Persona 5: hopes for the game...

[verdant monkai]

So Persona 5 is probably in the works.

I'm grinding through Persona 4 now and I am liking it a lot. Its a beautiful 9/10 game, the aesthetics are dead on, I care about my friends and the plot keeps me going. It has everything an amazing Jrpg should. However it does quite a lot to piss me off and I feel it really needs some tweaking.

1.) An actual relationship system.

I am apparently dating Yukiko.... except she never acknowledges me in front of the others, and we cant go on dates. We have one romantic cutscene which I can replay. There needs to be an actual relationship system where I can actually take someone on dates, give/receive gifts. And it needs to change the dialogue so that the other characters acknowledge the relationship.

2.) A singer who can actually speak English.

I like the songs in Persona 4 I do! its just that the lyrics stress me out. Some of its Japanese and some of what the singer fondly imagines is English. I can catch snatches of English in between the Japanese but its hideously mangled. It wouldn't be hard to accomplish just get them to practice the word before they record it.

3.) Less grind.

My biggest problem in the game is the grind, the game is balls to the walls hard and that's fine, its just that the grind gets me down. This problem ties in with problem 4 because the grind becomes so monotonous its almost depressing. I don't want all this grind I want to socialize and talk to my Persona friends (and this is coming from someone who sat through FF1 an experience composed solely of grind). It is also let down by the fact that because the grind is so boring, and you have a limited amount of time, you level up a main party and the others become so under levelled they are unusable. It needs to be like the tales of system when even characters who don't fight get some experience. This just means you can try out different combos and use all the charcters whenever you want.

4.) Boring dungeons.

At first glance the dungeons are all nicely designed its just that after you've been staring at them for over two hours you get bored sick of them. It would help if it wasn't all so identical, I guess that's just how it is with randomly generated dungeons, although I'm sure it could be done better.

5.) The option to be a girl.

Yeah I know the psp version of persona 3 had it Persona 5 needs it. Because to be honest if the protagonist wasn't so awesome, I'd be a girl. Because none of the girls are ideal breeding material, and I'd much rather date Yosuke.

6.) the OPTION to quick save.

Masochists can avoid it but personally I'd rather not redo a whole day if I mess up one dialogue option


There are one or two small things but I don't want to bore you dear reader. Other than these 6 points I'd say well done to the creators and they should keep up the good work. Persona 4 although flawed is up there in my top 10 Jrpg's. Persona 5 will be a day one buy for sure. What do you lot hope will be added or shaved off in Persona 5?

 

[hazabaza1]

Agreed on 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. The game really isn't that grind heavy if you play well but I agree with the others. And for the quick save thing I mean more a "save anywhere any time for convenience" thing, not for SaveScumming.

I think I'd also like to see some new members of the cast like a new protagonist as well an end to dat cliffhanger at the end of Arena. Also, let's leave the school stuff behind, eh? 3+4 were cool but reading up on P1+2 it seems like it wasn't all school stuff and I like it. It'd allow a bit more locational freedom and give it the chance to go further into the more sexuality based adult themes the game so loves.

 

[Miss G.]

I like numbers 3, 5 and 6, but 5 I feel should be reserved for the inevitable portable release. Much as I loved P3P and finally getting to date Akihiko, Minato (now Makoto) is the one they call back to in the main series and I couldn't possibly think of FeMC as the main character in the story when he fit much better in the narrative to begin with. I too, would've liked the option to date Yosuke in P4G. I honestly thought Marie was the girl option...

For 3, I'd prefer if the shadows got tougher to show some progression of challenge when you revisit levels you've been through or if there was something of an intermediary dungeon like the secret dungeon after you beat P3 only you can access it to level up quicker during your first play through.

6 is great. I loved that they added a save point in the school and in the shopping district in P4 so you have something of a safety net before social linking and stuff unlike 3 where you had to restart from the night before back at the dorm. More places and options to save would be lovely.

I've got a couple:
-bring back evokers 'cuz they actually work outside of dungeons for summoning purposes and also were cool

-MC has a voice actor and an official name - get some use out of them in the voiced cutscenes or something

-more believable friendships like in P4 'cuz they seem so much closer than SEES did for the most part

-bring back the Pimp My Persona customization options from P3P (or at least an improvement on it) 'cuz that was the only time I had an original Orpheus that was so good if I had the skill card for Victory Cry I wouldn't have even looked at Messiah or Telos. If my first persona is to be my truest self it should also have the option of growing with me just like all the other characters' personas (like what they do with your familiars in Ni no Kuni since you basically summon them from your inner self and any and all experience they get regardless if they were used in battle is the same amount you get since they are you) at the very least.

