COA the animated series but not really (pls do not edit/repost my art w/o permission)

I saw that you make content for the Personas and I HAD to follow!

Small question, but how do you think the Personas would address their masters? I've been thinking about that, and I think Io and Lucia would refer to their masters as "Lady Yukari/Fuuka", while Penthelesia would call Mitsuru "The Mistress". That's all I have so far, but it's fun to think about!

Thank you! Ironically i draw the personas more often than their users, unless your name is akechi and sumire 🤣 but monsters are sooo cool!!! I wish there was more persona content with the actual personas more!

I imagine every persona calls their user “the other me” or their arcana or “thou art I” for the jokes, but they probably just say their first name without honorifics. I imagine there are some exceptions, though i am wondering what the personas would address the OTHER party members?

Zorro absolutely calls Ann, “Lady Ann” , otherwise he probably just says everyone’s name without the honorifics. He calls Morgana a cat sometimes, much to Morgana’s dismay.

Io calls Junpei “Stupei” sometimes and Junpei is absolutely ready to fight her but unfortunately he and his persona is weak to wind…

Cerebus is the only persona who can’t talk, in human speech, he just barks like Koromaru. Aigis can understand him though, but there isn’t much Cerebus actually says, but he calls everyone’s name very nicely.

Loki and Robin Hood call Akechi by… Akechi, not his first name. This is because Akechi distanced himself so much from his first name, to even to introducing himself as just “Akechi” to people, which also lines up that the game only refers him as such. Its similar to Mishima, who never goes by his first name. Loki and Robin Hood haven’t said “Goro” in a long time… I also imagine they never call the persona 5 cast as anything but their code names (Ryuji is refered to as skull, etc)

Cendrillon used to exclusively call Sumire, “Kasumi” before 3rd semester. After that though, she always said Sumire, though she sometimes call Sumire soot-coated garbage, because somewhere inside Sumire’s heart, she still hates herself… Cendrillon sometimes calls Akechi “ruthless sorta person” which he is amused by. She also calls everyone senpai due to Sumire’s influence and everyone is a little weirded out by it because how can you be a senpai to a persona???

Jiraiya is the few who gives nicknames to everyone, but he calls Yu and Izanagi “Partner”, otherwise the others get the nicknames Yusuke gives

The protags personas, they call the protagonist “You” or “Me” most of the time, rarely by their name. They refer everyone else by how the game does in dialogue (not out loud though that would be embarrassing)

Kintoki-Douji never uses honorifics, and uses first names, like Teddie. The other personas kinda dig at him for not “being respectful” but he doesn’t understand why you can’t call people by their first name if you’re friends and besties

Castor refers Akihiko as Aki, and Polydeuces call Shijiro as Shinji. They both call Mitsuru as Mistu to not leave out Pentheselia lol. Mitsuru is alittle taken aback by it but appreciates it.

Apollo refers Katsuya as his brother sometimes, and vise versa with Helios/Hyperion to Tatsuya

Most of them otherwise call everyone the same way their user does, though i imagine they might give unhinged names (a title, a nickname, an insult, no honorifics, maybe something different altogether) as that is the nature of personas, but not many times, but you never know!

Persona 5 Review

I’ve had time to digest this game fully, to reflect on it, and to consider the full impact of the characters, story, gameplay, and themes. I can say in all confidence that this is a tremendously fun and quirky game that has kept me entertained throughout, however there are some small criticisms that I’d love to see ATLUS improve upon in their next work. They do not detract from the overall package but tending to them would most certainly enhance the experience.

Criticisms-

My number one criticism is going to be the repetition of some segments of the game and dialogue. I think it’s necessary to address this and not brush it under the rug as improving on this will make for a more streamline, concise, and engaging game overall.

When I speak of repetition I speak of over used battle dialogue, of dialogue sections where the characters say the same thing over and over but in different ways, of the same song being used throughout the game for standard battle (and it’s a darn good song don’t get me wrong),and palace text reminders. I am not saying that the dialogue needs to be taken away, or even that more has to be added, but that simply sometimes silence is preferable over hearing the same line three times in a row when critical striking enemies. There’s simply too much of it, and while I love some of the battle dialogue (”IT’S TIME FOR SOME BLOOD SHED”) the enormous amount of the same line doesn’t make it feel special or intimate with your teammate, but simply annoying. This certainly isn’t restricted to Persona 5. I think it’s a JRPG trend of sorts but it’s something I feel can be improved upon.

