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Part 190: 12/24: Dance With The Angels Music: Life Will Change  Continuing our approach to the temple, and getting ever closer…  Remember these weird things from back in Kamoshida’s Palace? They’re gross little versions of Mara called Slime Maras, and they’re the only normal Shadow in the game you can’t recruit, because there isn’t a corresponding version of them as a Persona. Not that you’d have much of a chance to recruit them; they have a paltry amount of HP and are weak to Ice, Electricity, and Bless, and only use Bufu and Sukunda. Also, it freaks me out every time I notice Mara’s giant honking schnoz.  We’ve already seen all the enemy types in the Qliphoth World, and there aren’t even any treasure chests in this area, so we might as well just skip to the miniboss.  And we’re getting closer to another enemy… I’m getting a strong reading up ahead!   Music: Desire     Return from whence you came. Proceeding further shall only serve to shorten your lives. I advise you not as a guardian, but out of the mercy of my heart. Mercy…? Don’t make me laugh! If you had mercy, you’d never be doing this to the world! Ah… Greet me with weapons in hand…? Me seemeth I have no choice… I shall take personal responsibility for the misconduct of my children!I don’t think you’re using the bullshit word “seemeth” correctly. Declarer of Anguish Music: Keeper of Lust  So, the Declarer of Anguish is kind of annoying, but still not really a threat. She is Gabriel, in SMT tradition one of the four archangels in the service of YHWH. The other two minibosses we fought last update were Uriel and Raphael, two of the other archangels, and spoiler alert: we’re going to fight the fourth one, Michael, in the next area. Like those other archangels, her only resistance is her nullification of Bless. Gabriel gets two turns, naturally. Her main trick is really only notable because we haven’t seen it yet before:   Divine Judgment is a Bless attack that deals half its target’s current HP in damage, and no more. It also rounds down, so it can’t actually kill you by itself. It doesn’t deal bonus Technical damage or weakness damage to ailing or vulnerable characters, and I’m not even sure it can knock you down.   Aside from that, she uses Maziodyne and Mabufudyne, which can of course inflict Shock and Freeze, as well as Cosmic Flare, a multi-target Severe Nuclear attack, which can get Technical hits off of those ailments, so watch out. Still, a rather simple fight. Music: Desire    Music: Life Will Change   Indeed. Though they may not be true “servants of God,” they do live up to that moniker…  I wonder if the people in the city are OK…As we just saw in the last scene, the answer is no!  I hope so. Given what is happening to this world… nobody can be considered a stranger anymore…  Yeah, that’s why we can’t lose… There’s only one thing we gotta do! Well said, Lady Ann. Let’s keep going! The next area is short, containing only two “strong” Shadows and two treasure chests.  Yusuke learns his final skill, Brave Blade. It deals Colossal Physical damage. We slot it in for Deadly Fury. It won’t power up after a Baton Pass, but again, bosses can’t be knocked down.  Haru also learns Psy Amp. This choice here is probably going to be a bit controversial, but what the hell: I got rid of Psiodyne in favor of keeping Mapsiodyne. Why get rid of the single-target version? Why, it’s almost like I know things about the final boss of this game! Again, we’re keeping Tetrakarn and Makarakarn because I want my builds between NG and NG+ to be more-or-less consistent (meaning you’re free to delete those in this playthrough if you really want), and keeping Snipe, Cripple, and her Gun skills because Haru is a Gun beast. Psy Amp is nice to have, though.  One of the treasure chests contains a nice piece of armor that I didn’t even check because I was pretty confident my laundry had gotten me way better poo poo! But, the other one had this Soma, bringing my total to four! I only had three in my first run and I ended up using two, one on Shido and one on the final boss. Counting the one we sold at the beginning of the game, that makes five Somas in this run. Pretty good, considering their rarity, even if one of them was a gimme and two of them had set placement.  It’s not gonna be that easy though. We’ve got another one of those angel things coming up… It’s right past this stair-- What the…!? This reading is off the charts! It must be because this is the final guardian. I expect it will be the most powerful of them all. W-Well, Joker? You really think we can do this…?  Music: Blood of Villain   This dude talks like an amateur thespian trying to imitate Captain Picard. So that means you’re the last one who’s gonna get in our way!  Dare you destroy the very ruler you wished for? Humans are truly arrogant… Not everyone wants that thing ruling over us! Wish you to be free? Love you diversity? Since the dawn of time, man hath failed to put an end to quarrel. Now they finally desire a strong ruler. What justice have you in disturbing that wish!? Like granting that wish is justice either! How can you say people are free when they’re chained up in prisons in this broken world!? If someone has lost their way, it’s our job to help them come to their senses! So, you commit any degree of sacrilege for your justice… ...You are beyond salvation! Apocalyptic Guide Music: Blooming Villain Hearing Blooming Villain again after a while, and for the very last time. All right. Let’s do this.  