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[PK Gaming]

Rating the casts based on overall feelings of them:

P2EP > P2IS > P5 > P4 > P1 > P3

Fav characters in each game:

Persona: Eriko, Maki, Nanjo
Persona 2 Innocent Sin: Maya, Eikichi
Persona 2 Eternal Punishment: Tatsuya, Baofu
Persona 3: Yukari, Junpei, Shinjiro
Persona 4: Yukiko, Kanji
Persona 5: Makoto, Ann, Yusuke
Persona Spinoffs: Labrys

Fav character in the whole series:

P5 > P4 > P2 > P1* > P3

*The manga is included, of course

 

[klabautermann]

P5 > P2:EP > P2:IS > P4 > P3 > P1, for me probably.

 

[OrionX]

Just finished it. My thoughts:

- Koromaru > Morgana > Teddie
- Dojima >= Sojiro
- Futaba rulez
- Makoto is basically Mitsuru with softer edges. I'm okay with this.
- Yusuke = <3
- Music was amazing as ever, though I wish there had been more. I missed having the music change with the seasons in the previous games. Rivers in the Desert got me so hyped during those last few battles.
- (Late game spoiler)

Spoiler

Goro's betrayal and death felt rushed. I went from hating him to mostly pitying him very quickly, and I think Robbie Daymond did a great job voicing him, but I felt like his character had a lot of potential and the execution was lacking.

In terms of style, presentation, dungeons, and additions to the battle system, I definitely think P5 is the best Persona game. I still think P3 has the strongest theme/ending, and P4's cast as a whole feels a bit more special to me, but P5 managed to capture the same magic that made me fall in love with those games. Loved it.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

Alright you guys have indirectly convinced me.
Busted out the PS2
Hooked it up
Got my copy of FES ready
I'm gonna revisit this game from scratch

 

[Dead End Irony]

- Music was amazing as ever, though I wish there had been more. I missed having the music change with the seasons in the previous games. Rivers in the Desert got me so hyped during those last few battles.

This shit. This shit right here is one of my biggest disappointments with Persona 5 and I wish more people brought this up. It was something I was really looking forward to and I never got it.

 

[BouncyFrag]

I just finished P5, my first Persona game, and have dived in to P4G. Generally speaking, is there a good routine for taking on each new dungeon? If I finish a dungeon early do I still get the same amount of days for the real world activities?

I'm in the steambath dungeon now. I really like the shuffle card mechanic after battles.

 

[Guess Who]

I just finished P5, my first Persona game, and have dived in to P4G. Generally speaking, is there a good routine for taking on each new dungeon? If I finish a dungeon early do I still game the same amount of days for the real world activities?

I'm in the steambath dungeon now.

You generally want to do the dungeon as soon as possible, and in the fewest number of days possible (preferably, one). It's best to do them on rainy days, since social links tend to be unavailable on rainy days anyway.

 

[DNAbro]

Just finished it. My thoughts:

- Koromaru > Morgana > Teddie
- Dojima >= Sojiro
- Futaba rulez
- Makoto is basically Mitsuru with softer edges. I'm okay with this.
- Yusuke = <3
- Music was amazing as ever, though I wish there had been more. I missed having the music change with the seasons in the previous games. Rivers in the Desert got me so hyped during those last few battles.
- (Late game spoiler)

Spoiler

Goro's betrayal and death felt rushed. I went from hating him to mostly pitying him very quickly, and I think Robbie Daymond did a great job voicing him, but I felt like his character had a lot of potential and the execution was lacking.

In terms of style, presentation, dungeons, and additions to the battle system, I definitely think P5 is the best Persona game. I still think P3 has the strongest theme/ending, and P4's cast as a whole feels a bit more special to me, but P5 managed to capture the same magic that made me fall in love with those games. Loved it.

I just posted a similar opinion in another thread but the lack of music changes is definitely my biggest disappointment with the game. (I guess other than romance stuff)
Minor late game spoilers

Spoiler

And that last month of daily music was such a bad idea. One of the blandest tracks in the games that almost felt overused at that point, repeated every goddamn day.

If/When they do a re-release they really need to change up the music more.

And regards to your spoiler

Spoiler

I'm expecting a "save Goro" option if there is a rerelease.

 

[A Dead Diehard]

Controversial statement.

Spoiler

Goro coming back would raise more questions than P3MC rising from the grave.

Spoiler

Can't you stop Shinjiro from dying in P3P? It's about the same. You just stop Goro from dying.

Spoiler

Shinji only killed one person and it was by accident.
Goro killed at least four.

 

[DNAbro]

Controversial statement.

Spoiler

Goro coming back would raise more questions than P3MC rising from the grave.

