As technology has advanced, so has video games. Originally, with early games such as “Tennis for Two,” the one and only reason one had for playing a game was the game play. It all revolved around the inputs of the player and what was happening on the screen; there was no need to create a reason for the player to engage with the game. However, with time, this ideology began to fade away. Players wanted to become immersed in a game’s world instead of being stuck in their own. The catalyst for this change was the introduction of storytelling into the interactive medium. The gamers now could become a character; they could struggle through the same hardships and fight through the same battles as the character within the game, and that made all the difference.
On a personal note, I believe that story is the most important part of a video game. The narrative is what drives me to complete a game, and nowhere is this more evident than in the 110 hour odyssey that is Persona 5. Persona 5 revolves around a high school student who is wrongfully accredited a crime he did not commit by a corrupt politician. Because of this, the student is forced to transfer schools to a large city in Japan called Shibuya. There, everywhere he turns, a corrupt society is crushing him, trying to make him conform. However, the student does not bend and, with help of other students who have been wronged by societal norms, changes the hearts of amoral adults. The game revolves around incredibly heavy and relatable themes that drives the story forward. I did not play Persona 5 for the game play (which, by the way, is turn based). I played it for the engrossing story. The game actually made me think about the parallels between the society within the game and the society that we all live in currently. For example, one of the major themes of the game is how people love to be “mindless.” (Spoilers ahead!!!) At the end of the game, the group of students, now calling themselves the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, changes the heart of the corrupt politician, Shido. Shido, to all normal citizens seems like a perfect candidate for Supreme minister due to his amazing speeches of grandeur and societal reflection. Behind his mask, however, lies a man that has murdered an innumerable amount of people in order to get the power that he desperately wants. The Phantom Thieves make him confess his crimes to the public. The horrendous stories are laid out for all to hear, and yet, the public is indifferent. They still want this man as their ruler, despite his atrocities. The people wish that they don’t have to think. They all live under the mantra that ignorance is bliss, and the people settle for a murderer if it means they can continue to trudge through their lives unaware of the world around them.
Problems and themes such as that in Persona 5 drive the player to push through the game. I always wanted to know more. I wanted to figure out what the Phantom Thieves were going to do to conquer society. I became so invested in the narrative that when the credits rolled on my journey, I cried. The game changed my outlook on my own life. I realized that I was one of the mindless citizens in the game. I too wallow in ignorance, only aware of the things that I want to be aware of. This game has changed my life. I began to think more critically about the world around me, and I encourage everyone to do the same. However, there is one thing that I did not need to ponder about. Persona 5 would not be the masterpiece that it is today without the story. I would not have cried at that game without the powerful narrative, and it would not have changed my life without the characters and the themes held within its code. A game can be more than a game, and Persona 5 proves that without a doubt.
Cheesecakeify My Opinion 