Persona 5: Taking Your Time

that's why as of right now persona 5 is my favorite video game soundtrack i like to reference games like persona 5 an unhealthy amount of times we have one of my favorite games of all time persona 5 is persona 5 persona 5 persona 5. [Music] i loved persona 5 but something happened time happened why was i unable to shut up about this masterpiece until i eventually did now tell me your account of everything start from the very beginning i discovered the persona series back in high school my first game was persona q strangely enough which led me to play through persona 3 and 4 with my best friend almost every weekend at this point in time we were primarily playing league of legends and minecraft so you can probably guess that the persona series knocked our socks off we had found these amazing experiences that neither of us had heard of before and we loved every second of them well of persona 4 at least i was so enamored over these two games that for my final project in my high school english class i made a video essay comparing literature to persona my incredibly monotone and way too close to the microphone narration may never see the light of day but that doesn't mean i'll ever forget that i managed to make it happen okay you know what you can have a clip a short one even though it's just a game it's a powerful experience in which you connect with the characters through social links and physically feel the powerful emotions associated with death and the passage of time alright cool i'm gonna go die of embarrassment now it's safe to say that as soon as i got my grubby little hands on a copy of persona 5 it was love at first sight i've been waiting for this i came home every weekend to blaze through it with the same friend i played the other games with i began relentlessly referencing persona in my youtube videos the soundtrack topped the list of my favorite video game music in 2018 and i'm honestly surprised that i don't absolutely hate rivers in the desert considering how often i listened to it hell i was at the point where jazz music was starting to give me major persona vibes but then well it's strange i don't know if i burnt out on the game listen to the soundtrack too much or became preoccupied with other things but the love began to fade when a game like persona 5 reaches the level of popularity it did i think it's easy for me to forget about it in a bizarre sort of way not literally of course persona 5 was everywhere you could look with smash announcements memes rhythm games and [ __ ] gotcha collaborations why is my girlfriend in afk arena somebody get her out of there it's easy for me to become distracted and eventually detached from the actual game itself so i didn't forget about persona 5 as a concept but rather as i became engulfed by the noise i forgot how much the fundamental experience meant to me this isn't the only time this has affected me but it's somewhat saddening to think that a game i had channeled so relentlessly in the pursuit of creativity and a series that practically changed my life felt like nothing more than a distant memory some subconscious reaction kicked in when i pre-ordered persona 5 royal back in 2020 the consumer within me scratching the itch to buy more product but when it arrived i plopped it on a shelf with very little intention of playing it then why have i suddenly decided to return to relentlessly rambling about persona 5 once again well almost a year after purchasing royal through what can only be described as the whims of fate i reached out to grab my unopened copy from the shelf and are you finally ready to remember you've averted your eyes for so long why not relinquish productivity for the sake of self-indulgence as if your time has been used wisely thus far do you super glue on this it seems you truly have forgotten about your obsession even though you can see it right there in your profile picture it's just usually cropped out i can't really see anything i am thou thou art i it's time to rediscover the game you once held so dear all 120 hours fine i could use a break [Music] so [Music] guess i gotta do the rest of the video now playing persona 5 royal felt like playing the game with fresh eyes before i reach the new content i was able to remember almost every important character and general plot point but it still felt like i was experiencing something for the first time i paid less attention to the twists and turns of the story and more attention to the writing and themes hidden around every corner well not really hidden persona 5 has always been pretty straightforward with its message shitty adult shitty adult shitty adult friend i became more attached to the characters especially yusuke as he struggles to escape creative slumps when creating art to make a living rather than out of pure passion i wanted to beat the [ __ ] out of every comically over-the-top evil rat bastard villain in the game even more this time i would literally jump off the couch and pace around the room during boss fights man i'm so sick of them oh my god maybe this is just my video essay brain talking but i feel like i experience games in such a heavier capacity nowadays than i did just 4 years ago i mean i sure feel like i've changed a lot as a person since high school and royal's new surprises and additions to the original game made the journey even better than the first time around okay except for the fact that they changed the hot goth doctor's voice actress and thorough examination just doesn't hit the same thorough examination yeah that's that's that's the one the reason i wanted to make this video isn't to explore every facet of the game in detail but to instead just ramble about the aspects of my second playthrough that i found to be the most rewarding and also because i sunk 124 hours into it over the course of a month and a half so i kinda gotta make it into a video it's my job that's how this [ __ ] works man i feel you yusuke i really do bro this time in 2021 and who knows what it'll be the next time i inevitably return to this productivity obliterating vortex i found some strange solace in the loading screen not the physical thing but the text that accompanies a spinning joker take your time i've expressed this sentiment when reviewing games before but i like it when things end i don't particularly care for stories that drag on forever or games drawn out with tedious collecting side quests or grinding sometimes a game can end after 2 hours and i can feel more satisfied than i did with a game 10 times that length but persona 5 in all of its 124 hour glory is an exception to that rule and not because it's tedious not in the slightest from a gameplay perspective royal adds tons of quality of life upgrades and heavily changes mementos to make grinding a thing of the past where do i get all this