The Persona Series

[hogso]

It does The first dungeon pales in comparison compared to the later ones. 

I'm not saying the dungeons are too difficult to clear on normal (or hard for that matter) - they'd actually be a breeze if you prepared enough, and did, say, a run to a safe room each day and progessed that way. 

My reason behind advising playing through on easy at first is that it frees up so much more time for the other stuff. I kinda enjoy the dungeons, but mostly as a vehicle to move the story forwards. I do enjoy the challenge of clearing them in a single run, though. The real meat of the game for me is everything outside the dungeons. 

Which is why this is my favourite Persona game, I think. It's a million miles from the likes of clearing Tarturus in P3 - that was a 250+ level tower, where each level was procedurally generated (like momentos is), yuck! I got on with it at the time of course, but the way the dungoens are in P5 is a massive step forward for the series. 

I have to admit I don't like some of the confidents, and the story isn't my favourite from the series, but in gameplay terms this instalment is a huge improvement. 

It's certainly not perfect, though. It's still very high on the metacritic all time PS4 list, which I find a little hard to accept as I just don't believe it's a very accessible game for the masses. Having said that, I sincerely hope they don't pander to the western audience in the future. 

Annnyyway, that's enough of me, so here's another Morgana gif

[Ginko]

Fair enough, I'm more casual a gamer than I used to be anyway so if it's for the sake of enjoying the story and progressing at a better pace then I'm all for it.

I've just got to the point I was at before and realised there was a safe room in the first level of the tower. I just saw two dots on my radar and didn't want to tangle with them and chickened out. Oh well. I got there and progressed upwards a bit to the scythe bridge and now have to turn around and find a high level enemy with the key. Found a couple but one wiped out Joker in a single critical hit which is annoying since the rest of my party were fine.

Made plenty of saves though. I'll try again later.

[RunRickyRun]

I found the first dungeon to be by far the hardest (i've just cleared the third) because of the limitations you face with only 4 party members and very low SP. I made the mistake of demanding money and items which cost me a lot of vital early xp. The next 2 were longer but you can over level yourself comfortably by grinding on weaker enemies.

I've had a couple of cheap game overs though against the mini bosses but you have to laugh sometimes at the luck of drawing a weak hit then a critical then a follow up against Joker on their first turn. I've managed to counter this by picking up Shiki-Ouji (Chariot persona) which blocks all physical attacks. I've leveled him up so his physical attack can wipe a stack of enemies in one hit. I'll be gutted when I eventually have to move on.

2 hours ago, hogso said:

I just don't believe it's a very accessible game for the masses. Having said that, I sincerely hope they don't pander to the western audience in the future.

I think that's why it's so good. There are too many games that check boxes and listen to focus groups rather than design the games they want to. Had another publisher got their hands on the game, I'd imagine the turn based combat would have gone as well as adding in the inevitable crafting system and perk tree.

[Dodgyknees]

I just don't have the time for this. I need to be able to commit 5/6 hours straight and I just can't right now.

[jon_c]

There is nothing more satisfying in gaming than boosting a stat in a Persona game without having time pass. Expect maybe boosting more than one stat at once.

[hogso]

Boosting two personality stats and not passing time...hmmm...I wonder if that is possible.

[hogso]

19 hours ago, hogso said:

Boosting two personality stats and not passing time...hmmm...I wonder if that is possible.

I've thought about this, and unless there's a book I haven't discovered yet (seeing as you can read on the train and during free time in class, therefore technically not progressing time) that raises two stars upon completion...i don't think it can be done. Would love to be told I'm wrong though! 

I also maxed out my first stat the other day - charm! 

[Ginko]

Defeated Kamoshida earlier, pretty easy battle all things considered. Enjoying the game though the sheer amount of choice is making me nervous regarding whether I'm making the right choices. I know there aren't necessarily wrong decisions, but I don't want to miss out on cool stuff. Looks like it's impossible not to miss out on some things though.

Edited May 14, 2017 by Ginko

[Designer1]

I've just got to the third boss fight (saved just outside the final room) and I have 13 days left.

Now, probably a noob question but if I go in and kill the boss now will I still be able to utilise those remaining 13 days for levelling etc or am I better off doing the levelling etc first and leaving myself with say two days, and then killing the boss?

 

[Designer1]

17 hours ago, Ginko said:

Looks like it's impossible not to miss out on some things though.

I think that's key to be honest.

I've already 'made peace' with the fact that i'm not going to see and do everything. I'm just concentrating on what I feel are the right things to spend time on, and to be fair I seem to be doing OK.

[hogso]

Is this in the first dungeon? Or do you mean the final boss in the third dungeon?

I guess the former. In short, once the boss is defeated, the palace will disappear. On May 7th an optional dungeon unlocks which can be accessed when ever you like, but does progress time. So you could use the optional dungeon if you're desperate to level up. However, as I've previously touched on, I'd suggest you spend as little time in dungeons as possible, and would clear the boss as soon as you think you're ready. But yeah, once the boss is defeated, the palace is gone forever.

