Persona 5 Royal

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The Blackboard Metaverse

Atlus's Persona videogame franchise began as a spinoff of their Megami Tensei series, the first few games of the subseries bearing the Shin Megami Tensei name and being mechanically different from mainline entries of the franchise. The first three games, the inaugural installment and both halves of the second entry, one of which wouldn't see an official English release until Sony released their PlayStation Portable system, first appeared on the PlayStation before transitioning to the PlayStation 2 with the third and fourth games, which bore much mechanical dissonance from its precursors, although in my opinion, said deviation was for the better. The fifth game, its latest incarnation titled Persona 5 Royal, builds upon its predecessors but brings a few old ideas back into the fray.

The latest Persona begins in the middle of its narrative, with the protagonist, leader of the Phantom Thieves and with the alias Joker, caught by Japanese authorities and interrogated, the action moving back to when he intervened in a situation earning him an assault charge and probation as he started life anew at a high school with other students assisting in his rehabilitation. Throughout the game are wrongdoers with metaversal Palaces where they play out their fantasies, the Phantom Thieves seeking to steal their symbolic Treasures along with the Hearts of the wrongdoers, in which case they confess their misdeeds.

Fans of the Kingdom Hearts series might roll their eyes at the similar concept of stealing hearts in the narrative, along with fans of the animanga Death Note who might or might not notice the supernatural methods of supernaturally reforming society by targeting certain deviants. However, Persona 5 delves into contemporary issues and themes that are somewhat relatable, such as abuse by teachers in school and the politics of Japan, with confidants Joker encounters and with whom he builds relationships having stories of their own, such as a washed-up ex-member of the Japanese Diet. However, the pacing is glacial and drawn-out, with the Royal version a bigger offender in that regard since its events go well beyond those of the initial release.

As with contemporary Persona localizations, the translation team opted to translate the dialogue with aspects unfriendly towards non-Japanophiles, with Japanese honorifics retained and accompanied by character names, which often breaks the naturality of the English localization, yet is still mercifully legible so long as players Google the internet to find out what they mean. However, like most English versions of Japanese RPGs, the writing is worst in combat, with the retained decision to have someone narrate everything that occurs in battle, and characters often shout "Persona!" when reaching their turns. Though generally a polished effort, the translation comes across as a middle-tier effort.

Like in the third and fourth Personas, alongside their various rereleases, Persona 5 features a methodical gameplay structure focused around the attendance of school by Joker and fellow students that eventually become his allies in combat. He has five social stats that increase with various activities like answering questions in school correctly, participating in diversions such as a batting cage and a bathhouse, and so forth, some of which need to be at certain levels for him to establish relationships with certain confidants that chiefly dictate how much bonus experience the player receives from fusing Personas of certain Arcanas, but there can be other effects such as the ability to score instant victories against enemy parties without needing to battle them.

Key to advancing the central storyline is the mentioned Palaces whose respective Treasures the player needs to steal to change the Hearts of the wretched individuals the Phantom Thieves target, enemies traversing these dungeons, players able to get preemptive strikes against them, but foes can do the same in return. Advancing one Arcana enough allows players to win instantly against enemy parties, with experience and money earned for living party members and a new Persona so long as Joker has the capacity for at least one more. Joker himself is the only character who can wield multiple Personas, his allies each having one with abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

The general structure of combat is similar to the third and fourth mainline Personas, the player's party of four characters, headed by Joker, taking turns dependent upon agility, commands executed instantly upon input. During a turn, the player can get an indication of which unit will go next, but unlike Final Fantasy X, subsequent character/enemy order is indeterminate, yet mercifully doesn't break the game. Commands include attacking with an equipped melee weapon or firearm, using an SP-consuming ability from a Persona, guarding until their next turn, using an item, or attempting to escape, which may or may not work all the time.

As in the mentioned Personas and Megami Tensei series from which it branched, the ability of players and enemies to exploit one another's strengths and weaknesses adds strategy, the exploitation of one's weak point earning the exploiter another action. One difference from the third and fourth games, and a feature prevalent in the initial entry and both parts of the second, is the need to negotiate with downed enemies; luckily, the system isn't as open-ended as in the earlier Personas or up to random chance like in the mainline Megami Tensei games, demon personalities key to which answers to questions are correct.

