IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! Oh man, where do I even start with this one? This game. This playthrough. All of it. It meant so very much to me, it's hard to even put into words. BUT THANK YOU! I just can't fathom the amount of support we've had for all 10+ episodes of this series. It's genuinely awe inspiring and I'm going to look back on this one years from now and get all emotional and nostalgic. :') My goal from the very beginning was to let you guys experience something for the first time again if you loved this game in the past, and so many people have said we've actually delivered on that experience and I couldn't be more happy! As a dev myself, all I want to do is celebrate gaming. Show the world video games are art, you know?! And this game is a near perfect example of that! In general, I think this is the most support I've ever had on a variety game on my channel and again, I owe that to you! Your support on these videos, the streams, the VODS... All the fan-art made by y'all even!! Wow. Just incredible. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this such a fun moment on the channel. Again, never going to forget this one. PS: An absolute special thanks to all the mods, chatters, fanart, clip makers and to the Persona community for being so welcoming to me!! And one last MASSIVE THANK YOU to @SatchelStreams for asking to edit this series over a year ago and completely crushing it. These wouldn't have been possible for me in the first place without his help. THANK YOU ALL for making me play this. I love you. :') Hope to see you on more games soon! And who knows, maybe one day you might see my dumb face on a Reload thumbnail... Only if you want that though! HAHA. ♥ - JC A couple of final important links: Playlist to all 10+ edited episodes! ua-cam.com/play/PLBtVoLyKbpUCvEQjCGV-BrjPw3EgtYeko.html Playlist to all 68 Uncut VODs if you're real hardcore! ua-cam.com/play/PLMDBc3vySr2ugLy6X1gMKoKYyhndjSp_u.html
thanks for the incredible journey. it was the playthrough that i found this channel and even though i could never catch any of them live, i still felt like i was going through it right with everyone. thanks jc ❤
Thank you for givings this game a chance, despite the length lol. I remember being in the stream voting for the January game(clip shown at the beginning of the vid lol) and rooting for P5R so hard
Interesting detail: All of the third awakenings for the other party members take place in their homes, in their own rooms. All but Akechi. Akechi's happens in Leblanc. Akechi thought of Leblanc as his home.
Another interesting detail is that Maruki became a taxi driver so that he could take people where they want to go, instead of where he thinks they should go.
As someone who wasn't there for the actual streams (time zones and being busy with life), but watched every single VOD and edited video, this is probably one of if not my absolute favorite playthrough of this game. Your jokes, the emotions, chat roleplaying as whatever the situation needed (talking as if Kasumi wasn't supposed to be there, or acting as the collective unconscious), everything was so, so entertaining. Thank you, JC, for giving this game a try, and finishing it.
I had the absolute pleasure of speaking to Erica Lindbeck (Futaba, widow wife of Billy Kametz, who plays Maruki) and share how much her and Billy's performances resonated with me. She is a gem of a human and we both cried, haha. Such a special story, and every story within it has stuck with me so much.
@ninjapistol14 i was tabling at otafest in Calgary last year, so I gifted her a drawing of Futaba and Maruki bonding over cognitive psience. My girlfriend is autistic and really loved how Erica played Futaba. Hugs and tears were swapped that day hahahaha
Azathoth, is said to be the All-Father of the Lovecraftian Lore and the true creator of the Universe. It's actually very frightening and ties perfectly into Marukis power of being able to alternate realities and cognitions. It is said, that Azathoth, who is nicknamed; The Blind-Idiot God, is asleep, but because he is so powerful. He can project his dreams into physical matter, literally. However, he has no idea that his dreams have taken on physical form, hence his nickname, and it is said, that if he ever awoke from his dream. Everything that became matter from his dreams would all vanish in an instant. It's brilliant writing and just shows how both, frightening and powerful, Maruki really is.
And Adam Kadmon is the pure God essence of mankind in Jewish Kabbalah which when taking Kabbalah into account is much more potent at creating realities than Azathoth considering from the Kabbalistic perspective they have to be made manifest from an incredibly complex ideal system that while it represents the manifestation of material reality from God but it also represents the emotional and personality evolution of the individual. Adam Kadmon represented Maruki becoming the perfect man, the one who could take over ALL of existence including the SMT worlds as well
@@phillemon7664 Mainline persona itself is an alignment balance scale, with 3 representing a Messiah’s neutral alignment for the good of all, 4 representing a law heroes just order, and base 5 representing a chaos heroes wish for freedom. The royal arc itself is set up with Akechi as a chaos rep and Maruki as a law rep, and Sumire as a heroine, with joker becoming the messiah as he is left with the decision of how the world should be going forward. And as Adam Kadmon is Maruki’s fully awakened persona it becomes a YHVH equivalent as it is the ultimate form of law, because if Maruki wins there no freedom, and he would decide all things.
@@usrnmntavlibl2666 It's easy to feel like with the era of Persona started with P3 and on through the P4 games that the lore had become its own thing(s) for this series, but, when you really think about it, P5 very overtly ties together so many threads from all across Persona, SMT, and Atlus games in general, not just cameo stuff.
Man what a journey this has been, from being "forced" to play persona from chat to having this be one of the best experiences for JC. This playthrough really brought back the memories for me when i first played this game. All I can say now is thank you JC. And well done Satchel for the great edits.
Also I've got to say, as someone who was there for the streams, I highly advise checking out the VODs. This already-excellent video had to, for time purposes, omit iconic events like: - JC yapping to Akechi at the jazz club about men's shampoo scents for 20 minutes - the amount of time he spent debating whether to date Sumire - an entire mini-arc where uninformed chatters tried to convince him to evolve Sumi's Persona before completing the Palace, something that wasn't possible with the remaining schedule, and resulting in him having to reload and reject Sumi AGAIN - JC thinking that the Will Seeds could potentially mean another Palace, and then getting into an argument with chat about how many people actually play New Game+
Man, it's so tempting to check out the VODs, but there's a bazillion things I'm already behind on, and this final compilation video was already so satisfying.
easily my favourite playthrough of all time, and really happy to find a great streamer and content creator because of it. was great being there at all 100 “final stream for real this time”!!!
Maruki and his boss fight are one of the best in gaming. Not because of some crazy story twist or mechanic, just that you have a genuine bond with him, you KNOW he has YOUR best intentions in mind, but his methods for getting there are wrong. Your enemy genuinely cares about you. You summed it up perfectly. You feel bad for winning. The story is making part of you go against your own instincts + best interests as a player (ie. drive to win). When he talks to you mid fight, he's trying to get you to join him, sure, but he's practically giving one last therapy session. The feeling of regret everyone has when the calling card is given. Nobody WANTS this fight that HAS to happen. Billy's voice work add so much to it. Dude died young and its really tragic. This was one of his last roles
Haven’t watched the vid yet obviously, but crying at the end is a universal experience. I cried after vanilla p5 and royal lol. I had so much fun re-experiencing persona through you and I’m so happy to see you finally reach the 3rd semester! I’m so glad you stuck with the game! :) Edit: Watching you react to Mona and Wakaba in the beginning was SO fucking funny. I’m dying of laughter 15 mins in and reminiscing on my own reactions to this part😭😭 I also love Robbie Daymond’s (Akechi) 3rd semester voice lines. You can tell he really had fun recording them.
Real, personas 3-5, undertale and scarlet nexus are the only games that have ever made me cry due to their casts being so memorable and their endings hitting so hard
One thing I don't hear a lot of people talk about is how messed up it is that Maruki would use information given to him during the counseling sessions with the Phantom Thieves against them. That is a HUGE breach of counseling ethics. When you go to counseling or therapy, you go with the understanding that the therapist won't impact your outside life in any way you don't explicitly consent to.
JC BACKFIRE PERSONA 5 ROYAL FINAL EPISODE, I PRAYED FOR TIMES LIKE THIS. This was an incredible playthrough JC, thank you for playing through this game, it genuinely revived the same emotions i felt as when I played this incredible game for the first time. I cant wait to see you play through strikers and the rest of the persona series.
I was genuinely burnt out of P5 when I first saw JC's playthrough. I clicked on it because I was bored but his over reactions just brought back out the love I had for this game and the Phantom Theives. Can't wait to see what is next.
Can we talk about the fact that every party member's third awakening happened at the place they feel most "at home"? (for the main party literally in their homes). But Akechi's is right in front of Joker.
