Japanese RPGs are very long games. Most of them take 50-100 hours to complete, and the longstanding Persona series might be the king of them all. My first playthrough of Persona 5 clocked in at 142 hours, for example. So, what could have persuaded me to dive back into the ginormous world of Persona 5?
Contracting COVID.
Having zero symptoms, but testing positive, means the perfect time for a quarantine game session! It also meant that I got to dive into the definitive edition of one of my favorite games of all time: Persona 5 Royal. There was a grand total of thirty seconds of opening cutscene to remind me why I loved this game. The soundtrack, art style, and characters are some of my favorite I’ve ever come across in gaming. Not to mention, it’s one of the greatest JRPG battle systems ever.
But as my game time clocks in at just under sixty hours, halfway through the main storyline, I’m fairly confident in saying that this is one of my personal favorite games of all time. Not because of the previously mentioned, but because of it’s layered and multifaceted story that I relate to more than ever.
Originally released in 2016, Persona 5 is a game that deserves to be experienced firsthand. I will avoid all major spoilers thusly. The main crux of Persona 5 revolves around our main protagonists, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts. The nameless main character and a ragtag group of friends steal the hearts of bad people to make them confess their sins. The main characters literally go inside the distorted hearts of the villains to change their ways. Herein lies the first layer of the story.
Is it right to force bad, or misguided, people into confession?
That is a major talking point throughout the game. The Phantom Thieves gain mainstream popularity, and the police have issues with circumventing their version of “justice.” Technically the Phantom Thieves aren’t breaking any laws because proving something supernatural would be difficult. They steal a corrupted heart, triggering a confession.
Everyone wants bad people to change their ways, correct? Is it wrong to forcefully make those changes, or should they overcome and change themselves? Is forcing that change technically torturing it out of them, meaning their confession holds no value? Isn’t changing the ways of terrible people what is best for society?
Here lies the core ethos of the game. These questions are discussed from multiple angles to help the player formulate their own opinion. I really enjoy stories that don’t spell it out and present multiple angles. Persona 5 has that in spades.
But that’s only the overarching first layer. Persona 5 delves into a theme that resonates with me more than the majority of games I have played.
Becoming your true self.
Persona: particular type of character that a person seems to have that is often different from their real or private character
Cambridge Dictionary
The mask we wear in public, or ‘persona,’ usually covers up who we truly are. An overbearing society unaccepting of the ‘odd’ causes a lot of people to silence their true selves. I love the game’s message to accept yourself and fight back. Take off the ‘mask,’ unlock your true self, and use it to overcome your hardest challenges.
The main protagonist becomes the catalyst for the numerous cast of main characters in Persona 5. These people have been beaten, silenced, and taken advantage of. All they need is a little supportive push from the main character. The world beats them down, but their unlocked “Persona” raises their confidence to overcome their greatest challenge.
Friendship is also a little subtheme, here. It’s common for people to be uncomfortable until they’re around people they know, right? The Phantom Thieves grow in numbers as the game progresses because the main character helps a lot of people. Some of those people just needed a support system, and friendship becomes that system. They all have found a reason for being once they’ve unlocked their true personas.
Persona 5 was a game I found at the perfect time. I had always heard about the Persona series, but a hundred hour story is a tall task. The Pandemic had just begun, I was struggling with depression, but I really buckled down and finished it. I am so glad I did. The main themes really connected with me in a time I needed it most. I felt lost in a mire of aimlessness, but Persona 5 helped to kick me out of it. It was the catalyst for finding my own way, which then led me down a path towards writing. Thus, Persona 5 indirectly led me down the path to Game Over Gimmicks.
Games and stories that hit your soul like that do not come around all that often. Persona 5 is now a game that I intend on replaying routinely. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it sure it me in a special way.
It’s a game I’ll be forever grateful for.
