Current Events > Persona 5 Royal is really great.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm in September now. A few small nitpicks here and there, but overall it's been a fun experience. I think I might like it most.

I do like all my party members this time around. I want to say Ryuji is kind of like a mix between Junpei and Yosuke in some aspects. Morgana is great, I really like him.

Weirdly though the party this time doesn't seem like as we're as close as persona 4 or even persona 3 cast were. Makoto is still someone I think is strange and surprising to be a party member and friends with.

Kind of annoyed about this certain arc with Morgana after Futaba where Ryuji keeps insulting him and Mona is unsure of his role on the team now that Futaba is the tech genius. It's like, what the hell at the constant backhanded insults Ryuji is saying, this is not riffing between friends it's just mean-spirited especially since he KEEPS repeating it. And even after I get this new party member girl Haru and the party and Morgana "make up" I still feel it was not resolved properly.

Just pissed off because I really like Morgana. Easily beats P4's mascot character out of the water, and I never even disliked said mascot.
---

The Royal content sucks

---

Im gonna be getting it for Black Friday hopefully, I can't wait to play it.

---

Considering how much Morgana repeatedly insulted Ryuji, it was hard to muster up much sympathy for him.

---

But yeah the game is pretty fun, exploring palaces is a slight step up from the previous 2's dungeon design. Going around finding will seeds and secret areas with treasure chests is nice.

Being able to pay money to fuse a persona higher than your level is pretty broken, I love it. And all these extra features are great too, like using the guillotine to sacrifice fodder persona to increase the level and strength of your main persona.

Haven't used Lockdown once though, seems completely useless to train one persona when the mechanic behind personas these past few games has always been to just fuse, fuse, and fuse some more. Why waste time with Lockdown? I just don't get it.

Alarm is a nice feature too.
---

The Morgana drama was definitely the biggest dip in the story. I love Royal, but by the time I got to the end I was so happy to be done. 137 hours is insane. I barely put more than 20-30 hours into a game these days.
---

Morgana is alright I guess, but I can't help but resent him because of that entire arc you mentioned, coupled with the worst palace in the game. >_> And it really isn't fair either, Morgana was always taking the piss out of Ryuji and the moment Ryuji fires back he wants to get his feelings hurt? Yeah I get the whole "unsure of his role" angle but it's really hypocritical tbh. >_>

P5R was great though especially the third semester. Glad to hear you're enjoying it.

saspa posted...

Weirdly though the party this time doesn't seem like as we're as close as persona 4 or even persona 3 cast were.

Yeah, where as P4's cast are definitely a tight-knit group of friends and P3's cast are friends as well (but definitely not to extent of P4), P5's feel like they're more like coworkers or something lol.

---

PerseusRad posted...

Considering how much Morgana repeatedly insulted Ryuji, it was hard to muster up much sympathy for him.

Ryuji can still praise and build up Futaba without having to tear someone else down. It's just unnecessarily mean and without reason. It's not like they have the kind of relationship where they insult and play-fight with each other but then make up in the end.

What bothers me is that they didn't give me that cathartic resolution when the new girl's fiance was "harassing" her and assaulting her and he kicked Mona; this would have been the perfect chance to show Ryuji actually cares about Morgana by grabbing the fiance dude and shoving him or punching him or something, to show that despite being hotheaded to a fault, Ryuji actually cares about the people he considers his friends.

But instead he just stands there. It's a complete missed opportunity and I felt really denied. Especially since the fiance doesn't know Morgana so basically he just fucking kicked a cat to the ground and that got my blood boiling, the fact that we didn't see any kind of retribution when the gang comes to save him and showcase Ryuji making up with Morgana not through words, but through misguided actions (ie punching the abusive dude)
---

harley2280 posted...

The Morgana drama was definitely the biggest dip in the story. I love Royal, but by the time I got to the end I was so happy to be done. 137 hours is insane. I barely put more than 20-30 hours into a game these days.

Personally I like spending a lot of time with a game, like 2-3 months on just one game, if not more. Especially since I don't actually play a lot of games, so being able to really take my time with a game is preferable.
---

Will avoid spoiler tags until I beat the game but yeah it's been a great experience. I really like the existence of the fortune confidant boost to rankings and how I never have to waste time with a confidant ever again, I basically just get rank ups each hang out session. I feel like I might actually be able to max rank every single arcana in this game.