Interesting thing about Yusuke's ideal reality: he didn't really care about his mom coming back to life, since he never really met her, and yet he wanted for his "father" to be a good one, just like Haru (You could argue that they didn't want to create a design and model for his mother, but shh)
Seeing my art in 1:38 on a youtube video feels... Surreal lmao What a playtrough this was to see... I remember playing the finale in my room alone at 4 am, i couldnt sleep that night Maruki its the best
"It's true I turned my back on the original reality....BUT WHERE'S THE HARM IN THAT? WHEN IT GROWS TO BE TOO MUCH...TOO PAINFUL EVERY PERSON DESERVES TO ESCAPE THAT!" I GIVE UP EVERYTHING!!! EVERYTHING!!!! SO WHY?? WHY?? WHY RUMI?!!!! Maruki man....I love him so much
Notice the subtle tone shift in Akechi’s voice between this final arc and the whole rest of the game. He’s a lot more sharp tongued and menacing, and this is consistent through EVERY interaction with him during this final arc except for one. Even his character portrait is slightly different. Props to the devs and to Robbie daymond for his godlike performance. Truly one of the goats of the voice acting industry. Gotta say the same for Laura Post too, honestly. She nailed that transition from Kasumi into Sumire
Congratulations on beating one of the greatest games of all time! You said you wanted to create one of the best Persona 5 playthroughs there ever was on UA-cam, and MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. It felt like experiencing the game for the first time all over again. Watching streams live is something that I can have a hard time focusing on at times, but I was so invested in this playthrough that from the Madarame arc until the end, I was there pretty much every night, watching the entire thing no matter how eepy I got. It was so great seeing you experience all of these moments that have been burnt into our brains. Farewell, Phantom Thieves. Makoto is best girl.
Maruki is the perfect antagonist. Everything about what he does, how he does it, and why he does it is brilliantly perfect, it makes me tear up when I played it the first time. Ideal and the Real End Version is a heartbreaking song, playing only if you take the "good" ending, and hits harder on its own with the context of Maruki's character. It makes me cry. This game is practically perfect in every way
I just came here to rewatch the finale, realising the comment section has gone mad. Seems to be pretty serious Anybody care to summarise what happened? I dont know any of the names you guys mentioned
The call of duty community is incredibly toxic and blows things way out of proportion, but in this specific instance JC ended a friendship two years ago with somebody and that person called him out in his latest video. If somebody else wants to link that video, you can come to your own conclusions about the situation. The reality though, is he claims that JC cheated on his girlfriend, and the community is extremely split about whether the evidence was good enough to prove it. The people that completely believe Lex's word about JC are in this comments section, calling out JC for cheating on his girlfriend, but nothing is proven as of yet
@@animegames1202 yknow there was photo evidence from her before lex proved she was lying, which Jc and others had to comment on before the mob came after them, just like how you guys are doing now… but instead you guys are just repeating what you think you know.
I doubt you’ll see this comment but in the off-chance you do, this is an incredible video series. Your reactions are super genuine and entertaining, the editing is amazing, the vibes are just great through and through. Thanks a lot for all the hard work and hundreds of hours making this masterpiece of a series man, honestly.
What I enjoyed most about your playthrough was your engagement in the game. This really felt like JC’s Persona 5 Royal and not Persona 5 Royal. How much you analyzed the story, characters, and themes really made me understand this game on a deeper level and made me love it more. And the most significant part of that engagement is that (in no offense) he was very unoptimal in the game. In my playthrough, I already got the most busted Personas in the game, like Lucifer, Chi You, Beelzebub, Shiva, and Izanagi-no-Okami Picaro by Shido’s Palace. I maxed ranked every confidant before Christmas and steamrolled through most of the game. I got every character’s best weapons, including Makoto’s +22 to all stats gun. I had to constantly hold myself back to get any semblance of challenge from this game. Persona is a game in which the more you put into it, the more powerful you get. I put a lot of time into getting that power and don’t regret playing like that. However, JC spent much more time analyzing the story and acting like he was in it. So many times, I was like, “Why do you still have medium wind magic on Angel,” “Why don’t itemize this Persona to get this busted item,” or “Why don’t you have auto all stats up” when I had those by Sae’s palace. However, this made me see more of the intent behind the boss fights. It made me so excited to see you tackle bosses like Okumura and Yaldaboath when, in my playthrough, I was so powerful I beat Yaldaboath by putting my controller down and pressing the auto-attack rush button. I got to feel so much more immersed in a world I saw as just another game in this series to get powerful in, while JC saw this as a brand new world he had no idea about. He brought so many new perspectives that I must thank JC for playing this game. I’m sure it made many people like me happy to see others loving our favorite games. I’m not a Twitch sub, I didn’t gift 160 subs or donate 262 dollars, but I hope my comments and viewership are enough to signal how thankful I am for your playthrough. (And PS, you would get a big kick out of Xenoblade Chronicles games. Those will rock your socks off)
❤️ seeing this comment makes me so happy!! Genuinely, I’m so glad this playthrough had any sort of added perspective. It was such a big goal of mine… appreciate you so much! 😭❤️ Btw, I’ve heard xenoblade is pretty cool but have never played yet!! :) it’s on my list someday for sure!
Rest in peace, Billy P. Kametz, the voice of Maruki. He passed away in 2022 due to colorectal cancer. "If these words help you in your life, then we are even."
I love the metaphor of Joker's glasses being his mask since he initally wore those glasses to conceal his identity since at the time he was being labelled a "criminal". But now Joker is a free man and is no longer restrained by his past. He's able to take his mask off (glasses) confidently since his journey as a Trickster has concluded therefore there is no need for him to keep the mask on. Joker recalls his time as a Phantom Thief, he accepts that it's over and it's now time to move on and look forward to the future. Side note: I love character-driven stories and these characters felt so real to me, it broke my heart when I had to accept that the game was over and I couldn't see them again. It's the same as the feeling you get when your friends you've grown up with eventually part ways and go on their own seperate journeys. In a way, the game is telling you "it's been a long ride, now it's time for you to move on, just as these characters you've become attached to have". GOD I LOVE THIS GAME SO DAMN MUCH AAAAAA-
THE PEAKEST OF PEAKS HATH FINALLY DROPPED THIS PLAYTHROUGH PROBABLY WAS THE SINGLE BIGGEST INFLUENCE OVER THE PAST 4 MONTHS FOR ME AND I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH JC AND SATCHEL FOR MAKING IT. SO GOOD. THANK YOU.
I love the ending to this game, but I am still mad that they never let joker evolve Arsene and Sataneal into Raoul (joker’s third persona that was made into dlc), mainly because the scene with joker and Maruki would have been perfect if it ended with joker making a declaration to steal the world to himself before having the awakening cutscene
The final episode's here!! And what a wild ride it's been! When the first part of your playthrough was recommended to me last year, I had a feeling that you were going to have a great time and what a wild ride it's been! I (and many others!) got to watch you immerse yourself in and fall in love with the characters (and fall in hate with others) and it's just a big reminder of why I love the Persona games so much (especially 3 & 5) and it's because of the characters and how people are able to relate to them, their stories and their struggles. we get to see them grow, learn and change. Persona 3 was my first Persona game and will always be a favorite; but Persona 5 did so much so well- and you got to see a lot of it first-hand. I was so excited to see you fall in love with Sumire too! I was looking forward to seeing you experience her full story, and man. What a ride that itself was! The same with Maruki and his story. I've always loved how they wrote his character- and how he was beautifully performed by the late & great Billy Kametz. And the way they had written Sumire and Maruki, two people grieving, and how similar but different they were. I got one of my friends (another P5 lover) hooked on your playthrough and she's been just as excited to see you experience the game as well. I wanted to thank you, JC, for deciding to play this game. It's been one of the most fun playthroughs I've gotten to watch, and helped me fall in love with the game all over again (I love this game dearly and it happens more than one would think!) I look forward to see if you play P5S (a really great follow up! if you decide to play it, you'd have a blast with the gameplay!) and P3R, and any other Persona games, if you so choose to do so, in the future! Even if you don't, this will probably remain as one of my favorite P5 playthroughs, if not one of my favorite Persona playthroughs in general. I look forward to watching more of your games / playthroughs in general!
I totally had fallen out of my persona 5 phase, then my algorithm shows up with this random JCbackfire guy and his seemingly hype playthrough. needless to say, best move my algorithm has made in a long time. I'm really glad you enjoyed this experience, hopefully more eyes keep getting drawn back to this game so we can get P6 soon 🙏
Who else here loves how anytime he was introduced to a new character he would stand up and yell “IS THAT THE RIVAL??” Best one was when sumi was awakening and he thought she was the rivals lmao
I BELIEVED, AND HERE WE ARE!!!! Genuinely this was an absolutely incredible ride to be on, even though I joined the hype late i would not miss the ending streams for anything. Not to mention seeing all the community effort and fanart, it really makes you stop and realize just how far spread the love for a piece of media like P5 is even in communities you'd never expect it. Congrats on completing your very first Persona game JC!! Here's to whatever comes next!!
Thank you JC for playing this game! As much of a rollercoaster of emotions it was for you discovering this game, it was for me re living these moments again for a second time ( i 100% it 2 months ago). Seeing your reactions and deductions always got me excited to see the next video. I know that Persona 5 strikers is not the same style of gameplay as the other persona games (its in the style of Dynasty Warriors) but it's worth giving it a checkout at least. I don't want to spoil anything, so i won't say more about it. Thanks again and congrats on completing Persona 5 Royal!
