Persona 5 - The Bear and Badger

Bollockoff

@lads

Waited until I had the issue to hand. Luckily not recycled yet.

Edge #305 wrote:

Every member of your steadily expanding party struggles with their otherness, with the way they don't fit in. A track star who's been cast out by his teammates, a half-Japanese girl with blonde hair, a school president who's closer to the staff than she is her classmates. It's an effective theme for a game about high-school kids, to whom conformity is everything. A creeping subtext about the important of a stable family life - most of the group have lost at least one parent, be that to death, divorce or the demands of international business - is less successful, making a stuffily old-fashioned point about the nuclear family that seems at odds with the game's attempt to celebrate, rather than demean, those who stand out from the crowd.

So they came away with the opposite message Silke did. And theirs isn't one I'm particularly seeing

[Deleted User]

Bollockoff wrote:

@lads

Waited until I had the issue to hand. Luckily not recycled yet.

Edge #305 wrote:

Every member of your steadily expanding party struggles with their otherness, with the way they don't fit in. A track star who's been cast out by his teammates, a half-Japanese girl with blonde hair, a school president who's closer to the staff than she is her classmates. It's an effective theme for a game about high-school kids, to whom conformity is everything. A creeping subtext about the important of a stable family life - most of the group have lost at least one parent, be that to death, divorce or the demands of international business - is less successful, making a stuffily old-fashioned point about the nuclear family that seems at odds with the game's attempt to celebrate, rather than demean, those who stand out from the crowd.

So they came away with the opposite message Silke did. And theirs isn't one I'm particularly seeing

Yeah that's just weird.

JonB

I think it's understandable. The idea of rebellion throughout the game is never fully embraced - ultimately, it doesn't have the conviction to fully question traditional expectations.

JonB

Palace 5 down. Early October. Nearly completed all social links, although there's one that's still to unlock.

5th palace was the first real drag in NG+. Doesn't matter how much prior knowledge and power you have when there's a ton of busy work to slow you down. Still quicker than first time round at least.

The next two palaces are the real fuckers though. Could do with a break from this if I'm going to get near the end again.

JonB

I want to stop this now. Gains are outweighed by drudge. Just need something else to play.

Only 1 optional social link to max out and that's at 6. And, because of that and it being NG+, there's not much to do in free time. Ended up playing video games at night, and you realise something's wrong when you're playing a video game in which you pretend to play video games.

Won't get the trophy for social links unless I go through the rest of it, but it's not worth it. I can finish Haru's story before I have to do the 6th palace and leave it at that.

JonB

I really need to play a pure action game for a few days after this. If only Nex Machina had come a little sooner.

regmcfly

That's how I'm feeling. Foolishly I went to the Witcher tho

Bollockoff

For all the slick, the menus aren't particularly functional once you get a lot of stuff. I wish the items tab was split into curatives, healing, damage at least. Browsing the persona compendium is also more time consuming than it should be.

Literally at the last save room. Got about 80% of the compendium filled if I ever fancy going back for NG+ for some reason (proper DLC mayber?).

JonB

About a week to the 6th palace deadline and rain makes the last social link unavailable. Only needed 2 more visits. Damn.

Got about 8 trophies to go, but they would all require virtually finishing the game again and some grinding, so that's enough of that. 140 hours - yikes.

Did at least manage to 'kill'

Spoiler:

Bollockoff

Are you fighting

Spoiler:

just for a laugh even as they're apparently tougher than the reaper.

JonB

No, not bothering. Only worth trying at a very high level, I think. Although you can lower the difficulty at least.

The reaper would probably be super tough as well, but

Spoiler:

Dogfingers

regmcfly wrote:

Really hitting a wall with this. Not because im disliking it, just that combat and screen after takes so long. I'm currently in the pyramid, about 40 hours in, and the plot has me, but dungeons just aren't doing it. I kind of want the simple random p4 ones back.

I concur, I thought the less faffy dungeons in P4 were better, Im on the last one though and its the exception to the rule, its a total prick

Bollockoff

FIN.

Akechi

Spoiler:

Bollockoff

Anime segments look like dogshit. Worse than any gameplay. I struggle to believe they're cheaper than just telling someone to unleash some decent animations for the character models.

Bollockoff

Now for my Just Completed opus.

Bollockoff

At last i can stop shitting on this game i probably like more than i admit.

regmcfly

"What's our next move, Joker?

dynamiteReady

Ah... Shibuya...

*Sigh*

Nice place to kop a hotel. :]

JonB

So I've recently been writing some stuff comparing the ideologies of different games with modern urban settings. The intention is to bring it all together into an essay and get it published.

But for now, I have a section on Persona 5 and thought it might be of interest to a few here. I'm not going to post it because it'll be part of a submission for publication later, but if anyone wants a read then PM me and I'll send you a copy.

It's 4400 words, written in an academic style, using Marxism and psychoanalysis to interpret its message of rebellion (references to Zizek, Fredric Jameson and Jodi Dean). Oh, and it's also heavily spoilerific, including stuff from the end of the game.

The other bits I've done BTW are about Saints Row IV (and 3 to an extent), GTA V, and No More Heroes.

[Deleted User]

I'd appreciate a PM.

Bollockoff

I thought Marxism was a font for a second there.

Yes please!

hylian_elf

Interesting.

Anyway, I'm gonna probably start this once I'm back from holiday. Hope to finish 4 before we jet off on Sunday so it'll be a holiday from Persona!

JonB

Childintime wrote:

I'd appreciate a PM.

Bollockoff wrote:

I thought Marxism was a font for a second there. Yes please!

Come to think of it, it might be better if you PM me an email address so I can send it as an attachment. I can't do attachments to PMs, can I?

Bollockoff

I enjoyed that. Printed it off in the end and read it in the bath.

I am no academic but it made me think that like me you also wished it was a much smarter game than it actually is.

Bollockoff

That paper is as good a Just Completed as any.

JonB

Bollockoff wrote:

I enjoyed that. Printed it off in the end and read it in the bath. I am no academic but it made me think that like me you also wished it was a much smarter game than it actually is.

Yeah, although I'm really just picking on one main critical point with this. There's a hell of a lot more I really like about it that wasn't really relevant here, and I applaud it for having a go even when it doesn't quite work.

The contrast with GTA V is particularly interesting IMO, in that GTA V is far less naive and more aware of how things really work, but at the same time an utter capitulation to the corrupt status quo (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em), which is so much less brave and inspiring.

JonB

FWIW it occurs to me now that I missed a trick and should make more of the final point. In short, what are Personas themselves - an unconscious drive to break free and get beyond things as they are, or a punishing internal 'superego' demand to fulfil a specific moral duty without question?

Dinostar77

So new physical copy on amazon is £55. Used copy in cex is £50. Was this produced in a limited batch or something? Want to play it, but don't want a digital copy. Guess I'll wait. Not paying £50 for it used.

[Deleted User]

There’s far better deals.

JonB

I thought it'd become easily available once they'd started producing the regular edition, but I guess not. It's certainly been cheaper at various points and should be again, as long as more stock's on the way.

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