Are JRPG's Worth It? (Persona 5)

Persona 5

When it comes to jumping on the JRPG bandwagon, 2 months ago I took my first leap. It was a brave new feat into a shadowy area of gaming I was previously too scared to mash X into.

But despite the preconceived notion of having to mandatorily watch anime and own multiple body pillows before playing, at the risk of my already fleeting social credibility, I descended the depths.

Wanting to have fairly grounded opinion about the Japanese gaming scene Persona 5 was my poison. With it’s amazing GameSpot review and immaculate 10/10 from IGN what else could of cushioned the £50 impact it made on my bank account?

Initially after the first few hours of the game it finally dawned on me the general theme of the what essentially all of the gameplay mechanics revolved around, talking. Lots and lots. Of talking.

At no point during the first few nights of playing it did I ever feel I was really engaging in a ‘game’, to me it seemed more like an interactive novel with sushi and terrible lip synching. Immediately I regretted the conviction of gaming media’s assurance of Persona 5’s ‘quality.'

However after about a week of skimming my eyes over text screens and aimlessly wondering the same virtual streets of an decrepit Japanese city something changed. I began to understand the story, and I was enjoying it.

Maybe it was Stockholm syndrome from playing the game too much but the characters and their quest really began to grow on me. My premature knee-jerk reaction to reject anything I was previously not used to diminished, and despite calling the character I was controlling ‘DickFingers’ I actually began to care about the decisions I made for the unfortunately-named guy.

The moment I knew I was converted was when I realised being away from the game for a few days actually gave me withdrawal symptoms.

I actually wanted to delve into the dialog more and this time not have a seizure on the skip button.

Although it’s difficult not to write about the deeper concepts of the storyline throughout this article (as maybe you might’ve expected) I’m purposefully leaving this space open without spoilers. I genuinley believe Persona 5 has changed me, not only due to it’s enlightening ability to prove me wrong about a whole genre but also in transforming the very definition of how I define a game.

I guess the moral of the story is, don't judge a book by its cover. Even if said book is TECHNICALLY a game but features more reading than the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.

Rating 8/10, would recommend.