Tappor posted...

Yeah, where as P4's cast are definitely a tight-knit group of friends and P3's cast are friends as well (but definitely not to extent of P4), P5's feel like they're more like coworkers or something lol.

Yeah it does sometimes feel that way hehe. If I were being a bit of a luddite I'd blame technology like phones and texting for why they feel more impersonal as a group because they keep communicating by texting the most, rather than P4's constant hangout sessions or P3's rooming together in the same dorm.
---

Irony posted...

The Royal content sucks

It's actually the best of the game.

---

I like how after rescuing Futaba we get a glimpse into Morgana's past and some hints that he may actually be a shadow/monster/or something like that and he's worried he might not actually be human. Daww I just wanna hug him, he's got adorable plushie written all over him.

Speaking of Futaba I hope there's no romance in her confidant rank that would be super gross, she's like a sister to him. Imagine Sojiro entrusting MC to look out for Futaba only for MC to sleep with her, that would be disgusting . It would just feel... wrong
---

So far I think I've figured out the pairing, it's Ann and Ryuji, Yusuke and Futaba, Morgana and Haru... though I'm loathe to put MC and Makoto together because this is the first Persona where I don't see a clear cut canon girl for MC.
---

Makoto is def the canon girl. They're the only two named after playing cards right? Joker and Queen.

---

slmcknett posted...

Makoto is def the canon girl. They're the only two named after playing cards right? Joker and Queen.

Yeah about that. Another weird thing with Makoto is her codename is Queen... but she's the Priestess Confidant, not Empress? So weird. And why did they even choose Queen, instead of Rider or whatever? Her codename is the only one not matching her look unlike the rest of the team.

Just strange all around.
---

Did you just buy it or something? It'll be 20 in a few weeks

---

Can't wait to play it tbh
---

saspa posted...

It would just feel... wrong

But so right.

Ngl I didn't really care for Ryuji at all through the whole game. That arc kinda just solidified it.

---

saspa posted...

Makoto is still someone I think is strange and surprising to be a party member and friends with.

i think she fits in well but she probably had the weakest entry into the team. i could be wrong but i don't remember them having a discussion about her joining. after she awakened she was just automatically a phantom thief.

---

What are your thoughts on the red haired girl?

---

teepan95 posted...

Can't wait to play it tbh

Enjoy! Like the other Persona games before, it takes a few weeks for the game to "click" for me, with the whole life sim + dungeon crawling combination. But once it does and I get into a groove, I really enjoy it.
---

Makoto is nicknamed Queen because she slays.

Also, this game took me 4 months to beat. Its long as fuck, so youll definitely get a lot out of it.

I enjoyed the gameplay in P5R way more than P4G. But P4G has a slightly better story.

---

Frogles posted...

i think she fits in well but she probably had the weakest entry into the team. i could be wrong but i don't remember them having a discussion about her joining. after she awakened she was just automatically a phantom thief.

It was definitely surprising because she's the only one I wasn't expecting to be a member. Usually the Persona games are super obvious over who your next party member would be.

But in the weeks leading up to her joining she had this hilarious arc of following the MC around town while holding up a magazine, and pretending it was just a coincidence. Everywhere I'd go she'd be there running with her face hidden conspicuously in a magazine, it was pretty comedic.

Never expected she'd be a party member, thought she was an antagonist who obviously knew about Kamoshida's harassment, because half the school knew already and she couldn't have been that dense to not know when she's on the student council and has a working relationship with the teachers/principal so the only option is she's with the bad guys.
---

tremain07 posted...

What are your thoughts on the red haired girl?

Somewhat ambivalent. She's a new Marie-esque addition right? I never got around to playing the original P5, and by the time I did (this pandemic) Royal had already come out so I just played that. But I still felt like she seemed kinda out of place and her scenes definitely shoehorned in after-the-fact. But so far she's inoffensive and not nearly as bad Marie from P4 Golden, who basically ruins the game and makes me prefer vanilla P4.

So I don't really have thoughts on her. The in-media-res opening seems to imply that she may or may not be a party member eventually, maybe a "sixth ranger" type deal, so there's that to look out for.
---

saspa posted...

But I still felt like she seemed kinda out of place and her scenes definitely shoehorned in after-the-fact. But so far she's inoffensive

That in itself is offensive she's out of place, she's shoehorned into an already established scene and while she's not an unlikable bitch like Marie she's still rather sloppy tacked on.

