Persona 5.

Original Release: Playstation 3, Playstation 4, 2016. Version Reviewed: Playstation 4 "Royal" Version, 2019.


THE PLOT:

After being falsely accused of assault, a young man transfers to Tokyo's Shujin Academy for his year-long probation. He is instantly regarded as a troublemaker by the adults at his new school, and is warned by his wary guardian that he is exactly one problem away from being sent to juvenile detention.

After he discovers a new app on his phone, he is transported to an alternate reality: the cognitive "Palace" of volleyball coach Kamoshida, a former gold medalist who is physically and sexually abusing students. There, he and his new friend Ryuji meet Morgana - a strange being who appears to be a talking cat. Morgana informs them that they have the power to change the evil teacher's heart if they can battle their way through this cognitive world to the "treasure" that has corrupted his worldview.

With help from Ann, a student being pressured and harassed by Kamoshida, they succeed in this mission. But after seeing that their strange power can result in changes to corrupt adults, they decide to pursue other targets as "The Phantom Thieves" - attracting the attention of the authorities in the process!

Igor welcomes a new guest to the Velvet Room...

CHARACTERS:

As far back as the first game, the Persona series has benefited from likeable protagonists. Each new entry introduces a new set of characters whom you just plain enjoy spending time with. Persona 5 is no exception, with an ensemble of characters who slowly evolve from anime tropes into full-blooded human beings. This time, I ended up liking all the party members. Even the talking cat/mascot character, Morgana, manages to avoid being either overly cutesy or creepy (traps that rather firmly ensnared Persona 4's Teddie). The main character is perhaps a bit too much of a blank slate for my tastes, but the rest of the group makes up for it.

My pick for the game's strongest character, at least in the updated Persona 5 Royal, would be "Detective Prince" Goro Akechi, who is essentially this game's answer to Persona 4's popular Naoto, but with a couple twists thrown into the mix. Akechi suspects the main group from early on, and finds excuses to insinuate himself ever further into the protagonist's life. As we get to know him through his Social Link, however, he turns out to be very different than he first appears. Particularly strong is the scene in which he reveals his actual feelings in a well-written encounter which is superbly played by English language voice actor Robbie Daymond; in the space of one scene, all preconceptions about the character are upended. It should be noted, however, that much of Akechi's best material was apparently added for Royal, and that he was noticeably less well-received in the game's initial version.

The game's first real boss battle. 
Yes, this series is just as weird as ever.

GAMEPLAY:

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Persona 3 reinvented the series' format by splitting players' time between daily life, focused heavily on developing relationships with other characters, and dungeon crawling. Persona 4 refined this split, expanding daytime activities and making the dungeon crawling more varied and enjoyable.

Persona 5 moves even further with those improvements. The dungeons are now "Palaces," reflecting the mental state of each target. A corrupt painter's Palace, for example, is an art museum; a jaded prosecutor's, a rigged casino in which the only thing that matters is winning. Oh, and the demon negotiation that was a major part of the Playstation 1 Persona games? It's back, and I couldn't be happier about that.

If I have one quibble with the game play, it's the difficulty. Unfortunately, one area in which the PS1 titles have outstripped all of the modern Personas has been in difficulty balance, with the early games being neither too easy nor too hard; the modern Persona games have either been frustrating and arbitrary or ridiculously easy.  Persona 5 actually made me double-check that I wasn't accidentally playing on "Easy" mode! Only two boss battles provide a real challenge: one around the game's midpoint, one at the very end of Royal's new content.  Both of these were added for Royal, and they actually seem too difficult... mainly because their difficulty is so out-of-whack with the rest of the game!  One hopes they manage to balance it out a bit better come the next installment.

The second Palace: a corrupt artist's private museum.

THOUGHTS:

Persona 5 is a gorgeously designed, highly immersive experience. Save for the Persona series' usual "on rails" beginning (which is itself less tedious than the opening hours of its two predecessors), the entire package is designed to draw you into the game's world and make you want to keep playing to just one more save point, or one more social link, or...