Likewise, I love the story segments of the game but I feel they would flow better with a little less of different characters saying the same thing. I get this is probably a way to help each individual have a part to play but it feels more tedious then constructive, especially when getting to a juicy part and not being able to throw yourself into the plot because it seems to have halted for characters to all have input. I don’t think this is as bad as the battle quotes but it’s still something that could be looked at.

The song thing is...debatable. I love the boss themes and they feel special enough to be enjoyable whenever they come up, however I think a standard theme for each Palace would not be inadvisable. This is a JRPG trend since Final Fantasy and others have often had the same standard battle, but while I have many criticisms of FF XV I do have to note that they did mix up their themes in their large world and having something similar in Persona 5 would not go amiss.

The Palace texts are annoying after a while. I understand for the first palace it is necessary so a new player will not forget, but it gets to a point where you really don’t need to be told every day. You know. Have some faith in players, and if they end up missing it and dying then it’s completely on their head.

My second criticism is a more subjective one. Ryuji. I love this guy. He’s a little blonde and hot headed but he has a massive heart and a determination that can’t be matched easily. However the treatment in parts of the game vary from buttmonkey to full on punching bag. I didn’t like it. In comparison Yusuke and Futaba’s bickering was a lot more enjoyable as they both got the upper hand at points. But Ryuji is always the punching bag to absolutely everyone. Even his amazing moment at the end of Palace 7 is tarnished by a quick “comedy” segment of all the girls beating him up rather then actually fully acknowledging what he did for everyone. Especially considering he.is.a.domestic.abuse.survivor. I can’t say how this could be improved on in another game as it will have different characters, but please...please...don’t shit on one character for the entirety of the game for “comedy”. It gets old and fails to highlight the character’s positives.

The stealth mechanic is strange to handle sometimes I will say. It never mucked up my game but it is frustrating sometimes when you leave cover without meaning to or can’t jump to another cover spot easily even though you know one is there.

The only other criticism I would have is Mementos. It’s too easy. I found palaces challenging and fun, but Mementos a slog at times. I think they did well to include teammate banter and weather affecting how Mementos is, but it feels a little empty still. I don’t expect the puzzles of the palaces but a few optional challenges could be fun- kill ten enemies in a certain time, negotiate with a persona perfectly or end up fighting twice as many, use such and such team members only, etc.- and add in some tempting rewards like lockpick ingredients or SP rewarding items. My ideas are completely pulled out of the air but you get the picture.

Positives-

Despite all I just said it’s amazing to see how far they’ve improved upon Persona 4 with this game. Social Links/Confidants are a lot more integral to the gameplay and the overall theme of the story. Palaces are unique, atmospheric, and challenging. The music is the best it’s ever been imo. The gameplay has enough going on to keep it fresh with critical strikes, negotiations, guns, stealth, baton passes and so on. I spent most of my game using Yusuke, Makoto, and Ann but I mixed it up in the end simply because I had to with the last two big bosses. Every character has something to bring to the table that another doesn’t, whether that be Morgana being the healing powerhouse with critical luck strikes, or Yusuke with his hard hitting countering evasiveness. 

Story wise this game is easily on par with Persona 4. This is rather subjective but I found myself enjoying the characters a lot more in this one. There isn’t a character I disliked, though there are certainly favorites that I have! I felt that all the characters (and this includes confidants) had a struggle I could relate to. They have all been made to feel taken advantage of or that they don’t belong in what they truly want to do. Fitting in with the theme of what happens in the end, Persona 5′s confidants are all about their relationship with society as much as with the MC you control. They all wear masks because they don’t feel they can show “the true them” in the world they live in. As an existential counsellor I want to say here that a lot of what is said is spot on in regards to the human condition and how we present ourselves. While I didn’t manage to maximise all of the links, I can say Yusuke’s route was my definite favorite due to exactly those reasons above. His route isn’t just the presentation of the human condition of existence, but he actively questions it and debates it while trying to find the answer to his art block. It’s hilarious to watch at times too as this naive art student baffles himself with the concept of love and what it means to different people.

And the humor is on point too. There were several times I was laughing out loud at something a team mate said or a situation they had gotten themselves into. The game most definitely has it’s serious and emotional moments but it hits you just as hard with it’s quirky sense of humor and narm.

