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Persona Community Thread |OT7| P5 is nyaow. (Mark all PQ and P4U spoilers!)

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D

Dantis

Member
Out of interest, how many people here actually played through all of Ultimax's story themselves?

Sophia said:
Labrys is the bestest Dantis, and you know it! :D
Click to expand...

She was actually pretty likeable outside of her own story, yeah. I was wrong.

Her design is still super bad though.

Cannon_Fodder said:
I quite liked Zen and Rei though. If nothing else, I don't see the harm in thinking optimistically until we know for sure what kind of character she is.
Click to expand...

I love PQ, but Zen and Rei were exactly as flat and uninteresting as I expected them to be.
 
C

Cannon_Fodder

Member
Dantis said:
Out of interest, how many people here actually played through all of Ultimax's story themselves?


I love PQ, but Zen and Rei were exactly as flat and uninteresting as I expected them to be.
Click to expand...

If we don't count the DLC episode, then yeah I've finished all of Ultimax's story. I downloaded the DLC, just never really wanted to play it.

I think that's a totally valid opinion of Zen and Rei, too, for what it's worth.
 
C

CrimsonFist

Member
Dantis said:
Out of interest, how many people here actually played through all of Ultimax's story themselves?



She was actually pretty likeable outside of her own story, yeah. I was wrong.

Her design is still super bad though.



I love PQ, but Zen and Rei were exactly as flat and uninteresting as I expected them to be.
Click to expand...

I've completely played through all of Ultimax's story.

I thought Rei and Zen were great
but it really takes a while from them to pick up, they're pretty flat until the end of dungeon 4.
 
D

Dantis

Member
CrimsonFist said:
I've completely played through all of Ultimax's story.

I thought Rei and Zen were great
but it really takes a while from them to pick up, they're pretty flat until the end of dungeon 4.
Click to expand...

I haven't actually gotten that far, but "These characters are really great in the last 20% and really bad for the other 80%" doesn't make much sense to me.
 
A

A Dead Diehard

Member
DNAbro said:
P4G had the beach scene which is easily one of the absolute best ones. Not entirely fan servicey either.
Click to expand...

Dantis said:
Didn't like it at all.
Click to expand...

I thought it was kinda dumb, but harmless fun.

Sophia said:
Labrys is the bestest Dantis, and you know it! :D
Click to expand...

You damn right!

EDIT:
Dantis said:
Out of interest, how many people here actually played through all of Ultimax's story themselves?


She was actually pretty likeable outside of her own story, yeah. I was wrong.

Her design is still super bad though.
Click to expand...

I've played through both of Ultimax's stories, and the DLC.

Also, the hell you talking about? A battleaxe that doubles as a jetpack is fucking radical as all hell.
 
A

Aadrian1234

Banned
Dantis said:
Out of interest, how many people here actually played through all of Ultimax's story themselves?
Click to expand...

I actually bought Arena/ Ultimax for the story and i wasn't disappointed.

She was actually pretty likeable outside of her own story, yeah. I was wrong.

Her design is still super bad though.
Click to expand...

I honestly love everything about Labrys, even her design
 
R

Reanimatoin

Member
Dantis said:
I haven't actually gotten that far, but "These characters are really great in the last 20% and really bad for the other 80%" doesn't make much sense to me.
Click to expand...

It's not that they're bad and then they suddenly become good, it's just that all of their development comes in the later parts of the game.

The first parts of the game are dedicated to the setting, then it's P3/4 character dedicated, then it's rei/Zen dedicated.
 
P

PK Gaming

Member
Meia said:
I dunno, I really liked the ski trip, was laughing hysterically when the ghost story part came up and you could talk about the Velvet Room in it. :p


And Kanamin's defining trait is about her chest size, but that may just be her idol shtick and no one really knows her to begin with. Aren't we kind of defining her so far like an early P4 character, and doing the exact thing we shouldn't be doing? :p


Now complaining about her shit design, THAT'S a-ok. :D
Click to expand...

She mentions that she's always been a bit weird, so hopefully she ends up being entertaining? Random oddballs type characters that aren't grating are notoriously difficult to get down, so fingers crossed.
 
S

Sophia

Member
Dantis said:
Out of interest, how many people here actually played through all of Ultimax's story themselves?