So yes, as a game, Persona 5 is absolutely addictive. It is also unabashedly political. The main character is socially stigmatized by his unjust conviction, just the first of many broadsides the game aims at Japan's legal and political systems. The first villain is gym teacher/former Olympian Kamoshida, who is physically and sexually harassing students; the school's administration is aware, but is silently complicit because the man's profile boosts the school's athletics program. This is the game's most emotionally effective arc, because Kamoshida feels largely believable in his style of evil... and impression chillingly reinforced when a bit of research shows that he was based on Hajime Komura, a real-life coach whose abuse led to a pupil's suicide.

The game's ultimate villain is corrupt politician Masyoshi Shido, a career politican who sabotages the current government to advance his ambitions of becoming Prime Minister. Some US gamers became either upset or delighted when they decided the game was bashing Donald Trump. It almost certainly wasn't; Shido bears no resemblance to Trump in either speech patterns or background, and all the rest of the game's targets are entirely specific to Japan.  Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - at the time of the game's release, in his third term in office - seems by far the most likely model for Shido. 

Tackling such material does result in a story that isn't nearly as light-hearted as Persona 4. Even so, the game retains a considerable sense of charm and humor, and never approaches the darkness of parts of Persona 3, let alone that of the PS1 entries. 

The game's weakest aspect is the overall conspiracy theory surrounding Shido. By the end of the main narrative, Persona 5 has made Shido responsible for more or less everything we've seen, attempting to connect him to all the various sub-villains. It breaks the game's internal credibility, and I would have preferred more of those secondary villains to have simply been abusing the system all on their own. Still, it ends with a pair of pretty decent boss fights and a nice overall wrap-up, leaving me with few serious complaints about the base game.

Oh, and the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, to the point that I find myself seriously considering purchasing a video game soundtrack. The jazz/rock hybrid proves a perfect complement to both gameplay and visual style, with track ranging from stirring and exciting (Life Will Change) to mournful (Throw Away Your Mask).

Whisked from the streets of Tokyo to a literal Palace!

ROYAL ADDITIONS

Persona 5 Royal was the enhanced 2019 re-release of Persona 5. Basically, it's this game's Persona 3 FES or Persona 4 Golden: an enhanced experience with a boatload of additional content.

Royal is the only edition I've played.  Still, based on what I have read, most of the new content helps the game. Dungeons have been streamlined. The Batman-like grappling hook, which is frequently used to advance in Royal's dungeons, was evidently not part of the original release - and given how enjoyable and generally cool it is to use, that hook may in itself justify Royal's existence. A genuinely difficult boss battle was added to one dungeon, and Akechi's character was reinvented by restructuring and expanding his social link.

The most significant additions are two characters: School psychologist Maruki and honor's student/gymnast Kasumi. Their Social Links are basically required if you want to unlock the all-new "third semester," but this should not be seen as drudge work. Both characters are engaging, and I looked forward to my character's conversations with them.

My reaction is more mixed when it comes to the extra semester. It offers up an interesting story in itself, but by the time I was infiltrating the (very long) final palace, I couldn't quite suppress the sense that the game was insisting on continuing after the story had ended. In my opinion, this extra material (which is, in itself, quite good) would have benefited by being presented as a sequel campaign, much like Persona 3's The Answer was. By bolting it onto the main game, it just felt like extra innings.

The Phantom Thieves prepare for another infiltration.

OVERALL:

Persona 5 is yet another excellent entry in what has emerged as one of my favorite video game franchises. Given the capabilities of the Playstation 4 versus the Playstation 2 (the original home of Persona 3 and 4), it's no surprise that this is the most visually stylish entry to date; and for most of its 120+ hours, it is thoroughly addictive.

If pressed, I don't think it's quite as good as Persona 4, let alone the Persona 2 duology. There are a few story issues, with the conspiracy plot stretching a bit too thin, and I feel that a few of Royal's additions extended the narrative past its natural end point. Even so, Persona 5 is great fun, and all signs point to this 25 year old franchise still having a lot of life left in it.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Game: Persona 4 - Dancing All Night
Next Game: Persona 5 - Dancing in Starlight

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Persona 4.

