#jrpg battle theme

[sakialumei]

Here’s another battle theme I never finished lmaooo

#sakia composes music #music composition #rpg battle theme #jrpg battle theme #i had wanted to make this for my dnd campaign but it lacked OOMPH #i gotta make a theme that suits these chaotic bastards lol

[the-bad-taste-aquarium]

Battle 3 | Grandia | Noriyuki Iwadare

#grandia #this is the earliest jrpg i've found that does the “second half of the game gets a more epic and mature battle theme” thing

[redeyeflyguy]

Wonderful Things That May or May Not Be Wonderful!!! While I love the Persona series of games (I am so hyped for P3: Reload), I would seem I have also found myself falling in love with the the Shin Megami Tensei series of games (a.k.a. the games the Persona series originally spun-off from). A series of RPGs that has a lot of lofty philosophical concepts, incredibly dark situations and downright punishing difficulty. The difference is that this love is more strained than it is with the former for various reasons. Still, the two divergent franchises have many similarities and one is Shoji Meguro pumping out bangers. As such, here's two from my current favorite SMT title, Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne. First is the Normal Battle theme. A guitar shredding, drum smacking, synthesizer playing banger of a tune that matches the intense, end times nature of the setting while also giving a twinge of hope with more uplifting segments at the end.  And of course, you have the distorted voices crying out to be released from their torment that gives the piece a distinct sound (also, the case with the rest of the battle themes in this game). On top of that, I discovered that the guitar riff that functions as the last part of this theme before it loops has several different versions that play at random between encounters. This is in order to keep the piece from getting too repetitive over many hours of game time. A great song for fighting random encounters and an all too fitting song when you ARE the random encounter (man, those super bosses looks insane). The other I wanted to mention is the Town Battle theme. Yes, SMT III is a game where even the towns where you buy items and rest up have random encounters. Good thing the battle theme is a supreme combination of chill and metal with those distorted voices back for flavor. It might be one of my favorite RPG fight themes out there now. So in conclusion, if a game is named after a musical term, dollars to donuts it will have some wonderful music.

#wonderful #shin megami tensei #smt nocturne #battle themes #video games #video game soundtrack #role playing games #jrpgs #shoji meguro #random encounters #distorted voices #super boss #metal #chill #atlus #persona #p3 reload #Youtube

[muttsly]

Shoji Meguro - Heartful Cry - Persona 3 FES OST (2007)

#vgm #video game ost #video game music #music #jrpg #jrpg music #Shoji Meguro #atlus #ps2 #ps2 music #battle theme #persona #persona 3 #persona 3 fes #smt #shin megami tensei #Youtube

[toskarin]

Kaneko Kenji - Splash

#othertunes #even with all my complaints Splash is legitimately a really fun jrpg battle theme

[countdowntodusk]

someone on yt deconstructed the unlimited saga battle theme with the assistance of AI and hearing only the acoustic part of the theme is tickling my brain in a way i cant describe

#still my favorite jrpg battle theme of all time btw #going strong since i found the game in 2015 during my (still ongoing) love and fixation for SaGa

[crashed-keys]

the p5s remix of p1’s original battle theme makes me feel normal

#adri.txt #i fucking love p1’s battle theme you don’t even get it #it’s so good. idc if it’s generic jrpg fare or whatever. it fucks

[miss-game-and-watch-vgm]

#vgm #music #listen #discover #video games #video game music #yokai watch #jibanyan #ds #nintendo 3ds #3ds #3ds music #battle theme #battle music #jrpg music #jrpg games #jrpgs #monster collecting

[semi-imaginary-place]

Should you play 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim? YES

The game is visual novel adjacent with 50% of gameplay being reading/listening, and maybe 30% point and click adventure, and 20% real time strategy combat but its structured in a way to basically be turn based combat there's maybe 2 second of real time happening total per map.

