Playing Scarlet Nexus Made Me Appreciate Persona 5 Royal More
Scarlet Nexus has similarities to Persona 5 Royal, but it doesn’t measure up.
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I’ve been playing Scarlet Nexus for about a week now, and I’ve admittedly been struggling to get into it. I picked it up because I’d heard it would be very narrative-focused, and those are usually the type of games I get into most. I wasn’t terribly excited for Scarlet Nexus’ combat, but I figured if the narrative was good enough, I could get past it (especially if I played on easy). Unfortunately, I’ve come to the conclusion that Scarlet Nexus probably isn’t for me. After giving it a fair shot, all it’s made me do is start missing Persona 5 Royal.
It was hard not to immediately draw comparisons between Scarlet Nexus and Persona 5 Royal. Of course, the combat is absolutely nothing alike, as Persona 5 Royal is a turn-based game. But the visuals, especially during dialogue, are remarkably similar. Both games are made in what we might call “anime style,” but even the way characters’ faces flash across the scene in a comic-like fashion when they’re giving expressive responses feels similar.
But more than just the appearances, both games are extremely dialogue-heavy. This isn’t a problem in Persona 5 Royal. Each conversation in Royal adds depth to characters and relationships, and you have power over how these play out through dialogue options. As the player, you get to choose which responses you give to people, and some responses are even restricted based on how you’ve built (or not built) your social stats. This makes all the dialogue feel meaningful and engaging throughout, and in retrospect, maybe I didn’t appreciate that enough while I played.
Scarlet Nexus is pretty much the exact opposite. While I am a sucker for great dialogue in a game, playing Scarlet Nexus often didn’t feel like playing anything. The player basically takes a back seat for long periods at a time and gets to watch these characters engage in a bunch of flat conversations. Perhaps if the game was half as dialogue heavy, this wouldn’t be such an issue for me. But if you’re going to spend this much of the game reading, it should at least be interesting.
Towards the beginning of Persona 5 Royal, your character immediately begins building a relationship with Ryuji Sakamoto. Almost immediately, you can tell that he’s been misunderstood by others. The personality that goes along with his reputation doesn’t quite seem to match, resulting in him being entertaining and intriguing. Thus, all the dialogue that follows feels necessary and enjoyable.
On the flip side, that was not my experience with Scarlet Nexus whatsoever. I wanted so desperately to like it, but the characters feel incredibly cookie-cutter, made worse by even more cliché character relationships. I played as Yuito, and despite the fact that he and his friend Nagi both seem like nice people, their conversations could probably lull me to sleep.
Scarlet Nexus is not a complete waste of a game. Its strongest point is its combat. I’m not usually into real-time combat, but it’s chaotic and satisfying here. The story isn’t a complete dud, either, but it’s just making me pine for Persona-level character relationships to power it along. It might be a game where characters can harness substances in the brain to acquire superhuman powers, but it all feels a little brainless.
Considering Persona 5 Royal also deals with some facets of the mind—palaces manifesting based on someone’s dark desires—it’s just another way I found myself reminded of the game. I suppose I can at least go back now and replay Persona 5 Royal with a much higher appreciation for what it does well.
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/playing-scarlet-nexus-made-me-appreciate-persona-5-royal-more/