow they managed to make it sound even more lo-fi than it already was) and Disquiet make their apperance, as well as a version of Prison Labor.

Also, contrary to what happens in the hellscape of info dumping that is the first hours of Strikers, tutorials are actually paced wonderfully here, and you get to be introduced to each bit of gameplay with little steps, and nothing gets shoved down your throat leaving you with so many information you actually have no idea how to play.

Additionally, the story is quite captivating, especially if you pay attention to what can seem to be minor details. Right from the start, the sheer need to understand what the hell is going on is what drives you forward, and by the end of the First Kingdom and Marie's reveal as Toshiro's fiance, you start to understand that the scope of the entire thing is much more limited and personal -- which is something I appreciated a lot. Toshiro is a good character, his cowardice at the start isn't just a funny trait for the laugh, but a flaw that is deeply connected with his personal history and, much like with Zenkichi and Sophia, the team did a good job in tracing parallels with the other Phantom Thieves in order to quickly build empathy towards him -- with Haru and Futaba being the absolute best matches. The same thing happens with Erina, who shares the rebellious fire of the Phantom Thieves and leads the rebellion against Marie. What I loved about her is her goofiness, I was afraid she would be the nth Strong Female Character -- seeing as Kasumi was very much your Manic Pixie Dream Girl -- instead I found a lady with a sharp tongue and a strong heart, who's deeply loyal but doesn't hesitate to fool around. She's really valid, I admit I wouldn't have bet on her character to be like this but I'm happy they took this direction with her.

So... all is good, right? Why do I say that the game "is good... for the most part"?

Tactica's recycling problem

Fundamentally, and believe me it pains me very much to say this... Tactica doesn't have a lot to say, despite what its developers declared.

The game's themes, characters, morals, and climax are all heavily derivative of themes, characters, morals, and climaxes that have already been more than explored within the various iterations of P5. Past the final portion of the Third Kingdom, the repetitiveness of it all became seriously unbearable. No thing, big or small, gets spared: this is how you find yourself with Toshiro mathematically relating to all the Phantom Thieves, even when it feels forced; how you have the battle against Shadow Toshiro and then Eri that is 1:1 what we saw in Futaba's Palace with the fight against Wakaba; how you have the nth Deity Wished By Mankind that wants to rule over Free Will; how the "Fourth" Kingdom is nothing more than a recycling, reskinning, recoloring of what you already played through the previous Kingdoms -- mobs and bossfights included.

It really does a disservice to the game, the fact that so many of its final portions are stretched out to the point of exhaustion, I imagine only for the sake of justifying the cost of the game with more playtime, something that is deeply wrong, especially if we take into consideration that the game is actually sold at (less) than the current average market price (60€/$, compared to PS4/Switch games being 60-70 and next-gen games being 70-80). It kills the climax that Tactica so painfully had built up to that point, and it made me feel like completing the story was more of a chore I had to do in order to get to the final cutscene (which... is fine, I guess) than something I did with heartfelt conviction.

Moreover, the deeply derivative nature of this game causes more than some issues, character-wise. Because this is a game with the Phantom Thieves... but narratively speaking, they aren't the protagonists: Toshiro and Erina are. This leads to a weird situation where the group, who has by now 2 god killings under their belt, remains stagnant throughout the whole game, as they have nothing to learn or improve about them, and too often they become nothing more than the mask (ah-ah) of themselves, with characters acting just like their archetype -- Yusuke, the starving artist; Morgana, who gets angry when he's called a cat; Ryuji, the dumb guy who's the butt of the joke. Incredibly speaking, the one who feels less like herself is Makoto: in P5 she can be tough and confrontational, sure, but you have to provoke her, first -- she's usually kind and collected, with a sort of mom-friend attitude. Strikers played a bit more into her punk side, and Royal gave us her wonderful Showtimes with Haru and Ryuji... but in Tactica, she's straight-up aggressive and quick to violence, often excessively, often for no reason. I have no idea what happened with her honestly, the day of the wedding in the imaginary vignette she even accuses you, unprompted, of cheating on her. Are the writers Makoto haters?

Anyway. My point is, as much as Toshiro and Erina hit home and do their job as characters, and as much as it's heartwarming to have the whole gang together again... sometimes, especially near the end, it sure feels like everything is just an excuse to have more Phantom Thieves content. Which would not be bad! But it is the moment Royal gets ignored and all the progress and maturity they gained is erased.

Overall, I think Tactica has a great cast and great premises, but the final portion of the story has really been dragged for too long, and the amount of recycling between ideas, assets, plot points, and maps is... not great.

Tactica's mysterious mysteries

There is a whole lot that is never given clarification in this game, and well beyond the realm of plausible fan speculations.

So many things went unexplained or even unaddressed. The Metaverse should by all means be gone at this point -- yet it's still working, and the only comment you get on the matter is "I guess it can't be erased completely" which is fine seeing how it's so tied to the human subconscious but an element so important to the worldbuilding really is treated like Just A Thing That Is Said and never given more consideration. Additionally, it is said that Kingdoms aren't Palaces... but functionally speaking, we explore Toshiro's Palace. There are cognitive versions of his family and acquaintances, there are memories locked inside the maps, there is his Shadow... there is no formal reason for it not to be Toshiro's Palace! Except that they needed to market it like an Entirely Different Thing somehow! On this front, Strikers did a really better job in connecting to the canon worldbuilding of P5.

Another thing that goes entirely unaddressed is how exactly the Phantom Thieves have been summoned inside Toshiro's cognition. The game explains that Shido's calling card was what roused Toshiro from his complacency, and what generated Erina as the spark of his rebellion... but it's never explained how the Thieves got in, especially given that it's explicitly stated that they entered in a different manner than Toshiro, who was kidnapped by Salmael, Persona 4 style. All the weirdness of this new world, Personas not working as usual, the Velvet Room changing form... everything is addressed merely in passing, diverted back to Salmael's doing, or even straight up commented by Lavenza with "I have no explanations for this behavior."