Players can earn money, an item, or the alliance of one of the downed demons from a successful negotiation. The Velvet Room returns, where the player can fuse Personas to create more powerful (in some cases, weaker) ones, the facility indicating if they have had a demon before, and in my experience, I found it advantageous to fuse for new ones, since in whatever battles the player encounters said enemies in, they can outright skip negotiation when downing an enemy party. Consequentially, I only had to endure it less than a handful of times in the game's generous length. Players can also sacrifice Personas to obtain an item, including powerful equipment.

Victory nets players experience for occasional level-ups and money, a system paralleling the core mechanics being the Mementos dungeon, deeper levels opening depending on how popular the Phantom Thieves are with the Japanese public, and is similar to the Temple of the Ocean King from The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, minus the need to redo puzzles (luckily absent in the metaversal region) and floors completely, with targets for occasional requests without the metaverse often found in certain levels. Aside from the minor issue with determining player and enemy turn order, the gameplay systems work well, and different difficulty levels accommodate players of varying skill levels.

Control is decent, the linear structure ensuring the player never becomes lost as to the current gameplay objective. However, while the Palaces have maps, the game doesn’t indicate which exits from floors lead where, which can lead to confusion. Most cutscenes are skippable along with the ability to cut spoken dialogue short if players wish to read instead of waiting for the performers to finish speaking, and the player can pause the action by bringing up a review of the latest text, similar to Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. Fast travel also exists among points of interest in the real-life Japanese setting, saving significant time in a game that’s already long. There are some issues regarding the spacing of save opportunities, not to mention maybe a few annoying late-game puzzles, but otherwise, Persona 5 generally interfaces well with players.

Shoji Meguro provides the game music, which is generally enjoyable and features plenty of tracks that rarely get old, although there are occasional silent scenes. The sound effects are what one would expect from a contemporary RPG, and the voice acting is decent; there are, however, plenty of overlapping voice clips in battle and unnecessary narration of trivial things that occur then.

The art direction is generally superb, with a style one could describe as trippy, given the effective use of reddish colors, transitional sequences when one fast-travels between points of interest, enemy designs with no reskins, fluid animation, flashy combat effects, and nice cel-shading. However, the visuals contain some jaggies, along with textures that appear blurry and pixilated when seen close-up, and the view distance of NPCs can be poor.

Finally, Persona 5 Royal is incredibly long for a rigidly-linear game, a little over a hundred hours, around a dozen or so longer than the original release, and while there is some lasting appeal in the form of things such as Trophies, the length and limited potential for variation somewhat drag it down, most players likely wishing to move on to other games after completion.

Overall, Persona 5 Royal is a great rerelease of a game that was already good, given its superb gameplay mechanics and control, endearing narrative and characters, and solid audiovisual presentation. Granted, it often puts quantity above quality, and I found myself fast-forwarding through late-game dialogue given the game's unwillingness to end; there are also other issues like the translation's unfriendliness towards non-Japanophiles and mainstream gaming audiences in general. Regardless, those who haven't experienced the initial release will get a bang for their gaming buck with Royal, still superior to earlier games in the Persona series and the Megami Tensei franchise from which the subseries spun off.

The reviewer played a borrowed physical copy of the game to the ending credits.

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Score Breakdown
The Good	The Bad
Superb gameplay mechanics. Endearing plot and characters. Solid audiovisual presentation.	Translation unfriendly towards non-Japanophiles. Characters too chatty in combat. Really overstays its welcome.
The Bottom Line
A great rerelease.
Platform	PlayStation 4
Game Mechanics	9.5/10
Control	9.0/10
Story	8.5/10
Localization	8.0/10
Aurals	8.5/10
Visuals	8.5/10
Lasting Appeal	7.5/10
Difficulty	Adjustable
Playtime	72-96 Hours
Overall: 8.5/10

Pokémon Violet

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Tears of the Pokémon Region

Nintendo and Game Freak's Pocket Monsters, known as Pokémon outside Japan and the brainchild of developer Satoshi Tajiri, has steadily evolved from its roots on the Game Boy system, each new generation attracting multitudes of players, and I'll admit I didn't get into the series until it reached the Nintendo DS. Despite being on the autism spectrum like the series creator, I found significant issues with the gameplay that in my mind made the franchise generally inaccessible to mainstream audiences, although the developer would somewhat make effort to refine these shortcomings in future generations. Arceus on the Nintendo Switch featured a huge shift in the gameplay to being open-world, similar to the Legend of Zelda franchise, with the latest mainline entries, Pokémon Violet and Scarlet, continuing this trend.

