Persona 5 is a role-playing video game that was released not too long ago in 2017. It is part of the popular Persona series which is further part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. The franchise has been fairly successful to this date, having released a large number of well-received games and their spin-offs. Persona 5 has been so popular that it already has two spin-off series as well as manga and anime adaptations! SEGA owns the entire Persona 5 franchise. In this Persona 5 review, I will talk about why so many people consider this game to be the best role-playing game of all time.
Gameplay
In Persona 5, you play as a high schooler. Your character’s lifestyle depends on whether it is currently day or night in the world. During the daytime, you can take part in different school activities that come with their own benefits, a number of part-time jobs and other leisure activities that you can pursue. All such activities help your character improve certain attributes that give you special buffs during battles. You can also develop friendships and all kind of relationships with other characters known as Confidants. It is very similar to the Similar Link feature in Persona 3 and Persona 4. You can interact with these characters in different ways to create better relationships with them and improve your social stats.
The dimension, known as metaverse, has areas called Palaces. Palaces hold all kinds of negative and despicable thoughts and desires of all corrupted people. Throughout this alternate dimension, everything from the real world is in some way distorted. Just as the theme of Persona 5 is dungeon crawling, these areas have different kinds of monsters that you must defeat.
During the night-time, you are part of a party called the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. The party consists of many interesting members. The purpose of this party is to steal treasures from each Palace. When a treasure is stolen, it has its real-world implication, such as the person confessing to his crime. Your party deals with very gruesome themes of everyone who has dark and wicked subconscious desires.
There are also turn-based battles present in the game where you and your party take turns to inflict damage on the enemy. Each party member also has a ‘Persona’ of their own that refines their skills. You will find yourself analysing the weaknesses of all the different enemies throughout the fast-paced battles. Overall, the game feels very entertaining, given you always have some tasks to do. Each job you perform has an outcome that will leave a meaningful impact on the game.
Story and Characters
Being a role-playing game, of course, this Persona 5 review can never be complete without a mention of the plot itself. In this role-playing videogame, you take on the role of a male high school student nicknamed Joker. He gets expelled from his previous high school being charged with assaulting a woman and gets put on probation for a year. After this incident, he is sent off to the Shujin Academy in Tokyo.
The main story revolves around a bunch of high-school students that utilize the manifestations of their psyche called Personas. Joker is the leader of a party formed by these high-school students that call themselves ‘Phantom Thieves.’ They change and influence the real world through the alternate dimension called Metaverse. In this alternate dimension, this party steals the corruption from the hearts of people in the hopes of reforming society.
The plot is solid and fantastical. The story presents itself in a pretty straightforward way and progresses linearly in an orderly fashion.
Visuals
Persona 5 has gorgeous visuals. The whole game environment feels like a super polished anime. The game also has a really beautiful soundtrack that helps tie everything together to give you a special experience. You can clearly tell that the developers of this game have paid true attention to detail.
Conclusion
Persona 5 really lives up to the title of the best role-playing game ever made. Like I discussed in this Persona 5 review, the game features a unique life simulation consisting of two worlds. Throughout the game, you are developing your character in different ways and partaking in numerous activities that you have to prioritize. Persona 5 is compelling and entertaining, and completely worthy of the praise it has gotten.