Hey guys. Picked up the game earlier today, and have not been able to stop playing all day. Logged about 8 hours so far, and I am completely impressed with it. Never finished a persona before this, but I have no doubts I will be putting many hours into this game. It is so well made.

I know the hype is real and people have been waiting a long time for this one, so figured I could yield some questions about the game so far... I am sure some others have copies and could maybe chime in too.

It's too bad Horizon is going to be gathering dust now that this is out ><

Without going in to too much detail, how are the characters compared to 4? (Or how are they in general if you haven't played 4?)

@cigaro: Is this a good place to start if I have never played a Persona game before? I'm getting the game no matter what because I think it looks incredible and have wanted to play it for years but it would be nice to know if it's welcoming to newcomers.

I have also not played many JRPG'S and Persona looks very complex with the number of things you have to balance and decide how to spend your time. I really want to play it and not use a guide at all. Is there anything you would recommend just using a guide for? Or will I be okay just figuring stuff out?

A big thing that worries me is the time limit you have to get dungeons done and how I'm supposed to best spend my time. I'm sure I will figure it all out but it's quite intimidating.

All that being said, I have wanted to get into the Persona series for years and I can't wait.

@rathantoras:

With the disclaimer of only playing about 20 hours of Persona 4 Golden, I am finding the characters to be more compelling in this game imo.

From the perspective of how the characters are from a general view, I think that so far everyone I have met that are on my side are very charming and interesting. The voice acting adds an extra layer of enjoyment on top of this because, in my opinion, it is very well done in this game (Although I think that probably is not surprising based off previous releases).

And Morgana..... what a great character! Love him haha

@pompouspizza: All Persona games are doing their own thing so they're not direct sequels. I think they exist in the same world but they rarely jump into another Persona game. There might be cameos or references to characters from past games if Persona 4 is anything to go by but generally you can jump into any Persona games and still know what's going on.

Persona games generally throw a lot at you (game mechanics, combat, scheduling, etc) but they also have a fairly long "tutorial phase" that eases you into the game so expect a few hours of hand holding. Once you've unlocked your first dungeon though the game should open up significantly. Don't worry too much about the time limit on dungeons, they're fairly lenient but do try to go in a dungeon several times to gain levels, personas, items, etc. for the boss battles. The one thing that will be complicated is working out the schedule (for example, to decide on what to do any given day, who to hang out with, etc.) but I would suggest not using a guide for that on your first playthrough (if you're doing multiple playthroughs).

As a relative newcomer to most with the series, I am finding it to be very welcoming. In all honesty it is one of the reasons I have played it so much today.

So far I think the game is doing a great job of explaining systems and game mechanics in a way that is not at al overwhelming. It does a good job of splitting it up into small chunks that dont overload you all at once. Like I said, I am about 8 hours in and new mechanics are still being introduced to me.

The game also has a very easy to use tutorial section in the menu that basically saves all of the tutorials you have learned so far, and make them super easy to find and reference back to.

As for how to spend your time.... I am sort of figuring that one out right now! I just hit my first time limited section of the game so I am working on that myself. But like i said I do not feel overwhelmed in any way. One cool thing the game has is you can use the network features to see how other players spent their time on activities in a certain day... kind of a cool thing! That could maybe help guide you on some decision making without the need of using a guide to try and min max everything.

@cigaro: Can you still get buffs from other players online when you're in a dungeon? P4G had this where you can "ask for help" and if people taps the SOS button you'll get a little HP/SP regen at the start of a battle. That was a pretty neat idea.

Also what are other benefits of being connected online other than the ones mentioned so far?

Without getting into specific spoiler territory, I'm wondering how the intro was done. In Persona 3, the plot is just a mystery to begin with. You play a character with an unknown past that haunts him through a ghost only he can see, even though he's basically an undefined silent protagonist. He has a persona that suddenly gets replaced by another persona for unexplained reasons. You run into a group of characters already fighting the enemy, but they don't really understand the enemy they're fighting either(and appear to keep lots of secrets). You're told to climb a tower because that combats an illness, which is vague and undefined. 20 hours in, I didn't have a firm grasp on either the plot or characters of that game and didn't particularly like it. I felt like none of them were my friends, they weren't even people I knew, and the plot was some dumb unspecified moon stuff that actually happened long before I arrived and was vague in the present.