This is the Apocalyptic Guide, or Michael.    Like Uriel, he will summon Angels. I never saw it happen here, but I believe they can still use Recarmdra to fully heal Michael, which is… a problem. Especially because Michael has considerably more health than Uriel. Like, almost three times as much.   In fact, he uses gimmicks from all three previous fights. He can charge up and use Sword Dance like Raphael, too. Additionally, he can use Divine Judgment, Mabufudyne, Maziodyne, and Cosmic Flare like Gabriel, except this time he has Ice/Elec/Nuke Amp to boost their damage. He can also Dekunda away any debuffs you place on him, use Debilitate to lower all three of an ally’s parameters, and use Megidolaon (with Almighty Boost and Amp) to deal Severe Almighty to the party. He can be pretty dangerous, especially with the threat of Recarmdra hanging over your head, which is why the Angels should be absolutely prioritized no matter what. This fight didn’t take me too long, but better a test of endurance than having to deplete his health two or three times.   No more of that Holy Grail poo poo doing whatever it wants! Let’s go!  This is probably gonna be our last chance to prep ourselves. We cannot lose now. Let us ensure we do not have any regrets as we head toward the final battle. Life Will Change no longer plays in this final area. poo poo’s getting real, y’all. But from here, we can helpfully warp back down to the street to get healing from Lavenza and access the Velvet Room. Let’s do that.   Music: Aria of the Soul   Two things here: Caroline and Justine’s little barks as you navigate these menus are gone, for obvious reasons. They are replaced by Lavenza chatter, which is much less interesting. Also, Igor no longer has anything to say in these menus either, because again, they didn’t record any new lines for Real Igor (The English dub did voice all of Real Igor’s lines in cutscenes, even the ones that the Japanese version left silent, but did not add new lines for these menus).  Let’s start with Alice, from Belial and Nebiros. Alice is an SMT staple, and her fusion recipe in this game (and a few others, including Persona 4) is unique, a reference to Shin Megami Tensei 1. Belial and Nebiros were the Red Count and the Black Baron, who resurrected Alice. Alice is the final Persona of the Death arcana, unlocked for finishing Takemi’s Confidant. We are currently level 74, and we pay 118,500 yen to fuse above our level.   Heehee! I think I’ll be your mask… You’ll play with me, won’t you? Alice is a blatant reference to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, though certain games like Strange Journey seem to imply that she is an amalgam of that character as well as a myth of an Aryan (hoo boy) girl who died at a young age, became a spirit, and attained powerful magic that drove her insane. This myth was apparently used to scare Scandinavian children into behaving, or else Alice would visit them in the night and kill them so they would become her “friends.” Her in-game description reads: “A mysterious blond girl. She is quite powerful, despite her looks. Some say she is the ghost of a girl who died a sad death. Others say she is a spirit born from someone’s imagination.” We’re getting to the point where some of the Personas we fuse are special enough to get unique skills, so I’ll go into what, exactly, “Die For Me!” is. Die For Me! is Alice’s iconic unique skill, something she’s had for a long time. “A long time” here means “since Persona 3,” since apparently all the poo poo I assumed was in the series from the start is only about a decade old. She had a similar skill called Another Dimension in Persona 2, though. Anyway, it’s an instant-kill skill. The best instant-kill skill, to be precise. It targets everything and near-unfailingly murders it instantly. The main drawbacks here is that it’s Curse-type, so if they block that you’re screwed (though it’ll probably work even if they resist it), and its whopping 44 SP cost. Also worth noting is Survival Trick, which lets you survive an instant-kill with 1 HP.  Next, Sandalphon from Seth and Abaddon. Sandalphon is the final Persona of the Moon arcana, unlocked for finishing Mishima’s Confidant. We pay 49,500 yen to fuse above our level.   As the bearer of my mask, your prayers grant me strength. Come, let us fight together.  Sandalphon is a character from Jewish mysticism, the twin brother of Metatron. He is said to be responsible for determining a person’s gender in the embryonic stage, and in other accounts is a guardian angel who delivers prayers to God. The in-game description reads: “Metatron’s twin brother in Judeo-Christian lore, he is the master of heavenly songs. It is said that a human would take 500 years to walk the length of his body.” The most interesting skill here is Angelic Grace, which doubles evasion against all magic damage except for Hama, Mudo, and Almighty.  This is Raphael, fused from Thor and Sandalphon. We pay 109,200 yen to fuse above our level.   I shall become a mask and provide support for your health, both mentally and physically.  