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Review Roundup: Persona 5


StrickenBiged

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Eurogamer (Essential)

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Persona 5 is unconscionably sublime. Every beat, every subtlety, every movement of the camera - it all translates into a kinetic masterpiece, strung together with the best visuals this side of Atlus. Persona 5 won't change your mind on JRPGs if you lack a taste for the genre, but if you're in any way a fan, well -

Why the hell are you still reading this?

Go forth and damn well purchase.

 

Push Square (10/10)

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Persona 5 sets the benchmark for modern Japanese RPGs: it oozes style, charisma, and polish quite unlike anything we've played. With this fifth entry, the series' trademark formula of dungeon delving and socialising has been perfected. Addictive, engaging gameplay, incredibly endearing characters, and a consistently rewarding narrative loop combine to create a spectacularly cohesive whole – whether or not you're already a fan of Persona. A masterpiece from top to bottom.

 

Games Radar (5/5)

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The voice acting is outstanding, the music is genius, the art style is so slick it'll raise your personal coolness level just from being in close proximity to it. Playing Persona 5 will make your hair glossier, increase your vocal range by an octave and add 7.32 years to your overall life expectancy. Play it enough times and you'll likely not only be able to levitate but also make a perfect omelette while in midair. It's that good.

 

IGN (9.7/10)

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Persona 5 is a massive, gorgeous JRPG with well over 100 hours of gameplay for completionists. With more to do than ever and the series’ strongest story to date, it stands out as an extraordinary, memorable experience and easily one of the deepest JRPGs of the last decade. Its sprawling dungeon design and stylish, fully realized world are an absolute joy to explore, and even after three playthroughs and the Platinum trophy, I find myself itching to go back to try different dialogue options with Confidants or revisit particularly fun puzzles. This is a new gold standard for Japanese RPGs and by far the best entry in the series yet.

 

Polygon (9/10)

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It’s been almost a decade since the original release of Persona 4, a game that introduced many players — including myself — to this series. With that amount of time, with the amount of energy and passion a lot of Persona 4 fans put toward that game, it would have been easy for Persona 5 to be a letdown. Instead, it successfully pushes this series to new heights of polish, allure and charm. It has a few blemishes, enough to distract a bit from the intriguing and weighty themes that the game wrestles with. But even through the rough patches, Persona 5 doesn’t give up a drop of its colorful personality.

 

Kotaku (No score)

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This game will take many, many hours of your time. In exchange, you’ll get a terrific, pulpy story told with style to spare. Persona 5 took nearly 100 hours of my time, and I gave it gladly.

 

Gamespot (9/10)

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Within Persona 5 is a complex set of interconnected gameplay mechanics, and in almost every aspect Atlus has executed on its vision exceptionally, barring the pacing issues towards the end. At every turn, it presents something to marvel at, whether it's the fluid combat, vibrant world, or the many memorable characters. It's a game I could talk about for hours; I haven't mentioned the ability to connect to the Thieves Guild, which lets you see how other players spent their day or ask them for help answering questions at school. Or the thumping acid-jazz-infused soundtrack that I've not been able to get out of my head. Or even just the joy of seeing how it stylishly transitions between menus. But that encapsulates why Persona 5 is a game that shouldn't be missed. It's stuffed to bursting point with gameplay ideas and presentation flourishes--there's an overwhelming level of artistry in every part of Persona 5, making it a truly standout entry in the series. It's a refined, effortlessly stylish RPG that will be talked about for years to come.

 

The Guardian (5 *s)

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Persona 5 is a vast proposition. Each case, of which there are many, will take around 10 hours to clear, so it’s a game best approached like a multi-season TV series. The comparison is apt too, as your emotional bond with the characters and their daily struggles and hang-ups matures as with a soap opera. Like many soap operas, it’s a game that could, at times, have used some hard editing. Exposition is thorough and dialogue lengthy, although it is mercifully possible to speed through conversations. But there’s an authenticity to all the writing that proves memorable and affecting. The protagonists speak and text like school children. They make misinformed or sexist remarks. They fumble social interactions. They are, in short, teenagers. At its core this is a spectacular work of contemporary young adult fiction, one with a strong moral core, angled yet never didactic, expansive yet always focused. 

