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Persona Community Thread |OT9| SPOILER TAGS OR DIE

Zolo

Member
P4 villain:
I always hated Adachi's whitewashing. If he wasn't a good looking guy, there wouldn't even have been any effort in doing so.
 

EMT0

Banned
I assume you've watched the P4GA anime episode 6, right? It's a good dive into what you're asking about. From a mention you make, it seems that you did. I wrote something about that episode a while ago.

A key word that I think describes them is "anti-social."

That was an excellent read, thank you for it. Your highlighting that ultimately, Adachi rejected any semblance of morality he held actually helps me a lot in trying to figure out Adachi. I actually held a completely different interpretation of the scene where he throws away all the meal boxes and the pot, however. At the time, I thought the pot looked different than when he first received it(empty vs. full) and also assumed that he'd eaten everything that Yu had provided for him. My interpretation of it was that Adachi was willing to receive any and all kindness given to him, but was unable to return any sort of kind action to anybody, even a basic courtesy like returning the containers.

I largely agree, but it was definitely Golden (Animation) that added more texture there.
I hadn't even thought until the animation that Adachi would resent Yu for nosing into relationships better than Adachi could or felt like he could, but it was such a clear throughline I wonder that I didn't see it sooner.

Primarily I feel like Adachi was primarily trying to project control over events he really didn't have that much say in just so he could feel like he had a measure of control. That it hurt people he would kind of dismiss or not care about or just try and convince himself (usually fairly succesfully) that he wanted it that way, and so it became.

It seems like we're on a similar wavelength on this!
Honestly, I just want to hear Adachi be honest and open about what the hell really goes on in his head. The entirety of of P4G's finale felt like Adachi was bluffing and rolling with it from start to finish, like a peacock trying to show off its non-existent feathers. Adachi didn't have any control, any plan, or any real motivation. The thing that really set off the idea in my head was when he pulled a gun on Yu but never actually carried out the deed like a proper sociopath and instead went into a full magic anime battle where point-blank bullets aren't a one-shot kill. I want to know the true cocktail of things going on in his head during the finale.

Re:
Adachi

Ignore everything that isn't P4/P4G. The Golden episodes centered around him are nice, but ultimately superfluous/contradictory.

These are the core aspects of his character:
Resentful towards society
Pessimistic
Sexist
Incapable of taking responsibility for anything, frequently coming up with ludicrous justifications that don't involve him
Has studied hard for his entire life, only to be screwed out of success due to an unspecified mistake
Joined the police force so he could legally own a gun

So to answer your question, there are no plot holes. His rank 10 with Yu makes it clear that he enjoyed the time he spent with Dojima and Nanako, but not to a particularly large degree. He likes Yu, but they don't share this ridiculously intimate shonen bond like they do in the anime. He is not depressed. This is why relying on the anime for information is a bad idea, because it adds an unnecessary sympathetic side to his characters and indulges in blatant retcons. Everything from his actions, to the way he talks hammers in the points I listed earlier; he's a rotten person running wild with his new power.

Also, Adachi didn't "spontaneously" want to assault people. He sexually assaulted Mayumi Yamano for being involved in a cheating scandal, that's when he discovered his new power. This is a common thing in Japan, where guys feel "betrayed" when the women they revere do anything that breaks their pure image. The Golden anime downplays this considerably.

Adachi is 100% not lying to you during your confrontation in P4/P4G. He has no reason not to tell the truth.

It's fair to say that we shouldn't treat the anime with validity, but I didn't think it was contradictory. Rather, it just left gaps and opened up more questions(plotholes).
Maybe it's the anime tinging my perspective of the final confrontation between Yu and Adachi, but Adachi felt like he was bluffing the entire time and running off the script of a badly written anime genius. Now, that could be entirely down to poor writing but moments such as pulling a gun on Yu yet never firing it like a proper sociopath would, monologuing excuses masquerading as ideology at people that he (undeniably) has to kill in order to remain free, etc. It all adds to the sense that Adachi is craven and dishonest. It doesn't feel like he's being honest to Yu and the investigation team at all. His social link feels like the 'real' Adachi, while the final confrontation feels like he's putting on a show he's been mulling the dialogue for since the moment that Namatame kidnapped Nanako and his ass was potentially exposed.

