Persona 5 First Impressions – The Phantom Thieves Are Here to Steal Your Heart

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    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 ‘Persona’ series can be classified as a hybrid of  ‘RPGs’ and ‘Social Simulation’ games whereby players are given a set number of days in which they will have to balance dungeon exploration alongside activities of everyday life such as ‘studying for exams’, ‘ hanging out with friends’ , ‘working part-time jobs’ etc. Performing such activities allows the player to raise their stats and form relationships with certain people known as ‘Confidants’. These ‘Confidants’ offer a number of subplots for the player to explore and engaging in them grants benefits that are applicable during the dungeon exploration segments.

    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 is available for PS3 and PS4 consoles.

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