Board 8 > Persona 5 General Discussion Topic #3 - It's Almost Scary how good I am [spoil?]

(+) Yeah! (+)

swordz9 posted...

Most of the PCs in this game could die and I wouldn't even feel anything because they feel like nothing characters

I'm pretty far behind the other folks in this topic (Palace 3) but I feel like the characters in this game are really strong as individuals. Quite possibly more so than P4's crew, actually. They definitely don't seem to jive as much as the Investigation Team did but I don't really think that's what this game is going for at all so it's not an issue for me at this point.
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Even if it's not what they're going for the lack of character interaction really hurts this game for me. The characters in 3 weren't friends for almost the whole game really and even they interacted way more with each other. Most of the characters in this are in the same place together all the time, but just never talk to each other unless you go to a palace or do their social link.

I think they could have had more character types. There are 4-5 flavors of stylish/proper/intelligent/beautiful in so many people. Only Ryuji, Morgana, and Futaba feel distinctive. Makoto breaks free because of sheer screentime, story presence, and her awakening scene. Ann, Yusuke, and Haru fall really short.
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Yusuke is fantastic. Or dare I say... fabulous.
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Not_an_Owl posted...

Yusuke is fantastic. Or dare I say... fabulous.

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So how long is Palace 4? I'm on the... Second saferoom?
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I think there are four separate chambers.
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I definitely agree with the sentiment that the P5 characters are stronger as individuals than at least P4, and possibly P3 also. It also sounds like I haven't even really interacting with what people think are the best ones, since I've only just finished palace 2. Basically everyone has had at least one really great development scene so far though if not more, which is more than I can say for past games. (The awakening scenes in particular have been phenomenal so far.)

Yusuke > Ann > Morgana > Ryuji among party members that I've met, for the record. I would currently say that I like all of them also, though there are signs of Ryuji's character heading south, so to speak.
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SupremeZero posted...

Not_an_Owl posted...

Yusuke is fantastic. Or dare I say... fabulous.

omg the little tail wags
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Holy crap

At 10/26

This escalated quickly
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Futaba's not as good as the best P3 characters, but she's at least better than most of P4's cast. So moe <3
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I'm not sure if this is the case but all the confidants seem to be available almost always, that might be why it's easier to max them in this one

Also apparently Mishima is a playa???

Oh wait no lmao
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Standing in front of the final boss, and while I did like the cast I think it's super safe to say that the group dynamic and hangout scenes were pitiful compared to P4s.
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Got a question about Palace 6. If you goof up can you earn more coins? I have enough right now, but I kinda want to buy this Golden Beam, Tyche Charm and Despair Charm which would put me under the 100k I need.

swordz9 posted...

Got a question about Palace 6. If you goof up can you earn more coins? I have enough right now, but I kinda want to buy this Golden Beam, Tyche Charm and Despair Charm which would put me under the 100k I need.

You can find them in increments of 200 randomly in breakables

Just go give in the 100k, though.
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I have 6 mementos targets

What's the odds I get all of them
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Very high. Mementos is quick and easy with low level enemies.
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Getting crushed by the first one farthest up

This does not bode well
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Ok, can brain jack ever not hit me
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And i finally win when brainjack misses twice

What a stupid boss
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So is leveling up the Moon social link required to continue doing missions in Mementos? I want to keep doing Mementos things but god does this kid piss me off.
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Sadly, yes.
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You can get Mementos missions without leveling the moon link but there are a good amount locked behind the moon link.
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Ok. Times probably running out but I think I can max all of the ...

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE IS A LINK I HAVENT DISCOVERED YET
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It's just like real life. You gotta hang out with Steiner to get that e-pop, and you gotta hang out with Mishima for exp bonuses.
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It's not efficient for me to go into the metaverse right now but I really want to hear Last Surprise

P5 problems
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So Makoto spoilers kind of but

The game REALLY makes it seem like MC/Makato is the canon couple with how many scenes they have together with her grabbing onto him and stuff. Which is fine because she's my favorite girl so far but I'm surprised.

Also beat 4th palace. Fuck despair, but once I stocked up on items that cured it the boss wasn't that bad.
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It's kinda amusing how the game fails to take romance into account. Like, even if you max out Ann and romance her, you can talk about what kind of girl you like in front of her on the trip and go to hit on other women and she doesn't even react.
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So I just completed the fourth Palace (those SP Adhesives make a huge difference). I did it as soon as possible, like with the other Palaces, so... uh... is Futaba really going to sleep for three weeks straight?! Holy crap.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

It's kinda amusing how the game fails to take romance into account. Like, even if you max out Ann and romance her, you can talk about what kind of girl you like in front of her on the trip and go to hit on other women and she doesn't even react.

Romance does seem to kind of exist it its own pocket reality in Persona in general. P4 Golden Valentine's Day is a kind of hilarious/depressing exception to this rule. >_>
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1/5 letters in the 7th Palace down

More tomorrow.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

It's kinda amusing how the game fails to take romance into account. Like, even if you max out Ann and romance her, you can talk about what kind of girl you like in front of her on the trip and go to hit on other women and she doesn't even react.

