I can't even believe Persona 5 was released all the way back in 2016. That means that as I write this, it's been a game I've wanted to play for seven years now. That's insane. But I'm a pretty weird dude. I mean, here in the US the Persona games have been a pretty big deal as far as JRPG fans go. And I've been super interested in the larger Megami Tensei series since I first discovered it around 2009 or so. And yet somehow, I've only played Persona 2 and that was back in 2011, I think.
Like I said, I'm a weird dude. Way back when, I went down the Shin Megami Tensei rabbit hole and played a bunch of random games. I played Revelations: The Demon Slayer and Demikids for starters. I played Shin Megami Tensei III and IV. I played the fighting game Persona 4 Arena. And I even thought that Soul Hackers 2 was one of the most overlooked games of 2022. And yet the only Persona game I played was the second one on PSP and that was over a decade ago. I'm not sure how I held out so long on playing Persona 5, a game within a series that I'm interested in, and which has been re-released multiple times and often lauded as possibly the best JRPG of the decade. But here we are. Upon first firing the game up, it became immediately clear that Persona 5 is staggeringly impressive. If you're a fan of Megami Tensei, and Persona in particular, then you know what you're getting into. But Atlus has spent decades perfecting this kind of game. And they really know what they're doing. The visuals, the music, the cut scenes, the dialogue, the combat - it's all a cut above the rest. So what even is Persona 5? Well, the Persona games are part of the larger Megami Tensei universe of course. The original Megami Tensei was actually adapted from a Japanese book about demons possessing computers. It's awesome and ridiculous and also quite ahead of its time. I've always been a fan of science fiction and technology. But I love that these games take science fiction (computers, internet, etc) and merge them with theology from various cultures. Imagine something like Neuromancer or The Matrix but with angels and demons. It kind of reminds me of when I was in college and friends pitched the movie Event Horizon to me as "Alien crossed with Hellraiser." Anyway, Persona started as a spin-off from the main series that took place in a more modern day Japan and featured younger students as the main cast. So between all the techno dungeons and demon fusing you've also got school work and dating in the mix. It's such a bizarre mix, but I mean, I'll happily delve into The Matrix X Hellraiser X One Tree Hill. Whatever. Persona 5 tells the story of a young man who interferes with a woman being assaulted one night, and is charged with assault himself by the man he stopped. He's then whisked off to a private school under foster care while on a one year probation. It's an interesting set up. But obviously things go off the rails quickly when an app shows up on his phone which works as a sort of GPS to the demon world. Soon our young protagonist is Joker and all the friends he makes are helping him explore an alternate version of the school and its surroundings while finding their own Personas to fight alongside him. Over the years, the Persona games have become far more popular than the games they spun off from. Persona 5 no longer even mentions "Shin Megami Tensei" in its title. And I guess that makes sense. The modern day setting certainly makes them feel unique in the JRPG space. Personally, I think all of these games are great. But if I'm being honest, I do think I might like the mainline Shin Megami Tensei games more. They're generally a little less story intensive, and because of that I feel like they rely more on their battles and demon-fusing to carry the games. Which is not to say that I dislike Persona 5 or its story or battle system. I actually like or love everything about this game. The storytelling is solid and the visuals are awesome and creepy. The alternate reality dungeons remind me quite a bit of the dream world of Catherine. And because this is still a Megami Tensei game, that means that the battle system is without rival. My only real problem with Persona 5 isn't really a problem. This is a huge game. I mean really huge. And at this point in my life, I just don't really have a hundred hours to pour into a single game anymore. Back before I had a little one in this house, I had no qualms about picking a game and sticking with it until I saw my way to the end, however long that took. But nowadays, I often have trouble sticking with one story based game or more than a week or two. It's a personal issue, and obviously very specific to my exact moment in life. Last year I played through Soul Hackers 2, which was a pretty perfect length for me. It was the kind of game I could get sucked into and tackle in about two weeks. Persona 5 is incredible, and yet it just keeps nagging at me that no matter how much time I've put into it recently, I've just barely scratched the surface. There's so much more game ahead, and I have trouble keeping focused. My daughter is four right now, and after a long day of work, then dinner and her whole bed-time routine, my wife and are beat pretty early. I still want to spend a lot of time gaming, but far too often my brain is mush and I have trouble focusing for long stretches. It's unfortunate that I can't fully commit to a game like Persona 5 right now. But I got a good taste of it and I'm glad I did. I can recognize its genius, and honestly even the small percentage of it that I did play makes me feel like this is a modern masterpiece of the JRPG. Maybe one day I'll get back to it. But of course, there's always so many games begging me to play them. As a guy who started playing games in the 80s, I can easily say that the 2020s are an amazing time to be a gamer. There's so much access to so many incredible games and new ones just keep coming out every week.
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