 

[Ultress]

I'll respectfully disagree on #2 in that I really like the singers for the Persona series despite being hard to understand at first.More a matter of listening and the fact that Lotus Juice speaks so damn fast it's not going to matter what language it is.It actually helps a song like Deep Breath where your freaking out and the guy's saying calm down but you're so panicked you can barely understand him and panic even more.

I really would dig another female protagonist after they did really well with P3P.


Everything the others have said are also really good and I'll throw a few in:I'd like some shared exp for party members you aren't using. Balance it however you please but let inactive party members get a little exp just so they don't fall behind.

-Have the Priestess arcana not involve a girl who's atrocious at cooking.

-Bring back Nanako and give that girl a Persona. To see her possibly grown up and helping the cast would be awesome.

 

[Korten12]

I think one of the reasons why the gender option was in the PSP and not on the PS2 version is because of the animated cutscenes. I don't know if it's hard but they may not want to redraw them twice just to accomidate both genders. The PSP version of the game did not have animated cutscenes.

But if it's not that hard then I see no problem.

As for my hopes?

I really hope it's on the PS4/PS3 and Vita. Either of those combinations as I would LOOOOOOVE the option to cross buy and cross save. To be able to play on the big screen and then go into my bed with the Vita version would be kickass.

Also, I hope it's a direct continuaton of Persona 4 Arena. I want to know what happens after. Not the same main characters, no instead new characters and old ones returning to fight the new threat.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

I'm halfway agree on point 1) especially part about relationship acknowledgment. In Persona 4: Golden there are precisely two instances where my relationship is somewhat acknowledged. First is right after summer festival, when Yosuke asks you who you went to shrine with, and second during 14th of February event. That's it. Also, I really, really want them to add some stuff past level 10 social link! Once you reach there isn't really a reason to keep hanging out with your friend anymore (although I still spent my evenings with Chie if I had an opportunity).

Now, what do I want... well, I'd really love them to change battle system a little bit. I can sense so much potential in their system, but it just feels incomplete. For example, in Persona 4 some characters' stats and abilities supposed to represent their battle role. For example, Yukiko is obviously healer and caster, while Kanji is tank. But, enemies have no reason to attack Kanji because game lacks any sort of aggro mechanic. P4G is still an improvement over P3P though, where all roles go out of the window once you reach level 99 and everyone gets 999HP and MP.

What else... well, it might be a heresy, but I'd love to get rid of persona fusion, or at least get it reworked somehow. Or at least give us an option to make our initial Persona viable choice later in a game. I know you can level up your initial Persona in 3 and 4, and you can give it new awesome spells through skill cards, but it still feels like a pain in ass and just not worth the effort.

I might be a minority here, but I do want P5 to be a continuation of Arena. I want to see old cast facing new enemy, I want to see Elizabeth on her Journey now that she acquired Fool Arcana, I want to see Labrys and Aigis fighting together, I want to see Investigation Team graduate and set off to Tatsumi Port Island.

OH! Yeah and give us multiple campaigns! Like, one campaign for Yu and another for either Labrys, Aigis or Elizabeth. And in the end both campaigns will intersect and something awesome will happen! YEAAAAAH!

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

Honestly all I want is to be able to CHOOSE whether to become romantically involved with a character (actually I'm not sure if this was addressed in Persona 4; I'm not far into it at all, but being forced to have seven girlfriends diminished the meaningfulness of any of them), including the ability to have same-sex relationships. Or at least one same-sex option. I mean, I understand that not every character would be interested...but if we're going to go the realistic route there, they should make it so that not every girl wants to jump on the protagonist's dick either.

Also, keeping the "Search" option introduced in Golden, I believe, for Persona fusion would be nice. That is a godsend.

3.) Less grind.

