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Persona 5’s length seems to conflict with its message (No Spoilers)

sn00zer

sn00zer

Member
Feb 28, 2018
6,093
This actually has nothing to do with the plot of Persona so I'd like people to avoid talking spoilers of possible. I am currently 40 hrs in.

The mechanics of Persona 5 are constantly pushing the player to go out, meet new people, try new things. Its a neat levelling system that encourages being social and getting out there. I would say it's even a little inspiring and make me want to do the same.

So with this new found inspiration I feel myself with a nagging thought while playing "Why the fuck am I spending my time on a 100hr JRPG. I wouldn't even waste my Persona MC's time by spending day after day playing P5 if it was an option"

I actually had a similar thought when I was playing P4 in college to the point it seemed like the best option was to turn it off completely and go meet ppl. Which I did.

The games length just feels constantly at odds with what it is telling me to do that I'm starting to not enjoy it as much. I will see it to the end but I do wonder how much my own personal "stats" would have gone up if I never played it at all.
 
Razmos

Razmos

Unshakeable One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
15,890
I mean you could always just balance playing the 100hr RPG and being social.

But also don't go out being social because there's a pandemic going on
 
Ravenwraith

Ravenwraith

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,350
There are leisurely activities for you to do alone in Persona, most of which raise your stats. Downtime may not be as healthy for us as uptime, but it is important. The game is 100 hours, but nothing is stopping you from playing in healthy doses between other things and taking as long as you like to finish it.
 

Deleted member 16876

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
39,148
The game constantly fumbles it's messages but I do not agree with this one. You play the game to experience friendship in video game form and kill/capture demons. It is not meant to be deeper than that.
 
FinFunnels

FinFunnels

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,610
Seattle
My friends used to like watching me play Persona 3. Then a few of them got the game for themselves and I would go over to their places and watch them play. Sometimes I would help them out if they got stuck. You can have your JRPGs and socialize at the same time. These days we just chat and screen share on discord, though.
 
nsilvias

nsilvias

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,775
Why watch youtube vloggers living life when I can go out and do stuff myself? why watch friends when I can go out and hangout or make friends?
 
Sumio Mondo

Sumio Mondo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,932
United Kingdom
It's basically a friendship simulator. Playing Royal at the moment and constantly being reminded "hey remember all these cool things you used to be able to do in real life" and being like "oh yeah".
 
NotLiquid

NotLiquid

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
34,767
Not really feeling this take. Even though you can certainly extract some sort of message about "living your life to the fullest", Persona is predominantly evoking the simulacrum of a (fictional) high school experience, and even then it's a game that stresses the importance of responsibly managing your time right.
 
Dwebble

Dwebble

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
9,626
I could maybe see the argument in normal times, but when we're in a pandemic and I can't see any of my friends IRL, it actually enhances the game for me- turns it into something akin to Real-Life Social Interactions Simulator.
 
lazerface

lazerface

Banned
Feb 23, 2020
1,344
Been playing persona 5 for 2+ years, on the last dungeon, 120 hours in, need to push myself to finish! Every time I see a persons thread I tell myself this. As far a contradictions go, eh, never really felt that way playing.
 
Rosebud

Rosebud

Two Pieces
Member
Apr 16, 2018
43,586
Gaming in Persona is a thing too.

It even recreates the experience of rage quit with Power Intuition. Seriously fuck that game.
 
Kingpin Rogers

Kingpin Rogers

HILF
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
7,459
Doesn't it also say "take your time" in the loading screens or something? You can "take your time" with the game and live a balanced life.
 

citrusred

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,964
While Persona 5 especially is contradictory in its themes I don't think a long playtime is incompatibility with going outside. Its not like it means you need to marathon the whole thing. It usually takes me half a year at a bare minimum to beat a persona game.

What you describe sounds similar in some ways to The World end With you, where there was a certain type of EXP that was only possible to get by taking breaks from the game.
 
oni_saru

oni_saru

Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
820
Confession, one of the reasons it was hard for me to even play Persona 3. I was in high school and as i started it i was like "dafuq am i doing!? I should be doing this shit in rl!" lol so i stopped and never went back.
 