 

The Jimquisition (8.5/10) (<<<The worst one according to Metacritic)

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It’s not often I sink 120 hours into a game in just two weeks, and usually doing so feels like an absolute chore pushed through solely for work purposes. Honestly, I really didn’t mind spending almost all day, every day, for multiple weeks being a magic Japanese school boy. Persona 5 made trading any semblance I had of a social life for a fake one full of talking cats and jock punks seem like a worthwhile and valuable use of my time.

 

Many more are available... if people tag me into posts with some particularly good reviews I've missed then I'll gladly add them here. 

 

There was never really any doubt, but it looks like yet another great game right at the start of the year. Can't wait.

Edited by StrickenBiged
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24 minutes ago, StrickenBiged said:

 

I take it that this review is not on the web yet? 

 The UK one doesn't have a website, its just print based. It just links to Games Radar.

 

Here's Games Radar's review also whilst on the subject.

http://www.gamesradar.com/persona-5-review/

 

5/5

"An experience that's perfectly realized from the moment it begins"

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25 minutes ago, rikwebb said:

 Here's Games Radar's review also whilst on the subject.

http://www.gamesradar.com/persona-5-review/

 

5/5

"An experience that's perfectly realized from the moment it begins"

 

I think it's a bit weird that Games Radar comes out with a "con" that the game doesn't have homosexual romance options without mentioning this anywhere in the body of the review... 

 

I've only played Persona 4 Golden but my understanding was that these weren't that kind of RPG anyway. You're not creating your own character, you are role playing as a different character. If that character happens to be heterosexual, I don't know whether that's really something you can fairly criticise the game for? Did anyone have these sorts of issues with Geralt in The Witcher 3

11 minutes ago, soniq said:

Wouldn't it be enough to check OpenCritic? ;)

 

Yeah, if you want. Then this thread is to discuss the reviews in our little corner of the internet. 

Edited by StrickenBiged
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6 minutes ago, StrickenBiged said:

 

I think it's a bit weird that Games Radar comes out with a "con" that the game doesn't have heterosexual romance options without mentioning this anywhere in the body of the review...

Don't you mean homosexual?

It really is weird to point that out. Is that a pc thing now that everything has to accomodate all types of genders and sexual orientations if one option is available? Like, if you can create a character you have to be able to create male and female characters? If there are romance options you have to have hetero- and homosexual options? Does one character have to be transsexual aswell?

This isn't meant to be sarcastic or anything, I honestly don't know.

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1 minute ago, soniq said:

Don't you mean homosexual?

 

Ooop. Yep, fixed. 

 

6 minutes ago, soniq said:

It really is weird to point that out. Is that a pc thing now that everything has to accomodate all types of genders and sexual orientations if one option is available? Like, if you can create a character you have to be able to create male and female characters? If there are romance options you have to have hetero- and homosexual options? 

 

I mean, maybe if the reviewer bothered to say why this is a con it could be understood but, in the absence of any explanation it does just look like, as you say, there is some sort of checklist against which games are judged. 

 

I would draw a distinction between a create-your-own RPG and a control-this-person RPG. In the former case, then yeah, I think it's better if the game allows you to create a male/female character and then give you romance options for both hetero and homo sexual role play. I'm straight and a dude, but I've explored some of those options in the past (looking at you Zevran ?) and it doesn't cost me or anyone else anything to have these options included. 

 

11 minutes ago, soniq said:

Does one character have to be transsexual aswell?

 

I think games in general need to be really careful including trans characters. I thought Horizon handled it really well, but apparently even that wasn't enough. (Note, I think the criticism of this scene in Horizon is completely unwarranted and ignores the context of the world Horizon is set in.)

 

If I were a dev, I don't think I would bother including trans characters if I was going to be damned either way and, in this respect, I fear that some of the PC fanatics might actually make inclusion worse if they unfairly criticise even the good representations of trans characters.

 

As far as a create-your-own character goes, I don't know whether trans people would appreciate being able to design a character who is themselves trans... I thought the point was to try and become viewed as the gender they identify with? I don't know either, but it would be enlightening if someone knew more about whether this would comment.

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55 minutes ago, StrickenBiged said:

 

I think it's a bit weird that Games Radar comes out with a "con" that the game doesn't have homosexual romance options without mentioning this anywhere in the body of the review... 

 

I've only played Persona 4 Golden but my understanding was that these weren't that kind of RPG anyway. You're not creating your own character, you are role playing as a different character. If that character happens to be heterosexual, I don't know whether that's really something you can fairly criticise the game for? Did anyone have these sorts of issues with Geralt in The Witcher 3?