---

ArianaGrandSlam posted...

story and characters: P3 >> P5 >>>>>>>>> P4

Haven't finished P5 yet so can't comment on which of the 3 is better. Initially I liked 4 more than 3 when I played the 2 games. But yeah I will say that a decade later, I find myself preferring 3 a lot more than 4. And it's not just because p4g soured me on the experience. P4's murder mystery plot ended up being really disappointing reveal wise, kind of lame and a cop-out really. Up until then I liked the Scooby gang feel of it all and the detective mystery tying it all together.
---

Speaking of, it's funny that P4 had a detective type in Naoto and now P5 had a detective type character within a character show in Akechi, which I was initially confused by: Is he some young teen celebrity playing a fictional detective on TV or is he someone actually working with the police/Sae and an actual officer of the law? I must have missed something during the months. When they first announced "the detective prince" I thought it was a reference to Naoto and it was gonna be a cameo appearance, like how they reference Rise from P4 in all those movie posters. So was thrown off when Akechi was introduced, who for some reason also has red eyes like Sae and Makoto yet no relation.
---

saspa posted...

teepan95 posted...

Can't wait to play it tbh

Enjoy! Like the other Persona games before, it takes a few weeks for the game to "click" for me, with the whole life sim + dungeon crawling combination. But once it does and I get into a groove, I really enjoy it.

I've only ever played P4G when it came out on Steam earlier this year and I fell in love. (also, Marie is best girl tbh)

Once my studentbux come in, my friend is selling me his old PS4 Pro and I'll order P5R when it goes on sale from best buy. My cousin said I could order it to his house and he'd ship it over to me (I live in Europe)
---

tremain07 posted...

That in itself is offensive she's out of place, she's shoehorned into an already established scene and while she's not an unlikable bitch like Marie she's still rather sloppy tacked on.

I'm more annoyed that the intro song dedicates a huge portion just for her, but oh well.

What is the deal with the past 2 persona games and introducing a new character forcefully though, p3 didn't have this problem... oh wait. Is the reason P3 Fes doesn't have a character addition shoehorned into the story like the other two, because the character addition is shoehorned into the epilogue, the answer? Metis was the new character addition, but while featured in the opening song she wasn't actually featured in the main game, but rather just in The Answer. And the answer epilogue is sometimes not even considered canon, heck I don't think they even bothered to include it in P3P though I'd have to recheck my save.
---

ArianaGrandSlam posted...

teepan95 posted...

Marie is best girl tbh

MODS

---

saspa posted...

I'm more annoyed that the intro song dedicates a huge portion just for her, but oh well.

What is the deal with the past 2 persona games and introducing a new character forcefully though, p3 didn't have this problem... oh wait. Is the reason P3 Fes doesn't have a character addition shoehorned into the story like the other two, because the character addition is shoehorned into the epilogue, the answer? Metis was the new character addition, but while featured in the opening song she wasn't actually featured in the main game, but rather just in The Answer. And the answer epilogue is sometimes not even considered canon, heck I don't think they even bothered to include it in P3P though I'd have to recheck my save.

Correct, they did not include The Answer in the PSP release of persona 3 instead including a female protagonist by the name Kotone Shiomi, people hated her because being a female completely fucks up the original story as a lot of it hinges on the protagonist being male.

---

Akechi is a real detective

---

Irony posted...

The Royal content sucks

This. P5 already had a damn good ending, why the hell did they mess with it?

---

tremain07 posted...

Correct, they did not include The Answer in the PSP release of persona 3 instead including a female protagonist by the name Kotone Shiomi, people hated her because being a female completely fucks up the original story as a lot of it hinges on the protagonist being male.

Wait I played as female MC and it was alright. I don't remember any hate for her? It opened up some new social links to differentiate from male MC, and basically you romance the opposite sex, so akihiko instead of mitsuru, and yukari is jealous of you instead of junpei being jealous of you. Also this time Ryoji is the "forbidden" love interest rather than Aegis.

Out of curiosity how did the story hinge on the protagonist being male?
---

It was my first Persona game ever and I absolutely loved it.

---

Irony posted...

The Royal content sucks

This
Speaking as someone who thinks Persona 5 is one of the greatest JRPGs of all time... this.

