LogFAQs > #904532464

And with that, the Saga of Brent Johnson comes to a close.

I would rate this as a truly excellent game. It's not the best JRPG I've ever played or anything, but I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish (101 hours for me, so probably closer to 102 if you include the deaths). I'd say it ranges from solid to fantastic in every regard (especially music). The side characters aren't all the best, but all of the main characters accomplish what they need to do almost perfectly. There are some extremely cool ideas l love like normal real world places being warped into crazy dungeons.

If I was going to point to the weakest aspect of the story/characters, it would be the ending. Shido's Palace is emotionally satisfying, unique, properly fits with the stylish tone of the game, and Shido himself is the antagonist of not just the game but also of Brent Johnson. Defeating him feels like the climax of the story, but then the game just keeps going. This happens a lot with JRPGs, where you defeat the antagonist and then it turns out there's a big monster afterward whom you don't care about except in abstract terms ("I represent fate, you represent rebellion") or the fact that he wants to destroy humanity or whatever. The final dungeon and boss are all about fate and god and all of that, have no real personal connection to any of the main characters (Morgana, I guess, but even he doesn't seem any more invested in what's happening than anyone else does), and fall more into standard JRPG fare than I was expecting. How many gods have been killed in JRPG final battles, really? It's surprising they aren't an endangered species at this point. A wacky cruise boat captained by a corrupt politician dressed in a general uniform with the Statue of Liberty's tiara is way more compelling than an evil pseudo-god who attacks with perverted forms of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Probably the most impressive thing about the game is how half of it is about Brent Johnson doing normal things like hanging out with his friends or studying for a test and yet it not only remains compelling throughout, but I actually looked forward to those scenes more than the combat and dungeons. I can imagine this game being a nightmare for 100% completionists, though. I very rarely bother trying to 100% a game, and Persona 5 would be just about the worst thing to ever try that with.

I haven't played any of the other Persona games, so the best I can really do to rank it relative to other games is to compare it to another JRPG series. If I was to rank Persona 5 among Final Fantasy games, I'd say it goes something like this:
FFVII > FFX > FFVI > Persona 5 > FFVIII > FFIV > FFV > FFIX > FFI > FFXII > FFIII > FFII
Overall, I'd give this game around a 9.7/10. There are some minor things that I wouldn't object to changing, but it nails everything it needs to nail.

This game has made me more interested in the series. I definitely won't play anything Persona-related for at least half a year or more, but I could see myself trying out the earlier titles. I don't know whether to try Persona 1, 3, or 4 first, though people seem to suggest 3 or 4 the most.

Makoto > Futaba > Kawakami > Ann > Tae > Hifumi = Haru > Chihaya > Ohya
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Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005