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Best Games We Played Runner-Up: Persona 5


Posted on January 3, 2018 by Broken Joysticks

Article By: Victoria Rose

This past year saw a lot of major releases in quick succession. From the scary corridors of Resident Evil 7 this past February, or the whirlwind of the Nintendo Switch launch in March or the constant hype rush of new trailers and news that is E3 – there was a lot to be excited about. Wedged in-between all of this was Atlus’ long awaited JRPG sequel, Persona 5, debuting nearly 3 years after its initial Winter 2014 target date. Tori Rose takes a look back at one of Atlus’ big releases and recounts what worked and didn’t work in this high school simulator / monster battling JRPG mash-up.

2017 was the year in which even our power fantasies came with inextricable baggage. Much like its predecessors, Persona 5 was designed from the ground up to be a power fantasy for its teenage audience. Its central premise of forcing a change of heart onto others by your own hand is a potent one indeed, and would have been more than compelling enough on its own, but Persona 5 has a very different spirit than its predecessors.

The game masterfully paints you and your group of friends as outcasts, thieves, and criminals of all sorts. It does everything in its power to make the player feel like the world does not appreciate them and is wrongly turned against them, and such is the justification for their actions. And who comprises this band of outcasts? Perhaps those who actually do face discrimination in Japanese society, such as queer people, those not of Japanese descent, or perhaps differently-abled people? No, of course not – this is Atlus, so the protagonists are on average all releatively-privileged heterosexual, cisgender Japanese youth. You may even start to realize that the narrative constructed around the game’s Phantom Thieves is suspiciously similar to the one used by the very oppressors of those aforementioned marginalized groups. Yet in spite of all that… there’s something about Persona 5 that makes it hard to ignore just how well it succeeds at selling that fantasy. Even labouring under all those criticisms, the game still makes its central premise deliciously tantalizing, especially in a year in which the desire to change the hearts of the evil and powerful is more desirable than ever.

Persona 5 is still a masterwork of JRPG design, with a mechanics sets that interweave in countless interesting ways to create an core macro-level gameplay loop that is deep, varied, and downright addictive. And how appropriate it is to describe this game as a drug – pulling you in with its intoxicating power fantasy, latching onto you with its mechanics of encouraging endless experimentation, and always having you coming back to get that sweet drip-feed of well-crafted narrative nectar. Persona 5 is a masterpiece, but in 2017, we can no longer ignore the problems in the media we consume.


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Atlus Reveals New Details About Person 5’s Steelbox Launch Edition


Posted on September 20, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Persona 5 is now in the hands of Japanese gamers and fans in the west have to wait almost half a year – five whole months – before getting the game. With that being said news from official sources, namely Atlus USA, is probably going to be drip fed to us until closer to the February launch date.

Atlus sent out a press release this afternoon detailing the special Steelbook Launch Edition for the game. They revealed that the inside of the case is clear plastic – allowing owners to see the underside of the cover art. It’s pretty rare for games to get reversible art and those that do are usually special editions, as is the case here, but still pretty cool news even if it isn’t earth shattering. The outside of the Steelbook Launch Edition features a stylish black, whit and red group shot of Persona 5’s main cast.

Here’s the official assets Atlus revealed for the Steelbook Launch Edition:

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Persona 5 was originally revealed all the way back in the Fall of 2013 and was originally set for release in the Winter of 2014 before being delayed more than two years for quality and story revisions. In Persona 5 players take on the role of a high school student (as in previous games) although this go around the player has an entire year to complete the games. As with other titles Persona 5 sees the return of the day/night cycle popularized by Persona 3, allowing the protagonist to form social bonds with classmates during the day and take on challenging dungeons at night.

Persona 5 will be released on February 14th 2017 in Western regions for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.


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2016 and Gaming: A Year in Preview


Posted on December 28, 2015 by Kenny Keelan

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As we’re closing in on the end of one year and getting ready to start the next, a lot of people are reflecting on the year that’s past and others are looking at the year to come. I’m one of those looking to the future and I’ll tell you why: 2016 and the coming years after are going to be an extremely exciting time for games. While gaming has always been a longtime passion of mine, I do have to admit that it has felt like, in the last couple generations, innovation and creativity had been been steadily decreasing while market saturation has been steadily increasing. It wasn’t looking good as the market was looking stale and things weren’t change. Sure, there were gimmicks that came and went but nothing really stuck. There were few real surprises and the things that jumped aboard the hype train were mostly games we’d been anticipating and asking for, for years. There was a lot of vaporware, a lot of E3s that came and went that left us wanting more and spending more time laughing at the flaws than celebrating the wonders. In my honest opinion, the fifth generation was the last generation that truly brought us wonders we never thought we’d see possible and all the last couple generations did was expand on that. We never saw anything truly groundbreaking and that’s part of why 2016 is going to be an exciting year: we are going to see a lot of broken ground and whether or not it will be truly successful, we finally see companies going out and taking risks and those are the kinds of moves that change gaming for the better. Follow the jump for our preview of the year to come and what to watch for!

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Atlus Delays Persona 5 Until Next Year


Posted on September 17, 2015 by Rae Michelle Richards

Fans clinging to hope that the long awaited Persona 5 would make its worldwide release this fall have had their hopes dashed with the announcement that the game would now ship sometime in 2016 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. This isn’t the first delay for the fifth entry in the Persona series, during the games original 2013 unveiling a “Winter 2014” release widow was promised.

In a brief statement Atlus USA had this to say:

The strengths of the Persona series are compelling characters, a moving, relatable story, and a borderline obsession with minutiae – elements which can’t be rushed or taken lightly. So while ATLUS realizes the frustration and disappointment that this must cause for the JRPG-loving public, please know that we are delaying the game in order to make sure the next iteration of the Persona series lives up to the expectations of fans.

Hopefully the release of a brand new TGS trailer will appease the series’ hardcore fanbase. Clocking in at almost 4 minutes in length it is pretty hefty. Check it out below:

[youtube id=”wvpOwQaqRXA”]

 


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Atlus Announces Persona 5


Posted on November 24, 2013 by Rae Michelle Richards

Atlus has released a very cryptic trailer for the newest entry in their Shin Megami Tensei franchise, the highly anticipated Persona 5. A very brief trailer was posted online today, which reveals little about the title. In the less than minute long trailer we see five chairs fade into existence against a red backdrop. The only readable text (for those not fluent in Japanese) teases us about being slaves and craving emancipation – honestly we are just as confused you are at this point.

Persona 5 is currently in development and is scheduled to release sometime in 2014 for the PlayStation 3 in Japan with no solid details for a western release. Those of you hoping for a next-generation Persona are out luck for the time being, but this move shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.  The last main game in the series, Persona 4, was released on the PlayStation 2 in 2008 – two years after the release of the PS3! It was also ported to the PlayStation Vita with several improvements as Persona 4: Golden last year.

Check out the teaser trailer for yourself after the jump.Read More


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