Board 8 > Anagram plays Persona 5: Makoto Edition (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Just like in real life.
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Anagram posted...

Except Makoto, the girl I actually want to raise my confidant with, seems to be avoiding me. And tomorrow there's a week-long trip to Hawaii, dammit.

Oh right, I think she's locked out in the lead up to the trip.

Good news is that Makoto's confidant levels fairly quickly once you're past the Charm gate.
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tcaz2 posted...

Well that's not entirely true if you go into the dating range (iirc 7-10) with two girls at once you can get an S.Link 'reversed' and have to spend time getting it back to normal before it works again.

But after you hit max rank you can just romance another.

They got rid of this in P4 and P5 and instead added a 'consequence' scene late game that basically makes you feel bad for dating multiple girls (though honestly P5's is more funny than anything imo- 4's legitimately hurts, however)

Bizarre, thanks.
Shadow Dino posted...

Oh right, I think she's locked out in the lead up to the trip.

Good news is that Makoto's confidant levels fairly quickly once you're past the Charm gate.

Thanks.
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Well, they didn't add that "consequence" scene in P4 until the Golden version.

but yeah man that one's painful
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Anagram posted...

I should also say that I'm impressed how the game makes it fun to do basically normal boring stuff instead of adventure stuff 90% of the time and fit in all these scenes where you're just friends hanging out.

If you're enjoying those scenes, you would really like Persona 4. It does those 'slice of life' bits very, very well.

Harem-ing in Persona 3/4/5 only has any real consequences in Persona 4 Golden, where they stick a knife in your heart (not literally).
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I didnt even realize I could romance multiple girls in this game.

I hope the others have a reaction to you falling for Kawakami specifically, I wont see it if so because I sank that ship.
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Poofy red hair girl showing up in the background now, definitely gonna be a party member later.
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Ann came to Hawaii hoping to eat pancakes? Of all things in the world, pancakes?
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A storm just sent Yusuke to Hawaii as well. Secret magical conspiracy to keep us all connected confirmed?
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If Ann is the only one who speaks English, why are the boys able to communicate easily with everyone they meet on this beach? Does everyone in Hawaii speak Japanese and I just didn't know it?
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I like how the loading screen has Brent Johnson wearing a lei.
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Is the protagonist always a dude? It seems like an obvious move to have a gender select.
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Anagram posted...

If Ann is the only one who speaks English, why are the boys able to communicate easily with everyone they meet on this beach? Does everyone in Hawaii speak Japanese and I just didn't know it?

There is a pretty big Asian presence in Hawaii actually.

Anagram posted...

Is the protagonist always a dude? It seems like an obvious move to have a gender select.

Almost always. Persona 3 Portable (PSP port of Persona 3) added the option to select a female protagonist.
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Anagram posted...

Is the protagonist always a dude? It seems like an obvious move to have a gender select.

In the Persona 3 PSP version you can select a female MC which changes the story some (and gives you S.Links with the male party members instead of the female ones- P3 didn't have you S.Link all of the party members).

Otherwise, nope.

It's an oft-requested feature to return but they have yet to replicate it.

tcaz2 posted...

There is a pretty big Asian presence in Hawaii actually.

I know Hawaii has a big Japanese population, but one of the random NPCs you have to talk to is black. At least a few of these people are definitely white or black and can't be native speakers.

It's not like this is a big deal, just something I noticed.
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Anagram posted...

I like how the loading screen has Brent Johnson wearing a lei.

this was the best thing

Anagram posted...

Is the protagonist always a dude? It seems like an obvious move to have a gender select.

I think both Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden added female protagonist options (and corresponding dude romances?)

man you're just like a couple weeks behind me at this point D:
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xp1337 posted...

Almost always. Persona 3 Portable (PSP port of Persona 3) added the option to select a female protagonist.

tcaz2 posted...

In the Persona 3 PSP version you can select a female MC which changes the story some (and gives you S.Links with the male party members instead of the female ones- P3 didn't have you S.Link all of the party members).

Otherwise, nope.