Spoiler

Can't you stop Shinjiro from dying in P3P? It's about the same. You just stop Goro from dying.

 

[OrionX]

And regards to your spoiler

Spoiler

I'm expecting a "save Goro" option if there is a rerelease.

I'm not sure that I necessarily think

Spoiler

he should be saved, but more that I found him to be the most compelling "villain," and it bugged me that he was swept under the rug so quickly to make room for Shido and the Grail. I would've preferred a scenario where Goro killed Shido, then sided with the Holy Grail. It bothered me that he never got a legit confrontation with his father, who was basically the cause of all his misery. But I guess that's the whole point of Goro's character: wasted potential. He was every bit as capable as the mc, but in the end his loneliness and desire to be admired twisted him into a hateful, opportunistic sociopath.

 

[DNAbro]

I'm not sure that I necessarily think

Spoiler

he should be saved, but more that I found him to be the most compelling "villain," and it bugged me that he was swept under the rug so quickly to make room for Shido and the Grail. I would've preferred a scenario where Goro killed Shido, then sided with the Holy Grail. It bothered me that he never got a legit confrontation with his father, who was basically the cause of all his misery. But I guess that's the whole point of Goro's character: wasted potential. He was every bit as capable as the mc, but in the end his loneliness and desire to be admired twisted him into a hateful, opportunistic sociopath.

Spoiler

I do agree with your thoughts but I'm whether or not it should happen, i think it will.

Controversial statement.

Spoiler

Goro coming back would raise more questions than P3MC rising from the grave.

Spoiler

Shinji only killed one person and it was by accident.
Goro killed at least four.

Spoiler

Atlus has no problems making murderers cool. See Adachi. He'll still be "bad" but Atlus don't care.

 

[asagami_]

 

[Lunar15]

This shit. This shit right here is one of my biggest disappointments with Persona 5 and I wish more people brought this up. It was something I was really looking forward to and I never got it.

Did the music change with the seasons in vanilla P4?

Here's the issue with P5's soundtrack. It's incredible and more coherent than past games, but all of the weight lies on the following 5 songs, which you hear more than anything else:

Tokyo Daylight
Tokyo Emergency
Beneath the Mask
Last Surprise
Mementos

Tokyo Daylight and Tokyo Emergency are just weaker songs that don't compare to their equivalents in P3 and 4. Beneath the mask is great, and I'd even say it rivals Iwatodai Dorm and Signs of Love... but it's the only vocal song you hear in the day-to-day, so it becomes overplayed. Last Surprise is also fantastic, but I still haven't decided if I like it more than ROTTT and Mass Destruction. If you're coming off of P4G instead of vanilla, you even have two different battle themes to choose from, so this might be weaker in that respect. Mementos is probably the biggest dud in the game and I'm still not quite sure what Meguro was thinking here. It fits the theme, but needed to be way less repetitive to be a song you hear so much.

But looking beyond those key four songs, the soundtrack is really strong and has few duds. The dungeon themes are exponentially better than the fare in past games, and I personally found the boss themes better too (so far). Shop music and Confidant music are leagues beyond anything that filled these slots in any other persona game, bar-none. Cutscene music is also way improved.

The problem is that Meguro kinda whiffed on the day-to-day music. The songs aren't bad by any means, they're just not as strong as Your Affection, When Moon's Reaching Out Stars, or Heartbeat Heartbreak.

I still haven't heard any of the music past dungeon 7, though, so I'm curious to hear if there's any more stand-outs.

 

[Davilmar]

Posted in the wrong thread.

 

[Sophia]

Did the music change with the seasons in vanilla P4?

Not with the seasons, no. It did change depending on the weather.

"Heartbeat, Heartbreak" played on gloomy days (cloudy, etc)

"Your Affection" played on sunny days.

Spoiler

"Omen"

played on

Spoiler

days where the fog covers the town, after November 6th.

Of course, Snowflake was added to Persona 4 Golden, as was the winter season in general.

 

[Lunar15]

Not with the seasons, no. It did change depending on the weather.

"Heartbeat, Heartbreak" played on gloomy days (cloudy, etc)

"Your Affection" played on sunny days.

Spoiler

"Omen"

played on

Spoiler

days where the fog covers the town, after November 6th.

Of course, Snowflake was added to Persona 4 Golden, as was the winter season in general.

Yeah, that's all I remember.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

I think P3FES still holds reasonably well, I forgot that there are only 3 social stats lol, which is quite nice but then again it's because the game kinda has you constantly picking at tartartus. Which reminded me that p3 is probably the most combat intensive game of 3, 4 and 5.

