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

(+) Yeah! (+)

Those aren't usable in battle though. At least the curry isn't. YMMV, but I preferred the single target versions for that reason.
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Gardening is very useful. It doesn't advance time so it's simply additional resources. No reason to compare it to Sojiro's.
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Finished Sae's palace as far as I could very early, I've had so many days to increase my confidants. I finished a few, but there are so many left. Haru in particular is still at level 1.
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Oh jeez, outside chance of the traitor being Sojiro, but I seriously doubt it. I'm adding him to the list of suspects, I should've thought of that before.
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Thankfully, since you get Haru so late in the game, she's relatively easy to level up as long as you can pass the personal stat barriers.
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So everyone gets like literary-based personas, but Yusuke just straight-up gets Odin?
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So I need max kindness to do Sojiro level 7, which rewards me with kindness points...

Okay.
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Given the scene where Makoto gives Sae the card and the fact that the scene before was hazy and incomplete to conceal something from the player, I'm officially betting on the "there is no traitor, this is just an elaborate plan" option.
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I'm surprised. I really thought Shadow Sae wouldn't turn into a big monster. Guess I was wrong.
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Defeated Shadow Sae in the most ridiculous way possible: my persona had reflect physical without me even realizing it.
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Hold on, I am CERTAIN the Yusuke level 10 confidant said his new persona is Odin, but the stats screen says Kamu Susano-o? Am I just going crazy?
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Anagram posted...

So I need max kindness to do Sojiro level 7, which rewards me with kindness points...

Okay.

The best part is that's not the only confidant where that's the case.
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"There's much more I'd like to ask, but my allotted time is nearly up."

I don't know, Sae, my story has been 77 hours so far. I think these cops are being REALLY patient with you.
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Anagram posted...

Hold on, I am CERTAIN the Yusuke level 10 confidant said his new persona is Odin, but the stats screen says Kamu Susano-o? Am I just going crazy?

Odin is the fusion you unlock in the Velvet Room for maxing Emperor. Yusuke's Second Awakening is Kamu Susano-o
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Darnit, looks like I was wrong about my prediction. I figured it out quickly once we got to the present day scene, but by that point the game was practically screaming it in your face, so that means nothing. Dammit, I'm normally good at predicting plot twists, so I feel really bad about missing this one so completely. I mean, I listed Akechi as a possibility, but I didn't put him as one of the likelier ones. Oh well. The greatest danger now is that I won't get back the SP Adhesive I gave him.

I was right (I'm sure) about Akechi being the black masked assassin in the Metaverse, though.
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BK_Sheikah00 posted...

Odin is the fusion you unlock in the Velvet Room for maxing Emperor. Yusuke's Second Awakening is Kamu Susano-o

Oh derp. I'm such a derp.
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I was following this topic going "oh wow he hasn't figured it out", but in a kind of delightful way because I like watching people getting successfully plot-twisted
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So I was sort of correct anyway about them having an elaborate plan.

I guess I can call this as a 40% correctly guessed plot twist.
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Yeah, I was kind of surprised that you didn't really think Akechi was likely, but then I remembered this is your first Persona game. The game dropped a really obvious clue toward the beginning of the game when you first met Akechi.
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Anagram posted...

The greatest danger now is that I won't get back the SP Adhesive I gave him.

You get your stuff back from him. Obviously Morgana pickpocketed Akechi.
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LeonhartFour posted...

Yeah, I was kind of surprised that you didn't really think Akechi was likely, but then I remembered this is your first Persona game. The game dropped a really obvious clue toward the beginning of the game when you first met Akechi.

I feel like a complete derp for not seeing it.
Shadow Dino posted...

Anagram posted...

The greatest danger now is that I won't get back the SP Adhesive I gave him.

You get your stuff back from him. Obviously Morgana pickpocketed Akechi.

Thank God.
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LeonhartFour posted...

Yeah, I was kind of surprised that you didn't really think Akechi was likely, but then I remembered this is your first Persona game. The game dropped a really obvious clue toward the beginning of the game when you first met Akechi.

This.

Pancakes.
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Anagram caught/mentioned the implication of the Pancake line when it happened IIRC. When he later didn't name Akechi as a likely suspect I assumed he had forgotten that though.

but the real hint the game gives you is that when Akechi joins you at Rank 6 he displays no future confidant abilities whereas all the other party members would have Endure/Protect/Second Awakening to come at Ranks 8-10. I suppose you could write this off as him being serious about only assisting for the Sae case, but then that means his confidant gives you nothing but the standard battle skills which would be the odd one out from every other confidant.
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xp1337 posted...

but the real hint the game gives you is that when Akechi joins you at Rank 6 he displays no future confidant abilities whereas all the other party members would have Endure/Protect/Second Awakening to come at Ranks 8-10. I suppose you could write this off as him being serious about only assisting for the Sae case, but then that means his confidant gives you nothing but the standard battle skills which would be the odd one out from every other confidant.