Raphael is one of the four Seraphim, the highest rank of angel. His name means “one that heals.” He is said to be the guardian of the Tree of Life, and he recites the history of the fallen angels and the creation of Adam and Eve. Anyway, Arms Master is a great skill that halves the HP cost of all Physical and Gun skills. Music: Life Will Change  Anyway, at this point I head back out into the gauntlet to do something I have never before had to do in this game: grind! The reason is twofold: First, I’m unwilling to yet break my rule about fusing Personas more than five levels above my own, but also I’d like to get the rest of the party’s final skills before fighting the final boss. Thankfully, the Persona I’m gunning for is level 80, and the final party skills activate at level 75, meaning we only have to get about one more level.  Here, Ann learns Blazing Hell, which deals Severe Fire damage to all foes. I think this is kind of a waste of SP generally (it costs 54 SP, while Maragidyne only cost 22!), but it’s hella strong.  And at 75, Ryuji learns God’s Hand, which deals Colossal Physical damage to one foe. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: Ryuji is King poo poo of gently caress Mountain. We replace Megaton Raid for it.  Morgana learns Salvation, which fully heals all allies and cures all “non-special” ailments. It costs 48 SP, 18 more than Mediarahan. We keep both because I’m an idiot and never got rid of Samarecarm, so I do that now.  Makoto learns Atomic Flare, which deals Severe Nuke damage to one foe. This is kind of annoying, honestly, because Makoto gets hit hard by the SP cost bug, having a lot of utility but exorbitant skill costs depleting her SP quickly. How bad is it? Freidyne costs 12 SP. Atomic Flare costs 48. Paying four times as much for a single-target attack is kinda bullshit, but we do it anyway because Makoto doesn’t have a lot of offensive options.  And finally, Haru learns Heat Riser, which is actually the least expensive thing we get here at only 30 SP. It boosts all three parameters, as we’ve seen many times before. We replace Psy Amp, the skill we just got two levels ago, because we’re not here for Haru’s Psychokinesis skills. Music: Aria of the Soul  Back in the Velvet Room, we made it all the way to level 76, so we celebrate by fusing Zaou-Gongen, the ultimate Persona of the Strength arcana (unlocked from maxing Caroline and Justine’s Confidant), from Alice and Dionysus. We pay 67,200 yen to fuse above our level.   I shall lend thee the power of three divinities. I am another angry mask of thee… Zaou-Gongen is… man, I cannot make any sense of this wiki description, what? He is one of the most important “mountain deities” of Japan’s “syncretic Shugendou sects, a diverse tradition of mountain ascetic practices associated with Shinto beliefs,” whatever the gently caress that means. I’ll try to interpret what I can understand: after Buddhism came to Japan in the 6th century, the native Shinto Kami (gods/spirits/phenomena, it’s an intentionally ambiguous demarcation) came to be considered manifestations of the Buddhist divinities. Zaou-Gongen, then, is the protector deity of the Nara prefecture and is considered the Shinto manifestation of the Buddhist divinities Historical Buddha (Sakya), Kannon Bodhisattva (Kanzeon) and Miroku Buddha (Maitreya), who serve as the Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future. This means Zaou-Gongen is “perhaps the most powerful local divinity of religious mountain worship in Japan,” which seems like a really goddamn narrow superlative, but whatever, he’s tough poo poo. His in-game description reads: “Repeller of evil found at Kinpusen by En-no-Ozunu. Believed to be a fusion of Buddha, Guanyin, and Maitreya, he’s a god who originated from Japan rather than the Buddhavacana.” I understood maybe half of those words. Anyway, his skill Enduring Soul is awesome and lets you revive once per battle with full HP as long as you have him equipped. Righteous.   We’re pretty much done with stuff I was going out of my way to get, but I’m a bit annoyed that I’m still hanging on to this level 54 Bugs, so I decide to throw it in a Public Execution for the second time I’ve done one of those in this LP.   I, the executor of justice, am now within your mask. And hey! We get a Uriel! I kinda wanted one of those! Neat!  Uriel is another of the four Seraphim. His name is never given in any of the accepted scriptures, but he came to be known as Uriel, meaning “Flame of God,” for his common depiction carrying a flaming sword. He is said to carry the stars in the sky, and on the final day of judgment will oversee the resurrection and retribution of human souls. According to his in-game description, he knows all the celestial phenomena, and is the first angel Satan met on Earth.   It was difficult writing clues that both resonated with my consciousness and did not tip off that false god. But thanks to you, my wish has been granted. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.  Already killed ‘em all.  Cool.  Here’s the Personas I’ll be taking with me to the final battle. I’d like to get rid of Mot, Mara, and especially Moloch, but I can’t be hosed.  Let’s not delay this any longer.    This will most likely be our final battle… Are you ready, Joker?  ...I guess that was a foolish question to ask. Well, come on!
