It has been NINE years since the world was graced with the much adored ‘Persona 4’, the fourth installment in this spin-off of the ‘Megami Tensei’ family.The years that followed only served to heighten the series popularity as more and more people started to take notice of this once ‘niche’ franchise. Many games pertaining to the series were released during this time-frame from enhanced ports like ‘Persona 3 Portable’ and ‘Persona 4 Golden’ to spin-offs such as ‘Persona 4 Arena’ and ‘Persona Q’ all of which helped to bring in new fans as well as tide over existing ones until the release of the next main installment.
And now that wait is finally over as ‘Persona 5’ has made its worldwide debut to an onslaught of critical praise and strong reception from fans.
‘Persona 5’ takes place in Tokyo, and follows a silent protagonist who is put on probation and sent to the fictional ‘Shujin Academy’ after being falsely accused of assault. The game takes place over the course of a year, during which the protagonist and other students awaken to the power of Persona and soon come together to form a group of vigilantes known as the ‘Phantom Thieves of Hearts’. With their newfound abilities they set out to explore the ‘Metaverse’ and its ‘Palaces’, the twisted desires of a person made real, and steal the hearts of such people, thereby reforming them. The story of ‘Persona 5’ draws upon the themes of ‘freedom from societal pressures’ and ‘expressing your true self’ to craft a tale of roguish heroes and corrupt authority.
The ‘Palaces’ in this game are large premeditated dungeons and are unlike the randomly generated ones from ‘Persona 3’ and ‘4’. These Palaces are based on certain structures like a museum, casino etc and each has its own tricks and puzzles for the player to overcome. Battles are turn-based and straightforward though players are given the ability to net extra turns by hitting an enemy’s weak points.
The mixing of all these mechanics gives the game its own unique style making it unlike any other ‘JRPG’ out there and speaking of style it also boasts an incredibly gorgeous interface as you can see in the shot below:
‘Persona 5’ has been a long time coming and from the looks of things the wait was absolutely worth it. It currently holds a 94% on ‘Metacritic’ and is the third highest rated ‘PS4’ game on the site. If you have any interest at all in ‘RPGs’ or just looking for a great game to play, I suggest you give this one a shot.
Persona 5 is available for PS3 and PS4 consoles.