Or at least it certainly feels that way. While P4 has frequent dungeons there isn't really an incentive to keep going into the dungeons constantly rather than blasting through them in a day. I kinda forgot how nice it was that p3 has you going in and out of tartarus, which is funny because a lot of people hate tartarus.

 

[Sophia]

Tartarus's gameplay is different from Persona 4 and Persona 5. It takes more elements from Roguelikes and old-school dungeon crawlers. It's also self-sustainable, in that the player can technically find everything they need in there.

I kind of wish Atlus expanded upon that, instead of throwing it all to the wayside. But I wouldn't trade it for Persona 5's uniquely designed dungeons tho.

 

[eyeball_kid]

I'm only at palace 3, but so far I have no problems with the music in P5. I generally prefer it to P3 actually, aside from the battle music. I remember there was some after-school music in P3 that was rather grating (until a remix version later in the year), but none of the music in P5 gets repetitive.

(Palace 3 spoilers)

Spoiler

Makoto just joined my party last night, and I was really happy to see a conversation just between Ann and Makoto. Is this the first time a conversation between two women (without the MC being involved) has happened in a Persona game? It felt like progress.

 

[Dantis]

Not with the seasons, no. It did change depending on the weather.

"Heartbeat, Heartbreak" played on gloomy days (cloudy, etc)

"Your Affection" played on sunny days.

Spoiler

"Omen"

played on

Spoiler

days where the fog covers the town, after November 6th.

Of course, Snowflake was added to Persona 4 Golden, as was the winter season in general.

You're missing Signs of Love.

Did the music change with the seasons in vanilla P4?

Here's the issue with P5's soundtrack. It's incredible and more coherent than past games, but all of the weight lies on the following 5 songs, which you hear more than anything else:

Tokyo Daylight
Tokyo Emergency
Beneath the Mask
Last Surprise
Mementos

Tokyo Daylight and Tokyo Emergency are just weaker songs that don't compare to their equivalents in P3 and 4. Beneath the mask is great, and I'd even say it rivals Iwatodai Dorm and Signs of Love... but it's the only vocal song you hear in the day-to-day, so it becomes overplayed. Last Surprise is also fantastic, but I still haven't decided if I like it more than ROTTT and Mass Destruction. If you're coming off of P4G instead of vanilla, you even have two different battle themes to choose from, so this might be weaker in that respect. Mementos is probably the biggest dud in the game and I'm still not quite sure what Meguro was thinking here. It fits the theme, but needed to be way less repetitive to be a song you hear so much.

But looking beyond those key four songs, the soundtrack is really strong and has few duds. The dungeon themes are exponentially better than the fare in past games, and I personally found the boss themes better too (so far). Shop music and Confidant music are leagues beyond anything that filled these slots in any other persona game, bar-none. Cutscene music is also way improved.

The problem is that Meguro kinda whiffed on the day-to-day music. The songs aren't bad by any means, they're just not as strong as Your Affection, When Moon's Reaching Out Stars, or Heartbeat Heartbreak.

I still haven't heard any of the music past dungeon 7, though, so I'm curious to hear if there's any more stand-outs.

Tokyo Daylight and Tokyo Emergency are super, super underwhelming tracks.

 

[Lusankya]

Tokyo Daylight and Tokyo Emergency are super, super underwhelming tracks.

More like underrated. Especially Tokyo Daylight is one of the best tracks I heard in a game in years.

 

[Dantis]

More like underrated. Especially Tokyo Daylight is one of the best tracks I heard in a game in years.

I actually went to listen to Tokyo Daylight when you said this to make sure I was thinking of the right track.

This is straight up crazy talk. It's like the most phoned in Meguro everyday-track ever. Super reptitive and really simplistic.

 

[Lunar15]

Not having more vocal tracks for day to day stuff is a gigantic shame. I really think this is the main reason people find the soundtrack underwhelming. Tokyo Daylight has a good part near the beginning, but the loop that dominates the song is awful and unmemorable.I like Tokyo Emergency as a song played while you're building up to a dungeon, but it shouldn't be any more than that.

Meanwhile, Meguro's over here making stuff like Sunset Bridge, Butterfly Kiss, Confession, Whims of Fate, and Days When My Mother Was Here. It's a strong soundtrack, just not in all the right places.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Does anyone remember this fanart of the P5 cast to the left side, and the P2 cast to the right side, in a "versus"-like concept? It showed off the parallels between their designs, back when the "P5 is P2-2" meme was ongoing.

it was made before PV04 was a thing but after PV02 (or PV03?), so it only had P5MC, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana and Yusuke. I remember it distinctly, but I can no longer find it on Twitter, Pixiv, Danbooru, NeoGAF, or Google. I know it existed, and I feel like it was posted in a previous Community thread, but it's just gone.