money as a high schooler oh you know just a part-time job [Music] persona 5 is a game that i never want to end because i adore diving in and immersing myself completely sure it isn't exactly realistic to have girls falling head over heels for you because you engaged them in conversation nine times but it's good escapism this is becoming less of a video essay and more of an anime fans disillusioned ramblings carefully planning out what to do each day whether it's fighting monsters going on a nice fishing outing or inviting makoto to the jazz club for the third time this week i enjoy being consumed by that alternate life i mean it's obvious why you get to skip the school part of high school like 90 percent of the time you go to bed wake up ride the train and the game fast forwards to after school where you wear fun costumes and hang out with your attractive anime friends and use black magic to summon gods and demons and you go oh geez i wonder why persona 5 seems so much cooler than when i went to high school in real life wait a minute rather than rushing through royal to find the new content or just say i beat it i wanted to indulge in every relaxing opportunity the game presented me with i solved the crossword puzzles every time they showed up on the table i read all of the silly references in the books and movies and sometimes i just sit back and relax listening to beneath the mask for a while royal manages to expand on the concept of taking your time even further with the addition of the thieves den persona 5 is such a large undertaking that even the game itself acknowledges that there's no need for it to be rushed through after a long series of battles or cutscenes it's a nice change of pace to wander around a bizarre fourth wall breaking trophy room looking at cool statues or playing tycoon with the other members of the phantom thieves makoto came up to me after school one day like hey can we go to the palace before i get extorted by the mafia to which i responded ah dang sorry i'm a little busy with the card game i'm beating you guys at in my brain tycoon huh you're quite a plane it's all mine a high school girl was taken into custody at an establishment for illegal services the other day even through her drug-induced stupor she managed to identify one name clearly yours i'm rich it's all mine persona 5 reminds you about the inherently limited and stressful nature of time while simultaneously telling you to take your time the loading screen says it the characters say it it's a freaking dialogue option half the time and while this may be a strange concept to analyze i've been thinking a lot about how persona 5 royal changed the way i approached the game through the trophy system because it led me to believe that persona 5 is a worse game if you use a guide while playing it the original persona 5's achievements are ruthless even if you are physically ingesting a game fact guide into your very soul and grinding exp down to your bones it's impossible to get a platinum trophy in one playthrough even during my initial playthrough in which i used a strict guide to see all the social links i only earned 67 of the trophies and i still regret how that guide affected my experience to this day if you want a platinum you have to do absolutely everything for example complete every mementos request max every confidant max every social stat read every book play every video game and complete the entire persona compendium which is only possible in new game plus many new players myself included probably approached persona 5 with the desire to do everything but after playing royal my personal opinion is that persona 5 is best experienced imperfectly as the game's loading screen says take your time while simultaneously unloading a dump truck full of opportunities at your doorstep a driving force behind the persona series begins to present itself you can't do everything it's unrealistic for anyone to believe that they can do everything in real life i know that persona 5 is a fantasized role-playing game where eating a big burger turns you into a more capable and attractive human being but a lot of the game's beauty actually comes from pushing the player to understand that they can't do everything it's why the calendar system is such an integral part of the series with the date and current deadline always displayed in the corners of the screen forcing the player to grapple with the concept of time everyone should have to decide for themselves which aspects of the game are most important to them listen babe i'm really sorry i can't go to the movies tonight i'm gonna go catch the guardian fish again how dare you i won't let you feel my rage getting hit by a piece of chalk in class and reloading your save to dodge it for a couple extra charm points is not something that every player is gonna think to do nor do i think they should do you know i'm looking at the list of persona abilities and unfortunately it does not include time travel so what am i building towards when it comes to persona 5 royal well royal did away with the absolutely absurd achievements of the original game and instead replaced them with a set that while challenging for beginners is much more achievable in a single playthrough i mean you can't do the flu season thing with the reaper anymore but i didn't exactly have any trouble blasting him to kingdom [ __ ] in the third semester replaying a game several times in the pursuit of doing everything only feels enjoyable if those playthroughs will feature some divergent paths or new content to make the act of completionism feel worthwhile infamous 2 for example wow bizarre example but i think it's one of the only games i ever platinumed has different missions and endings based on the good and evil path lines so it makes sense to have the player witness every event for the complete experience however persona 5 royal is 120 hours long i do not have time scratch that most people do not have time to play this kind of game more than once wait but i just i just did instead royal designs its achievements around all of its new additions like exploring the new locations in kichijoji classic tasks such as attaining maximum social stats are much more manageable and the entire set of trophies takes a general approach of hey you should check out all the cool stuff we have in the game but trying to fill the persona compendium without an online fusion calculator would probably make you rip your hair out for true completionists all sorts of achievements are packed into the new thieves den but for the average player they serve as a cute illustration of the unique events that have taken place during their playthrough achieved a romantic relationship with all potential romanceable confidants either i'd have to log over a thousand hours into persona 5 or oh that you're not supposed