 

I'm a gay girl and I'll admit, it's a little disappointing. Persona 2 is what got me into the series, and you actually can be gay in that, so it's frustrating to see them avoid it since. Like, it's their vision, whatever, but Yusuke is visually very similar to the boy you could date in P2, so I was kind of banking on it being a thing.

 

I've still got the premium edition on preorder, and I'm planning to play and love it, but yeah, for me it's just kind of sad to not have that option.

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12 minutes ago, StrickenBiged said:

I think games in general need to be really careful including trans characters. I thought Horizon handled it really well, but apparently even that wasn't enough. (Note, I think the criticism of this scene in Horizon is completely unwarranted and ignores the context of the world Horizon is set in.)

Haven't played Horizon and don't know what you are talking about, but apparently there's a trans character and people on the internet didn't like something about it?

 

I can only agree that it's probably always a bad postion to be in if you are touching the topic of gender and sexuality.

Personally I'm not bothered by any choices or lack thereof. If I can create my own character and play any way I like that's cool. But if the game puts me in a role of a pre-defined character that's ok too. Always depends on the game and the story it wants to tell.

23 minutes ago, Satoshi Ookami said:

There is no yaoi in Persona so fujoshi can freely create doujins without being limited even a bit by canon =)

Thank you for teaching me 3 new words. :D

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17 minutes ago, GlennRhee said:

I'm a gay girl and I'll admit, it's a little disappointing. Persona 2 is what got me into the series, and you actually can be gay in that, so it's frustrating to see them avoid it since.

 

I didn't realise that they'd already done this in the series - I haven't played anything Persona other than P4G. That does put a different colour on things - weird for them to go back from being more inclusive to less inclusive. 

 

See, if the reviewer had made a comment like yours in their review - I'm not saying that the reviewer has to be gay, but simply pointing out that you could be a gay character in P2 and you can't be in P5 - their "con" would make a lot more sense. I still think it's weird to list on its own without any context. 

 

 

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Shame on Atlus for not including homosexual romance options! They should have learnt from Bioware's example and pander to every sexual orientation, race, and religion out there. We all know diversity makes a better game. Just look at Mass Effect: Andromeda! That's perfection right there. ? Also, what's with the protagonist being a male character!? Is Atlus a part of the patriarchy? How dare they not make the MC female or transgender!? I demand equal representation for all! Until then, Atlus won't be getting my money. Sexist pigs! ?

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3 minutes ago, Undead Wolf said:

Shame on Atlus for not including homosexual romance options! They should have learnt from Bioware's example and pander to every sexual orientation, race, and religion out there. We all know diversity makes a better game. Just look at Mass Effect: Andromeda! That's perfection right there. 1f44c.png Also, what's with the protagonist being a male character!? Is Atlus a part of the patriarchy? How dare they not make the MC female or transgender!? I demand equal representation for all! Until then, Atlus won't be getting my money. Sexist pigs! 1f621.png

 

Totally unrelated, but your post made me wonder where all those strange emoticons come from. When was the emoji-selection expanded and more importantly:
Why can't we select the skin color? Sad! :|

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1 minute ago, Crimson Idol said:

Totally unrelated, but your post made me wonder where all those strange emoticons come from. When was the emoji-selection expanded and more importantly:
Why can't we select the skin color? Sad! :|

 

Yeah, tons more emoticons were added yesterday. And I know, right!? Goddammit, Sly! How am I supposed to accurately express my feelings when these emoticons don't match my skin colour!? The white man is just trying to keep us down, I tell ya! ?

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1 hour ago, soniq said:

Haven't played Horizon and don't know what you are talking about, but apparently there's a trans character and people on the internet didn't like something about it?

 

In fairness, the article I'm referring to says that it is one of the better representations of trans characters - they use the phrase "above average" - but their criticisms still ignore the context of the game.

 

Mild spoilers for Horizon - context but no specifics. There are more spoilers in the criticism here: http://www.polygon.com/2017/3/21/15004956/zelda-mass-effect-horizon-zero-dawn-trans-characters

Spoiler

You come across a character that is clearly a female, in terms of biological sex - they have feminine facial features and a female voice, albeit a deep one. She has her hair cut short. She is doing a job which is reserved for men in the society that she comes from (although you don't know this when you meet them).

