Review for Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight. Game for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, the video game was released on 24/05/2018
If the Persona series can boast, nowadays, a certain popularity and a reputation as a saga of the highest quality it is above all thanks to Persona 5: the GOTY 2017 according to Epic Videogames Guide. It is therefore not surprising that ATLUS decided to give the fifth chapter of the series the same spin-off treatment reserved for the fourth (although there is still no possible, and much desired, Persona 5 Arena). The idea of Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight is to re-propose, in a lighter version and without a "canonical" plot, the formula of Persona 4 Dancing All Night with protagonists, music and different style. The result is remarkable: Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight is a rhythm game of indisputable quality in terms of music, gameplay and customization. The game, however, is not limited to this, also offering a Social mode that has proved to be more fun and valuable for the experience than we expected.
But the introduction has to end, because the night before us is long; let's enter the Velvet Room and warm our hearts by talking about Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight.
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight is a part of what can be called a "duology", completed by Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight. We decided to separate the reviews to talk in detail about the stylistic strengths of the two games, but the gameplay structure is almost identical, therefore, in order not to create repetitions and to be redundant, we invite you to read the review of Persona 3: Dancing in Starlight to learn more about the gameplay section of the two titles.
Instead, let's talk about how ATLUS has decided to make Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight unique and attractive. While Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight focuses on exploiting the feeling of nostalgia, the rhythm game of the fifth chapter focuses on pure fun. After all, Persona 5 has neither the themes nor the age to create an atmosphere of sweet nostalgia, so the developers decided to take what made the JRPG Confidants interesting and to propose multiple interactions in Social mode.
Although the Phantom Thieves are all more or less lovable, the original game fails to make them interact much with each other except in some specific activities; this gives Dancing in Starlight the chance to expand the interpersonal s between them. In fact, in the Social scenes we will almost always see at least three characters involved and their dialogues will wander on various topics, always managing to be funny or interesting. Many times we found ourselves smiling in front of some uncomfortable question, some barbina figure of Ryuji or Yusuke or simply thanks to pleasant interactions and perfectly in line with the various characters.
Playing Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight feels like the Phantom Thieves are simply having fun, with no weights on their backs and in the face of a very long night that is up to them to illuminate. But with the Phantom Thieves also the player has fun, in addition to the Social mode also the choreography of the songs reflect pure lightheartedness, thus passing hours and hours without even noticing the time passing. The two most elaborate choreographies perfectly reflect the style of the game, citing with exceptional videos the sources of inspiration that led to the creation of the ghost thieves. Specifically, there are very strong references to Lupine III and Moulin Rouge, strong stylistic inspirations for Persona 5.
The game particularly engages fans of the original game, as the latter will certainly be more inclined to enjoy seeing the Phantom Thieves dance like there's no tomorrow. On the other hand, the multiple choices of the Social mode, however limited, do a great job of making the player feel part of the team, so even a simple lover of rhythm games can very well find his bread in Dancing in Starlight.
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight is a solid and fun rhythm game. Although the game is obviously aimed at fans of the exceptional Persona 5, even a lover of the genre will find its bread. This is because Dancing in Starlight aims to be a simply fun game, counting much less than one might think on the affection of the fans of the original title.
► Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight is a Music type game developed and published by ATLUS for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, the video game was released on 24/05/2018