Man, what a ride it has been.Thank you for playing one of my favorite games of all time JC. I've been watching your videos since the BO3 days and been watching your twitch streams since 2020. You have helped me with so much throughout the years with your content. This playthrough is easily my favorite and it has helped me through so much the last year. Thank you for playing and I can't wait for what's next, I will be locked in no matter what it is because you're my favorite o7. Also shout out to satchel for these high quality videos
I am always so happy to see people experience Persona the first time. I started with P4 but P5R had just as much of an impact on me as that first game did. Thats why these games have such a big fan base. They do story telling like no other. I am so happy to experience the game again alongside you as you finish your journey! Thanks for the ride!
Congratulations on this journey you've experienced. Going around the city and seeing everyone who's changed since you started playing the game, saying farewells to friends... always warms my heart.
When i was listening to the your final thougts about the game i stumbled upon a comment saying something about it being a 4 hours video and i stopped, said "no way and got was mesmerized about how quickly it past. it was truely sublime to be here and watch it up!!! I live in another country and i found your channel because i like to watch and listen to things in english as some type of pratice and i will be here no matter what you do in the future , revisiting this game ignited a will to open it and go for the platinum , i already have like.... 90% of the trophies so i'll be doing that even with the limited time i have for it right now... THANKS JC and the editor For all the videos they were as much of a work of art as the game itself!!❤
This game means the world to me and the fact I was able to watch you analyze, react, and play the game that changed my life truly made it special and worthwhile to watch. I originally stumbled upon the very first video of you playing it and was instantly hooked. You are genuinely a gem on UA-cam and I'm glad you took your audience by the hand to witness by far the best playthough of Persona 5 out there. Much love!
Persona 5 is one my personal favorite games of all-time. The story and characters truly resonated with me and plus the soundtrack is some of the best I've heard in a video game. I'm extremely glad you enjoyed it and I would love to see you play Persona 3 Reload in the future!
This was one of the most engaging playthroughs I’ve ever watched. I don’t normally watch twitch that often, but being along for the ride was something unforgettable. Thank you JC, for playing and enjoying the game as much as we all do. On to Persona 5 Strikers!❤
I subscribed for the persona content, but I'm staying because JC is an actual joy to watch. It's always fun to see a streamer/gamer who isn't afraid to show emotions and to cry on camera.
The parallels and contrast between Maruki and Joker are so interesting. They both want the same thing (to help people) but the difference is Joker takes into account people's free will. You can't really hate Maruki because his feelings are just so real and relatable. The parallel between Rumi and Akechi is also interesting. They're the two people that Maruki and Joker couldn't save, and they both lost them on February 3. It's not a coincidence that Maruki talks about Rumi right before revealing the truth about Akechi on 2/2, or that they're who Maruki and Joker think of first after the metaverse disappears. The difference is that Maruki didnt care about what Rumi would've wanted whereas Joker knows how much freedom means to Akechi. This arc is amazing because it cements the theme that freedom (not just happiness) is necessary to be whole. Yaldobaoth took people's freedom and made them miserable, but Maruki took people's freedom and made them happy. That's probably why the decision to accept or reject the deal is the final decision of the game. It's a test to see whether the player understands how happiness, safety, and freedom are connected.
The void that persona 5 left on me was something i will never forget i missed the universe so much and how i got attached to the characters, your playthrough made possible to feel that i was part of that again, wich im so thankful for, i dont know if you will ever read this, but im rly just so thankful, thank you for everything
I love how the final fight of the vanilla game and the final fight of the Royal content are in conversation with each other. With Yaldabaoth you climb out of the bloody, dirty world to fight a pristine God in the clouds, ending things with an impersonal bullet. But it’s the exact opposite with Maruki, you descend from a pristine and clean Apple Store in Eden to the messy streets of Tokyo, ending things with a deeply personal fist fight. The contrast between the two really drives home the differences between fighting God, and fighting your fellow man.
I always like how in the first P5, the final battle is with a malevolent god who wishes to subjugate humans under his will. The Phantom Thieves loudly and proudly proclaimed that humans will never be slaves and forever strive for freedom. Then P5R comes out and gives us the additional month and new content. This time the main antagonist is still wanting to subjugate humans but rather than use their power for selfish needs, he instead goes out and makes a world where everyone is happy. He doesn't want you to be in pain, he wants what he thinks is best for you. A gentle submission yet submission all the same. Would you be able to stick with the answer of freedom that you've found beforehand?
I was introduced to your channel via this playthrough and will definitely keep watching after it (this was probably my favorite playthrough ive seen on this game)
The reason Sumire suddenly feels canon in 3rd semester is because she only exists in the Royal updated release of P5. Basically every event before Christmas with her is shoehorned in. This got her a lot of detractors who disliked how she was pushed into the 'canon' girlfriend position when she didn't exist before.. I still enjoy her presence, and hate she doesn't appear in Strikers, and is DLC only in tactica.
Before Persona 3, Persona 5 Royal was my favorite game for years and seeing you play it and loving it (seemingly) just as much as I do, falling in love with the story, the characters, and despising others. Your empathy for the tragedy that they've all been through, the pain, the development and also the choices you've made with them. Your relationships with all the characters and your choice to respect them ((in reference to when you turned down Sumi's advances even tho she's best girl) because you were already dating Makoto) regardless of the fact that they are fictional (which is a testament to the brilliant writing of this game) it was truly a dream and a half. I can not express my gratitude for your playthrough of Persona 5 Royal. I would love it if you played Persona 3 Reload. Thank you, JC, for the best and most anticipated 10 months of my life!!!
i agree so much with persona 3!! royal was also my favorite but after finishing persona 3 reload, this is the game that truly changed how i view my life.
As one of the friends @satchel visited as he mentioned at the end of the video i just wanna say thank you to all of you who supported and jc for making this playthrough possible
Reality isn't always happy... And that's why we fight, why we search for reason, for answers, every human is different and the same, everyone suffers even if it isn't in the same way We suffer and fight through a day, to see what's in store in the next, and after all the pain, a victory tastes even more sweet... So rebel, choose your own path, if you don't do anything in the present, who can change your future? Remember what you lost, not because of what it could have been, or to be stuck in the past, but to get the power to move forward, and to smile at the you back then, proudly saying... "We made it" So fight, for justice, for selflessness, for acceptance, for reason, for pride, fight for your dreams, for yourself And others will fight too
1:58 i keep going back to this moment because it is still surreal to see my own work showcased like this. thank you for the memories jc, and here’s to greater journeys with final fantasy 7, when it happens
11:10 "Are you normal" he asks to #1 psych ward patient ""Kasumi"" Yoshizawa. Comedy. Gold. I lost it Sumi is my fav character of the game, and I'm so excited for what your reaction to the third semester as a whole was!! I'm just as glad to see her again as you were JC
I appreciate the kind words, but just to be clear, JC is responsible for like 99% of that intro. I gave him the general idea and pitch for what I wanted to do with it. Then he took that and went crazy on his own, and then we reconvened in a call and I gave a few more ideas but I just wanna make clear that that was mostly him. ❤
Let us show respect to the late Billy Kametz, who did this astounding performance as Maruki, may the man rest in peace leaving his brilliant performances behind.
Thank you for creating the best P5R series ever JC! I spent every day since i saw the 1st persona vid in your channel waitng for another one and am filled with joy every time a notification pops up, not only your vids, but you have a charm i cannot explain. Today i went on a quick trip with my family, and quite literally thought to myself: The only thing that would make my day even better would be a jc persona vid. Lo and behold. The best part is this isn't the 1st or 2nd time these coincidences happen, there were some day to day stuff i would do as i re-watch the p5r vids, and pretty much you would post new vids while i did said stuff, then i would stay up late watching em when i had school next day. Thank you for the great series and the countless hours that would be otherwise be spent sleeping and prepare yourself for p3r, that shit starts a little slow (at least for me) but when it hits... IT HITS HARD.
I really adored your playthrough of this game, simply because how invested you were during the journey. How it gradually captured you and how, at the end, how genuine you are about your feelings. Thank you for letting yourself be convinced by chat, and going the distance!🎉
Maruki imo is one of the best characters ever. Extremely well written, sympathetic, AND someone you want to take down, yet root for all the same. Amazing character.
I dont know if you remember but right in the beginning of the game when sojira takes you to school and brings you home you get stuck in traffic. Over the radio they mention a 14 year old girl was killed by getting hit by a car. Sojira says how sad it is. That was kasumi. It was hinted at very early in the game. Within the first few hours.