I noticed this part, but I assumed it was being coy about future abilities he'd give you.
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Well, he made the connection to Akechi being the other Metaverse user but not the traitor.
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If you want to know my funny story

I had caught Akechi hearing about the Pancakes from Morgana but then went "Wait, no that doesn't make sense. I must have misread something, Ryuji or Ann probably said it" and just incorrectly corrected myself. It wasn't until later when Akechi joined that I was like "......wait a minute"
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Shido is 53?! Guy looked fantastic. I thought he was early 40s at the most.
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Any excuse to post this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHjkcVkpWo0" data-time="
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Actually kinda true. Guy from Osaka at my work looked like he was just out of college. Dude is 35 and has a family.
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Man, Brent Johnson is really taking a long time to realize that Shido is the guy from the assault case. Did he not hear the name of the guy he "assaulted" at least once in the courtroom?
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I mean Shido looks just like Howie Mandel and he's 62

I buy it
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Anagram posted...

Man, Brent Johnson is really taking a long time to realize that Shido is the guy from the assault case. Did he not hear the name of the guy he "assaulted" at least once in the courtroom?

If you recall during the flashback where you experience all that, Shido tells the police to make sure they leave his name out of it.

How that flies in an actual court, I have no idea, but yeah.
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well if Ace Attorney has taught me anything it's that the Japanese legal system is all kinds of messed up
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LeonhartFour posted...

I mean Shido looks just like Howie Mandel and he's 62

I buy it

Howie Mandel at least has a few lines on his face.

xp1337 posted...

If you recall during the flashback where you experience all that, Shido tells the police to make sure they leave his name out of it.

How that flies in an actual court, I have no idea, but yeah.

I forgot that part, though it only raises further questions.

I'm stopping for now, I'll continue another day. Enjoying the game a lot, though I hope to buy some new weapons soon.
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Wait, if Goro went into Saes Palace for the interrogation room scene, why didnt his clothes change? I know they dont change if the palace ruler doesnt think youre a threat, but clearly she did.
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Anagram posted...

Wait, if Goro went into Saes Palace for the interrogation room scene, why didnt his clothes change? I know they dont change if the palace ruler doesnt think youre a threat, but clearly she did.

I thought that was explained in the (mandatory) explain session that the team has with Sae and Sojiro. (Following that, the night where Sojiro and Futaba hang out in your room you can talk to Futaba a few times to get increasingly detailed (and funny) nuances to the plan)

In any event, the team says they tested whether or not their clothes would change in the Palace's version of the interrogation room on their own when making up the plan. They found that they did not. Their clothes only changed when they were in the distorted part of Sae's world - the Casino. The rest of the place was normal and didn't cause a change.
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Anagram - you had caught on to Akechi earlier well before I did, I was suprised your predictions steered off path. To be fair, the way they had him in your party really lets your guard down on him.

I started growing suspicious of how he was so good in the Metaverse with apparently little to no training, but I just chalked it up as late game overpowering. Pleasantly surprised to be caught by the plot twist. Makes it more enjoyable.

In retrospect though, it really couldn't have been anyone else but him all along. He's the only character to fit that mold. Kinda similar to Persona 4 in that regard, though I was able to figure that one out while this one alluded me.
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I'm usually pretty bad at guessing plot twists, but the pancakes thing was just way too obvious.

although the real twist was that the Phantom Thieves figured out the plot beforehand and had a counterattack of their own in place
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LeonhartFour posted...

I'm usually pretty bad at guessing plot twists, but the pancakes thing was just way too obvious.

although the real twist was that the Phantom Thieves figured out the plot beforehand and had a counterattack of their own in place

I'm still kicking myself for catching half the plot twist and discounting the other half.
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I didn't catch the pancakes thing and Akechi still seemed extremely obvious to be the traitor, to the point I was actively looking for ways he couldn't he because it was too obvious. Not on the cover of the game, no persona awakening scene, sketchy as hell metaverse introduction, no real social link to speak of, major police connections, extremely strong in the metaverse out of nowhere, ect.
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Yeah, the real twist was the counterattack, not the betrayal.
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KamikazePotato posted...

extremely strong in the metaverse out of nowhere

Eh, that's a null tell IMO. Haru goes from "can't even properly summon a Persona" to "equal to the other Phantom Thieves" in an instant when she has her true awakening.
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The real giveaway is his social links. It's too out of the ordinary, and signals that something's up.
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xp1337 posted...

Eh, that's a null tell IMO. Haru goes from "can't even properly summon a Persona" to "equal to the other Phantom Thieves" in an instant when she has her true awakening.

It's also a standard JRPG thing.
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KamikazePotato posted...

Not on the cover of the game

uhh

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/1/1b/PERSONA5_PS4_box_art.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160505160030

Top right?

He's also on the far left of the back cover side of the steelbook box art alongside Makoto, Ann and Yusuke, though I don't have a good picture of that available offhand
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can confirm he's on the steelbook box art

source: i have it
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He's also on the loading screen that features all the party members, so they definitely didn't skimp in that regard.
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He's also on the title screen with everyone
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I saw him on the title screen immediately. I knew from the start that there'd be a boy party member with a pointy mask and knew Akechi would be it the second he showed up since Ryuji and Yusuke were already party members by then.
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LeonhartFour posted...

He's also on the loading screen that features all the party members, so they definitely didn't skimp in that regard.

I don't think that helps since he looks like a girl in that one.

I also though Haru was black in that picture. I was pretty disappointed when she finally joined.
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