This is extremely realistic though
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Also is anyone else really bad at persona negotiations? I have even memorized the personalities tutorial thing and I still only get an item 2, 3, 4 times.
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Is invigorate 3 way more worth it than invigorate 1? I didn't expect to have access to it so soon but I can nearly afford one of them

Although I suppose I can wait until after this palace since I only have half of it remaining
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3 is 7 SP per turn
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You can also stack them, mind.
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Stack how? There's only one accessory slot..?
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foolm0r0n posted...

Stack how? There's only one accessory slot..?

The accessory is granting you the Invigorate 3 skill. All 3 invigorate skills stack with each other. So if you have Invigorate 1 and 2 on your persona, and the invigorate 3 accessory, you regen 15 SP per turn.
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DONE

90 HOURS

Fantastic game. P5 is better on every level in regards to mechanics and presentation, but P4 had the better cast overall so it still sits at the top for me. Still, what a great ride. And yeah, having another version down the line is pretty obvious.
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11/20 spoilers

Holy shit. One of my few complaints about this game is how after the first couple palaces they went away from the cool heist sequences in favor of "give calling card, fight boss, win gaem". And then they go and throw in the most complicated scheme imaginable. Bravo Atlus, bra-fucking-vo.
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I didn't sleep much, so I bum rushed the 7th Palace infiltration. What I found was suitably nuts for the recent events.

The party found five different people conspiring with Shido and Akechi to perpetrate political gain. After taking down all five enemies, there was a series of boss fights with Akechi. He showed up, claiming to be Shido's "bastard" son. His goal was to reveal himself to Shido after the election. So, he fought the Phantom Thieves to ensure they didn't screw that up. He turned some Shadows nuts, then fought legit, only to turn psychotic himself. I survived, mostly due to each fight being relatively weak to compensate for absolutely no save time.

Akechi conceded, only for his cognitive double to show up and shoot him. Shido turned out to be the mastermind after all, considering I figured they'd pull the inverse. Well played not going with the, "teenage masterind final boss" angle. Shido's a capable asshole already. Both versions of Akechi shot one another, so the party ran off to the Treasure Room to call it a successful one-night infiltration.

There's almost too much to process right now. But Atlus does not straddle the fence. When they have an idea, they go full bore, digging deep into this shit for crazy results.
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Grand Kirby posted...

So I just completed the fourth Palace (those SP Adhesives make a huge difference). I did it as soon as possible, like with the other Palaces, so... uh... is Futaba really going to sleep for three weeks straight?! Holy crap.

Yeah i did the same thing
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If they do another version I really hope they add more character interaction. It's basically the only thing this game is severely lacking in since the style and everything else are great.

I maxed stats, no thanks to Guts taking forever. Now I doubt I'll max Makoto, due to so few days left. Bleh. NG+ for me.
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I'm not really noticing the lack of interaction scenes. The fewer, more grounded hangouts and group chat is enough to me. There's more of a focus on actual plot, which I think is a better direction.

Plus I don't think I want even more cutscenes. I just got palace 5 after what felt like at least 20 straight days of fucking cutscenes

Edit: well, maybe not better, but...we already had Persona 4. There's tons of anime that have that tone, if you want that. This is different, and still good.
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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

Plus I don't think I want even more cutscenes. I just got palace 5 after what felt like at least 20 straight days of fucking cutscenes

Yeah, Persona 5 does have some pacing issues. You'll get like 3 weeks to do a palace, hang out with your confidants, and generally do whatever you want, and then plot will kick in for 2 or 3 weeks and your options become super limited until the next palace opens up. Probably my biggest gripe with the game is how much it seemingly arbitrarily restricts your time.
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Yeah it feels like you have to bum rush dungeons almost immediately if you want to have a lot of free time. There's very few days you have full control and there's no deadline.
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I am only at the end of May but I have no issues with characterization and pacing. Although it is definitely way more plot arc driven based on the current target, so that might get a bit formulaic. P3/4 didn't feel like that as much, but in hindsight I guess they did have a similar structure as well.
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7th Palace Done!

Shido was surprisingly simple. If you can get past his initial Repel Physical phase, everything else is attrition. He has powerful physical and almighty attacks, but nothing that is an absolute killer. Just bring items and SP regen stuff. I only survived thanks to those Invig 3s. Awesome cutscenes all around, including the one time Ryuji didn't suck.

I get the feeling the final boss still hasn't shown up yet.
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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

I'm not really noticing the lack of interaction scenes. The fewer, more grounded hangouts and group chat is enough to me. There's more of a focus on actual plot, which I think is a better direction.

Plus I don't think I want even more cutscenes. I just got palace 5 after what felt like at least 20 straight days of fucking cutscenes

Edit: well, maybe not better, but...we already had Persona 4. There's tons of anime that have that tone, if you want that. This is different, and still good.

I don't know how you could not notice it. There are a lot of plot scenes, but they aren't a lot of party interaction. In P4 characters were interacting like all the time. In this they barely ever get together to do non-palace stuff and when they do it feels so minimal in comparison. You could ask anybody that has beaten this or even gotten far and they would likely agree. The usual series events like trips and whatnot are incredibly weak in this and it's because the characters barely do anything with each other.