I think JC is really able to communicate his emotions so well, like when he was feeling things that impacted me and made me feel the same. Watching this made me relive how I felt when I first played this game and the lasting impact it's had.
Played this game in 2021, and it completely changed me. This game brought me so many good(and bad) emotions during Covid-19 that I cannot put into words how important this single piece of media is to me. Loved to relive this experience with your videos, it was a truly amazing experience. Hoping to see a Persona 3 Reload series. Didn't play the game yet (Games here in Brazil are so fucking expensive), but surely will be playing in a not so far future Thank you, again, for this amazing series Ps: Sorry if my English writing isn't the best, not my first language
I joined the streams during the Okumura arc when I was having a bit of a difficult time personally. I started watching every single stream either live or through VOD ( cuz of timezones), and soon this became my favorite P5 playthrough I've seen. So many amazing memories, hours upon hours of entertainment, and yes seeing the credits roll made all the feels hit like a truck. I had woken up at 3am just to get to be a part of the massive final stream lol, but god was it worth it. I'm sticking around for everything else you end up playing, already enjoyed the heck out of Stellar Blade. Thank you JC and of course Satchel as well. Greetings and much love from Finland❤
I'm up at 4 in the morning because i had to watch this whole thing in one sitting. I haven't seen someone react to the ending of this game in this way in such a long time. Persona 5 Royal is my favorite video game of all time, Maruki is my favorite video game character of all time, and the psychological and philosophical ideas in this final act are so interesting and important to me as a person. They shaped the way I think, the way I act, hell what I wanna do with my life. I'm so glad you played this game. I'm so glad you found this series, and I hope you play persona 3 and persona 4 so badly because those games arguably made equally big changes to how I think and live. Persona 4 changed my outlook on relationships and friendships, and persona 3 and its message literally changed my entire life. Reload came out at a time when I had just lost someone really important to me, and while I played the original when i was younger, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that persona 3 may have saved my life in some respect. I kinda shut down the december before it launched, and playing it helped me wake the hell back up. This playthrough has probably been one of my favorite persona playthroughs i've ever watched. the idea that someone can go into this game BLIND when it originally came out in 2017 is amazing, and the reactions you had to it were some of the closest to mine I've seen from someone that isn't literally me. Thank you so much for playing this game, it means so much to see this playthrough end.
Looking at the VoDs of this playthrough as well as the videos were worth it, it was a very fun series to watch with all the theories that JC could come up with this game. I'm glad you enjoyed this game. And now its time to wait as long as needed to see how will JC react to persona 3, I believe it will also be worth it
As one of the possible many P5 reaction addicts, this was a very enjoyable journey. I played P5 vanilla when it came out and then Royal as well. These games had a profound impact on me and I always go out of my way to see other's first time reactions. I especially enjoyed your post-arc thoughts and theories. It was unique and gave some solid insight into your thoughts as you played. I look forward to you playing more persona in the future. P3 and P4 both have excellent stories and some people prefer them even to P5. If you are worried about "going backwards" P3 Reload keeps alot of the QOL from P5 and has a great aesthetic as well.
JC, this playthrough was something i didn't think was possible. You gave the audience the experience of playing this game blind all over again. I really appreciate how invested and immersed you were as the months went by. THANK YOU for making the commitment to see this to the end! 💗
Congratulations on completing Persona 5 Royal. I'm a cosplayer, so I'm always on the look for new characters. And in 2020 when cons weren't a thing, I finally had the free time to play through P5 for the first time, and I instantly fell in love. The games style, music, themes, and it's characters, and their relationship with eachother immediately captivated me. You compared it to Lost, but my big comparison that I gravitated to was my favorite manga, One Piece. The Phantom Theves' comrrodery gave me the same heart and passion that I get from the story of the Strawhat Pirates. Late 2021 when cons opened up again, my first cosplay back to the con scene became Skull, and he quickly became one of my most loved and well received cosplays. 💀🤘 Since then, I have played both my second playthrough (cause much like you, I ALSO shipped Joker with Makoto my first time around; they were just the perfect Team Mom and Dad of the Phantom Thieves. So my second playthrough I went with Kasumi). I have also played P5 Strikers, which is fun (nowhere near as phenomenal or emotionally draining as Royal, but a fun action-based follow up nonetheless) and P3 Reload (which yes, believe the rumors. It hits hard) and am currently in process of my first time through P4 Golden on Switch, and I just want to say, to both you and your editor, astounding job, and I look forward to see what you guys play next. ❤
I was so glad to be a part of this ride. Your reactions truly made me remember how I felt when I played for the first time. Can’t wait when in due time you decided to explore the dark hour in Persona 3 Reload. Thank you and keep the good work!
I want to give a thanks to Billy Kametz, RIP. He brought Maruki to life in his performance, I wish we could have had him longer to hear more work from him. Truly a great talent was lost. The story and his performance is not something I will forget, it stands as one of my favourite stories and made me question a lot of life questions.
Heh, 68 streams later… and the P5R journey finally came into a close, crazy isn’t it Your P5R experience was spectacular and gotta be hands down one of best of the best Persona Playthrough I encountered. Can’t wait to see other games you have planned in store Thanks JC for playing peak and Satchel editing this series but til next time, Farewell Phantom Thieves o7
IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!
Oh man, where do I even start with this one? This game. This playthrough. All of it. It meant so very much to me, it's hard to even put into words. BUT THANK YOU! I just can't fathom the amount of support we've had for all 10+ episodes of this series. It's genuinely awe inspiring and I'm going to look back on this one years from now and get all emotional and nostalgic. :')
My goal from the very beginning was to let you guys experience something for the first time again if you loved this game in the past, and so many people have said we've actually delivered on that experience and I couldn't be more happy! As a dev myself, all I want to do is celebrate gaming. Show the world video games are art, you know?! And this game is a near perfect example of that!
In general, I think this is the most support I've ever had on a variety game on my channel and again, I owe that to you! Your support on these videos, the streams, the VODS... All the fan-art made by y'all even!! Wow. Just incredible. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this such a fun moment on the channel. Again, never going to forget this one.
PS: An absolute special thanks to all the mods, chatters, fanart, clip makers and to the Persona community for being so welcoming to me!! And one last MASSIVE THANK YOU to @SatchelStreams for asking to edit this series over a year ago and completely crushing it. These wouldn't have been possible for me in the first place without his help.
THANK YOU ALL for making me play this. I love you. :')
Hope to see you on more games soon! And who knows, maybe one day you might see my dumb face on a Reload thumbnail... Only if you want that though! HAHA.
♥ - JC
A couple of final important links:
Playlist to all 10+ edited episodes! ua-cam.com/play/PLBtVoLyKbpUCvEQjCGV-BrjPw3EgtYeko.html
Playlist to all 68 Uncut VODs if you're real hardcore! ua-cam.com/play/PLMDBc3vySr2ugLy6X1gMKoKYyhndjSp_u.html
thanks for the incredible journey. it was the playthrough that i found this channel and even though i could never catch any of them live, i still felt like i was going through it right with everyone. thanks jc ❤
Loved watching your journey on stream and the edited videos. Hoping you play Xenoblade one day.
Thank you for givings this game a chance, despite the length lol. I remember being in the stream voting for the January game(clip shown at the beginning of the vid lol) and rooting for P5R so hard
@@Hellscream_9999yesss he would adore xenoblade if he loved persona so much
Please play persona 5 strikers next
Interesting detail:
All of the third awakenings for the other party members take place in their homes, in their own rooms. All but Akechi. Akechi's happens in Leblanc.
Akechi thought of Leblanc as his home.
I'm crying now, thanks :D
STOPPPP IT'S LIKE THEY'RE TRYING TO RIP OUR HEARTS OUT
Another interesting detail is that Maruki became a taxi driver so that he could take people where they want to go, instead of where he thinks they should go.
@@usrnmntavlibl2666 Yes I was actually thinking that!! He's actually helping people now :D
That makes sense I suppose, he doesn’t really have a real home except for that small cafe place
As someone who wasn't there for the actual streams (time zones and being busy with life), but watched every single VOD and edited video, this is probably one of if not my absolute favorite playthrough of this game.
Your jokes, the emotions, chat roleplaying as whatever the situation needed (talking as if Kasumi wasn't supposed to be there, or acting as the collective unconscious), everything was so, so entertaining.
Thank you, JC, for giving this game a try, and finishing it.
I had the absolute pleasure of speaking to Erica Lindbeck (Futaba, widow wife of Billy Kametz, who plays Maruki) and share how much her and Billy's performances resonated with me. She is a gem of a human and we both cried, haha. Such a special story, and every story within it has stuck with me so much.
You're incredible for this. I salute you 🫡
@ninjapistol14 i was tabling at otafest in Calgary last year, so I gifted her a drawing of Futaba and Maruki bonding over cognitive psience. My girlfriend is autistic and really loved how Erica played Futaba. Hugs and tears were swapped that day hahahaha
@@siemingly I cannot watch anything else with the voice actors in it without thinking "OMG it's _____ from persona 5!"