My biggest problem in the game is the grind, the game is balls to the walls hard and that's fine, its just that the grind gets me down. This problem ties in with problem 4 because the grind becomes so monotonous its almost depressing. I don't want all this grind I want to socialize and talk to my Persona friends (and this is coming from someone who sat through FF1 an experience composed solely of grind). It is also let down by the fact that because the grind is so boring, and you have a limited amount of time, you level up a main party and the others become so under levelled they are unusable. It needs to be like the tales of system when even characters who don't fight get some experience. This just means you can try out different combos and use all the charcters whenever you want.

And agreed. I enjoy the combat system just as much as the Social Links, but a lot more flexibility in how I can approach both would be appreciated. Persona 4 feels particularly constraining in that regard. Since I have a limited amount of time during which I MUST rescue the person trapped in the TV world, I feel like I have to rush through the dungeon in order to complete it as well as level me and my party up and still have time for all the other things I want to do.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

Honestly all I want is to be able to CHOOSE whether to become romantically involved with a character (actually I'm not sure if this was addressed in Persona 4; I'm not far into it at all, but being forced to have seven girlfriends diminished the meaningfulness of any of them), including the ability to have same-sex relationships. Or at least one same-sex option. I mean, I understand that not every character would be interested...but if we're going to go the realistic route there, they should make it so that not every girl wants to jump on the protagonist's dick either.

So... Aegis didn't count? I mean, she's a robot and all but her route for femPC wasn't any different from male PC route.

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

Honestly all I want is to be able to CHOOSE whether to become romantically involved with a character (actually I'm not sure if this was addressed in Persona 4; I'm not far into it at all, but being forced to have seven girlfriends diminished the meaningfulness of any of them), including the ability to have same-sex relationships. Or at least one same-sex option. I mean, I understand that not every character would be interested...but if we're going to go the realistic route there, they should make it so that not every girl wants to jump on the protagonist's dick either.

So... Aegis didn't count? I mean, she's a robot and all but her route for femPC wasn't any different from male PC route.

I haven't played P3P (yet, anyway) so I wouldn't know. In fact I didn't get a chance to finish her Social Link in FES either, which makes me a sad. .___.

 

[waj9876]

I agreed with you all the way up to number 6.

But whatever, I wouldn't mind if the option itself was there, as long as I'm not forced to use it.

 

[NinjaSniperAssassin]

Honestly all I want is to be able to CHOOSE whether to become romantically involved with a character

You actually can. The game gives you a heads up when the "time is right" and gives you a pair of dialogue options, of which one makes her your girlfriend and the other keeps things platonic (for example, with Chie you can choose between "Will you be my girlfriend?" or "I'm counting on you!"). Both progress the social link though.

I do think there should be consequences for choosing to have a harem. Strangely enough, P3P had this (vanilla might have too, didn't play it). You could damage your social links by spending too much time with girls other than your girlfriend or having multiple girlfriends at the same time. They probably took it out for 4 to make social link progression more straightforward and less precarious.

I'd also like them to move the series into a more adult setting. If they're determined to keep with the school thing they could set it in a university, that wouldn't change the interface too much but it would allow for them to tackle some more mature topics. Naoto and Kanji were by far my favorite characters because their problems felt real and had actual weight to them. The Persona games are already stellar when it comes to making you care about the characters and want to help them, but there's another level they can hit by moving into the adult world and tackling some more controversial issues.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

Agreed on 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. The game really isn't that grind heavy if you play well but I agree with the others. And for the quick save thing I mean more a "save anywhere any time for convenience" thing, not for SaveScumming.

I think I'd also like to see some new members of the cast like a new protagonist as well an end to dat cliffhanger at the end of Arena. Also, let's leave the school stuff behind, eh? 3+4 were cool but reading up on P1+2 it seems like it wasn't all school stuff and I like it. It'd allow a bit more locational freedom and give it the chance to go further into the more sexuality based adult themes the game so loves.