Odd.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

I think beneath the mask is a great track that fits into the out cast vibe your character has. But it's missing tracks for times when that song just doesn't feel appropriate.

Those early months when you're just totally mistrusted by everyone except 3 people and you wind up in your shifty attic storage room futon essentially alone and it really feels like you are background noise to nearly everyone else is when the song really works best. It gives you that sense of just wanting to get through the day unnoticed.

But there were times when it played later on and I couldn't help feeling like hearing something like a jazzier version of P3s want to be close might have felt better.

 

[Lunar15]

I think beneath the mask is a great track that fits into the out cast vibe your character has. But it's missing tracks for times when that song just doesn't feel appropriate.

Those early months when you're just totally mistrusted by everyone except 3 people and you wind up in your shifty attic storage room futon essentially alone and it really feels like you are background noise to nearly everyone else is when the song really works best. It gives you that sense of just wanting to get through the day unnoticed.

But there were times when it played later on and I couldn't help feeling like hearing something like a jazzier version of P3s want to be close might have felt better.

It should have been the song for Leblanc and nothing else. Play the instrumental outside when it rains. When it's not raining, however, they should have had a different song, like you suggest.

 

[Setsu00]

Does anyone remember this fanart of the P5 cast to the left side, and the P2 cast to the right side, in a "versus"-like concept? It showed off the parallels between their designs, back when the "P5 is P2-2" meme was ongoing.

it was made before PV04 was a thing but after PV02 (or PV03?), so it only had P5MC, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana and Yusuke. I remember it distinctly, but I can no longer find it on Twitter, Pixiv, Danbooru, NeoGAF, or Google. I know it existed, and I feel like it was posted in a previous Community thread, but it's just gone.

Odd.

I remember it and here's the artist. I haven't looked for it, but they sometimes delete their art.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I remember it and here's the artist. I haven't looked for it, but they sometimes delete their art.

Bingo, thanks. It was definitely their art, and I definitely Liked it on Twitter. Man, I wonder why they'd delete it.

 

[Setsu00]

Bingo, thanks. It was definitely their art, and I definitely Liked it on Twitter. Man, I wonder why they'd delete it.

I have no idea. They also had a huge collection of P5 sketches on pixiv that they deleted one day. I was absolutely heartbroken.

 

[Dead End Irony]

Not having more vocal tracks for day to day stuff is a gigantic shame. I really think this is the main reason people find the soundtrack underwhelming. Tokyo Daylight has a good part near the beginning, but the loop that dominates the song is awful and unmemorable.I like Tokyo Emergency as a song played while you're building up to a dungeon, but it shouldn't be any more than that.

Meanwhile, Meguro's over here making stuff like Sunset Bridge, Butterfly Kiss, Confession, Whims of Fate, and Days When My Mother Was Here. It's a strong soundtrack, just not in all the right places.

Agreed. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the music in the game. Just wanted a lot more. Lyn killed it in all of her songs. Game definitely needed a daytime song from her though. I'm big on soundtracks in games and I felt Persona 5 was really lacking with its variety. "Life Goes On" was criminally underused too.

 

[PK Gaming]

Tokyo Emergency should have been limited to very specific moments (ie: like in the early game where

Spoiler

Ryuji and Joker run around school asking students for information). It shouldn't have been a daily life song.

It really is solid though.

 

[eyeball_kid]

P5's soundtrack is still pretty much better than any other modern JRPG, at least for my tastes.

The only thing I'm annoyed about is the lack of theme song for the shopping channel. It's silly, but that tune always made me smile in P3.

 

[Lunar15]

Agreed. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the music in the game. Just wanted a lot more. Lyn killed it in all of her songs. Game definitely needed a daytime song from her though. I'm big on soundtracks in games and I felt Persona 5 was really lacking with its variety. "Life Goes On" was criminally underused too.

I still contend that Tokyo Daylight and Life Goes On should have been switched. Also, Will Power sounds like it needs vocals. I contend these should be added in the Reincarnation version.

But yeah, I've been satisfied with the soundtrack overall. It's fun to have on in the background at work. Meguro hits in a spot that no one else is hitting right now.

 

[klabautermann]

More like underrated. Especially Tokyo Daylight is one of the best tracks I heard in a game in years.

Agree with this. Tokyo Daylight is phenomenal. Tokyo Emergency is pretty whatever to me, but I still like it.

Also Signs of Love was the at home song was it not?

Overall I think the P5 OST doesn't have as high of highs as P3 or P4s OST, but I think it has almost no lows for me, personally. Maybe Mementos? Really all I can think of.