You start the game at the final battle and spend the rest of the time piecing together how everyone got to that point. The story is told in non-chronological order so you can choose what characters to progress their story in whatever order you want. 13 playable characters whose stories all intertwine and are relevant to the other stories. So in that sense it's a mystery story as the main draw is you and the characters figuring out what is really going on. The story is intricate and complex and rich and very well executed. The game pays homage to the sci-fi genre in general referencing a lot of sci-fi and kaiju media and tropes while doing interesting things with those concepts. It's great for people like me that like connecting dots and theory crafting. I started taking notes while I play the game.

Combat is robust and you can get into it as little or as much as you want. I had little experience with real time strategy before this (mostly a JRPG player) and I loved the combat so much I ended up playing part of it on the highest difficulty. 13 Sentinels really eases you into the combat system, starting out very simple and gradually and consistently raising the difficulty.

Really everything about this game is top notch from the story to the characters, gameplay, and aesthetics. The game has strong art direction and a stunning soundtrack. The themes are eloquently integrated, compelling, both emotionally moving and with soul wrenching depth. Everything just works really well together. This is one of the best made games I have ever seen.

#13 sentinels: aegis rim #13 sentinels #game review #videogames

[theresattrpgforthat]

This might be a long winded question, but for a while I’ve brainstorming on and off ideas for a TTRPG system based on those stories about “secret worlds where you have different abilities when you enter them” (Persona, Deltarune, Omori, more I’m sure), and I was thinking “there’s gotta be an RPG for that”, so like… is there? Is there an RPG where you enter a secret world to influence and help things in the real world? Or enter a secret world and develop special abilities when you do?

THEME: Alternate Worlds

Hello there! The Persona series is one I'm tangentially familiar with, so I've mostly got games that list it or The World Ends With You in their references. I've noticed that the PbtA community (and its siblings) really seems to like this genre.

Heartbeats in Perfect Sync, by Nathan Blades.

In your city, there’s an otherworldly force that lurks in the hearts of many: The Pulse. Feeding on negative emotions, they’ll devour everything… if not for a group of ordinary people with a mysterious app installed on their phones. Activate the app and you’ll be bestowed with a weapon that can purge the Pulse, but opening your heart can be dangerous…

Heartbeats in Perfect Sync is a tabletop RPG inspired by the shounen battle aesthetic in games like The World Ends With You, Kingdom Hearts and Under Night In-Birth. Play as a group of ordinary people who fight monsters with ridiculously over-the-top weapons.

Character creation in this game looks to be wonderfully simple. You fill in a ad-lib style sentence with information about your job, your weapon, and your fighting style. You pick a special move, and mark your Heart Rate, which marks your emotions. Your Heart Rate can grow or shrink, but get too close to either end of the spectrum, and your character becomes a dark version of themselves, super-powered and extremely cool-looking. If you like dramatic moments and rule-of-cool fight scenes, this game is for you.

The Midnight Generation, by Five Points Games.

The Midnight Generation is a rules hack for Masks: A New Generation by Magpie Games inspired by the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series of JRPGs. Take the role of teenagers thrust into mystery and conflict. Explore the cognitive landscape of The Midnight World, the realm made by the collective unconscious of humanity and the distortions that arise when people retreat from reality. Take control of powerful Facades, spiritual manifestations of one's true self to battle powerful Shadows, willful manifestations of human emotions and to overcome the trials set forth in The Midnight Generation!

If you are a fan of MASKS, but want to use the original rules in an alternate setting, The Midnight Generation might be worth looking at. This book is fairly comprehensive - it comes with guidance on how to create the people, places, and other elements necessary to play in a Persona-like universe, as well as a city you can pick up and use with little extra effort. Another thing I really appreciate about this supplement is the addition of 10 playbooks that communicate the themes and struggles of Persona characters, including the Icon, who is masking their true self from the world around them, and the Shadow, how was born in the other world from the emotions of mankind.