@@ninjapistol14 meanwhile i cant hear lindbeck in anything including futaba without going "OMG MAGILOU"
Azathoth, is said to be the All-Father of the Lovecraftian Lore and the true creator of the Universe. It's actually very frightening and ties perfectly into Marukis power of being able to alternate realities and cognitions.
It is said, that Azathoth, who is nicknamed; The Blind-Idiot God, is asleep, but because he is so powerful. He can project his dreams into physical matter, literally. However, he has no idea that his dreams have taken on physical form, hence his nickname, and it is said, that if he ever awoke from his dream. Everything that became matter from his dreams would all vanish in an instant.
It's brilliant writing and just shows how both, frightening and powerful, Maruki really is.
And Adam Kadmon is the pure God essence of mankind in Jewish Kabbalah which when taking Kabbalah into account is much more potent at creating realities than Azathoth considering from the Kabbalistic perspective they have to be made manifest from an incredibly complex ideal system that while it represents the manifestation of material reality from God but it also represents the emotional and personality evolution of the individual. Adam Kadmon represented Maruki becoming the perfect man, the one who could take over ALL of existence including the SMT worlds as well
@@phillemon7664 Mainline persona itself is an alignment balance scale, with 3 representing a Messiah’s neutral alignment for the good of all, 4 representing a law heroes just order, and base 5 representing a chaos heroes wish for freedom.
The royal arc itself is set up with Akechi as a chaos rep and Maruki as a law rep, and Sumire as a heroine, with joker becoming the messiah as he is left with the decision of how the world should be going forward.
And as Adam Kadmon is Maruki’s fully awakened persona it becomes a YHVH equivalent as it is the ultimate form of law, because if Maruki wins there no freedom, and he would decide all things.
@@usrnmntavlibl2666 It's easy to feel like with the era of Persona started with P3 and on through the P4 games that the lore had become its own thing(s) for this series, but, when you really think about it, P5 very overtly ties together so many threads from all across Persona, SMT, and Atlus games in general, not just cameo stuff.
Man what a journey this has been, from being "forced" to play persona from chat to having this be one of the best experiences for JC. This playthrough really brought back the memories for me when i first played this game. All I can say now is thank you JC. And well done Satchel for the great edits.
Also I've got to say, as someone who was there for the streams, I highly advise checking out the VODs. This already-excellent video had to, for time purposes, omit iconic events like:
- JC yapping to Akechi at the jazz club about men's shampoo scents for 20 minutes
- the amount of time he spent debating whether to date Sumire
- an entire mini-arc where uninformed chatters tried to convince him to evolve Sumi's Persona before completing the Palace, something that wasn't possible with the remaining schedule, and resulting in him having to reload and reject Sumi AGAIN
- JC thinking that the Will Seeds could potentially mean another Palace, and then getting into an argument with chat about how many people actually play New Game+
SO TRUEEE
The NG+ debate is hilarious, people were arguing gaming statistics with the literal Junior game designer.
Man, it's so tempting to check out the VODs, but there's a bazillion things I'm already behind on, and this final compilation video was already so satisfying.
easily my favourite playthrough of all time, and really happy to find a great streamer and content creator because of it. was great being there at all 100 “final stream for real this time”!!!
Appreciate you so much :')
Truly Persona 5 Royal will never end. Even if the streams are over, the game has definitely left a permanent mark on JC’s brain.
@@Magic_Ice I believe you mean in his Heart)
!
I suggest you go watch mrtlexifys last video, cause this guy is not someone you're gonna wanna support in the future
Maruki and his boss fight are one of the best in gaming. Not because of some crazy story twist or mechanic, just that you have a genuine bond with him, you KNOW he has YOUR best intentions in mind, but his methods for getting there are wrong. Your enemy genuinely cares about you. You summed it up perfectly. You feel bad for winning. The story is making part of you go against your own instincts + best interests as a player (ie. drive to win). When he talks to you mid fight, he's trying to get you to join him, sure, but he's practically giving one last therapy session. The feeling of regret everyone has when the calling card is given. Nobody WANTS this fight that HAS to happen.
Billy's voice work add so much to it. Dude died young and its really tragic. This was one of his last roles
Fuck Cancer, Justice for Billy!
Haven’t watched the vid yet obviously, but crying at the end is a universal experience. I cried after vanilla p5 and royal lol. I had so much fun re-experiencing persona through you and I’m so happy to see you finally reach the 3rd semester! I’m so glad you stuck with the game! :)
Edit: Watching you react to Mona and Wakaba in the beginning was SO fucking funny. I’m dying of laughter 15 mins in and reminiscing on my own reactions to this part😭😭 I also love Robbie Daymond’s (Akechi) 3rd semester voice lines. You can tell he really had fun recording them.
Real, personas 3-5, undertale and scarlet nexus are the only games that have ever made me cry due to their casts being so memorable and their endings hitting so hard
One thing I don't hear a lot of people talk about is how messed up it is that Maruki would use information given to him during the counseling sessions with the Phantom Thieves against them. That is a HUGE breach of counseling ethics. When you go to counseling or therapy, you go with the understanding that the therapist won't impact your outside life in any way you don't explicitly consent to.
Right?? I'm so glad to see someone else acknowledge this, I'm not skilled enough to explain why it makes me feel so icky
JC BACKFIRE PERSONA 5 ROYAL FINAL EPISODE, I PRAYED FOR TIMES LIKE THIS.
This was an incredible playthrough JC, thank you for playing through this game, it genuinely revived the same emotions i felt as when I played this incredible game for the first time. I cant wait to see you play through strikers and the rest of the persona series.
Yeah, really hope he plays Strikers
@@gmnobrega0704now i really hope he retires from the internet. what a fucking creep
Have ya heard the news 😂
Mf cheated on his gf with her sister
@@aftaahlifeyoikes!!!!
I was genuinely burnt out of P5 when I first saw JC's playthrough. I clicked on it because I was bored but his over reactions just brought back out the love I had for this game and the Phantom Theives. Can't wait to see what is next.
3:37:09 "I dont even know what story would hit me as much"
*Cries in P3*
Sooo this. I played P5 first, but P3 hits much harder in the end :/
He'd better play it
I'll probably cry again watching it tbh
And they said Mother 3/EarthBound 2 was sad.
P3 didn't hit me nearly as hard but still an amazing game with heartbreaking moments
@@Loner098That's more Mother 3 than EarthBound
Can we talk about the fact that every party member's third awakening happened at the place they feel most "at home"? (for the main party literally in their homes). But Akechi's is right in front of Joker.
chat spamming the rainbow hand heart thingy the moment Akechi is on screen is so funny to me
I think it's literally called GayPride
@@shinxen8181 it literally is
He's just so fruity /pos
honestly when is he not a walking pride flag
Persona fans are one the same level of fujoshi as MHA fans.
50:30
"She has so much trauma. Maybe more trauma than anyone in this entire game"
The Futaba and the Akechi in question:
Yeah those other two characters have a lot of trauma too
It’s kinda hard to say which one has more trauma than others
Maybe he feels that way because he only got told by those two not showed into his face like Sumi case
Nearly a full year of absolute PEAK. Thank you for giving us the *BEST* playthrough of P5R on the internet!
😭😭😭❤️
@@JCbackfirelex made you popular and you just betray him like that without looking at the evidence, you suck dude fr
😬
@@JCbackfire 🐍 🐍 🐍 💔
@@JCbackfire🐍 🐍 🐍
Interesting thing about Yusuke's ideal reality: he didn't really care about his mom coming back to life, since he never really met her, and yet he wanted for his "father" to be a good one, just like Haru
(You could argue that they didn't want to create a design and model for his mother, but shh)
Seeing my art in 1:38 on a youtube video feels... Surreal lmao
What a playtrough this was to see... I remember playing the finale in my room alone at 4 am, i couldnt sleep that night
Maruki its the best
Thank you for the art seriously, it made me smile so much :'))
That was your art? Your design is so cool!! Congrats on getting featured, it’s such a great piece!! :D
@@JCbackfirewhat you gonna do now buddy
I wonder if it still was worth it...
Oh this one is actually sad
Funny how for Akechi and Joker's Showtime, it says Two Sides, Some Coin instead of Same Coin
"It's true I turned my back on the original reality....BUT WHERE'S THE HARM IN THAT? WHEN IT GROWS TO BE TOO MUCH...TOO PAINFUL EVERY PERSON DESERVES TO ESCAPE THAT!"
I GIVE UP EVERYTHING!!! EVERYTHING!!!! SO WHY?? WHY?? WHY RUMI?!!!!
Maruki man....I love him so much
"Your eyes are as bright and honest as ever" will forever be my favorite persona line, I think. It's so beautiful.
