Persona 5 follows a young protagonist on parole after fighting to defend a woman. He gets sent off to live with his new guardian, Sojiro Sakura. He goes to school and meets a kid whose name is Ryuji Sakamoto. Going off on an adventure, the pair gets lost and ends up at a castle. Heading inside, the duo gets locked up by the King in the castle’s dungeon. The king goes down to beat up our two protagonists and the main character awakens to his superpowers.
The setting and aesthetic of each playing area in Persona 5 is amazing. The developers, Atlus, set each scene perfectly. For example, at school and outdoors you spend most of your time making bonds with friends and getting new abilities. At every time of day, the sun is in a different position, conversations change, and actions are time dependent. The game also features congested cities and rooms, much like it would be in real life. The creators contrast grimy urbanism beautifully with the palaces, which are the places the main cast of characters go to change a person’s heart—a major part of the game. Some palaces look normal on the outside but have some of the coolest and outlandish things inside, and the details they put into these palaces are mind boggling!
When playing games, the characters are always make or break to a production. They’re important to how you’ll feel about the game in general, as they are who you’ll experience the game through. Persona 5 is no exception, so I love how masterfully created these characters are. Considering other RPGs, the developer’s made Persona 5’s characters some of the most fleshed out in gaming history! As you play the game, you make friends and create bonds which grant you abilities while learning more about the characters. One thing I can’t say about many games is they keep me interested in the smaller characters; However, Persona 5 does. There are so many dialogue options to choose from and so many conversations to hear that you won‘t get to listen to them all in a single playthrough.
The last thing that is amazingly done by Atlus is the combat system. There are different elements and personas (the monsters you use to attack) and each persona has its own weaknesses and strengths. Combined with the fact there are 259 personas total, not one battle is the same. Moreover, the combat system is as easy as 3 buttons, which makes knowing what personas’ attributes and skills important while also keeping the skill ceiling low for the player.
All-in-all, Persona 5 is a wonderful example of what a skilled studio can develop. If you’ve got the time or money, I would highly recommend giving the game a playthrough (or two!).