I would defiantly agree for better character interactions; have characters react to the relationships you establish. I would play devil's advocate in that the orignal Persona 4 came out on PS2 so the memory and computing power may not have gotten fair enough but it would be nice to have it

As to the grind, Yes it may not be grind heavy if you do it right but the issue is that the right way is not as intuitive as expected. I'm not saying make a giant sign but I shouldn't have to refer to giant spreadsheets for persona fusions or use a dayplanner (I may actually be missing the point of JRPGs but that's my 2 cents)

As for story, A continuation of P4A is definably the best thing as many have played arena's story and will want to see how the Shadow Operatives and Investigation Team fight Nyarlathotep and his cronies. maybe make one of the story points revolve around the Sacrifice of Minato and how they may have to free him at the expense of Nyx's potential return

 

[hazabaza1]

As to the grind, Yes it may not be grind heavy if you do it right but the issue is that the right way is not as intuitive as expected. I'm not saying make a giant sign but I shouldn't have to refer to giant spreadsheets for persona fusions or use a dayplanner (I may actually be missing the point of JRPGs but that's my 2 cents)

That's only particularly needed if you want to be doing secret bosses/100% runs, that kinda stuff. After a playthough on Normal I was able to beat up to the third dungeon within an in-game day on Hard if I played smart, no real grinding needed. Minimal leniency for bad play though. Granted, it may get harder further on but I didn't get any further in my Hard mode playthrough.

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

Honestly all I want is to be able to CHOOSE whether to become romantically involved with a character

You actually can. The game gives you a heads up when the "time is right" and gives you a pair of dialogue options, of which one makes her your girlfriend and the other keeps things platonic (for example, with Chie you can choose between "Will you be my girlfriend?" or "I'm counting on you!"). Both progress the social link though.

I do think there should be consequences for choosing to have a harem. Strangely enough, P3P had this (vanilla might have too, didn't play it). You could damage your social links by spending too much time with girls other than your girlfriend or having multiple girlfriends at the same time. They probably took it out for 4 to make social link progression more straightforward and less precarious.

I'd also like them to move the series into a more adult setting. If they're determined to keep with the school thing they could set it in a university, that wouldn't change the interface too much but it would allow for them to tackle some more mature topics. Naoto and Kanji were by far my favorite characters because their problems felt real and had actual weight to them. The Persona games are already stellar when it comes to making you care about the characters and want to help them, but there's another level they can hit by moving into the adult world and tackling some more controversial issues.

Good to hear then. And P3 FES has that as well; if you progress a female Social Link over a certain amount (level 4 or 5, I believe), they become jealous if you spend time with another girl and there's a chance that the former link will break. Still doesn't change the fact you can have a bunch of girlfriends so long as you're not advancing their S. Links at the same time, but it's something I suppose.

I really like the high school settings myself, but the series could benefit from a change.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

As to the grind, Yes it may not be grind heavy if you do it right but the issue is that the right way is not as intuitive as expected. I'm not saying make a giant sign but I shouldn't have to refer to giant spreadsheets for persona fusions or use a dayplanner (I may actually be missing the point of JRPGs but that's my 2 cents)

That's only particularly needed if you want to be doing secret bosses/100% runs, that kinda stuff. After a playthough on Normal I was able to beat up to the third dungeon within an in-game day on Hard if I played smart, no real grinding needed. Minimal leniency for bad play though. Granted, it may get harder further on but I didn't get any further in my Hard mode playthrough.

I am actually the type to want secret bosses and complete runs so those external materials would probably be needed for me

 

[chuckman1]

Good points. Less grind is always for the best. The ability to pick which skills a persona inherits would be a lot better than mashing circle then x for 20 minutes until you get Lilith with mabufudyne. I'd like a more epic story like Persona 3 also I'd like to see a return to the big city. Oh and if we could not have boring Social Links that'd be just fantastic (You're boring Fuuka I wanted to date you but it got so boring. Yuko had more character development than you and you're a main character.) Also have a more exciting opening. Persona 4's opening was pretty good but 3's bored me.

Lots of conversation options I LOVE CONVERSATION OPTIONS!

And maybe the ability to decide whether our protagonist is truly a sociopath or just a reflection of us.
Also I like hilarious conversation options have the MC be able to be a douchebag.

 

[hazabaza1]

As to the grind, Yes it may not be grind heavy if you do it right but the issue is that the right way is not as intuitive as expected. I'm not saying make a giant sign but I shouldn't have to refer to giant spreadsheets for persona fusions or use a dayplanner (I may actually be missing the point of JRPGs but that's my 2 cents)

That's only particularly needed if you want to be doing secret bosses/100% runs, that kinda stuff. After a playthough on Normal I was able to beat up to the third dungeon within an in-game day on Hard if I played smart, no real grinding needed. Minimal leniency for bad play though. Granted, it may get harder further on but I didn't get any further in my Hard mode playthrough.