She was actually pretty likeable outside of her own story, yeah. I was wrong.

Her design is still super bad though.
Click to expand...

YOU'RE SUPER BAD. NO HATING ON THE STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT.

And I played through Ultimax's story twice. Once on the Japanese version, one on the English version. :S
 
D

DNAbro

Member
Dantis said:
Didn't like it at all.
Click to expand...

any particular reason? I thought it was just one of the funniest and most entertaining scenes in the game. Maybe it's just cause I adore Kanji.

Out of interest, how many people here actually played through all of Ultimax's story themselves?
Click to expand...

I watched it. Very meh. Labrys got the most interesting scenes and I liked Ken's development and that's about it.
 
H

Heavenly_Spear

Neo Member
When I first heard about Arena and saw they were adding a new robot character, I was pretty skeptical about Labrys and was expecting to dislike her. Like, I sorta had this perception of her character but once I actually played the game, and especially after completing her story mode, I fell in love with her. She's now one of my favourite characters. T^T

As for Sho, well, I don't have Ultimax but have been watching clips of the story modes. I...kinda like him? >__<; Like, he does have a very abrasive personality, BUT, his background MADE his personality make sense, know what I mean? He's VA also sold me on his character. Minazuki's the same, the way he is makes sense to me in the context of the story. That's what makes a good or at least interesting character to me. Does the way the character act makes sense in the context of their background/story?

So, over all, I like both characters but am really dispointed that Sho's character arc
literally JUST starts at the END of the fucking game.
That's probably another reason why I'm starting to get invested in his character, I want to see him properly grow as a character, since we got to see Labrys' arc.

I haven;t played PQ so I have zero opinion on Zen and Rei.

tl;dr I like the new polarizing characters.
 
J

jello44

Chie is the worst waifu
Dantis said:
Her design is still super bad though.
Click to expand...

4h6obgL.png


Why I outghta....
 
S

Sophia

Member
A Dead Diehard said:
Labrys is one of the few characters for me who deserves a nice "Fuck Yeah!" after her name.
Click to expand...

Now that I'm back on a proper PC and can type up a more thorough response...

Labrys is pretty much amazing precisely because we get to see her thoughts over the course of her story mode in the first Arena.
And while they don't name it, it's a very chilling and realistic example of what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder looks like coming from the eyes of an abused child. Her whole story mode in Arena/Ultimax is basically her coming to terms with her past and slowly trying to get over the abuse she suffered at the hands of the Kirijo Group. She has a lot of symptoms of someone typically abused too, including trying to rationalize the abuse, pushing people away who would otherwise help her, and trying (intentionally or not) to turn people against her. More then that, however... her journey is very different from Aigis's own journey. Where as Aigis slowly had to come to terms over a longer period of time, Labrys was basically forced to grow up too fast due to her situation.

At first glance, it looks like she's going to be a Mary Sue and a repeat of what we saw with Aigis. And then she turns out to be the exact opposite. It really makes her easy to resonate with. The fantastic voice acting in either language helps too.
 
W

WellBattle6

Member
Sophia said:
Now that I'm back on a proper PC and can type up a more thorough response...

Labrys is pretty much amazing precisely because we get to see her thoughts over the course of her story mode in the first Arena.
And while they don't name it, it's a very chilling and realistic example of what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder looks like coming from the eyes of an abused child. Her whole story mode in Arena/Ultimax is basically her coming to terms with her past and slowly trying to get over the abuse she suffered at the hands of the Kirijo Group. She has a lot of symptoms of someone typically abused too, including trying to rationalize the abuse, pushing people away who would otherwise help her, and trying (intentionally or not) to turn people against her. More then that, however... her journey is very different from Aigis's own journey. Where as Aigis slowly had to come to terms over a longer period of time, Labrys was basically forced to grow up too fast due to her situation.

At first glance, it looks like she's going to be a Mary Sue and a repeat of what we saw with Aigis. And then she turns out to be the exact opposite. It really makes her easy to resonate with. The fantastic voice acting in either language helps too.
Click to expand...

And this is what I like about her. Though I still think
ex
shadow Labrys is the best alternate persona of all alternate personas. "You can kiss my ass!"

Sho though. I couldn't empathize with him at all even after learning his background. Plus the puns he
inherited from the Ikutski
made him such an unlikable character.
 