On the spontaneous assault, it's spontaneous in the context of the anime. Not in the games. In the anime, Adachi discovers that he can put things through the TV before he ever confronts Yamano. The anime gave the impression that Adachi snapped, and that he had enough sense despite his madness to salvage the situation for himself and not incriminate himself in a crime. Yeah, it's the anime trying to do a soft retcon of the game. Although I'd argue that it's a good one. Adachi getting as far as he did through sheer dumb luck is a bit unbelievable; him having some degree of sharp-mindedness and that he willingly committed himself to his path by seizing some degree of control/power makes the narrative superior, IMO.

P4 villain spoilers:

I feel like you're conflating the anime episodes with the game too much, as they changed aspects of his character pretty heavily to make him less sociopathic. Adachi is a character who feels like he is unfairly treated by those in positions of power over him, and because of this he exerts his own power in abusive ways on the victims in Persona 4 (Namatame by manipulating a man in emotional distress and Saki and Yamano physically and verbally).
He's also a nihilist and a coward, and uses this as a thin justification for his actions.
How he feels about the Dojimas (and Yu) is ambiguous, I think, because what he says shouldn't be taken at face value. In the day to day scenes he's playing the part of the goof that everyone in Inaba takes him for, and in the confrontation he's blatantly not conveying how he really feels in multiple lines. He'd like to pretend he's a mastermind and a villain and that the world around him is at fault, but his hesitance suggests to me that he's actually just afraid and he knows it.

Hashino's games all culminate with the protagonist proving to a supernatural entity that we, as a society, are worth something and capable of something, and Adachi runs entirely contrary to that notion. Adachi tells himself and the player that nothing means anything and nothing matters, and the player proves him wrong in the final display of truth before the confrontation with Izanami. So in a game all about perceptions, Adachi becomes the ultimate symbol of a person who has interpeted the world incorrectly. If Narukami and co represent truth, then Adachi and Ameno Sagiri represent lies.
That was a very concise explanation and does a lot tie up Adachi's symbolism neatly, tbqh. The first time I played the game, any kind of symbolism or allusion was completely lost on me. You've given me more to think about as well. It doesn't make me feel like Adachi is any less muddled a character however, because we never get to see him be honest. Adachi starts the game by lying about who he is to everybody around him and ends the game bluffing and behaving like a parody of a Death Note character. I suppose that ultimately, that's by design. And in hindsight, the anime really doesn't do much to explain how Adachi became Adachi the villain but instead spends a lot of time trying to tantalize the viewer with scenes where 'This is where he could have walked a different path!'

Attempts by extended material like Arena & Golden to make Adachi look not as bad as he is probably wouldn't happen if he looked like Mitsuo.

I blame the porn. The porn caused all of this :^)
 

Not Spaceghost

Spaceghost
Another huge PSN sale, another time that Persona 2 isn't on sale :\

I should really just bite the bullet and get them both but I don't quite feel like paying 30 dollars combined for them lol. Especially since EP doesn't have the PSP remake that IS got.
 
Lol, so this author's note from the 4th volume of the P3 manga gave me a bit of a laugh. This was written in 2008.

00KxlvC.jpg
 
I'm playing through Persona 5 (first Persona game ever) but am a bit confused as to how Personas work and what you're supposed to do with them so would really appreciate a bit of help.

I get that
you use them to attack, and certain Confidants are tied to a different Persona type, making it so if you have say a Lovers Persona then the Lovers Confidant will rank up more when you hang out with them.

What I don't get is,
how're you supposed to keep pace with all of them if you're constantly having to fuse them? And what's the purpose of leveling them if they're likely going to wind up being fused? And also, who levels up when you do? Is it just the active Persona at the end of that battle, or is it all Persona in your stock?

I'm not trying to collect all the Personas (that'd be way more effort than I'm willing to put in) but at the same time I don't want to make some critical mistake that leaves me in a bind later. It already seems, by checking against the people on the Thieves Guild, that I'm underlevelled which is a bit worrying.

I'm currently about to start 5/20 and have
infiltrated Maradame's castle for the second time
.
 
I'm playing through Persona 5 (first Persona game ever) but am a bit confused as to how Personas work and what you're supposed to do with them so would really appreciate a bit of help.

I get that
you use them to attack, and certain Confidants are tied to a different Persona type, making it so if you have say a Lovers Persona then the Lovers Confidant will rank up more when you hang out with them.

What I don't get is,
how're you supposed to keep pace with all of them if you're constantly having to fuse them? And what's the purpose of leveling them if they're likely going to wind up being fused? And also, who levels up when you do? Is it just the active Persona at the end of that battle, or is it all Persona in your stock?