Both versions of the latest Nintendo Switch Pokémon games occur in the region of Paldea, beginning, akin to most of their predecessors, with the player's character and their mother moving to the area, with the protagonist tasked with traversing the land and collecting monsters while attending school. Team Star serves as the main adversaries as in prior generations; players, however, gradually unravel their backstory as they battle the organization at their various camps scattered throughout Paldea before battling the Elite Four and investigating a crater in the center of the region with certain secrets about the vehicular 'Mon that helps the player traverse the game’s setting.

Violet does admittedly have all the makings of a generic Pokémon narrative but features enough deviation from the typical storyline formula to make it somewhat shine above those of its precursors, such as the motives of Team Star and its various leaders. One character also has paternal issues with which I can sympathize, and Paldea has its backstory, with the narrative well-paced despite its formulaic disposition. The translation is one of the better efforts of the series, with the names of opponent trainers and their titles this time rendered as "(name) the (title)," but Nintendo America still seems obsessed with the use of the acronym OK.

As earlier implied, Violet and its crimson brethren build upon the open-world formula with which Arceus experimented, in their case, better. Players can choose one of three beginning 'Mons, with elements bequeathed from prior generations such as the elemental strengths and weaknesses of whichever monsters the player acquires through Poké Balls, successful capture succeeding better if an opponent is low on health, sleeping, or whatnot. In the case of whittling down enemy health, a move the player acquires from school for catching a certain number of 'Mons allows one of the protagonist's units to keep an opponent at 1 HP instead of killing it.

Like Arceus, all catchable 'Mons are visible on the various open-world terrains the player traverses, and in these cases, different options can initiate combat. The protagonist can throw their frontend encapsulated 'Mon at an opponent to begin the battle, with a preemptive strike should the player catch the targeted monster off-guard. Alternatively, players can instantly summon their lead Pokémon onto the field for auto-attacking, effective if opponents are of a type the 'Mon trumps in the elemental system. However, this earns monsters less experience than if they faced their opponents in standard combat.

Speaking of which, keeping at least one "tank" Pokémon, preferably whichever starter the player selects, is ideal since using them to score OHKOs against opponents is a quicker way to raise experience for all six active ones the player can have at any given moment. Each subdivision of Paldea has several trainers whom the player can approach for a battle against one or more of their Pokémon, victory netting the protagonist money in addition to whatever experience they score from triumph; total defeat in any battle costs money and a trip back to whichever Pokémon Center they used last. Centers also allow the player to purchase consumables, which diversify whenever they win at one of the Gyms; players can also create new moves from whatever materials defeated Pokémon drop alongside League Points sporadically rewarded throughout the game, potentially substituting for standard currency as well.

Violet and Scarlet have three primary types of plot advancement points: Gyms, where the player must face a minigame challenge and battle Gym Leaders to gain badges; Team Star Camps, where players can deploy three Pokémon in auto-battle against whichever enemy 'Mons the camp leaders send against them before facing the big boss in traditional combat; and Titan Pokémon, whose defeat nets the player's vehicular 'Mon new abilities for traversing the game world. Fortunately, the player can see indications as to what types each of these entail, allowing them to plan as necessary for taking them on; however, it's up to players to find out themselves which elements work against which, and only seasoned series veterans can take full advantage of strengths and weaknesses.