It's an oft-requested feature to return but they have yet to replicate it.

I'm not sure how much effort it would be to include it again. It doesn't seem like it would be too hard, a million games have gender selects, so it's weird they wouldn't.
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tcaz2 posted...

(and gives you S.Links with the male party members instead of the female ones- P3 didn't have you S.Link all of the party members).

FeMC gives you links with the entire team. Male Protagonist/Original P3 only had the girl team members but FeMC has them all.
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Tom Bombadil posted...

I think both Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden added female protagonist options (and corresponding dude romances?)

P4G does not have a female protagonist.

Anagram posted...

I'm not sure how much effort it would be to include it again. It doesn't seem like it would be too hard, a million games have gender selects, so it's weird they wouldn't.

The problem is they'd have to rewrite a lot of scenes and dialogue.

It wouldn't make a ton of sense for, for instance, the "Ryuji and Mishima call a maid hotline with you" segment, among a lot of other things.

tcaz2 posted...

The problem is they'd have to rewrite a lot of scenes and dialogue.

It wouldn't make a ton of sense for, for instance, the "Ryuji and Mishima call a maid hotline with you" segment, among a lot of other things.

Sure it would. In fact, it'd be funnier.

So I answered "smart girls" to Ryuji's question and got messages from Makoto and Hifumi. If I'd said "hot girls," would I have gotten Ann instead of one of them? What about "mysterious girls?"
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Anagram posted...

So I answered "smart girls" to Ryuji's question and got messages from Makoto and Hifumi. If I'd said "hot girls," would I have gotten Ann instead of one of them? What about "mysterious girls?"

Nah. Your options to hang out with people there is determined by Confidant Rank/Relationship Status.

If you were at Rank 10 Romance with Kawakami she'd be available. Makoto and Hifumi are available provided you have them at Rank 5 or higher since the game likely doesn't expect you to be able to surpass the Charm Gate for Makoto and Hifumi's link can't be maxed by that point no matter what. I'm guessing Ann needs to be in a romance.
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Is Garlic Shrimp Guy the true hero of this game?
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xp1337 posted...

Nah. Your options to hang out with people there is determined by Confidant Rank/Relationship Status.

If you were at Rank 10 Romance with Kawakami she'd be available. Makoto and Hifumi are available provided you have them at Rank 5 or higher since the game likely doesn't expect you to be able to surpass the Charm Gate for Makoto and Hifumi's link can't be maxed by that point no matter what. I'm guessing Ann needs to be in a romance.

Thanks. I guess I figured wrong.
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xp1337 posted...

I'm guessing Ann needs to be in a romance.

Correct.
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P2 has a female protagonist in its second game, fwiw! And P3 FeMC is great but unfortunately has been treated as noncanon since (never showing up in the spinoffs, etc.)

I'm hoping that one P3-P5 director (too lazy to look up his name) supposedly leaving the series (iirc) means there'll be a better chance of a FeMC option in P5's inevitable Golden-equivalent upgrade down the line, since he's been shown to have pretty backwards views toward women and gender roles (see the forced dating routes in P3 because he doesn't believe that platonic male-female friendships exist, the stereotyped/derogatory treatment of LGBT people in general...)
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Zyxyz0 posted...

And P3 FeMC is great but unfortunately has been treated as noncanon since

I mean

because she is
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Anagram posted...

xp1337 posted...

Almost always. Persona 3 Portable (PSP port of Persona 3) added the option to select a female protagonist.

tcaz2 posted...

In the Persona 3 PSP version you can select a female MC which changes the story some (and gives you S.Links with the male party members instead of the female ones- P3 didn't have you S.Link all of the party members).

Otherwise, nope.

It's an oft-requested feature to return but they have yet to replicate it.

I'm not sure how much effort it would be to include it again. It doesn't seem like it would be too hard, a million games have gender selects, so it's weird they wouldn't.

