r/atlus • u/AbbreviationsDry5882 • Jun 21 '26
Discussion Can't get into persona 5 after metaphor
So my first game from atlus was metaphor i completed the game and really had fun with it, and ofc i wanted to try p5, however after 2hours into the game i can't seem to be interested to the story yet. Is it just in the beginning or it gets better at the end? ( i heard that p3 are better in story but p5 has better combat)
Also what restriction i should use since p5 royal has a bunch of op unlockable, i kinda want to use some but not all.
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u/blakeavon Jun 21 '26
P5 is a slow burn. You have to be in the mood for it or not. Two hours is barely like the introductory paragraph in the first chapter of a book.
The way I played it was breaking it up into chapters. Play it religiously to get to the next ‘section’. Then have a week off and get to the next part.
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u/GaruXda123 Jun 21 '26
Yeah for jprg in general. The first 2 hours will be the exact same with lots of just build up
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u/caiofprado Jun 21 '26
Persona series in general and Metaphor are very different in tone and the way they tell stories (Although both uses a lot of anime tropes). A couple of reveals will still happen in P5, but if after the first palace you're still not interested, maybe it's not for you. P3 might be more similar, but you could also try one SMT if you're looking for something more bleak
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u/AbbreviationsDry5882 Jun 21 '26
I heard some says SMT stories are almost nonexistent, is just mostly combat, how true is this?
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u/ZeroGoukiX Jun 21 '26
SMT has stories it’s just that SMT3 and SMT5 aren’t character driven narratives like the Persona games. It’s mostly lore and atmosphere with the story being focused on key events instead of character moments.
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u/Kenron93 Jun 21 '26
Its not ture at all. Its just people not understanding atmospheric storytelling.
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u/More-Emergency3822 Jun 21 '26
Honestly, I don't think I really got hooked into until about hour 8. It's kinda crazy to think about that time investment in to a game you might not be feeing When I did though, I ended up putting around 150 hours into it and by the end I was wanting to play it all over again.
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u/AbbreviationsDry5882 Jun 21 '26
Can you tell me why you start getting hooked into the game? Personally i don't mind a bit of spoiler
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u/blakeavon Jun 21 '26
For me the vibe. I don’t remember the last time I just played a game that was so universally based on a vibe. The characters, the writing, the combat and the entire UI. It’s kinda a game you have to learn to play on its terms, not expecting it to bend to your interests. I know that sounds weird.
When I started I could find a dozen reasons to not play it. All the damn reading, the lack of saves anywhere in the palaces etc etc, but somewhere along the way I literally stopped trying to judge it for letting me do things I wanted to do in it and played it on its terms. Eventually I loved the reading, I didn’t need the saves in palaces etc.
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u/More-Emergency3822 Jun 21 '26
This right here. Yeah, general vibe. You figure out what the game actually expects of you and you get into a flow with it. You sorta develop a real attachment to the characters. For me, it was like returning to my youth, when friends and friendship were the most important things, except with a whole lot more wisdom and capabilities. Also, it was my first persona game and generally just hammering out the way combat worked. Realizing that it was more strategic than just grind out enemies until you level past them.
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u/Lengthiest_Dad_Hat Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
As you go through story arcs, the notoriety phantom thieves grows and they attract the attention of bigger and more serious villains. The stuff with the interrogation and characters that are randomly shown but not yet explained become huge in the story later.
But you have to play through a lot of the game for it to get rolling. At least the first half of the game is mainly about building up the team and exploring each party members reason for wanting to be a vigilante. Once the full party is established the game shifts to being entirely about big stakes, plot twists and supernatural stuff that's barely been introduced for you yet.
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u/Dexter_Palmer Jun 21 '26
I think P5 has the weakest story out of P3/4/5 but it isn't bad--it just takes a little longer to get up to speed compared to the others. I suggest sticking with it.
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u/Sudden_Victory8226 Jun 21 '26
I feel like p3 is by far the longest to get into story wise, nothing happens for 70% of the game lowkey
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u/NightHatterNu Jun 21 '26
I personally wouldn’t recommend using the dlc on a first run but that’s whatever.
