Your Companions Are Having Fun, And Seem Reluctant To Part.
I finished Persona Q, if you hadn't deduced that from the fact that I wrote a fic about it!
At one point, Yosuke said he'd give me a shoulder massage later. I risked the Reaper to get that conversation, and it was worth it.
The trouble with Persona is that it's a really charming series of games about THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP, but occasionally it has strangely mean-spirited scenes that don't seem to fit the themes and tone at all. In particular, there are moments when a party member is upset or distressed and, rather than giving you the opportunity to intervene or comfort them, the game goes 'and then you just walked away and left them to it, it was hilarious.' When Yosuke's on the verge of tears because of a misunderstanding, please just let me explain it to him!
Having finished Persona Q, am I going to shut up about Persona for a while?
No. No, of course not. It's time for Persona 5 Royal.
After I finished Persona 5, my main thought was, Wow. That was incredible, but it was also vast and exhausting. I definitely want to play the Royal expanded edition, but I don't think I'll be ready for that for at least a couple of years.
Seven months later, here we are.
Now that I've played Persona Q and met the actual Persona character called Rei, I probably shouldn't name the Persona 5 protagonist Rei again; it was already confusing, given that that's my housemate's name, and is now doubly so. That said, I'm naming him Rei again and nobody can stop me.
The main thing I know about Royal is that it has some new content relating to Akechi. My feelings on Akechi in the base game were a little uncertain; I generally found him slightly aggravating, but he showed glimpses of a bitter, angry loneliness that intrigued me. I'll be interested to see whether I come away from Royal with a different opinion on him.
I still love that the protagonist gets beaten up ten minutes into this game. The perfect way to catch my attention.
Ooh, ammo gets replenished after every fight now! This is going to be a much shootier playthrough than my first.
It's really weird not to hear 'Last Surprise' in every battle, though. I miss it.
The rumours about Rei are even more intense than I remembered. I laughed aloud when I overheard people muttering 'Someone told me he's killed before' and 'He's killed a few people, right?'
The day-transition screen goes by faster in Royal, which I'm oddly sad about. I liked seeing the sky slowly brighten! It really made it feel like a new day.
Being cornered into doing unregulated medical trials for the shady doctor is definitely hotter than it should be. (Look, this is who I am. I don't like it any more than you do.)
I love that you can flirt with so many Shadows in negotiation. It's so stupid and so great.
I'd forgotten how much Persona 5 makes me think of Final Fantasy VIII, between the school setting, the quiet protagonist and Ryuji 'Zell Dincht' Sakamoto. Ryuji and Zell aren't identical, but there's definitely enough similarity to call Zell to mind.
I dreamt a couple of nights ago about Squall and Zell kissing, and I'm blaming this game. (Maybe 'thanking' would be a better word than 'blaming'. Squall/Zell was my first ever ship, and I woke up reflecting very fondly on it.)
I just looked up the account of the dream I wrote when half-asleep, and I'm going to type it up because it made me smile:
Dreamt I was Squall Leonhart and kissed Zell after an intense foot race around a raised track. EXTREMELY GOOD. I think I was sort of trying to hint at it and he went 'yeah, you don't have to ask, you can absolutely kiss me' (because, as we all know, Zell is very in love with Squall).
Barret was annoyed with us for kissing on the track instead of continuing to race. Barret, the race was supposed to be seventy-two laps; it was lap five and we were all exhausted already. Making out with Zell was a much better conclusion to the race than actually seeing it through. Also, what are you doing here? You're a FFVII character.
Rinoa had previously suggested letting Zell win to make him feel better. Hopefully the kissing succeeded in making him feel good without having to compromise the race.
At one point, Yosuke said he'd give me a shoulder massage later. I risked the Reaper to get that conversation, and it was worth it.
The trouble with Persona is that it's a really charming series of games about THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP, but occasionally it has strangely mean-spirited scenes that don't seem to fit the themes and tone at all. In particular, there are moments when a party member is upset or distressed and, rather than giving you the opportunity to intervene or comfort them, the game goes 'and then you just walked away and left them to it, it was hilarious.' When Yosuke's on the verge of tears because of a misunderstanding, please just let me explain it to him!
Having finished Persona Q, am I going to shut up about Persona for a while?
No. No, of course not. It's time for Persona 5 Royal.
After I finished Persona 5, my main thought was, Wow. That was incredible, but it was also vast and exhausting. I definitely want to play the Royal expanded edition, but I don't think I'll be ready for that for at least a couple of years.
Seven months later, here we are.
Now that I've played Persona Q and met the actual Persona character called Rei, I probably shouldn't name the Persona 5 protagonist Rei again; it was already confusing, given that that's my housemate's name, and is now doubly so. That said, I'm naming him Rei again and nobody can stop me.
The main thing I know about Royal is that it has some new content relating to Akechi. My feelings on Akechi in the base game were a little uncertain; I generally found him slightly aggravating, but he showed glimpses of a bitter, angry loneliness that intrigued me. I'll be interested to see whether I come away from Royal with a different opinion on him.
I still love that the protagonist gets beaten up ten minutes into this game. The perfect way to catch my attention.
Ooh, ammo gets replenished after every fight now! This is going to be a much shootier playthrough than my first.
It's really weird not to hear 'Last Surprise' in every battle, though. I miss it.
The rumours about Rei are even more intense than I remembered. I laughed aloud when I overheard people muttering 'Someone told me he's killed before' and 'He's killed a few people, right?'
The day-transition screen goes by faster in Royal, which I'm oddly sad about. I liked seeing the sky slowly brighten! It really made it feel like a new day.
Being cornered into doing unregulated medical trials for the shady doctor is definitely hotter than it should be. (Look, this is who I am. I don't like it any more than you do.)
I love that you can flirt with so many Shadows in negotiation. It's so stupid and so great.
I'd forgotten how much Persona 5 makes me think of Final Fantasy VIII, between the school setting, the quiet protagonist and Ryuji 'Zell Dincht' Sakamoto. Ryuji and Zell aren't identical, but there's definitely enough similarity to call Zell to mind.
I dreamt a couple of nights ago about Squall and Zell kissing, and I'm blaming this game. (Maybe 'thanking' would be a better word than 'blaming'. Squall/Zell was my first ever ship, and I woke up reflecting very fondly on it.)
I just looked up the account of the dream I wrote when half-asleep, and I'm going to type it up because it made me smile:
Dreamt I was Squall Leonhart and kissed Zell after an intense foot race around a raised track. EXTREMELY GOOD. I think I was sort of trying to hint at it and he went 'yeah, you don't have to ask, you can absolutely kiss me' (because, as we all know, Zell is very in love with Squall).
Barret was annoyed with us for kissing on the track instead of continuing to race. Barret, the race was supposed to be seventy-two laps; it was lap five and we were all exhausted already. Making out with Zell was a much better conclusion to the race than actually seeing it through. Also, what are you doing here? You're a FFVII character.
Rinoa had previously suggested letting Zell win to make him feel better. Hopefully the kissing succeeded in making him feel good without having to compromise the race.