Video Game Review: Persona 5: Surprise it's really good.

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 Yes Gentle Thieves and femme fatales we finally have Persona 5 after quite a long time and by Philemon it's been worth it. Now I honestly don't want to talk too much about it because you really need to play this game for yourselves. "But I've never played Personas 1-4 so why would you expect me to just jump on the bandwagon now?" First off, you've never played the previous games? Fix that asap, at least start off with Persona 3 FES then 4 Golden and then play 5, and 2 they're all self contained stories so continuity is no problem. (Aside from Persona's 1 and both of the 2's but that's a topic for another day.)

 Lastly I have several comprehensive articles of the first game's re-release on the PSP so follow these links, learn the basics and then play what is currently my game of the year. 

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Finale

 So if you've read up and whatnot here's what I feel safe in telling you, you play as a kid found guilty of a crime he didn't commit, he escaped from a maximum security stockade into the Tokyo underground, there he and several of his new contacts survive as Phantom Thieves of hearts. If you have a problem, if no one else can help and if you can find them then maybe you can hire; The Phantom Thieves.

 Ok I joke but I'm not telling how but he does get transferred to Tokyo and Shujin Academy where he meets up with some social outcasts; they discover their Personas, get badass outfits, fight a bunch of borderline Disney evil levels of villains you know how it goes. Am I done, no, fine I'll tell you more, at least about how this version improves over Persona 4. First the dungeons and the combat have gotten a major exciting overhaul. Instead of just wandering around themed dungeons with randomly generated floors we now have unique Palaces that feature smart and fun stealth sections that really sell the prospect of being a thief. 

 These stealth mechanics that not only helps to capture the experience but also helps you to get the drop on your enemies. Speaking of the enemies, while they're still called shadows they're basically classic demons with a different name. Which brings us to the reintroduction to the negotiation system, as with classic SMT games you can only get new personas by negotiating with Shadows to make them remember their original natures, you could also hold them up to try and shake them down for extra cash and or items at the cost of exp.

 But you'll have to choose very carefully because both Money and levels are more necessary then ever in Persona 5, you'll need an insane and consistent amount of cash to upgrade your equipment, boost your personality and some will be required to talk to your confidants. While you can steal from the Palaces to get stuff to sell in the real world be forewarned that once a boss is beaten their respective Palace is gone for good meaning that you'll either have to wait till the next target, work part time jobs or grind for exp in Mementos, this game's equivalent of Tartarus while taking care of jobs for people who post on the official Phantom Thief Phansite. 

 Next the music in this game is diverse and near perfect. Once again Shouji Meguro is the composer and he and Lotus Juice knock it out of the park. Though if you do for some reason get tired of Next Surprise (though god knows how) and the teams usual outfits you can change to classic Persona and other Altus music and costumes from DLC. Speaking of while some DLC does have classic Personas and their Requiem; I mean "Picaro" versions they aren't needed to fill out the compendium. 

 Now for those who are worried about getting 100% of the trophies on your first run, don't worry since two trophies will only be available in New Game Plus so you can just focus your first run on building you social points and your team's confidants to get their ultimate Personas. Then once that's done just follow a online guide for your second play through and that platinum is as good as done. So what else is there to say? This is one of the best Persona games in the series and this is your perfect chance to join in and see what you've been missing out on.

Persona 5 is owned by Atlus and Sega.