Curufinwe

Curufinwe

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,924
DE
A game being long doesn't mean you have play it to the exclusion of anything else. This is the worst take I've seen about Persona, which is really saying something.
 
Billdrew

Billdrew

Member
Apr 8, 2019
516
You can't be going out and socialising all the time though, everyone needs downtime at home too (or at least I do). You can play Persona and also go out and do stuff, it doesn't have to be one or the other.
 
Weltall Zero

Weltall Zero

Game Developer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
19,343
Madrid
I guess the game had its intended effect on me then, given that I dropped it right after the space station dungeon.
 
toastyToast

toastyToast

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,326
I used to feel the same way about sports games until I got older and lazier

What new people am I gonna meet on a Tuesday night when I gotta be I gotta be up early and I have an hour to kill before bed? It's a video game
 
Ouroboros

Ouroboros

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,012
United States
you got to manage your time in the game with doing things just like in real life.

also don't go socialize IRL. There's a pandemic going on I hear.
 
AgentLampshade

AgentLampshade

Sweet Commander
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,311
91aeb3eb9ee689f540fe097478fc6317.gif
 
Tavernade

Tavernade

Tavernade
Moderator
Sep 18, 2018
8,630
Persona 5 is wish fulfillment of having a lot of friends and living in Tokyo, though. Depending on who you are, either or both is not exactly easy to suddenly go out and do.
 
Chromie

Chromie

Member
Dec 4, 2017
5,243
Washington
sn00zer said:
This actually has nothing to do with the plot of Persona so I'd like people to avoid talking spoilers of possible. I am currently 40 hrs in.

The mechanics of Persona 5 are constantly pushing the player to go out, meet new people, try new things. Its a neat levelling system that encourages being social and getting out there. I would say it's even a little inspiring and make me want to do the same.

So with this new found inspiration I feel myself with a nagging thought while playing "Why the fuck am I spending my time on a 100hr JRPG. I wouldn't even waste my Persona MC's time by spending day after day playing P5 if it was an option"

I actually had a similar thought when I was playing P4 in college to the point it seemed like the best option was to turn it off completely and go meet ppl. Which I did.

The games length just feels constantly at odds with what it is telling me to do that I'm starting to not enjoy it as much. I will see it to the end but I do wonder how much my own personal "stats" would have gone up if I never played it at all.
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Do you have a serious video game addiction? Because other wise, just manage your time. I don't understand this line of thinking. Unless if you have a serious problem then why can't you just play for a couple of hours then socialize?

Except you know, there's a pandemic going on so go play a million hours of Persona while in a group call.
 
GazRB

GazRB

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,797
PlanetSmasher said:
Persona games often contradict their own messaging, yes.
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Richter1887 said:
The game constantly fumbles it's messages but I do not agree with this one. You play the game to experience friendship in video game form and kill/capture demons. It is not meant to be deeper than that.
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Common Knowledge said:
There's much more egregious ways the game contradicts its own message.
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which ways? I'm on the edge of my seat.
 
kinoki

kinoki

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,705
I've been playing it on and off for two years now. I'm finally at the last palace. I want to like the game, and I do at times, but the game doesn't respect my time. So many time sinks that could have needed editing. There's too much bloat.
 
Lobster Roll

Lobster Roll

signature-less, now and forever
Member
Sep 24, 2019
34,372
AgentLampshade said:
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Yup. OP, there's no need to binge this game. And the think piece can be applied to anything in game.

I'm leveling up my character when I could be learning a new language
I'm exploring fields and open worlds when I could be going for a hike
I'm playing FIFA when I could join a rec league and play myself

I'm a nerd on here like everyone else, but I still have (had I guess ... COVID and all) a very active social life. Everything in balance.
 