I'm not trying to collect all the Personas (that'd be way more effort than I'm willing to put in) but at the same time I don't want to make some critical mistake that leaves me in a bind later. It already seems, by checking against the people on the Thieves Guild, that I'm underlevelled which is a bit worrying.

I'm currently about to start 5/20 and have
infiltrated Maradame's castle for the second time
.

All the Personas in your stock.
Also, remember to register Personas before fusing them. I could be wrong, but your wording seems to imply that you think fusing is doing away with a Persona forever.
 

Lusankya

Member
All the Personas in your stock.
Also, remember to register Personas before fusing them. I could be wrong, but your wording seems to imply that you think fusing is doing away with a Persona forever.

No, only the currently equipped Persona gets any exp (unless they have the Growth 1-3 skills). In general you level them up to get more and stronger skills which in turn you then give to new Personas you fuse.

However you usually don't grind and try to level up all Personas in your posession as it takes way too long. The main way to level up your Personas is to fuse them and using the bonus Exp from your Confidants levels.
 
All the Personas in your stock.
Also, remember to register Personas before fusing them. I could be wrong, but your wording seems to imply that you think fusing is doing away with a Persona forever.

No, only the currently equipped Persona gets any exp (unless they have the Growth 1-3 skills). In general you level them up to get more and stronger skills which in turn you then give to new Personas you fuse.

However you usually don't grind and try to level up all Personas in your posession as it takes way too long. The main way to level up your Personas is to fuse them and using the bonus Exp from your Confidants levels.

Thanks! No, I get that you can get the persona back, but I don't see what the point is in levelling it up if it's just going to be fused anyways.

What about the other two questions?
 
No, only the currently equipped Persona gets any exp (unless they have the Growth 1-3 skills). In general you level them up to get more and stronger skills which in turn you then give to new Personas you fuse.

However you usually don't grind and try to level up all Personas in your posession as it takes way too long. The main way to level up your Personas is to fuse them and using the bonus Exp from your Confidants levels.

OOPS!

Misread that as which Personas give you a bonus for leveling up Confidants...

Thanks! No, I get that you can get the persona back, but I don't see what the point is in levelling it up if it's just going to be fused anyways.

What about the other two questions?

Using the compendium makes those other two questions pretty much irrelevant. Fuse Personas and use the compendium to buy back what you need.
 

MudoSkills

Volcano High Alumnus (Cum Laude)
I don't see what the point is in levelling it up if it's just going to be fused anyways.

What about the other two questions?

Past the point they've learnt all their skills? Nothing in most cases - unless you're particularly fond of them.

As for your other questions - you'll never fuse yourself into a bind. The system is flexible enough that you'll always have options to cover the required attacking/defensive options at any point in the game.

If you think you're under-levelled, kill some time in Mementos. Provided you don't avoid a huge number of fights (either there or in the palaces) you should keep pace with your enemies for most of the game.
 

Mediking

Member
The only mistake you can make with Persona Fusing is not fusing when your current Personas are failing you.

Yeah... but almost all the times Igor would suggest fusions to me... they never looked good or impressed me enough.

I really did only beat with the game with about 4 Personas I thought looked cool and had good moves.

I let Makoto's Awakened Persona, Ryuji and Ann's Concentrate, and Morgana's healing + Miracle Punch take care of everybody.
 
Using the compendium makes those other two questions pretty much irrelevant. Fuse Personas and use the compendium to buy back what you need.

Past the point they've learnt all their skills? Nothing in most cases - unless you're particularly fond of them.

As for your other questions - you'll never fuse yourself into a bind. The system is flexible enough that you'll always have options to cover the required attacking/defensive options at any point in the game.

If you think you're under-levelled, kill some time in Mementos. Provided you don't avoid a huge number of fights (either there or in the palaces) you should keep pace with your enemies for most of the game.

Thanks, so much! I really appreciate your (and everyone else's) responses :D.

That's a big big relief to know that it's not going to be a problem and that I won't wind up being stuck - even though the game has paced itself really well with explaining things there's still some aspects I'm intimidated by, the Personas being one of them. Having so much fun with the game otherwise though - it's really fantastic and everything fits together so well.
 
The boss on Palace 5 is really, really starting to irritate me.
Having to juggle the whole party while also avoiding having one of the robots blow up is really not fun. Also, I hate bosses that have time limits.

I'm pretty much ready at this point to switch down from Hard for this fight.
I finally made it to the last robot and his supermove destroyed my party. I realize you have to have Defense plus guarding, but because the CEO casts Dekaja on my party every turn, there's no time to both. ugh.
 