Vibe Check, by Ostrichmonkey Games. (@ostrichmonkey-games)

Vibe Check is an illuminated by LUMEN tabletop role-playing game for 3-6 players.  Players take on the roles of Players in the Watcher's Game - a week long challenge with the prize being another shot at life, while another player takes on the role of the Game's Master to introduce complications and consequences the Players must overcome as they fight to survive the Watcher's Game. 

Vibe Check features LUMEN's fast paced dice pool system, tailored for action filled combat and paired with plenty of powers and cool abilities. Fight the Pandemonium within the Inversion to earn new Tokens and rewards. Upgrade and buy more powerful gear. Survive the Watcher's Game. 

Inspired by The World Ends With You, Vibe Check places your players in a high-stakes afterlife competition to become alive again. As members of the afterlife, you’ll receive special abilities attached to your archetypes. For example, the Cryptic archetype had an ability called False Gnosis, which allows them to state something and roll to see if what they said was true. Your character’s looks are also important to determining their stats, with each Look belonging to a Brand. Do you have an entire set of clothes bought from Antiquity’s Glance? Now you can carry more things on your person.

If you like games with moddable upgrades and simple (but rewarding) combat, then Vibe Check is for you.

Eidolon: Become Your Best Self, by Reveal Your Master Plan.

EIDOLON: Become Your Best Self is a Powered by the Apocalypse RPG in which your character gains the power of an Eidolon, a physical manifestation of their soul that reflects their truest, innermost self and grants them incredible reality-defying powers! With the help of their friends, they'll fight against the pressure of the Undertow, the shadowy flow of collective psychic energy that imprisons society in an untenable status quo.

While this is a PbtA game, Eidolon has a battle system that uses a mechanic called “crashes”. Every blow that you land will escalate the fight, with victory becoming less and less likely the longer the fight draws out. This requires creativity and teamwork to overcome, drawing from your collective resources to save the day.

If you want to hear this game in action, the designers have an Eidolon Playtest podcast where they play through various seasons of Eidolon.

Shifters, by Moonlit Bard.

You are a Shifter, someone who can step from our world into the Major World beyond to do battle with sentient emotions and compulsions known as Forms.

Forms can be malevolent spirits inciting violence, landscapes saturated with desire, objects that seethe with chaos and discord, or anthropomorphic personifications of envy. No matter their appearance, they spell disaster for our world, and only you can stop them.

There’s not much info I have for this game, other than that it’s in demo form and is currently a one-page RPG. However, if you’re interested in games where emotions have power in an alternate world and so far nothing on the list here is speaking to you, this might give you something light enough to hack to your heart’s desire.

Stand Up, by Elena Murphy.

Stand Up is a Belonging Outside Belonging game about rebellion, forming bonds, fighting injustice, and changing the world.

Take on the roles of normal people with the capability to become heroes, explore a fantastical world that houses mankind’s inner feelings, and find a way to fight back using power only you can wield.

If you are a big fan of the Persona series, this game is for you. Collaboratively build a hidden world, called The Reversal, formed from the perceptions and feelings of humanity. Choose from a set of seven playbooks, all named after tarot cards. Bind your characters together, and then determine your Setting Elements.

Because this is a Belonging Outside Belonging game, Stand Up has no GM. Instead, it has setting elements that are picked up and played by players whose characters are not active in any given scene. This keeps the entire table engaged in the story even when their character isn’t involved, and lightens the burdens of GM-ing while giving everyone an equal chance to contribute to the story. If you enjoy story-games and a lot of control over when your character succeeds or fails, Stand Up is worth checking out.

Voidheart Symphony, by UFO Press.

There’s a wound in the world, a rot eating at hope and community and empathy. You’ve seen it in dark alleyways and gleaming boardrooms, gifting terrible power to those who will use it to hurt others.

You’ve had enough. You’re going to dive through that wound into the nightmare castle on the other side. You’re going to find the avatar of the one bringing you misery, and strike them down.

But what’s next, once you’ve stolen their power and ruined their ambitions? Will you return to your daily grind? Cherish those who are close to you? Or revel in the power you have taken from the void? Because within that wound, the castle waits, and it is hungry.