Original Release: Playstation 2, 2008. Version Reviewed: Playsation Vita "Golden" version, 2012.


THE PLOT:

A high school student comes to the small town of Inaba to live with his police detective uncle and his 7-year-old cousin while his parents spend a year working abroad. Inaba is a quiet place, and everything points to a simple, if slightly dull, year.

Then a murder happens: A TV announcer who was taking refuge from a scandal in the local inn is discovered, her body hanging from an antenna. Shortly after, the high school girl who found the body turns up dead in the same way. The young man discovers that he somehow has the ability to pass through a television screen, using it as a portal to another world - one permeated by fog and populated by monsters.

It quickly becomes apparent that the killer has the same ability, and is throwing his victims to this other world, leaving them to be dispatched by it. With help from a steadily-expanding band of friends, the young hero resolves to rescue the victims and unmask the person responsible!

Around those week-long exams, of course. And a ski trip. And soccer practice. And...

Kanji is understandably confused by recent events.

CHARACTERS:

For the most part, I don't find this game's characters as distinctive as the protagonists from Persona 3 - though as with the rest of the games in this series, they are still a highly likable bunch.  The cast standout, in my opinion, is teen detective Naoto, who initially works with the police on the case (somehow) before joining the heroes and who hides a secret that is honestly pretty darn easy to guess. The worst of the group is Teddie, a resident of the other world who eventually crosses over to Inaba. He's meant to be childlike, but his behavior toward literally every female character he comes across ranges between boorishness and outright harassment, which is made worse by these bits apparently being intended as humorous.  Most of the characters (even Teddie) get at least a few moments to emerge as more fully-rounded than they initially seem, and by the end of the game you will feel like you know these people quite well.

Summoning your first Persona.

GAMEPLAY:

The gameplay in Persona 4 is essentially the same as that of Persona 3, only with refinements that make it much more enjoyable. Though I was gripped by Persona 3's story, I came to intermittently dread the dungeon-crawling treks through Tartarus. Persona 4 improves this situation in every possible respect.

First are the dungeons. Instead of a single, interminable dungeon, this game offers up multiple smaller ones. Each of these has a theme that ties into the character being rescued or pursued. Yukiko dreams of someone coming to rescue her from a life that's been completely planned out for her; her dungeon, the game's first, is a fairy tale castle, with her Shadow talking about how she's waiting for her "prince."  In this way, the settings further the characterizations, making this part of the game instantly more absorbing. My favorite dungeon ("Void Quest") is modeled after old 8-bit video games, and sees the characters traversing pixelated hallways on their way to the series' most inventively-presented boss fight thus far.

The combat has been adjusted. You are no longer left to pray that your teammates won't do something horribly stupid that loses a winnable fight. The default option is the same structure as Persona 3, with teammates left to act freely, but you can bring up a Tactics menu and change that to allow yourself full control over party members. This lowers the luck basis of the battles substantially. The "Golden" version released to the Vita (and now on PC) also adds an option to reduce the penalty for dying. Instead of being reset to your last save, you can now retry from the start of the floor. Instead of losing an hour or more of progress because of an ill-timed critical hit, you'll now lose, at most, 15 minutes.

In short: While retaining the same basic dungeon crawling/combat systems, this game has adjusted them to make them a lot more enjoyable to play - meaning that the gameplay portion is now just as much fun as the rest.

The 8-bit Void Quest: The series' most
inventive dungeon and boss fight thus far.

THOUGHTS:

Persona 3 was the series' breakthrough, moving these titles from niche to mainstream and setting the template that the Persona series follow to this day.  For that reason, P3 is probably the series' most important entry... but it's Persona 4 that usually gets singled out as the series' best.

I still prefer Persona 2: Eternal Punishment for its complex, compelling story. Still, I would agree that this is a better overall game than Persona 3 was. Though I didn't find the characters quite as strong, the cast was still an overall well-drawn bunch, and I came to feel close to most of them as the story progressed. The tone is much lighter in this game.  The color palate is brighter, even in the dungeons, and the characters tend to be a happier and less haunted lot than in previous installments.  It's also quite funny - The scripted dialogue had me regularly chuckling and occasionally laughing out loud.