Really? A game like Persona seems like it would take a ton of more effort to add another playable gender. You'd have to rewrite loads and loads of dialogue, adjust the story, animate separate FMV cutscenes, etc. You can't compare this to, say, Pokemon, or other RPGs where the type of character you are makes jack difference.
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Oho, looks like poofy redhead girl was in the Metaverse.

Actually, wasn't Ann's hair color a major plot point? Why is it weird for her to be blond, but multiple other girls having red hair isn't commented upon?
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Red hair actually does exist naturally in Japan. It's just rare.

Ann's blonde hair singles her out as a foreigner.
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Tons of storms in LA. That's realism in gaming right there!
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yeah for as nitpicky as Anagram is about everything I am flabbergasted he didn't pick up on that
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Didn't you guys already accidentally drag someone into the Metaverse before? I specifically remember you saying you'd be more careful after doing it to Ann the first time. Now you've done it to the detective boy, tsk tsk.

Also, I'm not sure I'm into this moon colony thing. All of the other palaces were twisted real places, even the castle and the pyramid. This is getting a little more, I don't know, out there. I also like how everyone is unable to tell it's poofy redhead under her tiny mask, but I guess the same is true in reverse.

Hm, poofy redhead opened the genetic lock, so she's probably Okumura's daughter.
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LeonhartFour posted...

yeah for as nitpicky as Anagram is about everything I am flabbergasted he didn't pick up on that

LordoftheMorons posted...

Tons of storms in LA. That's realism in gaming right there!

I thought they said it was a storm on the way to LA, not in LA itself.
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I honestly didn't like this Palace at first, but it grew on me by the end.
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The first half of that dungeon is the worst segment in the entire game.
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There are four of you checking the student registries at the same time, but it's taken you so long that your attention is waning? But you only even have to check the female half of the school. How many students can Shujin possibly have that it would take more than half an hour at most to check their pictures?

That was a nitpick purely for Leonhart's benefit, by the way.
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Ha, her name's Okumura. I knew it.
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I mean Ryuji and Ann are kinda dumb so Joker and Makoto are really doing all the work
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Oh god she has the worst voice

I hate innocent anime girls with really high-pitched voices, what is with that?
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LeonhartFour posted...

I mean Ryuji and Ann are kinda dumb so Joker and Makoto are really doing all the work

This is actually a good retort.
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The 5th Palace is probably the worst dungeon in the game. The barracks section is rage inducing for reasons that will become apparent once you get there.
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Haru's VA cosplayed as her during a con after the game came out so I forgive her for everything
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Anagram posted...

Oh god she has the worst voice

I hate innocent anime girls with really high-pitched voices, what is with that?

Whaaat her voice is great. Fits her perfectly.
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Ryuji is actually explicitly not helping! He (and Morgana) are surfing the internet on his phone during all that. Well, for part of it at least. I forget exactly how the scene plays out but I know that while he starts out "helping" later on Morgana basically gives away what's really going on.
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xp1337 posted...

Ryuji is actually explicitly not helping! He (and Morgana) are surfing the internet on his phone during all that.

That was a different scene. This one was all of the humans except Yusuke and Futaba.
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Haru's voice grows on you, but it's iffy sometimes.

I like the music of the 5th dungeon a lot.
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Anagram posted...

xp1337 posted...

Ryuji is actually explicitly not helping! He (and Morgana) are surfing the internet on his phone during all that.

That was a different scene. This one was all of the humans except Yusuke and Futaba.

Huh, I thought there was a transition and Makoto (or was it Ann?) asks you to yell at Ryuji to take things seriously. And Ryuji/Morgana are talking about the rankings or something.
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And I stand by my statement about Haru's voice. I remember watching Outlaw Star as a kid and disliking Melina partly because of her voice. There's something about Japan where they like super high-pitched anime girls.
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xp1337 posted...

Huh, I thought there was a transition and Makoto (or was it Ann?) asks you to yell at Ryuji to take things seriously. And Ryuji/Morgana are talking about the rankings or something.

Ryuji goofs off and looks at the girls' pictures to see who's hot, Ann tells him to stop, then hypocritically looks at the other girls' pictures to see who's older than her.
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