[Designer1]

16 minutes ago, hogso said:

Is this in the first dungeon? Or do you mean the final boss in the third dungeon?

I guess the former. In short, once the boss is defeated, the palace will disappear. On May 7th an optional dungeon unlocks which can be accessed when ever you like, but does progress time. So you could use the optional dungeon if you're desperate to level up. However, as I've previously touched on, I'd suggest you spend as little time in dungeons as possible, and would clear the boss as soon as you think you're ready. But yeah, once the boss is defeated, the palace is gone forever.

Final boss -

Spoiler

Gangster Man

on the third palace.

Yeah, I know the palace disappears - what I wanted to know (and probably didn't make clear enough) is that if I kill the boss with 13 days left over, will I lose those days for other activities (going to the cafe, reading books etc) so am I better off waiting until 1 or 2 days remain and then smashing the boss? I'm pretty certain I won't lose the time but wanted to double check as 13 days is a lot of activity to lose.

[hogso]

Gotcha! Nope, you don't 'lose' the days in any way. The game will simply replace the little vignettes where conversation such as 'We need to clear the palace!' take place with things like 'I wonder what will happen now the palace is gone?' and/or 'I'm worried about the change of heart', etc., that's pretty much the only difference you'll see.

[Designer1]

21 minutes ago, hogso said:

Gotcha! Nope, you don't 'lose' the days in any way. The game will simply replace the little vignettes where conversation such as 'We need to clear the palace!' take place with things like 'I wonder what will happen now the palace is gone?' and/or 'I'm worried about the change of heart', etc., that's pretty much the only difference you'll see.

Cool - I just wanted to make sure as when I did Palace 1 and 2 I only had a couple of days left over and couldn't remember if I lost them or not (by the game 'fast forwarding' as it does sometimes).

Right, i'll be smashing that bastard boss tomorrow night then

[Ginko]

Yeah I had something like twelve days until expulsion when I cleared the first palace and I just spent those days doing activities. On some of those days I had no choice but to do certain things, but for the most part I had free rein which I think is what hogso is suggesting is a good way to play the game as it enables more time to level up your character's stats and relationships.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Ginko

[Designer1]

Finished the third palace off and I think I'm pretty much done with the game now.

It's very good, and extremely well put together and designed but I can't help shake the feeling that after 50 or so hours of play I've pretty much seen all the variety that it has to offer.

The thought of doing the same routine for the remaining months with increased difficulty just doesn't grip me at all. 

I think a little more variety may have helped but that's just me.

As I said, a good experience but one that got slightly repetitive a little too quickly.

[hogso]

I think that is a completely valid criticism, and another reason why this shouldn't be near the top of 'best games' lists. Then again, 50 hours to clear the third dungeon, wow! I think I was entering the fifth at the point. Maybe that contributed to you running out of steam. 

I also have to say that I don't think the story is as good as P3 and P4, it certainly doesn't keep things ticking over, making you desperate to figure out what the hells going on, or in P4's case, who the killer is. 

Having said that I am still very curious about Morgana's true form (hopefully it's something as shocking as Teddie :D) and although it seems pretty clear already who the 'big bad' is, I'm still looking forward to finding out how the end of the story plays out. Plus I just chose my love interest, so there's that too 

[Designer1]

2 hours ago, hogso said:

Then again, 50 hours to clear the third dungeon, wow! I think I was entering the fifth at the point. Maybe that contributed to you running out of steam.

Yeah, I do tend to 'mooch' around a lot with games like this and spend time doing the square root of **** all for an hour or so.

I also have games running in the background sometimes when i'm doing other things around the house so it probably wasn't as many as 50 hours.

Like I said, I think it's a brilliant game and I enjoyed it but I just think i'd seen enough. It happens to me with games from time to time (more these days) but I tend to revisit games somewhere down the line (i've done it with several over the last few years) so i always keep my game saves.

It certainly wouldn't surprise me if I re-bought it cheap at some point.

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by Designer1

[RunRickyRun]

Just completed it and have to say it's a brilliant game and stands up with the rest of the series.

There's a point when you start palace 6 where the game ramps up from a good game to a great game. The story advances rapidly, you max out most of your confidants, the music is amazing, the palaces are more interesting, you don't have to manage your sp as much and it's boss fight after boss fight after boss fight (plus another boss fight because 3 boss fights in a row would be too easy).

The weakest part of the game is Mementos. The music is uninteresting and the enemies are too weak (often filled with lower shadows than the palace you have just beaten). Grinding is definitely a chore here.

I don't think I'll play a NG+ because I've maxed out all but 2 confidants.

The most useful confidants by far are Fortune (level 7 allows you to increase affinity with someone every day) and Death (those 50k SP recovery accessories are awesome)

My party for the endgame was

Spoiler

Ryuji (great physical attacks and party attack booster), Ann (Decrease attack for all enemies is a key skill) and Makoto (Healer and can do some decent damage.

All that's left for me to do to complete the true Persona ending is to aggressively argue online on who is the best Waifu

Spoiler

It's Makoto 

 

Edited June 23, 2017 by RunRickyRun

[hogso]

Agreed on the last point!