persona 5: Take your heart edition
If anyone has ever wondered where the Gamer Geek has been? In a dark and scary cave called her home wasting her life away in the newest Atlus game like the hermit she is. The game referred is none other than Persona 5 and it was worth every second with the DLC worth every penny. As a diehard Shin Megami Tensei fangirl, this game will steal your heart. Pun intended.
Atlus specializes in Japanese role-playing games (JRPG) with Persona as the main franchise. Persona 5 was showcased all over the world, receiving positive reviews and much well-deserved hype when it was promoted at E3, the world-famous gaming convention (the Gamer Geek underwent great depression when she was unable to attend). For the newbies, the Persona series takes set around the life of a high school student destined to engage in epic combat with supernatural obstacles that decide the fate of humanity. Now that it has been said, that is pretty much the theme for nearly ALL of Atlus JRPGs. Plot sound familiar and overused? Well Persona takes it in on a unique level. While turn-based games may appear as a thing of the past compared to most video games today, this series’ original combat system, dungeon-crawling mechanics, and visual novel storytelling will not only keep the player entertained, but teach them a thing or two about strategizing in-game and in-life (it’ll make sense).
Certainly it hits the heart in so many ways as games become attached to characters during story progression, but guaranteed – nothing will hit as hard or make others weigh heavy thoughts as much as the Persona series does. The excellent and thought-provoking writing that the Persona series delineates goes beyond simply portraying the human psyche and emotions on a societal scale in a simple tear-dropping manner. The games' atmospheres, setting, and storytelling places the players in the shoes of the characters and makes them undergo human hubris that’s so realistic, so relatable, so raw that one cannot help but feel that fiction hits closer to the heart than realized.
Moving to the characters, namely the protagonist whom the player completely controls from the start of the game, is usually a male high school student that the player can also name (the GamerGeek kept the Japanese naming theme going by going with Shinjiro Kurain in her first play-through – yes, her FIRST play-through, keep in mind the game with released in the second week of April and beaten at the end of the same month). To maintain its visual novel-esque game play, choices are presented throughout the game that drives the plot in different directions; that along with the quaint day-and-night system factors towards one of the endings. There is a choice-system in the dialogue that allows the player to give their character a unique personality, sadly it is not like most recent RPGs where the protagonist's dialogue (let's call him Joker from here on out) carries on off of your choice as Atlus is notorious for their silent protagonist. Dread not as you can hear Joker's charismatic voice during combat and some instances throughout some scenes and special actions. Depending on what the player says in scenes or even to some important characters they spend time with will determine not only the player’s strength in Persona arsenal but additional features that benefit heavily while exploring the many dungeons and fighting the infinite number of enemies that stalk within. So yes, it will definitely be worth not only developing the main character in the plot but their bonds with others as the power of friendship is OP. Just to add, one of the protagonist’s best friends is a talking cat which takes anthropomorphic forms between dimensions, takes him and the rest of the team how to be notorious and glamorous thieves. The cat friend also makes an endearing habit of being everywhere with the hero from sneaking in his bag, on his bed, and in his desk. Players will fall in love with not only this cat, but Joker and their entourage of melodramatic robin hood-type comrades – from their real world to alternate dimension designs, personalities and dialogues, to their convictions as they all endure their hardships together.
Moving forward to the plot, the premise and theme of the whole game revolves around subjugation where quite plainly in the most basic of literal and figurative aspects the player and their friends must save society as they are slaves to the prison of others' or their own “distorted desires” and it is up to the protagonist and his friends to “steal their hearts” and give hope to those without power that change can happen and freedom from such subjugation can be achieved with a strong enough resolve. They do this by crossing over to a new world via phone app (yep, that’s right) to a different dimension inside their target’s heart, infiltrating beautifully aesthetic if not also structurally confusing dungeons, valorously combating fearsome monsters (let’s be honest, they look weird as hell but the strange journey doesn’t make the game any less fun) with the use of their Personas, the titular factor of the game that are the physical manifestations of a character's psychological resolve (there’s more to it if anyone follows the game’s lore from the very beginning, but that’ll tale a whole 'nother article), and they must accomplish all of this while doing well in school because saving the world from supernatural catastrophe requires at least a C in literature.
Gameplay-wise, it is highly enjoyable and recommended. Every day in the game is different for everyone, no two experiences are the same and the fact that each day and each action is completely controlled by the player (besides obvious cut-scenes) makes the adventure just that much more personal and pleasingly interactive. Atlus never disappoints in delivering the best in JRPGs and will leave gamers asking for more (ideally in future DLC - wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Without further spoilers, more information about the game can be found below. Thanks for reading and remember to stay Kinda Geeky.
Sources & More Info:
· Game Trailer: https://youtu.be/wPqSkzNNPIg
· Dungeon Crawling & Mechanics: https://youtu.be/ynP5dLAWAkE
· Combat System: https://youtu.be/fl3elI7hqRM
· DLC: https://atlus.com/persona5/dlc.html
· Confidants/Social Links: http://m.ign.com/wikis/persona-5/Confidants
· Gallery of the Phantom Thieves: http://comicbook.com/2016/08/01/see-persona-5s-phantom-thief-costumes-in-action/1