4 HOURS HUUUH
yeah, the third semester could be its own short game
I have always felt it should've been it's own mini-campaign separate from the base game like The Answer in P3.
Notice the subtle tone shift in Akechi’s voice between this final arc and the whole rest of the game. He’s a lot more sharp tongued and menacing, and this is consistent through EVERY interaction with him during this final arc except for one. Even his character portrait is slightly different. Props to the devs and to Robbie daymond for his godlike performance. Truly one of the goats of the voice acting industry. Gotta say the same for Laura Post too, honestly. She nailed that transition from Kasumi into Sumire
Congratulations on beating one of the greatest games of all time!
You said you wanted to create one of the best Persona 5 playthroughs there ever was on UA-cam, and MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. It felt like experiencing the game for the first time all over again.
Watching streams live is something that I can have a hard time focusing on at times, but I was so invested in this playthrough that from the Madarame arc until the end, I was there pretty much every night, watching the entire thing no matter how eepy I got. It was so great seeing you experience all of these moments that have been burnt into our brains.
Farewell, Phantom Thieves.
Makoto is best girl.
You had me in the first half until you lied with that last sentence, I’ll go to war for Hifumi.
i believe the chat was correct for PERSONA 5 ROYAL for Sumire.
Maruki is the perfect antagonist. Everything about what he does, how he does it, and why he does it is brilliantly perfect, it makes me tear up when I played it the first time. Ideal and the Real End Version is a heartbreaking song, playing only if you take the "good" ending, and hits harder on its own with the context of Maruki's character. It makes me cry. This game is practically perfect in every way
WE'RE SO FUCKING BACKKK
i was staring at that "there is 1 private video in this playlist" for TOO LONG
Hahaha, it took days to chapter it out and get it ready for publishing 😂
That aged well😢
I just came here to rewatch the finale, realising the comment section has gone mad. Seems to be pretty serious
Anybody care to summarise what happened? I dont know any of the names you guys mentioned
The call of duty community is incredibly toxic and blows things way out of proportion, but in this specific instance JC ended a friendship two years ago with somebody and that person called him out in his latest video. If somebody else wants to link that video, you can come to your own conclusions about the situation. The reality though, is he claims that JC cheated on his girlfriend, and the community is extremely split about whether the evidence was good enough to prove it. The people that completely believe Lex's word about JC are in this comments section, calling out JC for cheating on his girlfriend, but nothing is proven as of yet
@@sleeplessxy thanks! People hearing one side of argument and start dogpiling on somebody is still crazy for me
@@wasabilai9405The "evidence" doesn't prove anything, people just harassing him lmao
@@diabolic_ghastly people do be living for the internet drama lol
The mere fact none of the people he called out posted since is proof he’s right stop being stupid 😂
Yknow guys… maybe the real Royal was the shuake we made along the way ❤
The real royal was the little sisters we cheated on our wives with 🥳
@@goodguybrady ok lol... proof?
@@GoroAkechiShuakehe should've asked the same thing when supporting an abuser
@@animegames1202 yknow there was photo evidence from her before lex proved she was lying, which Jc and others had to comment on before the mob came after them, just like how you guys are doing now… but instead you guys are just repeating what you think you know.
@@GoroAkechiShuake you're weird lol
I doubt you’ll see this comment but in the off-chance you do, this is an incredible video series. Your reactions are super genuine and entertaining, the editing is amazing, the vibes are just great through and through. Thanks a lot for all the hard work and hundreds of hours making this masterpiece of a series man, honestly.
What I enjoyed most about your playthrough was your engagement in the game. This really felt like JC’s Persona 5 Royal and not Persona 5 Royal. How much you analyzed the story, characters, and themes really made me understand this game on a deeper level and made me love it more.
And the most significant part of that engagement is that (in no offense) he was very unoptimal in the game. In my playthrough, I already got the most busted Personas in the game, like Lucifer, Chi You, Beelzebub, Shiva, and Izanagi-no-Okami Picaro by Shido’s Palace. I maxed ranked every confidant before Christmas and steamrolled through most of the game. I got every character’s best weapons, including Makoto’s +22 to all stats gun. I had to constantly hold myself back to get any semblance of challenge from this game. Persona is a game in which the more you put into it, the more powerful you get. I put a lot of time into getting that power and don’t regret playing like that.
However, JC spent much more time analyzing the story and acting like he was in it. So many times, I was like, “Why do you still have medium wind magic on Angel,” “Why don’t itemize this Persona to get this busted item,” or “Why don’t you have auto all stats up” when I had those by Sae’s palace. However, this made me see more of the intent behind the boss fights. It made me so excited to see you tackle bosses like Okumura and Yaldaboath when, in my playthrough, I was so powerful I beat Yaldaboath by putting my controller down and pressing the auto-attack rush button. I got to feel so much more immersed in a world I saw as just another game in this series to get powerful in, while JC saw this as a brand new world he had no idea about. He brought so many new perspectives that I must thank JC for playing this game. I’m sure it made many people like me happy to see others loving our favorite games.
I’m not a Twitch sub, I didn’t gift 160 subs or donate 262 dollars, but I hope my comments and viewership are enough to signal how thankful I am for your playthrough.
(And PS, you would get a big kick out of Xenoblade Chronicles games. Those will rock your socks off)
❤️ seeing this comment makes me so happy!! Genuinely, I’m so glad this playthrough had any sort of added perspective. It was such a big goal of mine… appreciate you so much! 😭❤️
Btw, I’ve heard xenoblade is pretty cool but have never played yet!! :) it’s on my list someday for sure!
14:00 I love the mutual "Akechi! good to see you, now please tell me that you still hates me, please!"
Honey, wake up, (get up, get out there!) New JCbackfire Persona 5 Royal video!
THIS, this comment man.
Honey wake up he Cheated on his Girlfriend with her sister.
@@liambishop2460 I am not chronically online enough to have context to this, or to particularly care. I just liked his persona playthrough
Rest in peace, Billy P. Kametz, the voice of Maruki. He passed away in 2022 due to colorectal cancer. "If these words help you in your life, then we are even."
I love the metaphor of Joker's glasses being his mask since he initally wore those glasses to conceal his identity since at the time he was being labelled a "criminal". But now Joker is a free man and is no longer restrained by his past. He's able to take his mask off (glasses) confidently since his journey as a Trickster has concluded therefore there is no need for him to keep the mask on. Joker recalls his time as a Phantom Thief, he accepts that it's over and it's now time to move on and look forward to the future.
Side note: I love character-driven stories and these characters felt so real to me, it broke my heart when I had to accept that the game was over and I couldn't see them again. It's the same as the feeling you get when your friends you've grown up with eventually part ways and go on their own seperate journeys. In a way, the game is telling you "it's been a long ride, now it's time for you to move on, just as these characters you've become attached to have". GOD I LOVE THIS GAME SO DAMN MUCH AAAAAA-
That makes a lot of sense. I had all the information but didn't quite connect the dots until this comment.
3rd Semester is probably the best story Persona team has told
and this is coming from a guy who likes other Persona games more than 5
THE PEAKEST OF PEAKS HATH FINALLY DROPPED
THIS PLAYTHROUGH PROBABLY WAS THE SINGLE BIGGEST INFLUENCE OVER THE PAST 4 MONTHS FOR ME AND I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH JC AND SATCHEL FOR MAKING IT. SO GOOD. THANK YOU.
I love the ending to this game, but I am still mad that they never let joker evolve Arsene and Sataneal into Raoul (joker’s third persona that was made into dlc), mainly because the scene with joker and Maruki would have been perfect if it ended with joker making a declaration to steal the world to himself before having the awakening cutscene
Akechi and Maruki are probably my favorite Persona characters. Ever. Absolute masterclass. 11/10. They're just so good.
They genuinely put up Maya numbers in terms of character quality. Royal is great.
You should play Persona 3 reload, it’s super wholesome. A positive shift from Persona 5 that’s for sure.
The final episode's here!! And what a wild ride it's been!
When the first part of your playthrough was recommended to me last year, I had a feeling that you were going to have a great time and what a wild ride it's been! I (and many others!) got to watch you immerse yourself in and fall in love with the characters (and fall in hate with others) and it's just a big reminder of why I love the Persona games so much (especially 3 & 5) and it's because of the characters and how people are able to relate to them, their stories and their struggles. we get to see them grow, learn and change. Persona 3 was my first Persona game and will always be a favorite; but Persona 5 did so much so well- and you got to see a lot of it first-hand.
I was so excited to see you fall in love with Sumire too! I was looking forward to seeing you experience her full story, and man. What a ride that itself was! The same with Maruki and his story. I've always loved how they wrote his character- and how he was beautifully performed by the late & great Billy Kametz. And the way they had written Sumire and Maruki, two people grieving, and how similar but different they were.