Arist fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Jan 4, 2019 |
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Jan 3, 2019 20:37
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syncretism as i understand it is the term for different faiths or belief systems synthesizing as a result of cross-cultural assimilation, so your summary of zaou-gongen's origins were pretty much accurate looks like the Shugendou sect was borne from the native Shinto beliefs of Japan syncretizing with the foreign Buddhist ones, and good old Z.G. is an amalgamate made out of multiple powerful deities from both faiths
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Jan 3, 2019 20:46
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I thought the P4 anime was alright (Kanji's episodes aside), but the P4 Golden anime was trash (Adachi's episodes aside). I remember one episode in the original that was devoted to Ayane trying to get better at being a band player and also Rise's thing about being Risette. So at the end of the episode Rise is having a heartfelt talk with Yu, which for every character up to this point has resulted in the emotional theme of Persona 4 playing in the background. Only in this episode, it's Ayane playing the theme horribly off-key on her trombone. I don't know why, but that scene always stuck out to me and made me laugh. Blueberry Pancakes fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Jan 3, 2019 |
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Jan 3, 2019 20:48
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Gonna be honest, the final boss coming up is just pretty awesome design wise and has a really  theme.
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Jan 3, 2019 21:51
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The Persona 5 anime is real bad and you shouldn't watch it. This is my hot take. Alice is hilarious on NG+ if you have the cash to fuse her early on.
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Jan 3, 2019 21:57
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So I take it none of the fusion animations changed despite Igor being back in charge and Larvenza being one person? I really liked the original P4 anime. Had a lot of fun stuff in it and I dug the personality they gave Yu. The absolute highlights of the series are Detective Nanako/Summer 2 parter e: And aiya! she owns and should have been the new character added to golden
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Jan 3, 2019 22:14
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Arist posted:Part 190: 12/24: Dance With The Angels paging nine-gear crow to the P5 LP thread
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Jan 3, 2019 22:15
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Oxxidation posted:syncretism as i understand it is the term for different faiths or belief systems synthesizing as a result of cross-cultural assimilation, so your summary of zaou-gongen's origins were pretty much accurate Yeah. Another example is how a lot of local gods became Christian Saints after the natives were converted to Christianity. Basically it's easier to convert people if you explain it in terms they already understand.
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Jan 3, 2019 22:23
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also i'd imagine "the most powerful local divinity of religious mountain worship" would be pretty danged potent in a country that's almost three-quarters mountains, several of which routinely explode
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Jan 3, 2019 22:56
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Clarste posted:Yeah. Another example is how a lot of local gods became Christian Saints after the natives were converted to Christianity. Basically it's easier to convert people if you explain it in terms they already understand. This is why Paul of Tarsus did great when he talked to the neighbors of Jewish communities who already knew the basic story Christianity was working off of and not so hot with people who had no idea what the hell he was talking about.
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Jan 3, 2019 23:08
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I'm not convinced it's possible to get a Fusion Accident after Lavenza appears on the scene.
