Persona 5 - PlayStation 4 "Take Your Heart" Premium Edition

It was everything I could have hoped and dreamed, the package came on time, a few hours before I had to leave for work, meaning I had time to open it up and play around for a bit.I'll review each piece of the contents now:Box: Holy cow, is this thing big, it really is. It's built big and strong to contain everything inside. It's got a nice slipcover, and the box itself has a neat pattern featuring the Persona 5 characters. It's a magnet seal, so it doesn't flop all around if you happen to jostle it.Bag: It's a bit smaller than I expected, but I had not planned to use this bag normally. It feels a little cheap in my hands, which is a little disappointing. However, it's still as advertised, so it's not that big of a deal.Doll: It's a cute little plush of one of the game's characters, soft to the touch, and would make a good charm to hang off of a bag, such as the one included in this set.Art Book: Awesome, a hardcover art book that contains many full color pages of character art, concept art, and more. Even something as solid as this was neatly wrapped and protected in plastic. I'm going to have fun combing through this later.Soundtrack CD: A collection of songs (not all) from the game, as I don't want to spoil the experience, I plan to listen to this after I beat the game.Steelbook + Game: The steelbook itself has a plastic slipcover, and feels solid to the touch. The game CD was in perfect condition, not a speck of dust on it. I haven't had a chance to play the game yet, but honestly, there has not been a single Persona/Shin Megami Tensei game that I did not like, so I doubt that it'll be a problem.I'll update my review as I play through the game, so I can post a game review, too, not just a product review.EDIT- Short game review (No spoilers, don't worry)Well, the game was better than expected. Negotiating with Shadows to recruit them was really reminiscent of Shin Megami Tensei, and the fact that basically everything was voiced, such as enemies having unique lines for status effects, was great detail. The music was addicting, got stuck in my head, and made me purchase the full OST almost immediately I got into the game. The battle and movement of the player flows like clear water, and each boss battle is unique, instead of being just a super-tank with common abilities, like the bosses in Persona 4. Stealth is more or less mandatory, as breaking it too often will cause the player to be thrown out of the palace. If one is playing blind, the plot twists can really shake them up. If I had things to complain about, I would criticize the fact that if a Shadow shows up as a boss, even if you fought or recruited it prior, you know none of its weaknesses or resistances, even though it has the same weaknesses or resistances as before. That's a pretty major flaw. A minor complaint is the English voices aren't that good. Not all are bad, but some are cringe-worthy. Luckily, the game has a Japanese audio option. Issue with that is that sometimes, some things are not subtitled, such as newscaster talk during animations. Sometimes, they say important things that characters react to, but as the newscasters are not subtitled, it leaves English speakers in confusion.All in all, it's a near-perfect game, that a few patches could polish. I'd give it a solid 9/10, it was worth the 100+ hours I've poured into it so far, and worth every penny I paid.

The product arrived in perfect condition and has a lot of content for the 90 dollar value. I got lucky since it came back into stock last week for a little while, I was able to pick up a copy for the prime price. It now sits neatly on my shelf with the rest of my collector's/limited editions. When I opened the box I noticed the adhesive or glue wasn't really applied to the left side of the box so it isn't attached as it should be, but it's a negligible problem, if it annoys me I can always just go and get some glue.I've had a digital copy I'd been playing for the past couple weeks and I'm about 90 hours in, and so far it's a great experience. Even if you're not normally into JRPGs, this one, and perhaps Persona 4 are definitely worth trying regardless. This game has an anime sort of style and it's divided between a 3D visual novel and dungeon crawling combat. The characters and story are meticulously crafted so that each one is unique and likeable in their own way. The writing and characters do borrow from Persona 4 to an extent, but these similarities are probably just some Persona tropes I hadn't noticed before since I have only played 3 and 4 prior to this, and two Shin Megami Tensei games.The combat includes some refreshing changes to the classic system the other Personas have had, such as the Hold Up system, which lets you negotiate with an enemy for their money, items, and power. The fights can feel a little monotonous after a while, but the boss fights really make up for the haul through the dungeons. The boss fights are incredible both in the design and how you fight them, and I was always happy to encounter a new boss and formulate strategies, especially when the boss switches it up and challenges me to think of a new way to fight them.The soundtrack itself does very well to compliment the fights and dungeons you're roaming around in, and seems to sync to events and fights very well and give me chills every time it does. It almost feels like the game is cinematic at times even though it isn't, especially as the boss theme hits the low point and then swells when the boss switches things up or royally screws your team over.Overall, Persona 5 is my favorite JRPG of the decade so far, even if I've found myself preferring Persona 4 at certain aspects. It's definitely a 60 dollar experience, regardless of your familiarity to the series. Whether you're a newcomer or a series veteran, you'll certainly find some aspects of the game to enjoy.