The story is structured as a murder mystery, which makes it just grounded enough to relate to the character stakes. The outlandish material is largely restricted to the TV World; so even though things get pretty bizarre, suspension of disbelief isn't overstretched by the characters just leading their normal lives much of the time. 

Oh, and bonus points for me not guessing the culprit, even though enough clues were provided that I probably should have.

Complaints I might levy are minor. Probably the most significant barrier to enjoying this is the slow pace of the early game. There is only one way to describe the first few hours: Boring. Far too much time is spent introducing the characters and situation in an almost entirely non-interactive way. This should have been broken up with moments that gave you control and some mild goals to fulfill, if only to increase engagement. Instead, you'll have to make it through a good 3 - 4 hours before you're in the Yukiko Castle dungeon. At that point, the game becomes fun, and it stays that way. But I suspect a lot of players will run out of patience and switch off before that point.

Seeking a villain at the end of the world...

PERSONA 4 GOLDEN

I can only imagine the frustration that must have been felt by the developers of the Playstation Vita. They created a genuinely brilliant piece of hardware... only to watch it crash and burn on the market, destroyed by poor advertising and a parent company that wasn't interested in supporting it. The Vita itself has long since emerged as my very favorite handheld, but certainly not for its great library of games; it's telling that almost everything I've purchased for it was originally released for either the PS1 or the PSP.  I just love how comfortable it is in my hand, how good games look on it, and how well they play.

Persona 4 Golden emerged as one of the few Vita titles to actually succeed in selling the system to the public.  When a PC port was released last year, people declared that it marked the moment at which the Vita was dead. Rest in peace, severely mis-marketed and underappreciated handheld.

Golden is to Persona 4 what FES was to Persona 3. It offers gameplay tweaks, new Social Links, and extra recorded dialogue (with a couple of roles in the English language version recast for the expansion).

The biggest change is to the ending. Assuming you don't get one of the game's many bad endings, you end up with an additional dungeon with an additional character to rescue. This part feels almost like a DLC follow-up to the main game, offering something that's more of a brief sequel than an integral part of the main game.  Still, it's a welcome addition, if only because it allows that much more time with characters and a world that have been great fun to visit.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

Previous Game: Persona 3 - The Answer
Next Game: Persona 4 Arena

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Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight.

Original Release: Playstation 4, 2018. Version Reviewed: Playstation 4, 2018.


THE PLOT:

The members of SEES are startled to awaken in the Velvet Room, which has been remade into Club Velvet for a very special contest. Velvet Room attendant Elizabeth cheerfully informs the confused teens that, since they are soon to face particularly dark times, she has whisked them away for a cheerful dance competition... but when that excuse doesn't hold up under questioning, she admits that she has made a bet with one of her sisters that her guests could win in a dance-off, to be conducted in painstaking recreations of familiar settings: the school, the mall, and the various stages of Tartarus itself!


CHARACTERS:

Though this is a rhythm game, care has been taken to keep characterizations spot-on. Most of the original voice actors return (timid Fuuka's original voice actress had already been replaced by Wendee Lee for previous spinoffs). In addition to the introductory and ending scenes, the game also includes Social Links - conversations between your protagonist and the rest of the characters, which you unlock as the game progresses. These mostly consist of light-hearted banter, but the characters are recaptured effectively, and there is some pleasure in seeing this usually broody bunch in a more laid-back scenario.

Elizabeth enlists the SEES team into a dance competition.

GAMEPLAY:

Dancing in Moonlight's primary mechanics are reasonably typical for a rhythm game. While the characters dance in rotoscoped animations, symbols float toward a ring at the edges of the screen. Some call for quick button prompts, others for holding a button in a slide, still others for moving one of the analog sticks to create a (vaguely annoying) record scratch noise (this last is more intuitive if you reconfigure it to be read by a press of the shoulder button instead). It is a clean, simple interface. Which doesn't mean that higher difficulties aren't challenging - The unlockable "All Night" mode initially seems to demand the impossible of your beleaguered digits. It just means that the controls don't get in the way of you playing the game.