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Jan 4, 2019 00:29
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Materant posted:paging nine-gear crow to the P5 LP thread Beat me to it, but I guess the Angel tax is no longer in effect. Hobgoblin2099 posted:I thought the P4 anime was alright (Kanji's episodes aside), but the P4 Golden anime was trash (Adachi's episodes aside). Same. I rather liked P4A, although taking out melee combat for the Investigation Team was a choice I didn't agree with. Also, if you're tired of the cliche animu gags in the game, expect more of the same in the anime. Arist posted:Part of me wants to watch that anime because apparently they actually do expand on stuff occasionally, but I really didn't like the P4 anime, especially its interpretation of the main character, and never finished it. Maybe I'd be able to put up with the P5 one, but who knows? Also, lol, they're having to rush through the end of the game in two OVAs.
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Jan 4, 2019 01:33
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GhostStalker posted:Also, if you're tired of the cliche animu gags in the game, expect more of the same in the anime. Well, to be fair... 
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Jan 4, 2019 01:39
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GhostStalker posted:Also, if you're tired of the cliche animu gags in the game, expect more of the same in the anime. Who is your favorite waifu?
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Jan 4, 2019 02:03
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SugarAddict posted:Who is your favorite waifu? Rise, because she gave the best accessory in the Christmas date, of course. A 50% discount on SP costs is no joke for the last dungeon.
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Jan 4, 2019 03:51
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I haven't watched the P5 anime, but Dark Sun and Break In To Break Out are really good songs.
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Jan 4, 2019 05:12
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Arist posted:I don’t think you’re using the bullshit word “seemeth” correctly. 
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Jan 4, 2019 08:39
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Part 191: 12/24: Heaven’s Feel Music: Blood of Villain  Just jumping right into this, huh? How abrupt.  Why do you mere humans still dare oppose me…!? Stop acting like you’re some kinda god! You’re just a Treasure! Shut up and let us destroy you! Fools… Do you still not understand? Your actions shall not save a single soul.  Fake Igor laughs maniacally and vanishes.  In an instant, he is replaced by the Holy Grail.  What is that supposed to mean!?  The freedom not to choose… The freedom not to think… If every person pushed the burdens of their lives upon others, nobody would have to act for themselves. And who should be there to receive those burdens? Are you saying… that’s you!? Precisely! Humanity itself wished for the Holy Grail to be a god that would rule over them! If you continue to reject that order, there will no longer be a place for you in this world! ...And? Hmph. So you wish to reject me… even if it means forgoing praise from those you want to “save”… We don’t let what others think hold us down anymore! That’s right! If you are not going to obey… then you shall suffer yet again. I shall bring down the hammer of judgment upon you who dare disrupt my world order!Boss: Holy Grail Music: Rivers in the Desert This song never gets old.  You dare attempt to strike me?    We haven’t even done anything yet, man!   Our opponent knows that too though. It’ll try and stop us if we go straight for them! We’ll need to send someone in to cut the lines. Then while they’re out, everyone else will have to keep attacking to distract the Holy Grail! Wait, we’re just gonna… cut them? That seems really simple! And also very literal! I thought it was a problem of mass cognition, I kind of assumed our solution would be a little more… metaphorical?   Oh hey, one of these. I forgot this was even a thing.    Let’s send Haru. She can deal more damage than Makoto, but less than Ryuji, and Makoto has healing.  Just… hiding behind the giant hand. What the hell are those huge hands, anyway? The Grail doesn’t use them in any of its attacks… Well, whatever. I’m sure it’s not important.  All right, time for our rematch against Jesus’ Backwash Receptacle. We’ll spend our first turn on preparations like Charge for Maaku and Ryuji, and Marakukaja for Makoto.   The Holy Grail’s giant fuckoff laser beam got nerfed heavily in the patches following the last cutscene, I guess. The Holy Grail still only gets one turn, for the record. Apparently, the Holy Grail also has an attack called Diffraction Arrow, which deals Medium Almighty damage to all party members with a chance of inflicting Forget, but I never saw it.  I started this battle with Siegfried equipped because he knows Auto-Mataru, which applies Matarukaja at the start of every fight. This saves me a turn for Ryuji or Maaku I could use to Charge. Here, Ryuji hits the Holy Grail with a charged God’s Hand. Yeah. This isn’t even close to what we’d get if we’d bothered to apply Rakunda beforehand, either (Before this, Maaku used a charged Sword Dance from Raphael to deal a lesser but still respectable 1128 damage).  Those who cannot understand must be eliminated.    You okay there, Haru?  