Hello everybody hope everyone’s weekend was relaxing. This week I’ve been playing more Fallout New Vegas. Have a great week 👍
Hello everybody hope everyone’s weekend was relaxing. This week I’ve been playing more Fallout New Vegas. Have a great week 👍
Did the fourth palace in Persona 5 Royal and I think the JRPG combat is starting to wear on me. Due to the time management system, you’re incredibly incentivized to do each excursion to a palace/mementos in a single giant session, and then spend the next 20+ game days just doing social bonds (finished the 4th on July 28th and it’s due on August 21st). 98% of the fights are with trash mobs you ambush and can kill before they act (and due to the Camera Strap accessory you get 10 of for free, you have effectively infinite SP so long as you keep ambushing people). The remaining 2% are with bosses that have no weaknesses that are just kinda a slog. Then for the social bonds, you’re heavily encouraged to gaslight every confidant, which is funny but probably not what was intended, and this is again doubly true because choosing the wrong answer/not equipping a persona/not getting the fortune teller buff just means that you’re wasting time. The fact that dialogue choices don’t matter at all narratively (except, presumably, for the romantic ones) makes this feel even worse.
Meanwhile, in Warframe, Plague Star is almost over and I got around 70 forma. Could’ve been more, could’ve been less, but man is it boring.
I always assumed the “gaslight everyone” thing was intentional—that the true power of the wild card was to always be able to play the role that will draw out the aspects of their confidantes’ personality that most strongly resonate with their Arcana. This is the power that makes the protagonists the most powerful Persona users, more important (edit: or maybe equally as important) than the ability to bond with any persona.
I can see where you’re coming from, but it still feels odd to me that it goes (so far, at least) unaddressed in the narrative. Seems like a pretty important thing to discuss, and kind of an indictment of the MC if they don’t mention to their friends that their relationship is extremely questionable because there is actual material utility in befriending someone, even if you, as the player, dislike them.
Mind you I haven’t played any other Persona games, so maybe this gets addressed in other places and you’re expected to be familiar. I’m just reminded of
spoilers for Disco Elysium
the conversation with Harry’s ex where she complains that he speaks in dialogue trees.