I beat the game and need to vent
I will try to make this as organized as possible, but I am still full of emotion so I apologize for anyone reading this entire thing as I’ve never been the best at writing. Also to preface, I’ve never beaten a persona game. The only experience I have with one is the very beginning of Person 5 Royal.
Ever since I beat the game Wednesday night, I’ve been thinking about the ending and the game just in general almost constantly. It’s very bittersweet. I’ve always been introverted and pretty much alone. Life circumstances just caused me to be more distant while still longing for friendship. I think that’s why I was touched by the ending so much.
During the actual play through of the game I heavily focused on building social links in the game. At first I was trying to spend time with the people who seemed to annoy me most just to get it out of the way. Kenji Tomochika was the first one that annoyed me. The way he was so focused on women was accurate to a teenage boy but I myself wasn’t like that in high school because I found people like that annoying. I hung out with him almost constantly at first to get it out the way. I realized halfway through that the stories of these are actually quite interesting. It was silly but I was really invested because in my mind there’s no way a teacher is dating a kid, but how he was telling me about it.. obviously his perspective was a little different but I ALMOST believed him a little at the end of it. Spending time with him went from something I did to get out of the way, to an experience I looked forward to. I started bonding with other social links and looking forward to their stories as well even if I didn’t necessarily like them in the beginning.
The final boss battle is really what got me at first. How I mentioned previously, I’m a heavy introvert. I struggle making friends, and relying on others. It’s always been that way. In the end when Nyx was essentially flexing its spiritual pressure and we were helpless, seeing all my social links give me power... That really meant something to me. Some of those people I only hung out with at first simply to progress. Seeing them think about me and hope I’m okay but also find strength in themselves because I’ve apparently helped them grow… it was done beautifully. Something can be said about the moment of me going to what I believe they said was the moon and fighting and sealing death there as well. The friendship portrayal in that scene really hit me as well.
Here’s where I really started hurting. Everyone did forget, however I could tell aigis probably still remembered from how she was standing alone in the scene where I was talking to junpei and yukari. After class ended that day I instinctively went around and talked to everyone I could to see the dialogue and what may have changed. I noticed everyone kept saying I looked tired but I didn’t pay too much attention to it. I mean I just saved the world, obviously I’m still probably exhausted. (Little did I know…) I loved seeing how all my social links were happy to talk to me and progressing in their own lives. Some of them making plans with me for when the next semester starts back. All of this made me so happy as I again I struggle with that stuff in real life. Even though it was a game I genuinely felt connected to some of these characters. The next day when I went to the roof the wait with aigis… I was already tearing up that whole scene because it felt so peaceful. Aigis was also giving a 10/10 speech!! I finally felt like the world was actually saved, like me and all my friends would go back to a normal life and still be able to remember each other and our adventures. I remember saying he looked a little too peaceful with his hands crossed during the scene, but again I just figured he was tired and resting. The credits hit and I was fully crying. After they ended I went to google to see if any of the dialogue choices at the end would have made anything different happen dialogue wise and that’s when I found out he actually died. Once it was confirmed to me I started thinking back on everything. People commenting on how tired he looked, also how exhausted he looked on the final morning just sitting up in his bed. How utterly peaceful that rooftop scene was. It genuinely did something to me and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. Aigis saying she wanted to protect me forever just for me to die in her lap 😭😭 using the last of my strength to wipe her tears and reassure her 😭😭😭it’s so much more but I just need to stop here. This message was already long enough.
To anyone who read, thank you. I genuinely enjoyed this game more than a person should enjoy a game I believe. After I stop thinking about it so intensely I want to start p5r again. I switched systems to had to start over and just didn’t want to have to replay what I already did but now that I know the stories can be crazy like that.. I’m invested.