Voidheart Symphony is a tabletop roleplaying game about mundane people diving into a demon-filled labyrinth to save the ones they love. Based on Apocalypse World and Rhapsody of Blood, it’ll fill your story with dramatic choices and dynamic action. The World and the Void will both offer you their power, and make their own demands. How will you strike that balance? What will your revolution fight for? That’s your story to tell.

This is probably one of the darkest games on this list. With an alternate world that is meant to trap your characters and pit them against demons all the while, this is a game about rebellion in the face of little to no hope. I’ve heard a lot about this game in a number of different circles - it is well-loved and well-played. If you want to take a look at some pieces of this game before you buy, the Itch page includes free playbooks and reference sheets, as well as a link to a Google Sheets Character Keeper!

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #hidden realities

[rpgchoices]

Sometimes I really want to read a short summary of what to expect from a game with a very particular description that CATER to my OWN SPECIFIC interests, so here we go.

(click here for other videogames)

what to expect from LOREN THE AMAZON PRINCESS

This is a visual novel with rpg elements, turn based Jrpg-like combat, companions recruitment and dating sim (romance options)

The game has an uncensored version with nudity and more skin-showing armors (here how to unlock it on steam)

The DLC Castle of N'mar adds more quests and (in my opinion) a fundamental ending addition, plus three companions

You can play as Seran (male human) or Elenor (elven woman), they have different backstories and will be treated differently by Loren and other characters

There are themes of racism (elves vs humans, but also nomadic humans, orcs etc.), slavery and gender discrimination (amazons enslave men, so if you play as Seran you will get a bunch of that)

You play as the slave/servant of Loren, the amazon princess. Loren is effectively the "fantasy hero" of the story and you are her helper and bodyguard

The story is pretty simple and a bit "fable-like", there won't be too many surprises, it is a classic fantasy "hero finds magic sword, become even bigger hero and has to defeat this demon guy" except that you don't play as the hero (that is Loren)

There are only two class (thief or warrior), with the initial choices in game adding some more branching into fighting skills (ex. my character was a warrior and magic healer)

In general you will have a pretty big number of companions (11 in total with the dlc) so a big array of classes to use for fighting and you can change party (6 members more or less each fight) before each fight

The game is not voiced if not for some battle cries

The game follows a classic rpg storytelling style, you will visit places and choose dialogue options/quest options that will have different consequences

Make sure to often stop at camp and talk to all your companions to get their full dialogues and stories

Each companion has a personal quest and a bit of character development/progression

Your protagonist is a character on their own, so you cannot choose what they say, but you can now and then choose the tone (friendly / joking / forceful) of their answers.

ROMANCE: you can romance all the possible characters up till the last chapter where the game will make you choose (you'll know when it happens)

The romance progression has quite a lot of content, it follows multiple camp dialogues and extra camp scenes that can trigger randomly and if you have collected enough hearts (they can be collected through dialogue options or other choices), plus a more involved series of final scenes in the last chapter

Elenor (female character) can romance multiple female characters (Loren, Karen, Chambara) and multiple male characters (Amukiki, Rei, Mesphit)

Saren (male character) can romance multiple male characters (Amukiki, Draco, Mesphit) and multiple female characters (Loren, Chambara, Myrth)

The game also has jealousy scenes that depends on the specific multiple characters you romance (ex. I was romancing everyone I could and Chambara noticed and started listing all the names, plus she had a jealousy scene with Myrth)

In general the characters are, in my opinion, what make this game so charming. They interact a lot, comment a lot, and feel like a fantasy party

plot? Loren, princess of the Amazons, decides to leave her city to find her missing mother, and ends up being the hero of a war that requires her to lead nations once fighting with each other's. You play as a male or female character who helps and accompanies Loren. gameplay? visual novel, rpgs, jrpg-like, turn based fighting characters? The characters are definitely the best part of the game, mainly the companions (non-companions characters are not particularly important). sadness level? low or medium depending on your choices at the end

#lgbtq games #visual novel #loren the amazon princess #what to expect

[bluest-planet]

Reminder that the hd remaster(?) Rerelease of both Baten Kaitos games is coming out on the Switch in like, 4 days.