The last thing I wanted to talk about was the overarching story and themes.The story tells you that what you see on the surface isn’t always the same underneath, but that both of these sides can equally be true. Polite and studious Makoto doesn’t go away when she embraces her anger inside and her need to stand up for herself, it simply enhances who she already is in both roles. Of course this doesn’t always mean everything we hold inside is true as we see with Futaba but it’s by looking deeply at our own selves that we are able to identify that truth for ourselves rather then running away or living a lie. The game presents people as complex and nuanced (which again is why I love Yusuke’s link as it emphasizes this) rather then as straight up villains or heroes. True, people like Kamoshida are certainly deplorable but the game gives you an understanding in his treasure being an olympic medal, it doesn’t simply present him as evil for the sake of it. The main characters question their motives constantly and even get much too wrapped up in the idea of fame at a certain point. Which is understandable as the game has given ample time to establishing this cast have been ignored and cast aside by society, so of course they would get caught up in it.

The theme of freedom is ever present in the story: the freedom to be yourself, the freedom to make your own choices, the freedom to change, the freedom to help change society etc. The main character is on probation, accused of a crime when he was defending a woman from assault, and a lot of emphasis is put on “whether he is ready to face the consequences of his actions”. I don’t think these words are said lightly or simply meant in terms of an unfair trial. The main character chose to save that woman. Ryuji chose to punch Kamoshida, Ann chose to ignore Kamoshida’s requests to the detriment of her friend. Yusuke chose to ignore the truth of what Madarame was doing. etc. etc. And while in all these instances a person of power has an unfair degree of power over those characters, I think it can also be said that we will always face consequences for our actions and have some responsibility for that. Because we are responsible for our own lives and the world we create for ourselves. I’m truly not saying it is wrong to protect a woman from assault (it’s not), but I’m saying that in doing so you take on the burden of whatever comes next from that decision, good or bad. In that way we are all prisoners of fate, but at the same time we are all free to thus choose how to live our lives.

And that leads me to my very last point. My favorite part of the theme. That we all have our own worlds and have a choice on how we construct them. The world is as real as we make it and perspectives can be changed, as we can change ourselves.

"The whole world is a product of cognition... not just the Metaverse. It can be freely re-made. The same goes for you, and everyone else. Soon a new world will come. One where mankind isn't held captive. The world will shine brightly as long as you hold hope in your hearts. Remember... There's no such thing as the "real" world. What each person sees and feels - those are what shape reality. This is what gives the world infinite potential. Even if you feel that only darkness lies ahead... As long as you hold hands together... See it through as one... the world will never end! The world exists within all of you!"

This is Morgana basically telling the cast and you, the player, that we all have the freedom to change the worlds we exist in. It’s not static, fixed, or fated, it is something we have the power to change even when we feel powerless, we just might need some help from other worlds or people when we feel stuck in order to bring about a new change. It is imperative we don’t forget that as while external factors may have a degree of power over us, the world we shape within ourselves is completely of our own design.

Anyway I’m giving this game 9.8/10 and Yusuke is the best character. 

I just finished Persona 5

Some non-spoiler thoughts on the cast:

The personalities of the cast are the most grounded in reality with less anime caricature qualities. There wasn’t anyone I actively disliked (maybe one or two, but I’ll get to them).

I like Ryuji slightly better than Yosuke and a lot better than my admittedly distant memories of Junpei. My only problems with his character is that in most important story moments he just defaults to short tempered swearing. His S-Link is very similar to Chie (both are Chariot) and Yuko (Strength in P3). However, I felt his S-Link wasn’t as satisfying as Yosuke’s and didn’t have any really memorable moments (no porn under the mat here). His character felt like an amalgam of Chie and Yosuke, almost like if they had a kid. With a bit of Akihiko sprinkled in.

I like Morgana better than Teddie as far as a “mascot” character goes. Mona has an important continuing role in the story unlike Teddie whom I’ve always felt didn’t have much to do with the larger plot after becoming human. The only thing I didn’t like about Morgana was that he was basically the Sleep Police.

Yusuke’s link was entertaining, mostly because he’s such a cloudcuckoolander. Not in an exaggerated way, either (I’m looking at you, Yukiko). I didn’t have time to finish his S-Link, but it has some of the funniest lines and moments that I can recall out of the lot. A bit of a spoiler: unfortunately I think his character is the victim of queer-baiting due to some of the dialogue choices, which wouldn’t be bad if for the fact that like the rest of the series (barring P3P), you can’t romance guys.