 

Your character has the option to query this. If you do, Aloy assumes the character is female, and is quickly rebuked by the trans character who asserts that they are not a woman, and makes a reference to the fact that they had to fight against a lot of prejudice to get to their position as a leader, and then goes back to the main topic of conversation. 

 

The article criticises that Aloy "feels the need to assume" that the character is a woman. They also criticise that explicit "trans language" was not used and that the character came from a society which did not accept them initially when they adopted a male gender. 

 

My response is that:

  • Aloy has never met a trans person before and (overwhelmingly likely) has no knowledge of trans issues. It's mildly spoilery to say why, but Aloy has had very little human interaction throughout her life. No one up to this point had even explained to Aloy that this profession was restricted to men - it is an entirely innocent mistake on her part, made for obvious reasons. 
  • Humanity in general has had a bit of a "hard reset". Almost all knowledge of our present day has been irrecoverably lost, barring a few simple things like language. It is therefore reasonable that trans issues have been completely lost to time. Also, without medical knowledge, this character has no chance of ever transitioning and is stuck with doing the best they can which (unfortunately for them in the context) is limited to wearing "man's" clothes, doing a "man's" job, cutting their hair, etc, which will confuse people who don't know better. 
  • Despite coming from this background, the trans character refused to conform to the society they came from and, instead, proved themselves worthy of the leadership position they wanted by being the best at what they do. I thought this was quite positive.

 

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21 minutes ago, Undead Wolf said:

Shame on Atlus for not including homosexual romance options!

 

To be fair, we can't tell if the reviewer was saying "shame" on anyone because they just pointed it out without any context. 

 

23 minutes ago, Undead Wolf said:

and pander to every sexual orientation, race, and religion out there.

 

It's not pandering. There's a difference between representing the diverse backgrounds of people that make up humanity in your game and pandering. I haven't played Andromeda, but I quite liked how in previous ME games everyone is just there and doing their thing without there being a big song and dance about it. Pandering would be just as *phobic as total exclusion, IMO. 

 

By the end of your post I couldn't tell if you were being serious or trying to satirise the knee jerk anti-SJW crowd.

 

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1 minute ago, StrickenBiged said:

It's not pandering. There's a difference between representing the diverse backgrounds of people that make up humanity in your game and pandering. I haven't played Andromeda, but I quite liked how in previous ME games everyone is just there and doing their thing without there being a big song and dance about it. Pandering would be just as *phobic as total exclusion, IMO.

 

Really? Because everything I've heard about Mass Effect: Andromeda is how forced everything feels. They do make a big song and dance about it! Worst of all, the dialogue in that game feels like it came from a bunch of amateurs. Have a read of this: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-03-28-mass-effect-andromeda-is-another-failure-for-trans-representation

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18 minutes ago, Undead Wolf said:

Really? Because everything I've heard about Mass Effect: Andromeda is how forced everything feels. They do make a big song and dance about it! Worst of all, the dialogue in that game feels like it came from a bunch of amateurs.

 

Point taken. Like I say I haven't played Andromeda but that article does make it sound like very clumsy inclusion indeed! 

 

I was making the broader point that mere inclusion isn't pandering, which some people who express an opinion on this sort of thing seem to think. Clumsy inclusion would tend to indicate that the writers were only interested in having the character for the sake of ticking a box on the inclusivity checklist, rather than actually caring about the representation. 

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45 minutes ago, StrickenBiged said:

 

I didn't realise that they'd already done this in the series - I haven't played anything Persona other than P4G. That does put a different colour on things - weird for them to go back from being more inclusive to less inclusive.

 

 

I guess in fairness I should mention that Persona 2 didn't come over to the west until the early 2010's. I don't think there's any confirmation what, exactly, led to it being avoided, though the two commonly cited reasons are the gay romance and the fact that Hitler is in it. It could be that they're trying to avoid their game being "banned" in the west, but...P2 came out in the 90s, and gay romances are more accepted now. It would have been nice to see them include the option.

 

If you can get past the dated combat, I really recommend P2. Innocent Sin has one of the more memorable casts, IMO. It should be available on PSN for Vita-owners.

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1 minute ago, GlennRhee said:

If you can get past the dated combat, I really recommend P2. Innocent Sin has one of the more memorable casts, IMO. It should be available on PSN for Vita-owners.

 

It's more a question of whether I have time in my life for another massive JRPG! xD 

 

But, I suppose, without trophies, I wouldn't have the pressure to aim for the plat and I'd only have to do it the one time... Maybe I will. ?

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