Listen, the advertising wasn't that great, and even if the original voice acting of the first game was awful (but so funny and charming imo, the 'so bad it's good'), the second game honestly has some of THE best voice acting in any game I've played. Such as the main character being voiced by Crawford Wilson (guy who voiced Jet in ATLA,) or another important character being voiced by Shanelle Workman Grey (voiced Larxenne in KH.) And so much more.

The gameplay itself is a card based rpg that's very fun and fast paced! It's easy to get a hold of and influences the story itself and the world, and I've never seen anything else come remotely close to it (which is honestly why chain of memories disappointed me so much lol, like, Baten Kaitos is such a gold standard for card games.) The first game is a bit slower, while the 2nd game (the prequel) is a lot faster and has some small differences but overall it's the same principles. Combos, downward or upward counting, paring the right elements, multiples and so on. Also deck organization! As well as maintaining stuff in the real world/real time since things can spoil or change over time.

The ART direction is absolutely gorgeous, using 2d backgrounds with moving 3d models, think chrono trigger. With I believe are Arabic and Mediterranean (?) Influences, and cartography. As well as a buncha weird mixed media stuff! Honestly you can find a lot to gnaw on art wise since Baten Kaitos isn't afraid to get weird and funky! With some places looking like standard fantasy land, gorgeous cloudscape, playdough world, multiple mirror worlds, a land made of sweets and the list just keeps going. One of the most beautiful games ever, really. It's up their with TWEWY, KH, Ni No Kuni, Skyward Sword, Wind Waker, BioShock, just a whole lotta games known for their aesthetic choices.

The characters are also super solid! Solid jrpg ragtag band/trio! I love them all so much, they're all so weird and vary from age and backgrounds so again if you're into any final fantasy game or other jrpgs you'll be right at home. The story in the first game, Wings is very solid with a neat twist, and then it's made richer after when you play the 2nd game, Origins (the prequel) which gives more insight and a crazier twist... Kinda gives u a bittersweetness at the end too. Please play Eternal Wings before Origins.

And lastly; The MUSIC. My god.

It's just... Chef's kiss. Honestly one of my favourite soundtracks of ALL DAMN TIME I think I'd die happy listening to Castle in the Sand before I go. Again, like the art direction, it's a grab bag of different genres, with it mostly being rock/speedrock, orchestral-esk grand pieces with organs and harpsichord, the occasional weird synths and keyboards, to funkier grooves. Evidential Material, Chaotic Dance, both of the battle themes for each game, Castle in the Sand, Valley of the Wind- literally has no skips!! It's all honestly imo, the best of Motoi Sakuraba's work, so if your into any of his, be it the Tales games or Dark Souls you'll get it all.

Unfortunately, the game doesn't seem to be getting a physical release in the US, potential a limited run in Europe, and mostly in Asia is getting copies which is a damn shame since they already took out the voice acting, and probably didn't even do much to really remaster it. I believe it'll mostly be a basic, if a little lacking, port, but even then! I encourage people to get it! Developed by the same people who worked on the xenosaga, then onto botw in some ways and more. It's like, an origin point so so many iconic creators and developers in jrpgs as a whole. I'm honestly just happy enough to see it survive past the GameCube. Which, while STILL the best way to enjoy and experience it, isn't as viable for it to survive. So yes, I'm glad it's being preserved and hope to see many new fans prop up!! Please come join in the like, 5 people still here lol. We're few but passionate! It's like, a cornerstone of my entire life unironically. Kinda like how KH or Zelda is for anyone else.

So... Please give the Baten Kaitos 1&2 HD remasters a shot! Or at least just listen to the music damn.