A

Aadrian1234

Banned
Sophia said:
Now that I'm back on a proper PC and can type up a more thorough response...

Labrys is pretty much amazing precisely because we get to see her thoughts over the course of her story mode in the first Arena.
And while they don't name it, it's a very chilling and realistic example of what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is coming from the eyes of an abused child. Her whole story mode in Arena/Ultimax is basically her coming to terms with her past and slowly trying to get over the abuse she suffered at the hands of the Kirijo Group. She has a lot of symptoms of someone typically abused too, including trying to rationalize the abuse, pushing people away who would otherwise help her, and trying (intentionally or not) to turn people against her. More then that, however... her journey is very different from Aigis's own journey. Where as Aigis slowly had to come to terms over a longer period of time, Labrys was basically forced to grow up too fast due to her situation.

At first glance, it looks like she's going to be a Mary Sue and a repeat of what we saw with Aigis. And then she turns out to be the exact opposite. It really makes her easy to resonate with. The fantastic voice acting in either language helps too.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what made me look at Labrys as a "sister" character, from how she suffered by being forced into killing her sister units and being forced to go through so many emotions without understanding them. All i wanted to do was comfort her, and she turned out to be one of my favorite characters too
 
D

DryEyeRelief

Member
Heavenly_Spear said:
When I first heard about Arena and saw they were adding a new robot character, I was pretty skeptical about Labrys and was expecting to dislike her. Like, I sorta had this perception of her character but once I actually played the game, and especially after completing her story mode, I fell in love with her. She's now one of my favourite characters. T^T

As for Sho, well, I don't have Ultimax but have been watching clips of the story modes. I...kinda like him? >__<; Like, he does have a very abrasive personality, BUT, his background MADE his personality make sense, know what I mean? He's VA also sold me on his character. Minazuki's the same, the way he is makes sense to me in the context of the story. That's what makes a good or at least interesting character to me. Does the way the character act makes sense in the context of their background/story?

So, over all, I like both characters but am really dispointed that Sho's character arc
literally JUST starts at the END of the fucking game.
That's probably another reason why I'm starting to get invested in his character, I want to see him properly grow as a character, since we got to see Labrys' arc.
Click to expand...

Many like Ultimax's story mode format better than the original Arena but I think the Sho character suffered for it. A large part of what made Labrys work was that she was given her own individual story from her perspective, so you could contextualize everything. Sho is never given this. We just learn of Sho from secondhand reporting and Sho's own whining.
 
Trojita

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
So are the Persona 4:U game's storyline canon and advance the plot of P3 and P4? I haven't gotten a chance to play one and by the time I was going to by the sequel (That has the first games story right?) I figured they are probably going to release the game for PS4.
 
A

Aadrian1234

Banned
Trojita said:
So are the Persona 4:U game's storyline canon and advance the plot of P3 and P4? I haven't gotten a chance to play one and by the time I was going to by the sequel (That has the first games story right?) I figured they are probably going to release the game for PS4.
Click to expand...

Arena and Ultimax are indeed canon to the P3/4 timeline
 
A

A Dead Diehard

Member
Trojita said:
So are the Persona 4:U game's storyline canon and advance the plot of P3 and P4? I haven't gotten a chance to play one and by the time I was going to by the sequel (That has the first games story right?) I figured they are probably going to release the game for PS4.
Click to expand...

They're as canon as you want them to be, man. ;)
 
R

Reanimatoin

Member
#MitsuruArtChallenge

1670b97cb051bde748cc15ce761326bb-d8p8g8h.jpg
Click to expand...

Drawn by KajiGoddess, who has unfortunately lost her password XD

Also, her Mitsuru questionnaire responses.

1. Mitsuru is pretty cool, and I think she's one of the better Persona 3 characters. I tend to like strong female characters as well, and she's definitely one of them. ;)
2. I didn't get very far in her social link because I hated the dating system in Persona 3.
3. Haven't played Arena, but liked her role in Persona 3 and what I've played of Q so far. It was particularly touching for me to see her find a greater strength in herself after
her father's death
.
4. Her Personas are cool enough.
Bonus: I'm starting to like her Arena outfit more than her school outfit, but both are pretty cool.
Click to expand...
 