This is what we get from Atomic Flare. It seems like it’s a lot less (and it is), but we have to remember that it’s not charged. This is actually a decent bit more damage than even an uncharged Colossal Physical attack will deal from Maaku. You may still wonder why I would even bother using Makoto if she doesn’t have the ability to charge her attacks. To that I say, her healing is more useful than Ann’s solely-single target focus, and Futaba will occasionally give the party a free Charge and Concentrate for free. It’s not reliable, but it’s really handy.   Ah poo poo, we were too good at killing it and it healed.  A few attacks later…  Their desires and power in turn grant me immortality.       And just like that, the lines are cut.   You repugnant rebels… It can’t heal itself anymore! This’ll be a head-to-head fight from now on! Take it down! We do, unfortunately, have to whittle down this thing’s HP again.  However, it seems its defense has tanked now that it can’t receive strength from the populace.     Uh oh, looks like we should guard. Actually, I’m going to be stupid and have Maaku heal the party, and have everyone else guard. I’m aware Futaba can just save me with Final Guard, but that’s embarrassing, and I’d rather just not put the character who ends the game instantly if he falls over in mortal peril.       Oh hey, it all worked out anyway, that’s great.   Except the Holy Grail is now loving us up with laser beams. Let’s get out of this ASAP. Still about a third of its HP left, we might be able to get that down in about two full rounds--   Jesus gently caress, Ryuji! Have mercy! It’s already dead!   Confrontation (Watch this)         Music: Confrontation        What’s going on…!?              he get bigh Arist fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Jan 4, 2019 |
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Jan 4, 2019 19:56
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Oh hey, it's the Kamoshida boss fight, I didn't know we were already on NG+.
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Jan 4, 2019 20:07
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I do love how none of the introspection or gradual awakening of the masses that's happened since the last attempt actually mattered because it turns out the PT's could have beat the grail the first time if they'd not been holding the idiot ball and realized "hmm maybe we should try cutting the massive veins that pulse ominously every time the Grail regens."
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Jan 4, 2019 20:29
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That was a bit silly. Though it wouldnt have helped them once they were transported to the real world again.
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Jan 4, 2019 21:11
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That design is reminding me very much of Persona Q's final boss.
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Jan 4, 2019 21:20
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Anyway welcome to Persona's obligatory "giant eldritch abomination with minimal foreshadowing".
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Jan 4, 2019 22:09
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Funky Valentine posted:Anyway welcome to Persona's obligatory "giant eldritch abomination with minimal foreshadowing". the only foreshadowing you need is "this is a Persona game"
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Jan 4, 2019 22:11
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God if he were a giant robot, huh? I can get behind that.
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Jan 4, 2019 22:29
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Oxxidation posted:the only foreshadowing you need is "this is a Persona game" As someone who hadn’t played any other Persona games, I did not have that foreshadowing so this just kind of sucked. It would have been so much better if this had been something Shido had set up that was just a little too slow so his heart got changed first. He could have used Wakaba’s research. Remember, that important plot point whose only actual effect was “I dunno, try a suicide pill”? Shido was already the incarnation of “people just want someone to be in charge”. There didn’t need to be some weird robogod.
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Jan 4, 2019 22:34
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shido is probably the worst villain in persona history, easily one of the worst villains i've seen in a jrpg, and we didn't need to dedicate another second of screentime to him and his idiotic bald face in a game about the powerful being propped up and emboldened by an apathetic society, the only parts of it that actually come off as incisive and relevant are the parts that don't involve shido at all - the first arc, where kamoshida's abuse is disconnected from shido's conspiracy, and the last one, where the thieves confront the incarnate form of that repressive collective will after stomping through a prison full of people who are so convinced the world is beyond hope that they actively sneer at anyone who tries to change it for the better (which is definitely a real thing, case in point: meeeeee) shido's entire storyline was one miserable contrivance after another and every part of the story he touched became shittier because of it. even discounting the fact that the persona games have always dealt with threats that emerge from hostile elements of humanity's collective unconscious, Jesuszord here is still way more palatable than having to put up with anything else from the world's least charismatic criminal mastermind
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Jan 4, 2019 22:51
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Qrr posted:Shido was already the incarnation of “people just want someone to be in charge”. There didn’t need to be some weird robogod. It's Persona and MegaTen in general. There's always some kind of weird god behind everything.