Again, lastly, some things are brought up and never addressed again, like the fact Erina can plant the Flag of Freedom but the Flag itself, as a mechanic, only has relevance in the First Kingdom; or the fact that doors with a projectile on it are used to traverse Kingdoms and are what evoked the Phantom Thieves, but no one will ever explain to you what those are or why the Phantom Thieves don't traverse one back to return to the real world, instead they simply... *fades to white*

But what about the DLC?

The DLC is enjoyable but has, on a smaller scale, the exact same problems the rest of the game has.

Some bits of dialogue and character interactions sent me flying, like the way Joker can tease Akechi in a way he doesn't do with any other character or the fact that whether or not Akechi is a Phantom Thief is treated as a complicated matter, and you can trigger some interesting remarks about the whole situation going on outside of Tactica.

Aside from this, the DLC most than anything else suffers from being set in a pocket of time that needs to be wiped from memory, firstly because these three characters aren't exactly a trio yet and only had one interaction together before this moment yet they act like they're closer than that... and secondly because the whole Guernica situation is a parallel to Kasumi and Sumire's story. So it really hits the wrong way, and it even verges on horror if you have the hindsight, that Akechi, Joker and Violet have to save a girl that lost her sister and is being brainwashed to forget her... while Sumire is still "Kasumi."

I liked the setting and I liked the paint mechanic and I liked how frankly brutal and visceral some scenes are. That is exactly my jam! But I couldn't enjoy them to the fullest because I knew they would have amounted to nothing in the grand scheme of things. The memory wipe solution was in store, of course, I saw that coming, nonetheless I found it deeply unelegant, seeing as they didn't even try to offer an explanation as to why or how the trio had their memory erased.

Also, it makes no sense for Guernica to be active in the real world at that scale if only because there would be no reason for her to never be mentioned anywhere after, and I quote, "pulling a stunt like the ones from the Phantom Thieves."

On a final note, since I mentioned the base game's price... contrary to that, Tactica's DLC isn't worth the 20€/$ you pay it. Not only because it's very short (4-5 hours if you rush, 6-8 if you take some more time to maybe restart some maps or replay some dialogues and gush like I did) but because the experience is overall nothing memorable, and the additional maps aren't enough to cover that. I stand by the fact you shouldn't judge a game's price by its length, but length isn't Repaint Your Heart's sole problem, sadly.

My final thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed playing Tactica (save for the final part) and it gave me some really stellar content, like the fake wedding scenes, Ann's best characterization across the entire series, Erina as a character, and overall a new occasion to spend time with my favorite band of outlaws teens.

I'm glad I had more P5 content... but I still feel I could've gone by with no problems without Tactica. Which is a sad thing to say, but it's true. Because I loved Strikers and I would never want to live without having played that game. Tactica, well... despite me being hyped for it a ton, it made me come to the conclusion that I am done with P5 content, especially if it has to be like this. If I feel nostalgic, I'll just boot my PS5 and replay Royal for the second time. And for everything else, there is fandom.

Thank you for reading this far if you have. You can find me on Twitter, Ao3 and BlueSky!

[aster-does-indeed-exists]

yo persona 4 fans should I play persona 4 golden or watch p4a first. want to experience the game but like watching the anime would be easier. like does the anime do the story justice or is it p5a. I’d love to play the game but also beating persona 5 paralyzed me rpg wise so if I did play it I’d have to wait for the burnout to burn in (I have no idea what this means)

[ooapple-greaseoo]

I think akechi SHOULD get a redemption Arc sometimes I feel like the fandom forgets that despite everything he was a child while doing this he wasn't mature enough to make such big decisions as murder and no adults around him were helping him and he was all alone with this anger boiling inside of him and although I do relate and sympathize with him I do think he should apologize to characters like haru and futaba but in my mind I don't think he regrets all his actions I think he more regrets the effects of his actions and he needs to live with that and I think his whole relationship with the protagonist is what would drive him to get this redemption arc because the protagonist understands him and that's what's special about the relationship and that's why people ship them so much. The protagonist and Akechi are the same person it's just the protagonist had the rest of the phantom thieves and Goro had no one until he met the protagonist and he made his decision and he's lying with the bed he made. His mom died his father abandoned him before he was even born he was in the foster care system and later on getting used by his father and he ended up dying alone but however with the knowledge that he would not be forgotten by the one person who truly knew him who carried a piece of him. Goro akechi is a deep character and I think Atlus did an amazing job in fleshing out his character and I do hope they may do more of that as a fan but if goro were not to come up again I think I'd be content. There's so much discussions you can have about his character and technically none of it's right and none of it's wrong the only things right is what's solidly said in the game but we don't know if that's actual fact because goro is known to have masks like how his whole detective Prince persona was fake even in royal him what if he was just playing a character trying to get the protagonist to finally accept that he needs to let him go to move on with his life and I think that's what persona 5 strikers symbolize it's the protagonist moving on from losing someone who understands him much more than his friends and knows him in a way that he doesn't let anybody else. Although he is not directly mentioned in strikers there's definitely illusions to him especially when they are talking about shido with zenkichi and how they've all been through this kind of thing before. It's just displays how deep that their relationship was together and I'm not just talking in like a romantic way since I ship them it's just they were pitted against each other by a god let that sink in A GOD who decided he wanted to play games with humanity pitted these two people against each other they were meant to be rivals they were meant to understand each other. And like akechi himself said if they met up years before maybe even just a month before all that happen could have been different. Anyway thank you for coming to my TED talk.