I hate how the new character was shoehorned in, we didnt get to use her at all until the last dungeon you have to unlock, why make her a big deal if we cant use her in the story? Why deny letting us use her in the cruise palace? Why? Why change the ending like that?

God thinking about it just upsets me, vanilla persona 5 was perfect, and while I appreciate more p5 content, this was sloppy

---

saspa posted...

Wait I played as female MC and it was alright. I don't remember any hate for her? It opened up some new social links to differentiate from male MC, and basically you romance the opposite sex, so akihiko instead of mitsuru, and yukari is jealous of you instead of junpei being jealous of you. Also this time Ryoji is the "forbidden" love interest rather than Aegis.

Out of curiosity how did the story hinge on the protagonist being male?

Ryoji, Aigis, Elizabeth's actions make no sense for a female Akihiko suddenly wanting a girl when his whole character hinges on not understanding females makes no sense, Ken coozing up to her and you being allowed to romance him not only makes no sense either given his personality but it's hypocritical and creepy as hell, people still point out that this was seemingly okay but going after Maiko,Nanako ,the twins, wasn't for the males and finally Shinjiro dear god is he ruined by the female MC's existence. Junpei is a mess, he was going to be romancable at first but then they realized they'd have to cut his in story romance with Chidori to do that so they made him uncharacteristically nice to female mc when he's a total ass to male mc until later on, the only times he's mean to female Mc like he was to male MC is during story segments where him being mad at them is apart of the actual story.

Basically just like Metis, just like Marie, just like Kasumi, Kotone didn't need to exist at all and doing so rather disgraced the game's story and overall feel and that shit is fucking frustrating. By the way if you like Persona 5 stay the hell away from New Cinema Labyrinth and Scramble both those games will make you hate the characters, scramble especially paints them as self righteous jackasses who act like only they get to be the ones who use their powers to get back at society that fucked them over

---

Oh right I forgot about the little kid. It reminds me how Persona 3 really was the "let's throw in every anime trope/cliche in the past few decades of anime" with all the character archetypes like the robot, the rebel, the little boy, even a freaking dog.

And the Junpei thing too, since in the original they had his subplot tied to Chidori.

I still don't think it's as bad since the male playthrough is left untainted. So you could think of the female path as a "what if" type thing like they do in those comic books and whatnot. It's not like 4 and 5 where they force the new character into the actual main playthrough, and it's definitely no where near as bad as 4. I can't get over how bad golden was compared to vanilla p4.
---

They officially have Kotone's route as an alternative universe, the two meet each other in PQ2. And you can blame Marie for Kasumi, she's here and because of Marie's extremely negative reception you don't get to understand her until much much later in the game, basically they half assed her because of fear when they failed to realize Kasumi existing period is what people hate about her and even with that half assing she STILL managed to feel forced in and shoehorned such as the game's intro scene, thanks to that she's the very first all out attack you see in the game, thanks to that, she's the very first other persona user you see in the game besides your lead character, it's faux importance for someone who matter to the main story, then when it actually happens you're left wondering "Okay, why isn't she helping with the other part?" and it's explained in the dumbest fucking scene ever

She wants to help too, the cat says no it's dangerous even through thanks to that forced scene we know she can take care of herself

Fucking morons, if you need to tip toe around a character then that character should not exist. I'm sure you've grown annoyed every time she shows up randomly then fucks off again, right? She's boring as hell and when you finally do learn about her its just extremely stupidly mundane just like the rest of the new content.

---

tremain07 posted...

Fucking morons, if you need to tip toe around a character then that character should not exist. I'm sure you've grown annoyed every time she shows up randomly then fucks off again, right? She's boring as hell and when you finally do learn about her its just extremely stupidly mundane just like the rest of the new content.

Well said, basically what I wanted to say earlier

---

Yeah... even I like Kasumi but her inclusion for most of the game is really shoehorned in and later in the game it devolves into Atlus just being a tease about it :/

At least the third semester is good!

Also I second all of the Marie hate. And as far as I know, Kotone's existence in P3P is just "P3 but if no one died" which breaks the plot hard. Yeah maybe Atlus should stop introducing female characters as afterthoughts...

---

Ngl the Okumura palace stuff is the worst part of the game. Morgana's arc there kinda feels like a worse version of Water 7 Usopp

---