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SMT 5 Vengeance is bad vibes? (lemmygrad.ml)
submitted 3 days ago by ksynwa@lemmygrad.ml to c/games@hexbear.net
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cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/8064180

I have played and enjoyed Persona 3, 4 and 5. While I don't like the themes and stories as such, the games are fun. I am giving Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance right now and it feels bleak and unfun. I haven't reached Tokyo Tower yet but should get there soon. Does it get better or should I consider dropping it?

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[-] rhubarb@hexbear.net 7 points 3 days ago

Mainline SMT games are much bleaker than Persona games, and you are probably not going to enjoy them as much unless you specifically like the bleakness, although V and the Vengeance story both do a lot to make the bleakness more palatable later on. You might want to check out Metaphor Refantazio instead, it is almost comically Persona-like at times, though even more thematically confused.

[-] ksynwa@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Thank. I don't think I'll play it anytime. I've played Metaphor and had a lot of fun with it despite the philosophy and politics being garbage.

[-] mrfugu@hexbear.net 2 points 1 day ago

It’s been a few months so I’m fuzzy on the details, but I gotta say I haven’t meshed morally with a piece of media like Methaphor since adventure time. Can you explain that stance? Especially if you liked the philosophy of persona 5, which I see has significantly worse.

[-] ksynwa@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 20 hours ago

I didn't like the philosophy of Persona 5 though I played it a loong while back and couldn't tell you what it was.

The main problem I have with Metaphor is that it uses the very tired trope of revolutionaries bad. The main bad guy is a mass murderer for no good reason. It also continues the strange trend of JRPGs to lionise monarchism. The king bears the burden of the anxieties of his subjects, is deposed by a corrupt church and a rogue revolutionary but in the end the subjects democractically elect to reinstate the monarchy.

I'm no expert in critiquing media so don't expect my words to hold much weight. In terms of the philosophy I don't recall much. There is the question of whether fiction and fantasy can bring about change but there is not much depth to it. And there is the topic of anxieties but that went over my head.

this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2025
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