I got one of my friends (another P5 lover) hooked on your playthrough and she's been just as excited to see you experience the game as well. I wanted to thank you, JC, for deciding to play this game. It's been one of the most fun playthroughs I've gotten to watch, and helped me fall in love with the game all over again (I love this game dearly and it happens more than one would think!)
I look forward to see if you play P5S (a really great follow up! if you decide to play it, you'd have a blast with the gameplay!) and P3R, and any other Persona games, if you so choose to do so, in the future! Even if you don't, this will probably remain as one of my favorite P5 playthroughs, if not one of my favorite Persona playthroughs in general. I look forward to watching more of your games / playthroughs in general!
You’re so kind!! Genuinely I wanna cry reading this!! So glad yall enjoyed 😭❤️
@@JCbackfire it's no problem at all! Thank YOU for giving the game a shot despite how daunting it may have seemed at the start!
I totally had fallen out of my persona 5 phase, then my algorithm shows up with this random JCbackfire guy and his seemingly hype playthrough. needless to say, best move my algorithm has made in a long time. I'm really glad you enjoyed this experience, hopefully more eyes keep getting drawn back to this game so we can get P6 soon 🙏
Who else here loves how anytime he was introduced to a new character he would stand up and yell “IS THAT THE RIVAL??” Best one was when sumi was awakening and he thought she was the rivals lmao
I BELIEVED, AND HERE WE ARE!!!!
Genuinely this was an absolutely incredible ride to be on, even though I joined the hype late i would not miss the ending streams for anything. Not to mention seeing all the community effort and fanart, it really makes you stop and realize just how far spread the love for a piece of media like P5 is even in communities you'd never expect it. Congrats on completing your very first Persona game JC!! Here's to whatever comes next!!
Thank you JC for playing this game! As much of a rollercoaster of emotions it was for you discovering this game, it was for me re living these moments again for a second time ( i 100% it 2 months ago). Seeing your reactions and deductions always got me excited to see the next video. I know that Persona 5 strikers is not the same style of gameplay as the other persona games (its in the style of Dynasty Warriors) but it's worth giving it a checkout at least. I don't want to spoil anything, so i won't say more about it. Thanks again and congrats on completing Persona 5 Royal!
Man, what a ride it has been.Thank you for playing one of my favorite games of all time JC. I've been watching your videos since the BO3 days and been watching your twitch streams since 2020. You have helped me with so much throughout the years with your content. This playthrough is easily my favorite and it has helped me through so much the last year. Thank you for playing and I can't wait for what's next, I will be locked in no matter what it is because you're my favorite o7. Also shout out to satchel for these high quality videos
Thanks so much for being around since then :’)) I’m so glad
I am always so happy to see people experience Persona the first time. I started with P4 but P5R had just as much of an impact on me as that first game did. Thats why these games have such a big fan base. They do story telling like no other. I am so happy to experience the game again alongside you as you finish your journey! Thanks for the ride!
Congratulations on this journey you've experienced.
Going around the city and seeing everyone who's changed since you started playing the game, saying farewells to friends... always warms my heart.
When i was listening to the your final thougts about the game i stumbled upon a comment saying something about it being a 4 hours video and i stopped, said "no way and got was mesmerized about how quickly it past. it was truely sublime to be here and watch it up!!! I live in another country and i found your channel because i like to watch and listen to things in english as some type of pratice and i will be here no matter what you do in the future , revisiting this game ignited a will to open it and go for the platinum , i already have like.... 90% of the trophies so i'll be doing that even with the limited time i have for it right now...
THANKS JC and the editor For all the videos they were as much of a work of art as the game itself!!❤
This game means the world to me and the fact I was able to watch you analyze, react, and play the game that changed my life truly made it special and worthwhile to watch. I originally stumbled upon the very first video of you playing it and was instantly hooked. You are genuinely a gem on UA-cam and I'm glad you took your audience by the hand to witness by far the best playthough of Persona 5 out there.
Much love!
Persona 5 is one my personal favorite games of all-time. The story and characters truly resonated with me and plus the soundtrack is some of the best I've heard in a video game. I'm extremely glad you enjoyed it and I would love to see you play Persona 3 Reload in the future!
This was one of the most engaging playthroughs I’ve ever watched. I don’t normally watch twitch that often, but being along for the ride was something unforgettable. Thank you JC, for playing and enjoying the game as much as we all do. On to Persona 5 Strikers!❤
I subscribed for the persona content, but I'm staying because JC is an actual joy to watch. It's always fun to see a streamer/gamer who isn't afraid to show emotions and to cry on camera.
THANKS FOR EVERYTHING SATCHEL AND JC!!!!!!!
The parallels and contrast between Maruki and Joker are so interesting. They both want the same thing (to help people) but the difference is Joker takes into account people's free will. You can't really hate Maruki because his feelings are just so real and relatable. The parallel between Rumi and Akechi is also interesting. They're the two people that Maruki and Joker couldn't save, and they both lost them on February 3. It's not a coincidence that Maruki talks about Rumi right before revealing the truth about Akechi on 2/2, or that they're who Maruki and Joker think of first after the metaverse disappears. The difference is that Maruki didnt care about what Rumi would've wanted whereas Joker knows how much freedom means to Akechi.
This arc is amazing because it cements the theme that freedom (not just happiness) is necessary to be whole. Yaldobaoth took people's freedom and made them miserable, but Maruki took people's freedom and made them happy. That's probably why the decision to accept or reject the deal is the final decision of the game. It's a test to see whether the player understands how happiness, safety, and freedom are connected.
The void that persona 5 left on me was something i will never forget i missed the universe so much and how i got attached to the characters, your playthrough made possible to feel that i was part of that again, wich im so thankful for, i dont know if you will ever read this, but im rly just so thankful, thank you for everything
1:53 THATS MY DRAWING?!? ITS THERE IT'S THERE OMFG I CANT BREATHER IM SO HAPPY WHAT WHAT WHAT?!? ❤❤❤ AAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!! ITS ME CRAZES ARXC
I didn't erase farmer Kun from my board so he is still stuck to the white board lmao
I love how the final fight of the vanilla game and the final fight of the Royal content are in conversation with each other. With Yaldabaoth you climb out of the bloody, dirty world to fight a pristine God in the clouds, ending things with an impersonal bullet. But it’s the exact opposite with Maruki, you descend from a pristine and clean Apple Store in Eden to the messy streets of Tokyo, ending things with a deeply personal fist fight. The contrast between the two really drives home the differences between fighting God, and fighting your fellow man.
I always like how in the first P5, the final battle is with a malevolent god who wishes to subjugate humans under his will. The Phantom Thieves loudly and proudly proclaimed that humans will never be slaves and forever strive for freedom. Then P5R comes out and gives us the additional month and new content. This time the main antagonist is still wanting to subjugate humans but rather than use their power for selfish needs, he instead goes out and makes a world where everyone is happy. He doesn't want you to be in pain, he wants what he thinks is best for you. A gentle submission yet submission all the same. Would you be able to stick with the answer of freedom that you've found beforehand?
I was introduced to your channel via this playthrough and will definitely keep watching after it (this was probably my favorite playthrough ive seen on this game)
Guess again lil bro
The reason Sumire suddenly feels canon in 3rd semester is because she only exists in the Royal updated release of P5. Basically every event before Christmas with her is shoehorned in. This got her a lot of detractors who disliked how she was pushed into the 'canon' girlfriend position when she didn't exist before..
I still enjoy her presence, and hate she doesn't appear in Strikers, and is DLC only in tactica.
Before Persona 3, Persona 5 Royal was my favorite game for years and seeing you play it and loving it (seemingly) just as much as I do, falling in love with the story, the characters, and despising others. Your empathy for the tragedy that they've all been through, the pain, the development and also the choices you've made with them. Your relationships with all the characters and your choice to respect them ((in reference to when you turned down Sumi's advances even tho she's best girl) because you were already dating Makoto) regardless of the fact that they are fictional (which is a testament to the brilliant writing of this game) it was truly a dream and a half. I can not express my gratitude for your playthrough of Persona 5 Royal. I would love it if you played Persona 3 Reload. Thank you, JC, for the best and most anticipated 10 months of my life!!!
i agree so much with persona 3!!
royal was also my favorite but after finishing persona 3 reload, this is the game that truly changed how i view my life.
3 and 5 are both incredible but I personally resonate with 4 the most as far as message goes.
1:05:39 lavenza really just said "im going through a tunnel right now it's hard to hear you"
As one of the friends @satchel visited as he mentioned at the end of the video i just wanna say thank you to all of you who supported and jc for making this playthrough possible
Reality isn't always happy... And that's why we fight, why we search for reason, for answers, every human is different and the same, everyone suffers even if it isn't in the same way
We suffer and fight through a day, to see what's in store in the next, and after all the pain, a victory tastes even more sweet... So rebel, choose your own path, if you don't do anything in the present, who can change your future?