This game had the best overall quality of waifu choices for teammates. I chose to romance Makoto, but I still felt really bad for turning down Ann. Makoto’s sweet and kind and considerate and intelligent and ahh. Her first impression was terrible, but she comes a long way toward digging herself out of the hole the story starts her in. Truly my Queen. My only nitpick is that she’s /almost/ a rehash of Mitsuru, but I believe Makoto is an improvement upon the archetype. She checks the Naoto Shirogane mark for having cute flustered side. I think romancing her is the most appropriate choice for the story, too, because it adds some nice subtext to a few scenes that would otherwise be absent if you romance someone else.

Ann is motivated, fun and down to earth; she has a good head on her shoulders. I might romance her on NG+, but I’m satisfied with her just being a really good friend to the PC for now. She’s Rise, but better in my opinion. I don’t have a grudging love-hate opinion of Ann like I do with Yukari and all the Unresolved Angry-Sexual Tension she had. In fact, I wouldn’t imagine Ann coming anywhere close to that category. She’s too good.

Haru is nice; her most obvious parallel is Fuuka. I didn’t go too far into her S-Link because I started it late by accident. Unfortunately, like Fuuka, her voice can be grating to some. She’s a cinnamon roll.

 I understand the appeal of Futaba for some people, but she just felt too much like a little sister to me (isn’t she like, twelve?). Her memespeak might make you cringe a few times.

The non-teammate waifu choices are okay, the best two being Takemi and Kawakami. I considered romancing Takemi because I’m a bit of a sucker for hot goths. I thought the introduction of Kawakami’s S-Link was hilarious and was probably one of the only far-out wacky moments in the game. Togo was bland, but there’s nothing to actually dislike about her (and her confidant abilities are awesome). I thought the fortune teller was annoying, but that might be because I started it late (100,000 Yen? Seriously!?) and didn’t finish it.

Mishima is the most cringe-y of the cast, but he grew on me. He’s certainly better than that one teacher-loving weirdo from P3 and Saki’s brother from P4. If only Mishima would just shut up about the Phan-Site (oh my god “All Phan-Site, all the time”).

Sojiro is about on level with Dojima in my opinion. He had a bad first impression, but completely overcomes it (again, for emphasis, he gets on RYOTARO DOJIMA’S level of likable).

Caroline and Justine are cool, but their story doesn’t go anywhere for a very long time. By the time it reaches that point, though, it’s awesome. Don’t get me wrong when I say this, but the fact that they were kids was disappointing because that meant one less romance option (Elizabeth’s dates are still the best in the series and each and every one of you can fight me if you disagree). I liked them better than Margaret, mostly because I don’t even remember anything ABOUT Margaret (my fault, I suppose).

I could go on and on about the cast (special mention to my man Speech-Sama), but I will conclude and say that this one is the most well-rounded in the series.

Persona 5 Thoughts (spoilers for everything)

I didn't have high expectations when buying Persona 5 several months after its release. Many of the Twitter games people I follow had already expressed mixed opinions, the common thread being a strong opening that doesn't last after the first dungeon. For me, it is a JRPG with enjoyable mechanics that is bogged down by a disappointing story.

I never played a Persona game before, but I have a fair amount of Shin Megami Tensei experience under my belt. When other reviewers complained about the game's difficulty, I came in with a good idea of what was to come. Insta-kill attacks, paralyzing status effects, and random encounters that went poorly due to bad luck were all commonplace in old SMT games, and Persona 5 never turned out as difficult as those. Building a team of personas mixed with the Phantom Thieves party members was a fun puzzle for each new dungeon; every time I made it through a difficult boss it was with a sense of accomplishment rather than relief that I could move on.

Persona 5's UI needs no introduction, it may be one of its most popular features. While it looks cool, I hope that isn't the only takeaway other JRPG developers get from its praise. Persona 5, like many SMT games, has a very snappy menu. The simple act of pressing X to attack an enemy or use an item has a tactile feel that many other JRPGs lack. Its largest accomplishment is that you don't feel like you are just using a menu. You never have to wait too long, and rarely any attack animation lasts too long. The only exception I can think of is when one particular enemy was only weak to physical attacks, which meant that every normal attack led to the several-seconds-longer critical hit animation. Many JRPGs that I enjoy significantly more than Persona 5 - such as those in the Kiseki series - could benefit from faster fights.