In Persona 4, on the other hand, You spend hours at the beginning getting to know not just your family, but also meet new friends at school before anything about murders even come up. And when they do happen, you're the one discovering the TV world and putting together an investigation team. You're a silent protagonist again, but your past never matters at all or comes up. Who's behind the murders is a mystery, but the mechanics behind it are clear and obvious within the first two hours of the game. And when the dungeons begin, they each look unique and are directly tied to your party members. They not only serve as the gameplay, but they're a good look into their psyche, and you get to know exactly who your party members are. They feel like friends.

So what I wanna know is, is P5 more like P3 or more like P4 in the intro and plot/character department? Because I loved 4's, it really establishes Inaba and the characters and plot well. But I honestly can't stand the way 3 did things.

I actually just hit a tutorial in this dungeon that seems to say players can actually step in and help in my battles. As I understand, if a party member of yours gets KO'd, and you are connected online, a player can step in and assist you.

And Like I said you can see how people spent their day... also you can see the percentage of choices on classroom questions if you dont know the answer (doesnt mean that the majority will be right though haha).

I would say do not worry. If you like the way 4 is set up, you should really enjoy this one. This far into the game, and I have a very good sense of what is going on. Although I have no clue where the story is going to take me in the next couple hours, the game has firmly established (at least in my view), the reasoning behind what I am doing and the significance of the problems the main characters are facing. (Remember though, this is my opinion, some may disagree with me but fundamentally and mechanically the game is doing a great job of explaining mechanics and motives).

surprised you picked up a niche title like this early.

you mug a retailer?

@mcfart: If I had paid attention I could have had it on friday D:

and no way, me and a retailer just have a level 10 bond (sorry for the bad persona joke its 2:20 and I need to go to sleep).

Wait. Taken hostage? Is this a new game mechanic or is that a story thing? Feel free to spoiler tag your reply if it's a story thing.

Oh nice, that's good to hear they expanded on the whole "consensus" thing so it's not just "what did you do on this day?" I won't have to rely so much on guides to get Classroom questions right then!

@planetfunksquad: It;s a mechanic thing that I have not even encountered. Basically it's just when your player gets KO'd. The wording may be a bit confusing ill change that lol it is something that Atlus shared when they announced online features.

"Battle

If a comrade falls in battle, they can be taken hostage. If you refuse the demand of items or fail the negotiations, the ally gets KO’d, but you can use the Phantom Thief Alliance to get help from other players."

This was from the Famitsu article they released last year.

how exactly do social links work in this one? I remember hearing that they changed somewhat from P4 but I have largely avoided pre release stuff for fear of spoilers. Are they voice acted? Do they seem to have any bearing on the plot, or are they side stories that benefit you mechanically and simply allow you to get to know the characters better?

@joshth: In this game they are called confidants, and it's the equivalent of social links. As far as I know the events that start a confidant and when you maximize the confidant are the only parts that are voice acted.

And without spoiling exactly what they are, ranking up the confidants will definitely benefit you in the dungeon in different ways.

@cigaro: thanks! That's a relief.

Are there places where you think "ugh, too bad they developed this for PS3 as well?" Like spots where it seems like the game isn't going to its full potential since it was developed for last gen as well.

Also how rad is the music?

How similar does this feel to the previous games (especially P4) in terms of the day-to-day routine? I purposely haven't been reading much about this game, but all of the screenshots I've come across make it look like it sticks to that P3/P4 formula pretty closely. Still the same basic "go to school, do social stuff after school, do a dungeon at night" sorta routine, or have they mixed it up somehow?

@fumaofthelake: After watching the QL, it seems that the biggest "sacrifice" is that world textures are just a tad "muddy". Basically just shy of legible for signs and such. Since I can't read Kanji or Katakana, doesn't bother me much, but it does seem a shame when the design is so sharp.

Personally, no I do not feel that way at all.

And the music is ... groovy hahaha. I love it. I can't stress enough how stylish this game is. It might be one of my favorite style designs of all time to be honest.

Pretty similar in routine, but I feel like there is a bit more freedom in this one. But I wouldn't expect this to change peoples' minds about how that system works if they did not like it before.

So, I've managed to get my hands on this here game as well, and have put a fair number of hours into it already. (Because ofcourse I have)

My initial impression is extremely positive, but I do want to go out on a limb here and say that the majority of the folks who loved the wacky tone of Persona 4 might find themselves feeling a little out of place here. This game gets real dark. It's beyond stylish, but the mood is more alike earlier Persona games. For the uninaugurated ones among you, they were more similar to the rest of the Shin Megami Tensei games. As in kinda' fucked up.