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Jan 4, 2019 22:54
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the game goes full SMT out of nowhere, except the protagonists are still persona characters so everything feels weird and disjointed igor and his glowing cat mascot creation savior are a bit incongruous with the apocalypse just sort of happening and the world merging with the mental one, but beyond the basic incongruity, it's all super rushed p3 had the nyx cult and literally told you a month prior about her fall, p4 had the fog enveloping the town, and p5 suddenly depicts doomsday after you face a giant cup of condensed Law it's not bad, it's just not well-connected to the rest of the game, and I think it's another case where a month or two of polish would have seriously helped
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Jan 4, 2019 22:57
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one of the biggest problems with persona 5 is its moral cowardice, and shido is pretty much the incarnate form of it - a sneering, cavorting "politician" with no actual stated agenda who nebulously pulls the strings of almost every bad thing that happens in the game, conveniently giving the writers an excuse not to confront any of the systemic or humanistic malaise that would create the sort of abuse that the protagonists face. you get little flashes of it here and there, like makoto's whole lovely living situation in the run-up to kaneshiro's palace, but by and large everything is forcibly tied back shido's conspiracy since he eats up the entire story besides the beginning and end, it's almost like two games badly stitched together and most of the runtime goes to the worse one Oxxidation fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Jan 4, 2019 |
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Jan 4, 2019 23:04
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Holy grail's true form looks dumb and i hate it
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Jan 4, 2019 23:10
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My personal beef with Shido is that he was introduced to me as a Japanese version of Senator Steven Armstrong, but at least Armstrong was funny in just how bonkers he was. Shido's just a miserable cardboard cutout.
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Jan 4, 2019 23:15
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This is some Bayonetta looking poo poo
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Jan 4, 2019 23:17
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A better written story would've taken Shido's empty suit nature and done something with it (as in, really leaned into how Shido is being propped up by his co-conspirators actively loving with the collective unconscious), and with hinting that these stupid fuckers were messing around with something really scary that they only saw as 'more ways to prop up the wealthy and powerful' with the Metaverse. Which would then result in everything going full SMT as it's done now because guess what, loving with the collective unconscious and demonology to make people accept their fate and vote for an idiot empty suit was a bad idea conspirators.
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Jan 4, 2019 23:18
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If you sent Ryuji or Makoto to cut the cables, would they fail since they use blunt weapons?
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Jan 5, 2019 00:20
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I dont know what people are talking about. The final boss being the ultimate treasure/the metaverse itself/the lazyness of Tokyo, is the best final boss I could have imagined. Shido was just another aspect of it. Sure the Holy Grail acts like a god out of nowhere, but I wouldnt compare him to Nyx (and he had a better excuse for existing than Izanami)
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Jan 5, 2019 00:36
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DeafNote posted:I dont know what people are talking about. But it’s not the laziness of Tokyo. Ignore the part where it straight up says what it is and try and figure it out. Look at its design or it’s actions or whatever. There’s no relation. Why is laziness a big cup? Why does it pretend to be Igor? When did it start existing and why that particular time? Why does it set up a competition between Akechi and Maaku? It wasn’t even really a competition because Akechi wasn’t working to increase apathy, he just wanted revenge in the stupidest way possible. And for a rigged competition where it planned to ignore the result anyway it sure did help out Maaku a lot. Basically as a concept fighting the metaphorical lack of caring of a city or country could be really cool. As an execution it’s not, at all.
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Jan 5, 2019 00:46
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Arist posted:Part of me wants to watch that anime because apparently they actually do expand on stuff occasionally, but I really didn't like the P4 anime, especially its interpretation of the main character, and never finished it. Maybe I'd be able to put up with the P5 one, but who knows? Also, lol, they're having to rush through the end of the game in two OVAs. It's pretty bad. Lots of Kawakami though!
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Jan 5, 2019 01:24
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It's the godly overlord created from the human subconscious who will do the thinking and decision making for the whole of humanity. It even takes the decision of whether it should rule humanity out of their hands. Its the ultimate representation of throwing away your responsibilities by handing everything over to something because you can't be bothered to decide yourself.
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Jan 5, 2019 01:30
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Grapplejack posted:It's pretty bad. Lots of Kawakami though! SOLD
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Jan 5, 2019 01:31
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