Sorry to reuse an old joke, but seriously, the Heart that was changed the most during my playtime was my own.

This was the first Persona game I tried, but the second I finished (the first being P4G). I discovered this game back when it was a Playstation exclusive and as a PC gamer who also owned a Playstation 4, I bought exclusively exclusives. I read a quick description of the game and was taken aback -- there was something distinctly familiar about this plot.

I get the feeling I'm not alone here, and I think Atlus knew this when they set out to write this plot. Once upon a time, I was a child surrounded by apathy, blind acceptance, and of course, injustice of the highest degree. And as a child with a fantastical mind, I had some level of ambition in my head that I could somehow change all that. I've spoken to others before who have had similar thoughts growing up, an attachment to superheroes and antiheroes and vigilantism in those early adolescent years, but I know of few who in middle school, tried to assemble a criminal organization that through espionage and subterfuge, would expose the horrible acts of violence, bullying, embezzling, power-tripping, and child-grooming that plagued our school.

I ran into two problems during this little adventure of mine: one, most middle schoolers would rather play with pokemon and beyblades than give two ♥♥♥♥♥ about what the adults outside their charmed lives were doing, and two, a cease and desist letter from the local police department suspecting me of operating a "cult."

Perhaps my story isn't the most relatable, but I thoroughly believe that a significant part of many apathetic adults today comes from not only trauma in their childhood, but a feeling of powerlessness and overall fading of imagination as we age. We accept things as they are, stop fighting back, forget the righteous anger and passion there is in thinking there is a better way and we can in fact achieve it.

Persona 5 Royal is a nail-driving, fingernail-biting, tear-jerking reminder of our freedom and rebelliousness. What begins as a simple tale of high-school vigilantism quickly becomes a parallel to politics, then morality, then even religion (I had a few fanboy moments realizing the allegories being presented by the assault against the Archangels, the battle between Satanael and the Demiurge, the climbing of the Tree of Wisdom to become aware). Persona 4 Golden toyed with my heart strings, asking very serious questions about self-identity and relationships, but Persona 5 Royal woke me up from a very personal slog of cynicism. I had been falling under the God of Control that is being told you don't have a choice, that your efforts to fight the tide are meaningless, that no matter how many wars and riots and revolutions we have, we will always be under the thumb of another. After sobbing through the game's later hours, tossing and turning that night thinking about how complacent I've become when once I was the leader of cult of misfits, I longed for freedom more than any other time in my life. School, college, girlfriends, the army -- they trained me to follow orders and give up fighting a bureaucratic, traditionalist machine that will always win.

You are free. That is the biggest thing that P5R is trying to sell, and it is hammered in further by questioning the ethics of the Phantom Thieves, the emotions of the public, and the motives of their PR "team." The great, the terrible, the self-loathing, all have a chance at redemption, even without the meddling of someone capable of changing a heart. Suffering is a part of that freedom, as is the choice who to form connections with, and whether or not you should study for that test. It is a stark reminder that free will isn't some myth or illusion brought on by superstition and chemicals. It is your gift as a human being.

Cherish it.

Take your time.

P.S. actually you do have one thing that restricts your freedom, and that is the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ cat overlord that tells me I can't so much as go downstairs to call my wife Kawakami you dumb cockblocking ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I love you.

Sorry to reuse an old joke, but seriously, the Heart that was changed the most during my playtime was my own. This was the first Persona game I tried, but the second I finished (the first being P4G). I discovered this game back when it was a Playstation exclusive and as a PC gamer who also owned a Playstation 4, I bought exclusively exclusives. I read a quick description of the game and was taken aback -- [i] there was something distinctly familiar about this plot. [/i] I get the feeling I'm not alone here, and I think Atlus knew this when they set out to write this plot. Once upon a time, I was a child surrounded by apathy, blind acceptance, and of course, injustice of the highest degree. And as a child with a fantastical mind, I had some level of ambition in my head that I could somehow change all that. I've spoken to others before who have had similar thoughts growing up, an attachment to superheroes and antiheroes and vigilantism in those early adolescent years, but I know of few who in middle school, [b] tried to assemble a criminal organization that through espionage and subterfuge, would expose the horrible acts of violence, bullying, embezzling, power-tripping, and child-grooming that plagued our school. [/b] I ran into two problems during this little adventure of mine: one, most middle schoolers would rather play with pokemon and beyblades than give two shits about what the adults outside their charmed lives were doing, and two, a cease and desist letter from the local police department suspecting me of operating a "cult." Perhaps my story isn't the [i] most [/i] relatable, but I thoroughly believe that a significant part of many apathetic adults today comes from not only trauma in their childhood, but a feeling of powerlessness and overall fading of imagination as we age. We accept things as they are, stop fighting back, forget the righteous anger and passion there is in thinking there is a better way and we can in fact achieve it. Persona 5 Royal is a nail-driving, fingernail-biting, tear-jerking reminder of our freedom and rebelliousness. What begins as a simple tale of high-school vigilantism quickly becomes a parallel to politics, then morality, then even [i] religion [/i] (I had a few fanboy moments realizing the allegories being presented by the assault against the Archangels, the battle between Satanael and the Demiurge, the climbing of the Tree of Wisdom to become aware). Persona 4 Golden toyed with my heart strings, asking very serious questions about self-identity and relationships, but Persona 5 Royal woke me up from a very personal slog of cynicism. I had been falling under the God of Control that is being told you don't have a choice, that your efforts to fight the tide are meaningless, that no matter how many wars and riots and revolutions we have, we will always be under the thumb of another. After sobbing through the game's later hours, tossing and turning that night thinking about how complacent I've become when once I was the leader of cult of misfits, I longed for freedom more than any other time in my life. School, college, girlfriends, the army -- they trained me to follow orders and give up fighting a bureaucratic, traditionalist machine that will always win. [b] You are free. [/b] That is the biggest thing that P5R is trying to sell, and it is hammered in further by questioning the ethics of the Phantom Thieves, the emotions of the public, and the motives of their PR "team." The great, the terrible, the self-loathing, all have a chance at redemption, even without the meddling of someone capable of changing a heart. Suffering is a part of that freedom, as is the choice who to form connections with, and whether or not you should study for that test. It is a stark reminder that free will isn't some myth or illusion brought on by superstition and chemicals. It is your gift as a human being. Cherish it. Take your time. P.S. actually you do have one thing that restricts your freedom, and that is the fucking cat overlord that tells me I can't so much as go downstairs to call my wife Kawakami you dumb cockblocking son of a bitch I love you.