The boss on Palace 5 is really, really starting to irritate me.
Having to juggle the whole party while also avoiding having one of the robots blow up is really not fun. Also, I hate bosses that have time limits.

I'm pretty much ready at this point to switch down from Hard for this fight.
I finally made it to the last robot and his supermove destroyed my party. I realize you have to have Defense plus guarding, but because the CEO casts Dekaja on my party every turn, there's no time to both. ugh.
If I remember right,
that supermove heals anyone with hunger status.
Hopefully that helps you, it made things very manageable for me, and I was on hard too.
Also, the time limit is pretty generous, so try not to worry about it too much.
 
If I remember right,
that supermove heals anyone with hunger status.
Hopefully that helps you, it made things very manageable for me, and I was on hard too.
Also, the time limit is pretty generous, so try not to worry about it too much.

Thanks, yeah I read up on the tips, but just couldn't deal with it on Hard and had enough. Once I dropped it down to Normal, I beat the boss on the first try. Normal and Hard feel like different games, the difference in difficulty is huge.

I disagree on the time limit though. Even on Normal, I beat the boss with only three seconds to spare.
 

Bladenic

Member
Randomly decided to buy and start Persona 1. I followed the steps to get Reiji so far. Still just at the hospital though.

How do spell cards work? I got a spell card from Poltergeist, what does it do? Is it a one use thing?
 
Spell cards are what you use for fusion. Instead of getting a Persona card like in 3/4/5, you get a spell card. Spell cards are combined to create a new persona that you can actually equip.
 

Bladenic

Member
I'm in a dungeon called Kama Palace on the way to meet someone called Harem Queen lmao. I'm getting kind of bored of the game already and I'm sure I have tons left to go. It's also hard to not wanna spam Megido with my MC but then everyone else will be left behind experience wise.

For reason my game time says 36 hours which is definitely wrong. Thought it wouldn't keep track of time while on sleep mode but I guess it must have.
It can't be said enough that School Days is so freaking catchy. Love it.
 

blado

Member
Just beat Persona 4 Golden and loved it. I'll eventually play Persona 5, but it's hard to imagine how it could be better than Persona 4 excluding gameplay.

Not really sure which game to move on to next, though. I was thinking either P3P, P2: Innocent Sin, or taking a break from Persona and trying out Tokyo Mirage Sessions.
 
I was at 10/31 and walking around Shinjuku when I noticed there were Halloween decorations everywhere. Nice touch! Now I wonder how many other holidays I've missed.

And maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems like they're altering the light as the seasons change?
 
My post-Persona 5 grieving is still going so strong, I need to take another fat hit of Persona RIGHT NOW or I'll go fucking loony. So I just put in an order for a PSTV and Persona 4 Golden :)

Watched the Persona 4 intro and it's soooooo amazing, very disappointed that it's changed in Golden. Golden's is such a step down...
 
And maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems like they're altering the light as the seasons change?

Yep, I thought it was a great touch to have the daylight change according to the seasons. Summer is bright all the time and when it gets to Autumn, it's pretty much sunset after school, and nearly dark if you get out of a meeting.
 

Setsu00

Member
You can tell Katsura Hashino is the real deal because he uses LEGO dragons in pre-production.

Source.

There are two things I want to say about this:

1. Hashino playing with LEGOs as an adult makes him infinitely more likeable and I already loved that guy to begin with.
2. He's quoting from a Waypoint article that adressed the unfortunate absence of LGBT relationships in P4 and P5 briefly, so maybe, just maybe there's a tiny chance that Atlus might think more about LGBT people in the future without constantly making fun of them.

I mean it's probably nothing since Hashino left the series, but whatever.
 

Lynx_7

Member
There are two things I want to say about this:

1. Hashino playing with LEGOs as an adult makes him infinitely more likeable and I already loved that guy to begin with.
2. He's quoting from a Waypoint article that adressed the unfortunate absence of LGBT relationships in P4 and P5 briefly, so maybe, just maybe there's a tiny chance that Atlus might think more about LGBT people in the future without constantly making fun of them.

I mean it's probably nothing since Hashino left the series, but whatever.

What is he quoting, specifically? Does he talk at all about what's his stance on the subject?

People are a bit too quick to throw Hashino under the bus because of a few issues concerning LGBT representation in his games and comic relief involving Ann's sexuality in P5, but he comes across as the type that would address these things if confronted about them. It comes across more as tone-deaf and a result of his society (with gay jokes like that one beach scene being unfortunately common place in anime and television) than malicious.