N

Nimby

Banned
Fanservice is in virtually every game, I don't think the concept as a whole is worth making a fuss about. I liked some scenes and disliked others.

Also throwing this out there because I have nothing to say about Labrys but wanted to contribute to the thread somehow.
 
J

Jachaos

Member
Sho is a bad Labrys in my opinion. Like, Sho is a prototype for Labrys, then they figured they had an awesome character in Labrys, which they do, and then they had to put someone new in Ultimax so they figured they'd just go with Sho.

I guess what I'm saying is Sho's a first generation anti-shadow suppression weapon.

As for the fan service things, I didn't really like the first hot spring one. Hated the second hot spring one. Loved the cross-dressing pageant. Was meh on the bikini one. Loved the beach one.

I'M READY TO BE BORN DAMNIT

Also is the babe hunt stuff really fan service? Especially in P4? That's just as slice of life as anything else. I loved that part in Okina City. If skiing is also fan service for some reason, I was meh on the skiing cutscene's cliche, it was cringy for me, but I liked the rest of that event.
 
S

Sophia

Member
I'm really curious about Sho and what the writers intended for him. Ultimax spoilers incoming~!

Like, what was the reasoning behind not fleshing out his character? It almost felt like he was suppose to have another story arc of character development, but Ultimax's plot had already ended. The Wild Card part was especially unusual, because it doesn't lead anywhere, and doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than to tack a True Final Ending onto the P4 side. Which was especially infuriating because the Persona 3 side ending was way better and more in line with the themes of Persona 3 and Persona 4. I also kind of wish they had gone more in depth with the experiments that Ikutsuki did, but that's mainly because I like all the additional details and stuff.

In general with Ultimax, I feel like they kind of rushed it. Like they took the complaints that the first game was too wordy the wrong way. The fact that they switched the story mode format around and yet it has almost the exact same problems is kind of proof of that.
Kagutsuchi in particular suffers more so than any other plot element. He has no build up at all in Ultimax, and just kind of comes out of left field. He's also a poor substitute for good old Nyarlathotep, and his connections to the Persona 4 storyline was laughable at best. The town wished for isolation? Really? That's the justification for a fucking world ending monster? Why is that specific to Inaba? That could have happened anywhere else in the world. It's not like serial killers are that unusual. Just kinda wish they would have thought that out a bit more. The implication is that the town and the Midnight Channel have something to do with the Izanami/Izanagi mythology, but it's never actually stated anywhere. So it just kinda feels tenuous at best.
 
S

Sophia

Member
Dantis said:
I think the main problem with Ultimax's plot was that it wasn't written by the Persona writers.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much irrelevant. Both in that the main installments themselves have had different writers, and in the fact that a game's story isn't just determined by the writers. The directors, producers, event designers, programmers, and such all have a big impact on the story too. It's also a fairly shallow and shortsighted way of looking at things too, as it doesn't answer the question of why such problems exists.

I do wonder if Kazuhisa Wada's inexperience as a director shows through on the games tho. He was an event director prior to the Arena games. Mind you, unless you're holding him up to some impossibly high standard, he still did a good job so....
 
A

Aadrian1234

Banned
Sophia said:
I'm really curious about Sho and what the writers intended for him. Ultimax spoilers incoming~!

Like, what was the reasoning behind not fleshing out his character? It almost felt like he was suppose to have another story arc of character development, but Ultimax's plot had already ended. The Wild Card part was especially unusual, because it doesn't lead anywhere, and doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than to tack a True Final Ending onto the P4 side. Which was especially infuriating because the Persona 3 side ending was way better and more in line with the themes of Persona 3 and Persona 4. I also kind of wish they had gone more in depth with the experiments that Ikutsuki did, but that's mainly because I like all the additional details and stuff.
Click to expand...

This was my main problem with the game. ESPECIALLY giving Sho the Wild Card. Why does it happen? Is it just there for Atlus to use later, like they did with Labrys being part of the reason that drove Aigis to the Pier before meeting P3MC? I can't believe Atlus could leave a plot hole like that with Sho so wide open.

I also definitely agree with the P3 side's ending being much better in my opinion. It's Labrys's fight, not Yu's, so seeing the True Ending after seeing 3's ending ticked me off, and I didn't like how it ended.
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
Dantis said:
Out of interest, how many people here actually played through all of Ultimax's story themselves?
Click to expand...