to do that so the game is over [Music] i'm so happy that i decided to play this game again for the past year or so on this channel i have been particularly engrossed by indie games but the first word that comes to mind for a big budget game like persona 5 is spectacle a game this massive produced by hundreds of artists over the course of five years has a certain grandeur that sweeps you up in its world as blatantly loud and boisterous as its message can often be persona 5 lights a fire up in my soul and uses the interactive medium of video games to provide a journey like no other for some an estimated play time of 120 hours may be a drawback and i totally understand that you can you can do a hell of a lot in 120 hours but when it comes to the persona series embarking on a journey over the course of an entire real life month captures my attention and twists my emotions in a way nothing else can as i reacquainted myself with the game's mechanics universe and music and forged intimate relationships with the game's confidants all over again persona 5 dragged me in so deeply that when the credits finally kicked me out i didn't want to leave the extra 16 hours tacked onto the end of royal only further strengthened my adoration and easily became my favorite part of the entire experience the emotional complexity and maturity of the game's third semester throws you for a loop on how you personally view happiness and forces you to make a decision regarding the false reality created for the other members of the phantom thieves it's a really tough pill to swallow i decided to play the game all the way through in pursuit of the true ending although one could argue that a true ending doesn't even exist the ending that plays after rejecting the ideal reality continues to turn in my mind weeks after first witnessing it at first i didn't like it or rather i didn't fully understand it i felt robbed of the original wholesome cut scene where the phantom thieves run from the police and drive joker back home together but then i thought about it and i watched it again in rejecting an ideal reality you aren't given the perfect happy ending you may have been expecting and instead watch as the phantom thieves go their separate ways remaining connected by the bonds of friendship and standing firm in their decisions to tread their own paths in life hell take it from the wiki apart from the standard anti-authority and anti-corruption themes existent within the persona 5 campaign royals third semester features an anti-escapism theme but i was i was using the game as but it's good escapism oh no even the music while still maintaining that persona 5 feel ventures into much more wistful and somber territory to accompany royals new ideas i got to the end of the final palace and they said you know what life will change was so good we made life will change too and that [ __ ] brought me to the verge of tears usually you have to have heard a song in a video game before for it to hit you like that but i just sat there for like 10 minutes listening to it on loop thinking about the actual time i had spent getting to that point about how strong the emotions of a song can hit you if you've spent over a hundred hours caught up in a game's world [Music] oh [ __ ] is that a new boss theme okay your box theme is amazing but i'm just gonna need a little bit more time to emotionally recover before any sort of credits music oh so it's gonna be one of these kind of nuts yeah okay i've seen an idea circulating online for a while now that you shouldn't define yourself by the things you like that people should get a personality outside of the entertainment they consume i think this is primarily said in response to those who take things to extremes but it most often surfaces within interests like video games and anime if someone was incredibly passionate about music or books or sports i feel like it wouldn't make as much of a fuss so what the hell am i getting at here while there can often be a fine line between love and an unhealthy obsession any type of art has the power to heavily impact someone's life if it hits in the right place at the right time and expressing yourself through your interests can be incredibly fulfilling part of me believes i wouldn't be where i am today without that awkward video essay i made about the persona series or that i wouldn't even know what to be doing with my life if it weren't for the passion i have for video games i've bonded with some of my closest friends by playing persona alongside them or just gushing about the games together late at night the entire career i've been building online these past few years is kind of centered around talking about how amazing video games are because it's something i know about more than pretty much anything else in my life i'm just gonna plagiarize my celeste video here video games are pretty dang cool they have the power to change the lives of those that play them for the better and those that play them know that if people can make new friends form communities and express themselves through their favorite works of art then who is anyone to stop them i wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to this kind of thing and trust me a couple people commenting cringe on my videos aren't ever gonna stop me from putting on these silly costumes and making a fool of myself it's pretty fun through both of my playthroughs persona 5 gave me an escape during a difficult time in my life but also served as a means to help me continue pushing forward it reminded me that the fleeting moments you spend with others are one of the most important parts of living and yes most of all it reminded me to take my time and on that note thank you for watching this video i want to give an extra special thanks to my patrons for making it a bit more feasible for me to spend two full months on a massive project like this if you enjoyed it consider subscribing and if you'd like to support my videos directly while getting access to various rewards you can check out my patreon link in the description and i guess that's everything [Laughter] i guess i've finally finished that little video essay i made all the way back in high school at least the last persona game was released like 10 years ago so i probably won't have to ever make another one of these videos again wait a second what oh no no no [Music]

Channel: yakkocmn

Views: 258,638

Keywords: yakkocmn, yakko, persona 5, yakkocmn persona 5, persona 5 royal, yakko persona 5, persona, persona 3, persona 4, persona 5 strikers, persona 5 review, persona 5 royal review, makoto, joker, smash bros, atlus, jrpg, anime, persona 5 soundtrack, gameplay, guide, walkthrough, P5, P5R, shin megami tensei, SMT, yakkocmn jojo, jojo tier list

Id: WthUApeUxoE

Length: 22min 8sec (1328 seconds)

Published: Sat May 15 2021