Beyond the fighting mechanics, running through the dungeons and fast traveling between maps kept the game moving at a brisk pace. The detective vision that Joker gets early on in the game is a welcome addition - highlighting items and environments you can interact with - although it also felt like a band-aid over a larger design problem that plagues most RPGs. I still haven't decided whether I like the safe room system. On one hand, having limited windows to save your game is a classic method of retaining tension when playing through a dungeon - if you could save at any time this game would be too easy. On the other hand, like most people who have graduated from college, I don't have much time to play video games, and losing 30 minutes of progress can ruin a night. While it never turned me away, I can see why other people would get frustrated by Persona 5's harsh battle penalties combined with a limited save system.

Persona 5's story and characters, unfortunately, fizzled out quickly for me. Kamoshida was a highlight villain in terms of personal involvement, and is a great choice as the first big bad to fight. Part of this is how believable he was - this was someone that could be in your neighborhood, that could be in charge of your kids. He carried himself well around the adults, and often manipulated the kids enough that they would feel like the bad guys, and he the victim. Making him confess to all his crimes was rewarding to me personally, not just because it was a goal that the game laid out for me. After Kamoshida, the villains quickly devolve into cartoon territory. Not every bad guy needs to have ten layers of depth, but the lack of any made going after them feel much more hollow than Kamoshida.

What I found especially disappointing was how Persona 5 handled the concept of Palaces. Early on, Morgana explained that palaces are a result of a person's distorted desires. This explanation was vague enough that the writers could have dived into what exactly a distorted desire entailed. Desires are not inherently bad things. While this concept is somewhat explored in Futaba's and Sae's palaces, it never goes far enough to ask how a desire that could have been born with good intentions could hurt the person and others around them. Instead, we get cookie cutter bad guys that want money and power because... they are bad guys.

I also didn't find myself caring much for Persona 5's cast of social links and party members. I definitely have favorites, with Yusuke, Sojiro, and Hifumi being my top 3, but the story rarely takes a dive into any character's motivations or goals. I'm not the first to write this criticism, but it feels as if once each new character's introductory segment is done, they are reduced to flat character tropes. I liked everyone well enough, but I also don't see myself missing anyone from that universe. I longed for the world building that I've come to expect from other series like the Kiseki games. Talking to NPCs in Persona 5 is a chore, no one says anything interesting nor does it go anywhere. Again, not every RPG needs 50,000 lines of dialogue to achieve a meaningful plot or world, but Persona's Tokyo feels routine and lifeless compared to other, quieter settings.

For all the relevant commentary Persona 5 has - public apathy, a predatory older generation, the effects of corporate greed - it has a distressing lack of self-awareness. Any time I turned on the game, my Playstation 4 eagerly reminded me that I couldn't record footage for most of the game. While I didn't care to record myself blankly staring at fusion screens for an hour, the simple fact that I couldn't decide for myself thanks to a corporate decision made me feel like a lot of the commentary fell flat on its face. Criticisms of Persona 5's social commentary go much deeper, but I don't have the vocabulary to voice them. Other writers much more learned than me have done a better job already.

My time with Persona 5 clocked a little under 100 hours, and I don't regret the time I spent. The dungeons were fun, the music is amazing, and while the characters were nothing spectacular I did enjoy their company. It's not a game that I see myself replaying anytime soon, but if I did, I would be interested in trying with a harder difficulty while skipping over most of the story.

Some random points:

- I love most of the soundtrack, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Madarame's palace. I can put that music on loop for a whole day and not get sick of it.

- While I liked (and relate to) Kawakami the most out of the romance options, the circumstances around her social link were so off putting that I couldn't stand it. I ended up going with Hifumi.

- I was aware of Shido's palace being the infamously bad one, but I didn't feel like it was as long as other people said. Then again, I've already been badly burned once by Trails of Cold Steel 2, where finishing the "Final Dungeon" meant you had 15 more hours of game left.

- Gating social links behind Guts/Kindness/etc is lame.

- Mementos sucks

- what if it wasnt akechi who betrayed you but like if mishima was getting freaked out b ythe cops and so he ratted you out and its like a whole thing. just asking questions