I am actually the type to want secret bosses and complete runs so those external materials would probably be needed for me

Well then you best break out the spreadsheets because you're headed to Convoluton, the third stop between Confusville and 100% City.

 

[Sabitsuki]

Well as long as we are wishing. If they do have an actual gender option this time, I want a sexuality option too. Because otherwise, if there's a female partner that I am as crazy about as I was Naoto, I'd ditch the female option in a heartbeat.

While we're on the subject. Let's bring back Naoto. Just.. because.. you know. Reasons. <3

I never really felt like the games had much that much grind. As long as you aren't avoiding combat and you make sure to keep making new Personas, you shouldn't really need to level grind a whole lot. Social Links do way more for increasing your power than level grinding does. Though I would really prefer if they put the option to go to the local dungeon back in the Evening slot like Persona 3 had. It was really irritating to have to give up an ever important Afternoon slot for it in Persona 4.

Also, lets drop the 'Main Character gets KO'd means you Lose' thing. It's a dumb mechanic. Why is the main character the only one that is arbitrarily dead when they lose all their HP?

I'd also like to see some better persona user foes in the future. In the main story of P3 and P4 every Persona user battle has been terrible. For all damage they did in cutscenes, Strega from P3 were absolutely pathetic boss battles, weaker than most random encounters. You-know-who from just before the final boss battle in P4 was little more than a warm-up round. Elizabeth and Margaret were both tough fights, but they were of Optional Boss status. It feels like it really diminishes how intense these fights should be when most of them are beyond easy. FES eventually gave us the Shadow Protagonist, who was an interesting battle, but wasn't really much of a character. I'd go so far as to say I'd like to see the game end with a big, epic Persona versus Persona battle.

 

[Psycho11Edge]

I'm fairly new to the Persona series, having only played P4G and only on recommendation of everyone I know when I told them I got a PS Vita. Though, I do like it and plan to play more of the series when I get the chance.

In response to your 6 points:

1) I do agree to a point with the actual dates and all, but I also would like to have it to where I can steer relationships that have romantic potential away from that sooner, instead of coming to the last rank of a social link and having the options of either dating the girl or breaking her heart as there was no way to make it known I wasn't romantically interested in them before then. I ended up dating like 5 girls on my first run through because I couldn't bring myself to not pick the nicer option, like for the drama club girl. Hold her or walk away. Well fuck, when you put it that way.

2) As long as the songs sound good, I don't really mind. I spent most of my time sitting in the Velvet Room anyways just to listen to the song.

3) I'm not sure on the series as a whole, but I had no issues with this, and leveled up adequately as I progressed through the game on Normal difficulty. I mean it can probably become a hassle on Very Hard, but that's supposed to be hard, so complaining about a grind on something like that is kind of pointless. I'm not saying you are complaining pointlessly, as you could also just be having difficulties like others have with some trophies in Golden, aka Hardcore Risette Fan, where one person could be hunting the trophy and on their 4th play through while another guy got it by accident before even finishing his first run. But still, I didn't have much trouble leveling.

4) I have to agree here, as except for the design, the dungeons were basically repeated between two different types.

5) Again, I have to agree, but some stories are specifically written for a certain gender, though P4G wasn't one of them. Yu could have easily been a girl for the game. And honestly, when it comes to the male options, I too would rather date Yosuke than any of the other guys, though for the girls, I like Naoto.

6) This is always a nice option, and I wouldn't mind being able to quickly go back if I accidentally pick the wrong dialogue option or something, especially when trying to max out all the social links.

Another thing that bothered me about 4 though is that Izanagi was your persona, but after like... level 15, he stopped getting skills. I understand there's a more powerful version of him, and you are supposed to also use other personas and get skill cards and whatnot, but that seems like too much trouble for something like that. I'm not saying make Izanagi or the starting persona the ultimate god if you use him throughout the whole game, but making him only slightly better than like the slime persona is kind of lame, especially when the other version of him (jester not included)is only available at end game of a second playthrough, and can't be carried over like others that I have. I haven't used Izanagi since he stopped gaining skills because other random personas became better by default. I now just use my level 99 Helel with enough stuff to keep me alive almost no matter what, while Izanagi remains at level 15 in the compendium.