That isn't to say the game isn't funny. It definitely is in that very special Persona way, of putting the protagonist in ridiculous scenarios and giving him the very best answers. The overarching story, on the other hand.. Well, let me just say that the Quick Look doesn't even begin to cover the direction it's going. I'm really, really liking it. It just might not be what folks, from this site in particular, are expecting.

All in all, it's turning out to be a fantastic year for depressing-ass story-telling between "Torment: Numenera", "Nier: Automata" and now this.

@cigaro: I also just got Horizon yesterday, and boy, I don't see when I'll get the time to even touch it!

@cigaro: I think the argument against this is that the reason the characters were so compelling to this crowd was directly a response to the endurance run. Had that not occurred, the conversation would be very different. Glad you're enjoying it!

So here's a question for you - how are the time limits on the dungeons? As someone who's never played a game in this series, that sort of worries me. Having to be places on time is usually not inherently fun and it seems like a system where it would be easy to screw yourself over if you want to take your time doing things and see a lot of side content.

Games I've played in the past that tried to do similar things ended up suffering for it. Dead Rising is the example that immediately pops into my head.

@lawgamer: From what I can tell right at the beginning here, the only time limit that's kinda tight is the very first one, but unless the game gives me more things to do I've still got more than half a month to get it done.

That being said, I've heard that every Nonstandard Game Over you get for time running out is different. So each failure scene is unique, unlike [X] didn't show up to school, oh there's [x]'s body.

@lawgamer: I have a feeling that at least for the first dungeon, the deadline is tight. You need to raid the dungeon at least 4 to 5 times (depending on skill offc) and the final sequence requires 2 seperate days to prepare. Offcourse in typical Persona fashion some mandatory bullshit comes that waste an entire day. I like Persona but eating a single burger should not waste an entire evening. Also I should be given the option to skip classes, who needs Plato?

So it's not any less annoying than P4G in regards to deadlines but you know, this time around the game is better at everything else so it's bearable.

@thephantompear: I'm about 8 hours into the game and loving it so far. Can I ask what happens if you do miss a deadline and you don't have a save far back enough to get it done? Do you have to start over. That scares me quite a bit as I've only been using one save slot.

Does Shareplay work after the intro section ends?

@lawgamer: The time limits were never strict in the other games. You really had to slack off and basically never enter the dungeons to not meet the deadlines. And even on off chance you found yourself in that position there was a system in place to have a do-over.

It's absolutely nothing like Dead Rising. You don't need to worry about not being able to do side-content just to advance the game. And keep in mind, days only advance upon activating certain events. Time does not advance naturally, so anything that does not advance a day you are free to do at your leisure. That includes dungeons btw. The only thing that prevents you from clearing dungeons the first time are your resources.

If it's anything like the previous Persona's, it's a game over and the game rewinds a week back so you can start over. Keep an eye on 'Days Left' and make a rough planning on how to proceed. Also save a lot in dungeons, I had to redo a 2-hour run TWICE because the game can ambush you due to random spawns. Don't needlessly push forward unless you're in a good condition.

@thephantompear: Thanks for the advice!

@lawgamer: The time limit is like 2weeks but don't leave the palaces for the last few days it can get a bit tricky

I just wish there was more time inbetween but im only on the second palace so i hope it opens up more time.

@vizard1301: wait, why shouldn't you leave the palaces for the last few days?

@pompouspizza: I got to the half way point in the second palace,it was going well so i left it for the last 4 days and im cutting it really close now coz of some situations in the palace.

I think the next one i will keep going in regularly to make sure there are no unforeseen things.

I will say that the game handles dungeons differently than in 3 or 4. The dungeons themselves aren't randomly generated like in P3 or P4 and they feel a lot bigger, but the game gives you ways of getting around so that you don't have to redo sections of the dungeon over and over again unless you want to. Also, be warned that you can't go back into a dungeon after you beat it, so make sure you thoroughly search them before you take on the boss.

Also, I wouldn't really worry about the deadlines so much. The game will practically nag you about it via characters going "hey, we going to the dungeon or what?" so it seems like it won't give you the chance forget. That being said, DO NOT wait till the last day to explore the dungeon. I won't say why cause that is a spoiler, but given the way the game handles some things, I think you'd get a game over if you don't finish exploring the dungeon before the last day.