The default settings require rapid finger movements, but the game allows you to adjust these - indeed, even encourages you to do so by tying trophies to certain adjustments. This allows players to slow down or speed up the rhythms, or allow the game to do all "record scratches" automatically, or reduce penalties for mistakes. These options should make the game more accessible to those with mobility issues than otherwise would be the case.

Aegis contemplates using heavy weapons in her dance moves.

THOUGHTS:

I approached Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight with wariness. On the one hand, I discovered a while ago that I (surprisingly) enjoy well-made rhythm games, and the positive reviews were encouraging. On the other hand, it seemed... well, honestly, like a shallow cash grab.

It may be a cash grab, but it's not a shallow one.  From the moment the game begins, it feels infused with genuine love from its creators. The opening titles are catchy and overflowing with nostalgia.  The introductory scene, setting up the bizarre situation, is very funny, with all of the characters feeling perfectly in character (though Yukari's more antagonistic tendencies are toned down).

The gameplay is also increasingly addictive, to the point where I would sit down to kill just twenty minutes or so with a few tracks, and end up finding an hour had passed.  The dances are well-choreographed, with each character's style tailored to his or her personality.  The interface is clean, with instant feedback for every button press (and calls of encouragement from the non-dancing SEES members).  Finally, while not all of the music is to my taste, many of the numbers are flatly spectacular - none more than the group number set to the main game's original theme song, Burn My Dread, featuring each of the characters interacting with others, reminiscing and offering encouragement as they dance together at the site of the main game's final battle.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Social Links. Some are funny: Aegis and Elizabeth discuss ways to incorporate heavy weapons upgrades into her dance routines; Junpei becomes increasingly self-delusional about his prospects as a superstar; Elizabeth ruminates about how she can either hide this competition from her long-nosed master or, failing that, blame it on her hapless brother.

The members of SEES dance at the site of their final battle.

A FEW NITPICKS...

The game is very good, but not perfect. The PSVR mode, which allows you to explore your friends' rooms once you unlock them, is so blatantly tacked-on that I half-expected to see "SONY WANTED US TO HELP SELL HEADSETS" running across the bottom of the screen. PSVR owners will have some fun the first time they engage this mode, as each room has been carefully designed to reflect the character's personality. But since it only takes a few minutes to thoroughly explore a given room, it wont' take long for many players to determine it's not worth the bother of switching the headset on.

The soundtrack is terrific, of course... But it does feature too many remixes of the same songs (at least three versions each of Mass Destruction and Burn My Dread, for instance). Greater variety is available by purchasing DLC tracks - including the game's hardest offering, the equal parts maddening and hypnotic Tanaka's Amazing Commodities. Still, at least a few of those feel like they should have been in the base game. The availability of major supporting character Shinji is entirely via DLC, for instance - though once you buy his track, his voice pops up making comments with the other characters in the base game's songs, indicating that he was in the code the entire time.


OVERALL:

Dancing in Moonlight boasts intuitive gameplay, a good soundtrack, and fantastic graphics. The HD recreations of settings I had previously viewed mainly in fuzzy PS2 form are the best argument one could make for an HD remaster of Persona 3. The characters feel entirely like themselves; and even though the tone is overall fairly light, I still came away feeling like I knew them just a little bit better after playing this.

A note about the score: Yes, I'm awarding this game a higher score than Persona 3. It's a different genre - rhythm game vs. JRPG - and as such, has a different set of ambitions and limitations. It is clearly a less emotional experience, for example. However, unlike RPGs, the rhythm game genre generally has no time for characterization of any kind, let alone the kind of detailed character work seen here. Even very good rhythm games frequently have interface issues... which are all but absent here. By the standards of its genre, this is a very fine game - and quite close to being a great one.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Main Game: Persona 3

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