#baten kaitos #baten kaitos origins #blue speaks #listen now that i have more people following me im trying to spread this hidden gem!! #honestly wanted to do a cross over w this someday... but yeah please try it out! honestly if u liked the vibe of ps2 era jrps just get it #you'll thank me i promise #me not so sublty trying to get more people into bk so i can made cute bk and kh crossover art im sorry for being cringe #if my sibling seese this post (bc its the only tag they check and its so so and small i will be found) no u didn't #stop looking at my posts brother this is fer yer damn cause!

[wandringaesthetic]

Once again I must speak of humanity's highest art form, the Japanese Role-Playing Game

So Tales of Berseria ate my free time in a way that it's been a while since a video game did. I just beat it.

I'll get the easy stuff to talk about out of the way first.

Regarding gameplay. I played it on "normal." I should have played it on a higher difficulty, and you should too unless you are just remarkably bad at action RPGs. Starting from about the halfway point I got good enough at chaining combos together with Velvet that the difficulty became trivial. I ignored whole mechanics. I hardly ever bothered switching out characters.

Battles are the thing I like least about the Tales games I've played previously. They mostly translate the "action" part of "Action Role-Playing Game" as "pressing a lot of buttons" in a way that doesn't reward strategy OR skill very much. Berseria isn't an exception here. That said, there's probably a little more to it on a higher difficulty, and it feels a lot more "fair" than its direct predecessor (Tales of Zestiria) did, in that it does reward attacking enemy weaknesses and enemy attacks rarely feel totally unavoidable. The bell-like sound when you successfully KO, stun, etc an enemy and the combo counter going way up in the 50s does feel kinda satisfying in the way I imagine the lights and bells on a slot machine feel satisfying.

Overall visual presentation is uneven. In some ways, it feels like a game of an earlier generation. Like "we are doing as much as we can with these three tile sets, give us a break, let your imagination do some of the work." A few areas, windswept green hillsides and hazy, blooming marshes, are legit beautiful. Dungeons generally feel a little sparse. Towns are bright primary colors vaguely european anime world. Given that the world is being alternately overrun by daemons or under the iron grip of its government and church, the generally bright and sunny aesthetics feel a little discordant and I feel like this story could have benefited from the world backing up its themes and vibes a little better. Don't even necessarily veer away from the anime aesthetics much, just do something with the lighting. One of the moments where the aesthetic best backs up the plot and themes, IMO, comes late in the game. Your heroes are in an abandoned, far northern town. The sun is setting and there's a red glare on the snow....

SO ANYWAY NONE OF THAT IS WHY I WANT TO TALK ABOUT TALES OF BERSERIA.

From one point of view, this is a revenge story. From another point of view, this is a classic JRPG , you're awaking the elemental lords and preventing an ascent to godhood. From another point of view, you are the villain of the piece, on a mission to kill the guy who actually really did save the world, fucking up everything and everyone on your way. You consort with daemons, witches, pirates, and traitors. You eat people.

What is called reason... isn't. What is called selfishness... isn't. The people who are yelling about their feelings are maybe the most reasonable ones and the ones keeping it locked up are absolutely bridled by their emotions. What is luck? What is one's nature? What is free will?

(Why do birds fly?)

The writing, in terms of themes and motifs and meaningful echoes and variations on themes is really, really special. (At least if one understands that this IS a JRPG and this IS an anime and we ARE going to yell about our ideals.) Also the character dialogue (and there is so much dialogue, just SO MUCH both meaningful and unmeaningful this is also a feature of this series hope you enjoy listening to your six new wacky, grimdark anime friends for the next 60 hours) is very good.

Combs, apples, hair, swords, coins, flowers, compasses. Illness, grief, death, loyalty, faith, despair, perfection, children, hunger.

Maybe I'll walk this back when I'm not high on this game's fumes, but as a scholar of JRPGs, I think this is one of the top two or three best WRITTEN of them out there. I feel like I'd have to play it two or three more times to really highlight why, there is so much going on here. Like, if you accept that it is highly, highly character driven and the world's a little underbaked.

