this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2024
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I did the whacky and stupid thing which is buy a denuvo offline activation for five bucks from some russian site, which is not something I recommend, but I just can't help myself when it comes to these games.
I do really like the game so far, but that could definitely change depending on how liberal brainwormed or generally idiotic the story turns out to be. Your motivation in this whole thing being to get the righteous heir (who also just happens to just be a nice guy who would do good for the kingdom and its people) onto the throne is already kinda iffy and the villains in this story being the most "villain who has good motivations but goes about it in ridiculously evil ways" they could possibly be doesn't help matters either.
spoiler for plot points that happen right after the first dungeon so not that long after the demo ends
The whole question for a successor of the throne turning into a magic popularity contest with magic rules is just ridiculous. Like I get that this makes it easier to integrate it into the gameplay loop, but it betrays a critical lack of imagination, that they had to add what is basically one of those reality tv competition shows into their fantasy world (not to mention that Persona 5 already had a very similar mechanic). Like can you seriously not think of any other way to tell this story?It does manage to get you out of the city and into the world fairly quickly after the first dungeon though and I could definitely imagine this game taking you on quite a large and eventful journey (which is exactly what I want out of a JRPG) and the vibes are just pretty damn cozy for the most part. Probably helps that the most basic mechanical pieces of these games just fit way better into a fantasy world than it ever did in the real-life-setting of Persona. Just having side dungeons with little stories to them that are actual places in the world instead of mementos or whatever the persona games before 5 had is a giant improvement.
spoiler for a basic gameplay mechanic the game introduces like 10 hours in
What did really rub me the wrong way though was that as soon as you step like a single step outside of the main city on your cool-ass-submarine-that-has-giant-monster-legs-that-walks-across-the-landscape, they introduce teleportation and fast-travel to the game. The game makes a huge deal about you leaving Maria behind in the city, all with you making big promises to return and to tell her about your journey, just for the game to basically go "oh also you can just immediately return to her in an instant with this magical fast travel mechanic".Like all the mechanics of the game feel almost perfectly set up for you to be able to get you that "big journey across the world" feeling: The calendar system actually turns the time spend on the road into a mechanical feature of the game, the social links you can bring with you on your runner can obviously develop quicker and deeper than those you have to leave behind and there is a really cozy feeling to being on the road, with nothing else to do but pass the time with your party. Introducing fast travel with absolutely no cost to this system so quickly just makes it feel like the designers gave up, didn't feel like going all the way with it, or just felt convenience trumps all. I think it is a shame either way.