Kurtikeya

Kurtikeya

One Winged Slayer
Member
Dec 2, 2017
4,447
Part of it is that it's a love letter on the part of developers to the Japan that they have lived and labored in for most of their lives. The way Tokyo is presented in this game is postcard-like, and it makes you a flaneur the moment it tells you to find the Ginza line. After 100 hours, it becomes familiarized, and you start to feel like you've been there in real life. I'd say that sense of familiarity and nostalgia accomplishes this part of Persona 5.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,696
GazRB said:
which ways? I'm on the edge of my seat.
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Ann's entire role in P5 is symptomatic of Atlus pretending they have something to say about sexual harassment and sexual abuse and then turning it into a joke five seconds later. They turn right around to sexualizing her (her Phantom Thief outfit, Morgana and Ryuji perving on her constantly, etc) when her initial story arc is supposed to be about misogyny and sexual abuse of women.
 
SoundLad

SoundLad

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,251
sn00zer said:
The games length just feels constantly at odds with what it is telling me to do that I'm starting to not enjoy it as much.
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I found this bit quite interesting. I never felt like the game was telling me to do anything, especially outside of the game in real life.

Richter1887 said:
You play the game to experience friendship in video game form and kill/capture demons. It is not meant to be deeper than that.
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This is my take on it as well.
 
poptire

poptire

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
9,978
I wouldn't mind a mode that lets you double XP/social links or something to cut that game time down. That's true for all RPGs.
 
BasilZero

BasilZero

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
36,343
Omni
The message is to be social outside? I never really thought of that cause I dont ever think what a game's message conveys, I just play games just to unwind/enjoy the story lol.

I just enjoyed doing social links and stuff in the game moreso than battles and dungeon crawling. (I've played P3 and P4 but not P5 yet). I just love character interactions more than the story (other examples include the Tales series Skits over the main story and FFXV's 4 main characters interaction more than the main story).

Honestly the Persona games are some of the best games I've played. I have so much fun with them that I dont even notice the length or time pass. For an example Persona 1 Portable is my most played Persona game (clocked 100 hours) and that game doesnt even have social links. I didnt notice the time pass until I was at the end of the game.

And just in comparison sake to Persona, I've beaten SMTIV recently as well.

Persona 1 (PSP) = 100 hours
Persona 2 Innocent Sin (PSP) = 55 hours
Persona 3 Portable (PSP) = 75 hours
Persona 4 (PS2) = 65 hours
Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS) = 63 hours

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I love the social aspect of the Persona 3 and Persona 4 games but cant see myself doing what I do in the game irl as much (as in getting involved with a group of people - its just me and my wife doing stuff like this together instead lol)

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GeezyAF

GeezyAF

Member
Oct 28, 2017
393
Kurtikeya said:
Part of it is that it's a love letter on the part of developers to the Japan that they have lived and labored in for most of their lives. The way Tokyo is presented in this game is postcard-like, and it makes you a flaneur the moment it tells you to find the Ginza line. After 100 hours, it becomes familiarized, and you start to feel like you've been there in real life. I'd say that sense of familiarity and nostalgia accomplishes this part of Persona 5.
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This is one of the things I really felt after my play through.

Kinda happened when playing Yakuza as well.
 
Yata

Yata

Member
Feb 1, 2019
2,962
Spain
Persona 5 being long is like, at the bottom of things that contradict it's message lol

I don't think 5 was nowhere near as well thought out narratively than 3 and 4. It was a very ambitious plot from the get go but they wanted to follow the same exact formula 3 and 4 had.
 
Manmademan

Manmademan

Election Thread Watcher
Member
Aug 6, 2018
16,007
Razmos said:
I mean you could always just balance playing the 100hr RPG and being social.
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This. You can play videogames in Persona 3, 4, and 5. But the game attempts to make the point that you need to balance that with other activities.

nothing wrong with a 100 hour RPG, but it takes me usually several months to work through those because I have a lot of other things that are higher priority.
 
Jonathan Lanza

Jonathan Lanza

"I've made a Gigantic mistake"
Member
Feb 8, 2019
6,810
Playing a game and being social are not mutual exclusives. This is like saying a movie about the joys of basketball conflicts with its message because you're watching a movie and not playing basketball.
 
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