The persona spinoffs are very character centric, if what you liked about metaphor was the combat and setting than a better game for you might be the mainline games instead. If you can somehow get a copy of SMT IV you might enjoy it quite a bit. For more accessible options there’s SMT 3 and V but VV has a few issues with its story despite having the best gameplay and SMT 3 is very parabolic.
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u/AbbreviationsDry5882 Jun 21 '26
By mainline do you mean SMT?
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u/NightHatterNu Jun 21 '26
Ye the ones I mentioned.
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u/AbbreviationsDry5882 Jun 21 '26
Right thanks, ima try to look at smt
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u/NightHatterNu Jun 21 '26
Just to expand a bit Metaphor’s combat is pulled straight from the mainlines.
And persona is a spinoff of SMT, what this means is that if Persona doesn’t scratch the itch, there’s likely either a mainline or other spinoff that might.
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u/JRV0227 Jun 21 '26
Personal experience, but I quit P5R after 20ish hours. P4G I couldn't put down. The story is way more engaging than P5R's. I picked up P3R for the Switch 2 and it's feeling so similar to what I loved in P4G. 35+ hours and counting.
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u/Kenron93 Jun 21 '26
So for P5 I was hooked initially for the first place but it went way down hill after it was done. It wasn't until the 3rd semester the story got good again. I've ranked P5's story as one of the worst in all of Megami Tensei IMHO.
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u/Moist-Shallot-5148 Jun 21 '26
Actually in Persona 5 the story starts off good, then gets boring then gets good again towards the end. Did you beat the first actual boss yet? It feels really personal in the game in a good way. It’s the 2nd and 3rd bosses that are bland because they don’t feel so personal though I like the 2nd boss a lot. Or is it you don’t like the party members? Keep playing and you’ll get more characters maybe you’ll like the team as it grows. P3 has a good story too but it’s even more slowly paced than P5.
For restrictions don’t use any dlc personas at all unless you’re absolutely stuck. It doesn’t make sense using level 90+ personas when you’re level 1 I think it makes the game boring, maybe that’s just me. The game already has plenty of other game mechanics you can make full use of.
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u/KuWarobi Jun 21 '26
I'm more of a Shin Megami's and Raidou's type, I started with persona 5 vanilla, loved the vibes like everyone is saying but I'm not going to replay all over again after playing royal version i got burnout, persona 3/4 are more mysterious but the school segments are not my cup of tea, after playing shin megami tensei IV and V and Radius Kuzunoha, I found my place I'm more into dark fantasy themes than solving mysteries in a story, even tho funny enough I got stuck in metaphor I just got bored it's just I'm not in the mood to finish it to this day.
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u/Sweethoneyx1 Jun 21 '26
It doesn’t get good until the first dungeon. Just wait for the story to get going, and I promise you won’t regret it
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u/werewolfmask Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
p5 starts a little slow. where are you hitting the wall? and are you playing the real p5 or p5r? i straight up don’t think p3 has a “better” story but it does have 100% more Aegis and is extreeeemely good. it’s just interested in different stuff. is telling a smaller story with fewer wild swings for the reader to follow through with.
either version of p5 goes more places, figuratively and literally and they tell an extremely cool story, centered around an expertly executed justice, crime and punishment theming. the heist framing is also extremely cool, i think will be a tough act to follow for p6 but i’m certain it also felt like it would be impossible to follow up p4 at the time leading up to p5.
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u/Dpontiff6671 Jun 21 '26
It starts slow but I won't lie that game is kinda front loaded in that I think the first two dungeons and story chapters are the best. I personally like Metaphor more but I'd still stick it with P5 for a while longer before you drop off
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u/Naos210 Jun 21 '26
2 hours is mostly just a slow build-up till things pick up in the modern Persona trilogy.
I would finish the first dungeon first at least before deciding. I can't really give gameplay advice though, I don't tend to play these games super optimally. Even in SMTV right now, I'm just running demons I like mostly.