Topic: Persona 5

@kyleforrester87 gun is the really new one - forms of the others were present in SMT related games but what I mean is that yes...there are some slightly new things in the combat but it is the very very same at its core. It's really my only criticism towards the game but I think it's a fair one. And it's not just that it is the same...it honestly feels dated. To me, at least. Maybe I just played too many SMT games hahaha.

Dungeons are a lot different (better imho) and a lot of the exploration/social sim part has been really rejuvenated a lot more than the combat. And I do like this combat system but if it's gonna be like this in Persona 6, I am not that sure that I'd play it, no matter how intriguing the story/setting is...

Anyway - playing some more tonight and really looking forward to it!

General question, if it says "I don't think my bond with XXXX will deepen just yet..." am I wasting my time spending time with that person? Or is the only way to advance that to actually spend time with them out of choice?

@kyleforrester87 Nope it just means you want be able to rank up yet, so yh you do have to spend time with them. However, you can still build up 'points' depending on your actions (dialogue choices, gifts, etc) to get closer to the next rank.

@Fight_Teza_Fight Sorry so just to be clear if I get that message I SHOULD spend time with them out of choice? And then if I keep doing that the message will gradually change, until I rank up? I think that's what you are saying just wanna make sure I'm not misunderstanding

@kyleforrester87 Yes, you do have to spend time with them to progress. For example, say it takes 10 points to rank up and you are currently at 3, spending time with them is going to get you closer to the next rank but you won't rank up.
Big component of Persona is time management. The game is telling you won't be able to gain a new rank, so you may want to use your time doing something else. But it all counts.

In P5 I just had that a similar interaction with Ann. Spend time with her, gave her a gift and I got a lot closer to her.

@kyleforrester87 @Feena @KratosMD

Those are all new additions to Persona. "Hold ups" are also new: one of the sub-options in the new hold up mechanic, shadow negotiation, was present (in a form) in the first two Persona games and is one of the mainstay features of SMT in general.

Aside from spin-offs like the PS2 Raidou Kuzunoha games and Tokyo Mirage Sessions, every SMT game since Nocturne has had some similar variation of the press turn combat system. The thing is: it's an amazing combat system, and is practically integral to SMT's DNA at this point. There's no reason to fix what isn't broken.

@Fight_Teza_Fight okay thanks, I guess things will happen naturally up to a point as the story progresses that forces certain relationships to improve then, and I should focus the spare time on the main ones I want to improve?

@kyleforrester87 Yh if that's how you want to spend your time. The game definitely forces some events on you.

@Fight_Teza_Fight I have a question, sometimes when I answer them while hanging out I get no music notes above their head. I wasn't sure if there's a chance for that for every time you answer and I was just picking the wrong dialogue option sometimes or if it wasn't a part that was going to do it anyways. If I'm missing out on saying something then I probably need to restart the save and hang out with them again. I do usually get a response with 1-3 notes but didn't know if it can do it for EVERY bit of dialogue you reply with.

@ArkhamKnerd I definitely don't think you get music notes on every dialogue choice, but I could be completely off. Some are just there there to move dialogue forward and give the player some choice in shaping the conversation.
I don't think I've ever had a circumstance were I got more than two scored dialogue choices + the gift option.

I could be wrong though. I haven't paid too much attention to it. I usually just go with what I want, even if it means annoying someone just to see their reaction.

How many endings does this game have?

@ArkhamKnerd @Fight_Teza_Fight some of the dialogue choices do not have music notes. They are there to advance. Now, there are also answers you can give that will net zero music notes if you answer in a way that confidant doesn't like.

@ztpayne7 That's what I thought but was making sure I wasn't missing out on a couple extra notes haha I'm always tempted to say some of the funnier replies but always stick to the one I know the person will like.

Has anyone managed to hit any home runs at the batting cage? I've saved before and reloaded many times to try and atleast get 5 hits for the prize but only ever get 2-3....I suck at it 😂

@ArkhamKnerd I hit a home run once, but I average 2-3 hits with an occasional 4 hit game. That minigame "if you can really call it that" is kinda annoying in-terms of its total sense of randomness lol! xP

I'm now 55 hours into Persona 5 and this is easily my game of the year. It could have come out practically any year and that'd likely be the case too. What a fantastic game.

What I really love about this game is that despite all the flashy graphical touches, killer music, and varied dungeon design, it really is an unabashed JRPG at heart. It's ridiculously long, tonnes of story and talking, and a sweet turn based battle system. And that's awesome for fans of JRPGs. But it's also streamlined enough that it could probably be someone's first JRPG and they'd be fine.

Just finished the second palace. Shadow Madarame is downright vicious on hard mode. I went through a good number of my stocked items and throughout the battle my party was constantly teetering on the edge of annihilation, but they pulled through. Now that it has proper dungeon design and challenging bosses, this Persona game feels like a proper SMT.

@ArkhamKnerd I did once on the beginner track. You have to aim slightly lower so the main part of your bat is hitting the lower part of the ball instead of the middle.

@Ralizah yeah, even on normal, that was hard for me. I think I was below the average level according to the touch pad screen. Ps when I wrote that I totally forgot you had put spoiler tags! Sorry! I changed my response. I actually don't know how to hide my words like that.

Really enjoying it so far! If horizon hadn't come out this year, it would easily be my top choice for game of the year so far. They are in close contention. I accidentally saw a spoiler that was a little annoying this past week though.

Alright, serious talk:

Has anyone checked out any of the DLC for Persona 5 yet?

I know it's overpriced cosmetic tosh, but then I'm also silly and feel like throwing money at things. There's a Persona 4 costume/BGM set for the utterly laughable price of like £6. Before I buy it and end up annoyed, does anyone know how the BGM works? It says it gives you a bonus battle theme, and a) I'm hoping they mean they way, way better battle theme from Golden, and b) wondering if it plays randomly or you choose between battle themes?

@johncalmc I'd be interested to hear about the battle theme too....