 

[Guess Who]

"Life Goes On" is an ineffably perfect name for that song.

 

[StrikeFirst117]

P5's soundtrack is still pretty much better than any other modern JRPG, at least for my tastes.

The only thing I'm annoyed about is the lack of theme song for the shopping channel. It's silly, but that tune always made me smile in P3.

You should probably fix the second hand laptop, the repair kit is in akihabara plus there is

Spoiler

a small remix of Tanaka's theme

on there with the shop.

 

[eyeball_kid]

I don't know anything about any laptop, I'm only on the 3rd palace...

 

[Dantis]

I think the biggest flaw in fhe OST is that there isn't more of it. One normal battle theme for the whole game? One non-repeated fight song in the whole game? It's a complete joke.

I played a few of the Atelier games recently, and the sheer volume of music is comparatively crazy. Get this, the battle theme changes - multiple times - as you progress. It's written to reflect the point in the narrative.

Why isn't that the case with Persona?

 

[Sophia]

Hmm... how many battle themes are there in Persona 5? Spoilering for soundtrack spoilers.

Spoiler

There's Will Power, Last Surprise, Blooming Villain, Keeper of Lust, Rivers in the Desert, and the two themes that make up the final boss theme... seven tracks total, three of which don't play until endgame. Dantis may have a point.

 

[PK Gaming]

Ya'll are forgetting about the DLC battle themes

Spoiler

lol

 

[Not Spaceghost]

Ya'll are forgetting about the DLC battle themes

Spoiler

lol

Don't tempt me!

I keep slapping my hand away every time I'm like "oh but having mass destruction would be nice..." because that's how I end up buying every single DLC lol.

 

[A Dead Diehard]

Ya'll are forgetting about the DLC battle themes

Spoiler

lol

If P5Rouge/Remake/Rapscallion has the option to choose the battle theme as long as you have the costumes, I'll buy that bad boy day one.

 

[Dead End Irony]

I think the biggest flaw in fhe OST is that there isn't more of it. One normal battle theme for the whole game? One non-repeated fight song in the whole game? It's a complete joke.

I played a few of the Atelier games recently, and the sheer volume of music is comparatively crazy. Get this, the battle theme changes - multiple times - as you progress. It's written to reflect the point in the narrative.

Why isn't that the case with Persona?

I'd agree with you if I didn't like Last Surprise so much. A remixed version midway through the game would've been nice though. I honestly didn't expect to be this let down by the lack of variety in the soundtrack. It's one of the main things making me more eager for a re-release than I'd anticipated.

 

[Nimby]

Ya'll are forgetting about the DLC battle themes

Spoiler

lol

I said no to costume DLC before it was announced, bought SMTIV costumes anyway, then I heard this

I feel so ashamed.

 

[Kssio_Aug]

I've just drawn it today earlier, based on Ann's All-Out screen:

The hype is real! Had years I didn't draw a thing! It was fun! =P

 

[Not Spaceghost]

Godddd playing through P3 again makes me miss how major fast travel is to these games.

 

[ULTROS!]

Cast: P4 >> P5 > P3 > P2 > P1
Story: P5 >= P2 > P4 > P3 > P1
Gameplay and Dungeons: P5 >> P4 > P3 > P2 > P1
Music: P4 > P5 > P3 > P1 > P2

I'm not a fan of P3, sorry guys. Do note I played P3 first, then P4, then P1, then P2:IS, then P5.

 

[ASilentProtagonist]

P5 > P4 > P2 > P1* > P3

*The manga is included, of course

we're doing rankings?

For me it'd be - P3 > P2 > P4 > P5

If P2 got a proper remake it'd probably be my number 1# tbh.

 

[Plums]

I've been thinking about how I'd rank modern Persona on and off since beating P5 (and starting P2 :b), but I think I'm sitting at:

Cast: P3 > P5 >>> P4
Story: P5 > P3 > P4
Music: P5 > P4 > P3
Gameplay: P5 >>> P4 > P3
Overall: P5 > P3 > P4

P3's character growth is unmatched by the other Hashino Persona games (even if I don't really care for Fuuka or Ken ). Teddie and Yosuke are easily the Persona characters I actively dislike though, and a good chunk of their interaction with the girls/Kanji just made me wish I could drop them from the group constantly. Oddly enough, P5 is the first time I've felt really positive about everyone in the main party.

While they both have some issues in pacing, I really love both P3 and P5's end runs. P4 felt the weakest.

P5's musical style is more like something I would listen to, but P4 definitely has really good hits with Fog, Heartbeat Heartbreak, and so on.