Even if he's not directing it, I doubt he won't have any say in the new Persona game. He will likely give the new team some advice, so hopefully he can address these criticisms with them.
 

Setsu00

Member
What is he quoting, specifically? Does he talk at all about what's his stance on the subject?

People are a bit too quick to throw Hashino under the bus because of a few issues concerning LGBT representation in his games and comic relief involving Ann's sexuality in P5, but he comes across as the type that would address these things if confronted about them. It comes across more as tone-deaf and a result of his society (with gay jokes like that one beach scene being unfortunately common place in anime and television) than malicious.

Even if he's not directing it, I doubt he won't have any say in the new Persona game. He will likely give the new team some advice, so hopefully he can address these criticisms with them.

It's this one.
 

Lynx_7

Member

Talk about brief lol
The author mentions the lack of queer relationships in a single sentence but doesn't really say anything about it, so even if he read the article that isn't saying much to Hashino at all. I wouldn't expect anything out of this.

They did specifically say they were looking at the west's reception though. They know about the Morgana memes, so maybe they're aware of LGBT criticism. Unless "let's not do that today" is also a meme in Japan :p
 
Talk about brief lol
The author mentions the lack of queer relationships in a single sentence but doesn't really say anything about it, so even if he read the article that isn't saying much to Hashino at all. I wouldn't expect anything out of this.

They did specifically say they were looking at the west's reception though. They know about the Morgana memes, so maybe they're aware of LGBT criticism. Unless "let's not do that today" is also a meme in Japan :p

This tshirt long predates the English release.

 

FluxWaveZ

Member
They did specifically say they were looking at the west's reception though. They know about the Morgana memes, so maybe they're aware of LGBT criticism. Unless "let's not do that today" is also a meme in Japan :p

This was a shirt sold at Comiket 91, long before the game even came out in English:

C9t50mLVYAA5A2c.jpg
 

BouncyFrag

Member
So I just started P2 Innocent Sin on Vita and was wondering if there were big differences between the original soundtrack and remix version?

Having played P3-P5, are there any missables or important gameplay tips that I should look out for in P2?
 

Lynx_7

Member
So I just started P2 Innocent Sin on Vita and was wondering if there were big differences between the original soundtrack and remix version?

Not really, the remixed soundtrack is very faithful to the original. Compare some tracks on youtube to see which you like better and stick with it. It's P1 that got a very different OST.
 

Setsu00

Member
Talk about brief lol
The author mentions the lack of queer relationships in a single sentence but doesn't really say anything about it, so even if he read the article that isn't saying much to Hashino at all. I wouldn't expect anything out of this.

They did specifically say they were looking at the west's reception though. They know about the Morgana memes, so maybe they're aware of LGBT criticism. Unless "let's not do that today" is also a meme in Japan :p

Well, the idea was that if he quoted that article, then maybe he's fully aware of everything in said article. I'll admit though that I was pretty much grasping at straws.
 
So I just started P2 Innocent Sin on Vita and was wondering if there were big differences between the original soundtrack and remix version?

Having played P3-P5, are there any missables or important gameplay tips that I should look out for in P2?

MAP Sumaru City - PS1 | PSP
Kasugayama High School - PS1 | PSP
Velvet Room - PS1 | PSP
Maya's Theme - PS1 | PSP
Honmaru Park - PS1 | PSP
Time Castle - PS1 | PSP

I couldn't find a full upload of the PSP soundtrack so this wasn't the kind of sample I intended to show...

You can switch between them whenever you want anyway.

There's a lot you can miss but it's been 9999999 years since I last played. Most of it is extra. Maybe a little spoilery but
you may want your friends to find their own strength at times
and you should find
every mask in Mt. Iwato
.

You can ignore a lot and stick with all of the default/handout Personas. It's an easy game.
 

Lynx_7

Member
^They changed the Velvet Room theme to the P3 version? Goddamnit. I mean I liked it the first two times they used it, but come on, that's just ridiculous. Doesn't help that I really like P2's version of it too and would've preferred a remix of that.

I basically have given up hope of them ever making another arrangement at this point.
 

Sophia

Member
^They changed the Velvet Room theme to the P3 version? Goddamnit. I mean I liked it the first two times they used it, but come on, that's just ridiculous. Doesn't help that I really like P2's version of it too and would've preferred a remix of that.

I basically have given up hope of them ever making another arrangement at this point.

Yeah, the P3 remix of the Velvet Room theme stands out given the other Velvet Room themes for Persona 2 are still present, and are obviously a completely different type of instrumentation and style. : \
 
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