I did. Side 3 was better than Side 4, but
split personality Labrys was somehow even worse than split personality Sho. I think ever since Gundam 00 I've been really put off the split personality thing. I also think something like a split personality could've been handled in a much better way by a series like Persona than it was.
Also felt sort of like
Adachi's role was pretty unimportant for how much it felt like it was hyped up.

Ultimately it was dumb, but I liked it. After Dissidia and Brawl I've come to just not expect that much from crossover fighting game plots.
 
S

Sophia

Member
CorvoSol said:
I did. Side 3 was better than Side 4, but
split personality Labrys was somehow even worse than split personality Sho. I think ever since Gundam 00 I've been really put off the split personality thing. I also think something like a split personality could've been handled in a much better way by a series like Persona than it was.
Also felt sort of like
Adachi's role was pretty unimportant for how much it felt like it was hyped up.

Ultimately it was dumb, but I liked it. After Dissidia and Brawl I've come to just not expect that much from crossover fighting game plots.
Click to expand...

The personality thing with Labrys is is kind of unusual, both in that it's kind of a split personality ("Yeah, I know, you're me.") and that it's Labrys's negative side given a unique form only because of a mechanic the Kijiro Group didn't understand. It's actually given some decent foreshadowing in the first Arena game, seeing as Mitsuru's story mode makes it clear that what remained of the other 5th gen units was preserved in Labrys. Those remnants became the shadows that made up the students in the first game. It's also fairly justified, seeing as the only reason such a split personality exists for Labrys is because of the unique nature of the midnight channel. Otherwise, it'd just be her negative personality traits.

Shadow Labrys is pretty fascinating as a character, in the same way Metis is. They let you see sides of a character (Labrys and Aigis) that you wouldn't normally see, and give you a rather different perspective about how they feel.

And yeah
Adachi's role is pretty dumb. I do like his presence there, but ultimately he's just there because of popularity, and his role could have been done in other ways.

Also can we all agree that the Kijiro Group is horribly inept in general? Outside of Mitsuru, her father, and Yukari's father, it seems like everyone else involved with the corporation is either a slimeball, a psychopath/sociopath, or both. >_>
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
Sophia said:
Also can we all agree that the Kijiro Group is horribly inept in general? Outside of Mitsuru, her father, and Yukari's father, it seems like everyone else involved with the corporation is either a slimeball, a psychopath/sociopath, or both. >_>
Click to expand...

I've always assumed that Grampa Kirijo's Institutional Evil Policies are the reason the Kirijo Group actually broke off from the Nanjo group. Because I have a hard time imagining that Kei would've tolerated some douchey Great Uncle's evil antics like that.
 
D

Dragon1893

Member
Regarding Ultimax's story, I played through the whole thing.
After playing the P4 side I was very disappointed, but the P3 side kinda saved it for me.
Labrys really grew on me.
 
R

Rubedo

Member
Aadrian1234 said:
This was my main problem with the game. ESPECIALLY giving Sho the Wild Card. Why does it happen? Is it just there for Atlus to use later, like they did with Labrys being part of the reason that drove Aigis to the Pier before meeting P3MC? I can't believe Atlus could leave a plot hole like that with Sho so wide open.

I also definitely agree with the P3 side's ending being much better in my opinion. It's Labrys's fight, not Yu's, so seeing the True Ending after seeing 3's ending ticked me off, and I didn't like how it ended.
Click to expand...

It's not really a plot hole of they use it later. Which I'm guessing is the whole reason they did that. To use it later.
 
R

Rubedo

Member
Aadrian1234 said:
Thing is, it's completely obvious it's being saved for later. As of now, it just looks extremely jarring
Click to expand...

Why is it jarring? If a movie puts a sequel hook at the end, it doesn't usually get called "jarring". It's there to let you know to stay tuned because more will follow.
 
A

Aadrian1234

Banned
Rubedo said:
Why is it jarring? If a movie puts a sequel hook at the end, it doesn't usually get called "jarring". It's there to let you know to stay tuned because more will follow.
Click to expand...

Usually something is announced shortly afterwards, while it seems like
they gave Sho the wild card more because they needed a backup plan than an actual sequel hook
 
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