@blackryuji: I'm only basing this off of the trailer since there's not been official word yet, but I'm fairly certain everyone featured here is reprising their roles, which is awesome! I think Fuuka is the only one out of the original games, whose actress has changed (Wendee Lee took over the role from Paula Tiso for the spin-offs).
The only one I don't know about is Ken, since he doesn't speak in the trailer.
@ronniebarzel: There are several "DLC dancers" planned, but Tae is not one of them, alas.
I've been chipping away at writing the wiki pages for both this game, and Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight. I've included the full song list, and their DLC plans (for the Japanese version at least), and some details on the games so take a look if you're curious!
Y'all can head over to the wiki page (WIP) of this game, or Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight right here on this very website, to see the full list of songs, and more details if you're interested!
I just platinum'd the Japanese version of this a few days ago. I enjoyed it a lot. Considering this won't be out for like 9 months, I may get it again to actually be able to read the story elements. There's not a full-on story mode like in P4D, but there's some.
I'm in the same boat! I had a great time, and will definitely be double-dipping in 2019.
The updated Persona 3 character models look absolutely fantastic, and I personally don't think there's a single dud on this soundtrack. Also, having gone back to the Vita version of P4D, I can say with some certainty that the 60 fps of the PS4 versions really makes a difference in a rhythm game, who'd have thunk it!
I fucking adore Persona 5. It's right up there with 3 and 4 in my opinion, and yet whenever it's been talked on this site by Alex and Ben, it's been in an overly negative light, for reasons I don't quite understand. The discussion has always seemed to lean towards the cons, while giving very little time for the pros. Did the both of them have impossibly high expectations for the game, or are they just taking everybody else's enjoyment of the game for granted, in that discussing the good parts isn't even worth their or the audience's time?
It's true that the game is very story heavy, and talking about some of its great parts would require spoiling the beats of it at times, but that's why I hope that this is something @alex will address in the next Beastcast, if he really did enjoy the game. (Please let Vinny leave the room for the duration of the segment if he wishes to!)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking you to give the game praise if you feel like it doesn't deserve it. Like, if Alex didn't like his time with it, and his girlfriend was actively forcing him to watch and/or play it when he otherwise wouldn't have, then he's free to dump on the game as much as he pleases. But from what I've heard, I feel like the both of you enjoyed it, but it's just that you could've been doing a better job of also talking about the good parts of the game!
Anyway, I'll just say it again: I fucking adore Persona 5. Here are just some of my reasons why!
The Confidants were overall of a much higher quality than the Social Links in either of the previous games. The way they give you gameplay benefits was well-implemented and most of them were very helpful - I got super excited whenever I got a new perk. The side stories were smartly integrated into the story, as well.
I used the Japanese VO on my first playthrough, and it was just as good as I'd hoped. The cast is star-studded and very experienced, as anybody who's interested in the seiyuu scene well knows. Everyone turned in incredibly solid performances. On NG+ I switched over to English just to hear them both, and while it's good and I'm sticking with it, I'm sorta aching to switch it back since I'd already gotten so used to their Japanese voices!
The combat is so smooth and fast-paced when compared to the earlier titles in the series! It feels so badass when you're doing everything right - hammering the X button to get some damage in with your guns before the fight starts in earnest, hitting the enemy's weak point and then Baton Passing your turn to your party member who has the other spell you need to get the rest of the demons on the ground, then finishing them all off with an All-Out Attack! I also really enjoy using buffs and debuffs when they're needed in boss fights, or against tougher enemies (I know this is a hang up for some players). The returning firearms and elements from 1 and 2, and the brand new Technical attacks (taking advantage of status effects with the right attacks for additional damage) brought more depth to an already enjoyable fighting system.
The fusion system is so slick, and I've been dying to hear Vinny's thoughts on it! While they're nothing new to those who've played Golden and/or the SMT IV games, being able to pick the skills you wish to inherit, and being able to search by result is so key I can't believe the features are such late additions to the series. 5's executions are also fun and useful added twists to the system.
The dungeon design is the best it's ever been. The 5th Palace was my least favorite, but I still enjoyed its theme and what they were going for with it. A common complaint I've seen is that the later ones are a little on the long side, but I personally didn't mind that at all since I paced myself. I actually felt like some of them could've been even longer, since I loved the combat so much, and there were so many Personas I still didn't get to use (but hey, that's why I'm currently playing through NG+). Sure, the "gimmicks" weren't always great, but they brought welcomed changes to the usual dungeon-crawling, and most of the time they were so easy they were over before I knew it (which I appreciate since I suck at puzzles). I can definitely see why somebody might complain about them if they used a FAQ which asked them to do them in a single day, however. But that's not how they were designed in the first place. You're supposed to take your time with them.
The Mementos was a fun and enjoyable way to catch up on podcasts, find better equipment, earn some more spending money, stock up on Personas for fusion, and to do the occasional side quests. It's also there for those who wish to do some grinding. I've personally never seen the need to in these games, because on Normal I've found the games to balanced so that as long as you're not actively avoiding fights, you should do just fine and be equally leveled by the time a boss fight is around the corner.
I loved all of the UI design. It's so visually striking, and while it took me a couple of hours to get used to at first, I can safely say the in-game menu is the best feeling and looking one I've ever used in a video game.
Behind the characters, the soundtracks have always been my favorite parts of the Persona games, and the one in 5 is without a doubt my new favorite of the series. The music is varied, and a perfect fit for the setting and themes of the game, and there's SO MUCH of it! 110 tracks in total! For comparison, 3 had 58 + 17 (FES), and 4 had 52 + 15 (Golden). I know I'll be listening it for years to come, like I have with the others'.
Finally, I think the complaints of the localization are overblown, and I didn't personally didn't find as many issues with it as some others have. It gets the message of the game (of Waking Up, Getting Up, and Getting Out There) across perfectly fine in my opinion, as any good localization should. This is especially impressive considering how tough the subject matter that the game handles is at times, and how it was first and foremost a game made by Japanese people, for Japanese people.
Oh, and all y'all who are seriously complaining (I know some are just poking fun at it) about you-know-what need to give Morgana a fucking break. The game is just letting you save in-between the story segments. If you got to do anything any day, there would be zero challenge to raising your Confidants or social stats. That's just how the game's been balanced, and I'm sure they'll improve it by the time the FES/Golden version of this game comes around.
Phew. Sorry for the lengthy post, but I needed to get this off my chest.
Heads up, y'all! It seems like there's a pretty serious bug in this version of the game that causes the damage you take to be tied to the framerate. This means that the higher your framerate, the more damage you're taking.
"I've tested this multiple times using the AR mode tutorial (the bit where enemies shoot at you a bunch in order to demonstrate auto AR) and you take much more damage when playing at higher framerates. If you lock the framerate to 30FPS AR mode will activate after 6-7 seconds of taking enemy fire but if you're playing at a much higher framerate, like 144FPS, it will activate in just 1-2 seconds."
What's especially weird is that the PC port of Valkyria Chronicles suffered from a similar problem (see below, the game is running at 60 fps on the left, 30 on the right) and Little Stone Software is the company behind both ports. Hopefully this'll get fixed soon.
@aziridine: There is a way to cancel it by dodging, and that's something you should totally do unless you're in a pinch and need the extra time in slow-mo. It's interesting Ben never at least seemed to notice, but overheating causes you to recharge way slower.
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