Players can tackle plot points in any order, but this can lead to unbalance regarding enemy strength; I found instances where I could easily OHKO enemy 'Mons, but other times, they could do the same in return. Many issues from prior generations recur as well, such as switching Pokémon wasting turns, getting caught in "healing loops," and the absence of in-game indication as to how certain 'Mons can evolve (although players can get an idea of which ones can do so from the Pokédex). Another issue absent in recent generations is that the player has to sit through ability animations in standard combat without being able to skip them if they avert auto-battling. The core mechanics do have positives, but there are ways they could have worked better.

As with prior Pokémon generations, the player can save anywhere outside combat alongside autosaving after battles and healing at Centers; the in-game map also indicates points of interest and objectives. Autoheal is further available for Pokémon outside combat (saving some time healing), players can fast-travel between visited locations, there is no need to visit Centers to change the active party, and the menus are not overly convoluted. However, there is lag regarding said menus, and one can find tedious navigating among captured Pokémon in the player’s Boxes, but otherwise, the game generally interfaces well with players.

Music has been a highlight of the Pokémon series, with Violet and Scarlet continuing this trend, the sound effects being good as well, and the near-death alarm being significantly less annoying akin to modern franchise entries, although there are occasional silent moments.

This particular generation proves weakest graphically akin to Arceus, with many of the same positives and negatives recurring from that spinoff title. While the art direction is generally good, as are the battle animations and colors, and there are no reskinned Pokémon designs, there are many technical issues such as slowdown and visible popping up of environmental elements and character models, the latter appearing "robotic" in animation from a distance, and in the end, Violet and Scarlet could have fared better in the visual department.

Finally, both versions of the game are of modest length, twenty-four to forty-eight hours, with the goal of "catching 'em all" naturally enhancing lasting appeal, along with the postgame content, seeking and battling every trainer, and the different ways of going about tackling the main game content. However, as with previous mainline titles, those new to the franchise will likely need to rely on the internet to achieve absolute one-hundred percent completion.

On the whole, Pokémon Violet largely succeeds in Game Freak's apparent open-world direction of the franchise, similar to what Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series did with Breath of the Wild, the newest generation of titles in the monster-collecting franchise an improvement over Arceus, given the refinement of the formula introduced by that particular spinoff title. It also has other positive aspects, the story being meaningful, and each new generation's soundtrack has mostly remained solid, both versions continuing this trend. However, there are fumbles regarding the potential lack of balance and technical visual issues, but it will be interesting to see how the franchise advances with subsequent generations.

The reviewer played a borrowed physical copy of the game to the ending credits.

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Score Breakdown
The Good	The Bad
Decent open-world gameplay. Generous save system. Story and translation somewhat more refined. Great soundtrack.	Can be really unbalanced. Laggy menus. Plot largely similar to prior games. Technically-weak visuals.
The Bottom Line
Better an open-world Pokémon than Arceus, but not perfect.
Platform	Nintendo Switch
Game Mechanics	7.5/10
Control	7.5/10
Story	7.0/10
Localization	8.0/10
Aurals	9.5/10
Visuals	6.5/10
Lasting Appeal	6.5/10
Difficulty	Unbalanced
Playtime	24-48 Hours
Overall: 7.5/10

Presidents' Day 2023

Commission by Rock Baker. I intend to use it as a March background for Facebook since Texas Independence Day is on March 2, and it'll be in the easter season, hence the rabbit characters.

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Every President throughout United States history is just as subject to criticism, judgment, and review as any other before or after them, even those whom historians term "great", in which case they seem to more like the "idea" of said Presidents instead of the Presidents as they actually were.

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As I said in my blurb for the art I posted Saturday, I had a bit of a private mental breakdown at work due to overthinking about the horrible things I've said and done in the past, which led to tears and nose stuffiness. I'm better, though, and I'll definitely tell my psychiatrist tomorrow I seriously think I'm ADHD due to my constant mind-wandering.

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I finished Yunica's story in Ys Origin, which I'm playing on my PlayStation 4 (free since I had bought and played it on Vita) since my Steam Deck can't play Steam's respective version of the game, which I had purchased and played the last decade. I'm also playing Torchlight on my Steam Deck, albeit portable since the controls are far better and I can use the left trackpad as a mouse substitute. I've finished the main game, although since there weren't any ending credits, I'm proceeding with the "postgame" content until I do see closing credits (or not, depending upon how the developers did things).