Persona 5: Dancing In Starlight Review

TEST of Persona 5 Dancing Star Night: Fan service is not enough
That's it, Atlus is doing it again: after having exploited Persona 4 to the core, with a remaster, a fighting game and a rhythm game, Persona 5 is also entitled to its musical title (just like Persona 3 at the same time, but that's another story told by Rudy). It is therefore the melodious adventures of the thieving ghosts of heart that interest us today ...

If you're one of those who are already shivering when listening to the intro to Persona 5, you may have come to the right place. Indeed, Persona 5 Dancing Star Night, the rhythm game based on one of the best RPGs of 2017, has just entered the import shops. The opportunity to give you our opinion on this title with quite significant potential for seduction with a certain group of personaphile players.

Perofella

Persona is really a very long story, and even now an institution. A brand that makes fans shiver at its mere mention. So much so that multiple spin-offs are emerging, even on other media such as animation. With the magic soundtrack (and so unusual in video games) that the series has offered us for years now, whose melodies still trot in the heads of thousands of players today, what could be more logical than one of these spin-off be a rhythm game? Persona 4 Dancing had marked the way three years ago, even having the nerve to go out of its box with a limited PS Vita lemon yellow, and attractive with an interesting playability and a familiar playslist, revisited and catchy ... For this new dancing opus, no collector console this time but a double exit with the blue and red Pokémon, since Persona 3 Dancing was also released on the same day as the Persona 5 Dancing which interests us today.

It is therefore with a gameplay extremely similar to that of P4D that we discover P5D during a short tutorial which will teach us the basics. On the program: six keys. Three on each side, which must be struck at the right time for the single notes, hold for a moment for the doubles, and - small novelty - touch twice quickly for the duo notes. Circles also scan the screen and you will have to "scratch" at the right time to validate your combo. If you could play these scratches on the touch screen on Vita, on PS4 you will have to do it with the sticks of the controller. For me who was not used to it, it really had to relearn how to play, and the difference between the stick and the buttons being larger than on a PS Vita, the sequences were then more complex. The game is no less demanding, since only the "Perfect" or the "Great" count to make your combo climb to the top.

Project Persona

The notes always start shyly from the center of the screen and get bigger when they arrive on the HUD, to allow us to stay a minimum focused on the choreographies, even if we must admit that it remains very difficult! By scratching the right notes at the right time, it will always be possible to activate the Fever mode, during which your combo is more difficult to break, while your teammates come to give you a helping hand while dancing with you. Now you can call two to the rescue! Finally, it will always be possible to add bonuses and penalties, such as an option to delay the appearance of notes, or allow you to make a "Good" without breaking your combo, in exchange for more or less points. With this playability, always solid and pleasant, the mastery of the player increases at the same time as the difficulty, which can be regulated on four levels (the most difficult of which is unlocked after having finished all the songs for the first time). Clearly, the system is less enjoyable than that of a Project Diva, but it works well and you gladly take your dose of rhythm at your fingertips.

But from now on, notwithstanding all the qualities of playability of Persona Dancing, the rest of this test will be a little less pleasing ... Indeed, as with its elder, we risk going around quickly, with a playslist composed of only 25 songs, two less than in P4D. We can of course count on a few paid DLCs, and three free ones including one from P3D (just to make you want to buy the "blue version" if you only have the red). Unfortunately, what was a highlight of the previous episode, namely its really dancing playlist, is not as much here. The songs are really not all very catchy! Remixes are obviously offered, but most afford the luxury of having a lower tempo than the original song, a shame! The most playful melodies are those that have not been modified, posed as is from the original game. The live versions and the more elaborate clips are doing a little better, but the playlist of P5D is clearly not the most flamboyant there is, since it does not really offer audacity, or so awkwardly. In terms of comparison, P4D clearly ignited the dancefloor more!

Thieves of hearts

There is another point on which P5D does worse than P4D: the story mode. It's simple, here it does not exist! You have the solo mode, with its rankings, its replays or the possibility of observing a Perfect or the clip, and that's it. It is by playing solo that you will unlock skits, named here "COMMU" (and 8 in number per character). The stakes are nonexistent, very light, with no real interest other than to nourish fan service. Clearly, we are a little disappointed, and the already weak lifespan of the title does not come out big ... Nevertheless, some other celebrations are on the program, like a gallery with a very complete Sound Test, offering no less than 300 replicas per character, and a costume viewer compatible with the PSVR (although it must be said that this option is only a good big gadget that will get you tired after three minutes). Let's talk about costumes: they are much more numerous than in P4D, and the possibilities of customization are more advanced. No doubt about it, the fan will be delighted ...

Especially since on PS4, the 3D models of the characters still seem a little more beautiful than those of Persona 5. On the other hand, in addition to imposing sticks for scratching, the game on television offers another disadvantage: The HUD is downright disproportionate, and the action is much more difficult to follow because of the large gap that must be made with his peripheral vision to not miss anything. It therefore becomes even more complex to follow the choreographies, which are cool enough, but in the end, in certain opposition to part of the playlist. In short, you will understand: Persona 5 Dancing makes lose a little of its superb to the now series of rhythm game Persona.