Anyway. Good and evil, order and chaos, darkness and light, reason and emotion, all that's illusions and if you must insist on dividing them, if they're not in an ourobourus yin yang, eating each other, keeping each other in check, shit gets fucked real quick.

#this is also the thesis (one of the theses) of the million hours of FFXIV commentary that exist in my brain that I may never get out #tales of berseria

[muttsly]

Motoi Sakuraba - Battle! Doom Dragon - Golden Sun: The Lost Age (2003)

#vgm #video game music #video game ost #motoi sakuraba #gameboy advance #gba #retro games #jrpg #golden sun #golden sun 2 #battle theme #camelot #nintendo #Youtube #music

[toskarin]

found that semi-mythical jrpg battle theme I wrote several years ago while fighting to stay awake at the end of a three day burst of insomnia. I woke up, remembered writing something much more coherent, and promptly scrapped it entirely when I saw that I "trimmed the fat" by simply making every movement incredibly short

I remember trying to write it in musescore, being too sleepy to make the sheet music work correctly, and then switching to synthfont (my poison of choice at the time)

you can literally hear melodies cutting off where I went "yeah this repeats twice with variation, that's too much, I'll just keep the second half"

#it would be VERY funny if I made a modern cover of this and didn't fix any of the Problems #just a very straightforward remastering

[ghostlymonade]

Now it's Persona-l: Escapism and Freedom in Tokyo Mirage Sessions and Persona 5

On the surface, Tokyo Mirage Sessions seems about as Diet Persona™ as a game can get. With a cast of colourful teens out to save the world using their Stands Persona  Performa, some critique of our society, and the same amount of clueless running around Shibuya, it would be easy to write the game off as a quick cash-grab by their respective studios. But when giving TMS another look, you might be surprised at the depth that lurks beneath the pastel-coloured waters. Today we’ll be taking a deep dive into two specific themes that persist across both games.

For those who somehow missed an originally Wii-U exclusive JRPG which didn’t include the Fire Emblem or Shin Megami Tensei tags in its title, Tokyo Mirage Sessions: FE is a collaboration between Atlas and Intelligent Systems to bring a little Fire Emblem flavour to the familiar Zio-spamming recipe of the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series. The game follows Itsuki Aoi, a nineteen-year-old with dark blue hair who has therefore been recognised by the universe itself as the main character. He discovers his ability to summon a Performa— a Fire Emblem character turned to a Persona – and joins up with other Performa users to battle mirages (i.e Shadows), pursuing their dreams and growing stronger as they do. It’s a setup that requires no further introduction if you’ve ever picked up an Atlas game before. They have a rightful confidence in this formula that allows them to focus on refinement and improved storytelling, the benefits of which absolutely shine in Persona 5.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions predates its more successful cousin by two years, but I argue we see the same brilliant attention to detail, themes and realism across both, and nowhere is this more apparent than in how both games handle freedom and escapism. For those still working through these eighty-hour behemoths, not to worry! There are spoilers for the first few story dungeons and other aspects, but not the endings of the games.

The two player teams present an interesting dichotomy, partly because of how similar they seem on the surface. Take their publicity situation. Posters of the Phantom Thieves’ logo plaster every building in P5, and Shibuya 106 is always displaying posters of Kiria or Tsubasa’s newest production— a very nice touch for TMS’s story, considering how much focus is placed on the nitty-gritty, mechanical aspects of building a career in performing. But there is one key distinction. While neither group is recognised for their heroic work in the Metaverse or Idolasphere respectively, the names Kiria Kurono, Tsubasa Oribe and Mamori Minamoto have gathered everything from a cult following to a full-blown fan frenzy. This has fascinating ripples throughout the rest of the story that feel fully considered by the writers.

Within the P5 cast up to Okumura’s Palace, many members join the Phantom Thieves because they feel backed into a corner. In Joker’s case, the corner is very literal. For Ann and Makoto, they could, in a purely technical sense, do the bidding of the villain and escape physically unharmed, but nobody in their right mind would suggest submitting to Kamoshida or Kaneshiro is a good idea. Imagery of imprisonment is everywhere, through promotional art and cutscenes and every line of dialogue. But this imprisonment is rarely a physical thing. Even in the literal jail of the Velvet Room replaces one wall with a huge portal back to the real world, albeit obscured by the camera angle. Restrictions on the Phantom Thieves are often nebulous or even self-imposed, and I find it fascinating that their problems rarely evaporate after they awaken their Persona and gain a new outlook. While the pressures of society are given a face for each Thief, the writers never make the mistake of treating it as if these singular persons are the only issue— instead, they represent a wider imprisonment.

Conversely, the Mirage Masters don’t seem to face these same issues. Not to say they have no conflict, but there is a sense of freedom that permeates every aspect of the game. It’s an interesting approach; their lives aren’t ruined or ended by failure, but their dreams will crumble before them if they can’t push on in their professional journey, and the world will be worse off for the loss of talented creators to the mirages. The Idolasphere may not feel of much import. Obviously there are consequences to leaving it unchecked, otherwise there would be no driving plot force to have the characters enter at all. But the Idolasphere and its adventures seem to be an inconvenience to most of the TMS cast. They aren’t actively seeking out new Idolasphere locations, excitedly searching for new equipment and attempting to train their Performa in their off time, the way the Phantom Thieves do. These are driven young professionals, yes, perhaps with the exception of main character Itsuki Aoi. But not driven by anything the Idolasphere offers- they already have their career aspirations, and it isn’t to fight shadows mirages for the rest of their lives.

This is even reflected in gameplay. Where leaving the palace in Persona 5 ends your day and has you missing out on a limited timeslot, TMS allows the player to jump in and out of any Idolasphere location, at any time. You could say that this is because TMS lacks the limited time frame mechanic that appeared in all three modern Persona games, but I would say the lack of that day-by-day mechanic is, itself, another way to show the freedom the TMS cast enjoy.

For the Phantom Thieves, the metaverse is their escape. Even in official art, you can see the grins as they jump into action:

Regular life, for the Thieves, is a tedious Sisyphean battle, where they feel like they have little power and little control. The power of a Persona is one thing that elevates them, makes them special, in their minds, anyway. Right from the flash-forward at the start of the game, it’s clear that the world is hostile to them. While Joker bounces around with a grin on his face and heaps of style, crowds react to him with fear, scorn, and derision. This in spite of the fact he has seemingly done little more than nab a prize and disappear, in true phantom thief style. And when Joker is caught by the police, the prospect of the truth being discovered becomes more and more unsettling, the closer the Phantom Thieves grow to each other. Beside the criminal charges: Ryuji is separated from his single mother, Ann loses her career and support network, Morgana loses the only people who understand him, Makoto loses her best chance at individuality and self-expression. The world is out to get the Phantom Thieves, and if that happens, they lose everything. They won’t die, presumably, but their lives are likely to become hollow and empty. This again emphasises the idea of their imprisonment being a less tangible thing, hard to fight and much harder to escape from.

I could probably go on for another few pages but we’ll draw things to a close for now. Escapism has always been a less talked-about motif in Atlas games, rarely the ‘point’ of any one story, but it’s often there, an interesting compliment to the main theme. Persona 3 delves into mortality, and I believe escapism is a fascinating part of that, as a way to distract from it and try to live a happy life in spite of the inevitable end. Persona 4 focuses on finding the truth, despite a society that tries to force conformity, and they discover comfort and freedom by finding people who let them be their true selves. Persona 5 was merely the first game to push these themes into the spotlight. But let’s not forget the lesser-loved Atlas games, either! And hey, maybe if you see Tokyo Mirage Sessions on sale? Give it a go. I promise it’s pretty good.

#fire emblem #persona 5 #p5r #tokyo mirage sessions #game discussion #rambles