Remember what you lost, not because of what it could have been, or to be stuck in the past, but to get the power to move forward, and to smile at the you back then, proudly saying... "We made it"
So fight, for justice, for selflessness, for acceptance, for reason, for pride, fight for your dreams, for yourself
And others will fight too
Banger video title, and even better video. I've loved this journey JC
1:58 i keep going back to this moment because it is still surreal to see my own work showcased like this. thank you for the memories jc, and here’s to greater journeys with final fantasy 7, when it happens
The title name is peak, this game really does change your heart ❤
11:10 "Are you normal" he asks to #1 psych ward patient ""Kasumi"" Yoshizawa. Comedy. Gold. I lost it
Sumi is my fav character of the game, and I'm so excited for what your reaction to the third semester as a whole was!! I'm just as glad to see her again as you were JC
JC IM 1 MINUTE IN AND THIS EDITING IS EFFING FIRE!!!!!!!!!!! SATCHEL NEEDS A RAISE!!!!!!!!!
I appreciate the kind words, but just to be clear, JC is responsible for like 99% of that intro. I gave him the general idea and pitch for what I wanted to do with it. Then he took that and went crazy on his own, and then we reconvened in a call and I gave a few more ideas but I just wanna make clear that that was mostly him. ❤
Let us show respect to the late Billy Kametz, who did this astounding performance as Maruki, may the man rest in peace leaving his brilliant performances behind.
Thank you for creating the best P5R series ever JC! I spent every day since i saw the 1st persona vid in your channel waitng for another one and am filled with joy every time a notification pops up, not only your vids, but you have a charm i cannot explain. Today i went on a quick trip with my family, and quite literally thought to myself: The only thing that would make my day even better would be a jc persona vid. Lo and behold. The best part is this isn't the 1st or 2nd time these coincidences happen, there were some day to day stuff i would do as i re-watch the p5r vids, and pretty much you would post new vids while i did said stuff, then i would stay up late watching em when i had school next day. Thank you for the great series and the countless hours that would be otherwise be spent sleeping and prepare yourself for p3r, that shit starts a little slow (at least for me) but when it hits... IT HITS HARD.
I really adored your playthrough of this game, simply because how invested you were during the journey. How it gradually captured you and how, at the end, how genuine you are about your feelings.
Thank you for letting yourself be convinced by chat, and going the distance!🎉
It’s always a great moment for the persona community to see a new person playing the game we feel so proud seeing the journey
Maruki imo is one of the best characters ever. Extremely well written, sympathetic, AND someone you want to take down, yet root for all the same. Amazing character.
I dont know if you remember but right in the beginning of the game when sojira takes you to school and brings you home you get stuck in traffic. Over the radio they mention a 14 year old girl was killed by getting hit by a car. Sojira says how sad it is. That was kasumi. It was hinted at very early in the game. Within the first few hours.
Yeah. It happened 1 month before Joker came to town. The radio talks about a current accident which reminds Sojiro about the one a month ago.
I think JC is really able to communicate his emotions so well, like when he was feeling things that impacted me and made me feel the same. Watching this made me relive how I felt when I first played this game and the lasting impact it's had.
FOUR HOURS EDITED DOWN! I am so here for it.
Played this game in 2021, and it completely changed me. This game brought me so many good(and bad) emotions during Covid-19 that I cannot put into words how important this single piece of media is to me.
Loved to relive this experience with your videos, it was a truly amazing experience.
Hoping to see a Persona 3 Reload series.
Didn't play the game yet (Games here in Brazil are so fucking expensive), but surely will be playing in a not so far future
Thank you, again, for this amazing series
Ps: Sorry if my English writing isn't the best, not my first language
I joined the streams during the Okumura arc when I was having a bit of a difficult time personally. I started watching every single stream either live or through VOD ( cuz of timezones), and soon this became my favorite P5 playthrough I've seen.
So many amazing memories, hours upon hours of entertainment, and yes seeing the credits roll made all the feels hit like a truck. I had woken up at 3am just to get to be a part of the massive final stream lol, but god was it worth it.
I'm sticking around for everything else you end up playing, already enjoyed the heck out of Stellar Blade. Thank you JC and of course Satchel as well. Greetings and much love from Finland❤
Might want to check again
@@kinghvk4445 check what
one of my favorite p5r playthroughs of all time ! glad u enjoyed and i was happy to stick around for the ride !
FINALLY! CONGRATULATIONS JC. HOPE YOU PLAY P3RELOAD.
My first persona game btw, started 2 weeks ago
Me too, but the vanilla version
OMG, JC LOVED MY COMMENT
@@jeeequeue play the original version
What did actually happen
I'm up at 4 in the morning because i had to watch this whole thing in one sitting. I haven't seen someone react to the ending of this game in this way in such a long time. Persona 5 Royal is my favorite video game of all time, Maruki is my favorite video game character of all time, and the psychological and philosophical ideas in this final act are so interesting and important to me as a person. They shaped the way I think, the way I act, hell what I wanna do with my life.
I'm so glad you played this game. I'm so glad you found this series, and I hope you play persona 3 and persona 4 so badly because those games arguably made equally big changes to how I think and live. Persona 4 changed my outlook on relationships and friendships, and persona 3 and its message literally changed my entire life. Reload came out at a time when I had just lost someone really important to me, and while I played the original when i was younger, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that persona 3 may have saved my life in some respect. I kinda shut down the december before it launched, and playing it helped me wake the hell back up.
This playthrough has probably been one of my favorite persona playthroughs i've ever watched. the idea that someone can go into this game BLIND when it originally came out in 2017 is amazing, and the reactions you had to it were some of the closest to mine I've seen from someone that isn't literally me. Thank you so much for playing this game, it means so much to see this playthrough end.
Looking at the VoDs of this playthrough as well as the videos were worth it, it was a very fun series to watch with all the theories that JC could come up with this game. I'm glad you enjoyed this game.
And now its time to wait as long as needed to see how will JC react to persona 3, I believe it will also be worth it
P5R will forever be my favorite game
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS 🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Also like I would definitely recommend you play strikers next when you can, since it’s basically a sequal
As one of the possible many P5 reaction addicts, this was a very enjoyable journey. I played P5 vanilla when it came out and then Royal as well. These games had a profound impact on me and I always go out of my way to see other's first time reactions. I especially enjoyed your post-arc thoughts and theories. It was unique and gave some solid insight into your thoughts as you played. I look forward to you playing more persona in the future. P3 and P4 both have excellent stories and some people prefer them even to P5. If you are worried about "going backwards" P3 Reload keeps alot of the QOL from P5 and has a great aesthetic as well.
0:37 they said it would take 100 hours ☠ jc tripled that 😭very fun watch. hoping to see u in the next entry whenever u do play it
JC, this playthrough was something i didn't think was possible. You gave the audience the experience of playing this game blind all over again.
I really appreciate how invested and immersed you were as the months went by. THANK YOU for making the commitment to see this to the end! 💗
I will be watching this all right now no matter what 🙏
Congratulations on completing Persona 5 Royal.
I'm a cosplayer, so I'm always on the look for new characters. And in 2020 when cons weren't a thing, I finally had the free time to play through P5 for the first time, and I instantly fell in love. The games style, music, themes, and it's characters, and their relationship with eachother immediately captivated me. You compared it to Lost, but my big comparison that I gravitated to was my favorite manga, One Piece. The Phantom Theves' comrrodery gave me the same heart and passion that I get from the story of the Strawhat Pirates.
Late 2021 when cons opened up again, my first cosplay back to the con scene became Skull, and he quickly became one of my most loved and well received cosplays. 💀🤘
Since then, I have played both my second playthrough (cause much like you, I ALSO shipped Joker with Makoto my first time around; they were just the perfect Team Mom and Dad of the Phantom Thieves. So my second playthrough I went with Kasumi).
I have also played P5 Strikers, which is fun (nowhere near as phenomenal or emotionally draining as Royal, but a fun action-based follow up nonetheless) and P3 Reload (which yes, believe the rumors. It hits hard) and am currently in process of my first time through P4 Golden on Switch, and I just want to say, to both you and your editor, astounding job, and I look forward to see what you guys play next.
❤
Shoutout to Satchel they've done really well with the edits. They mentioned learning a long the way. And tbh you've really done well! Keep it up!
"Thank you for everything" thats the last thing joker said to Sojiro so... Thank you for everything jc!
I was so glad to be a part of this ride. Your reactions truly made me remember how I felt when I played for the first time. Can’t wait when in due time you decided to explore the dark hour in Persona 3 Reload. Thank you and keep the good work!
I want to give a thanks to Billy Kametz, RIP. He brought Maruki to life in his performance, I wish we could have had him longer to hear more work from him. Truly a great talent was lost.
The story and his performance is not something I will forget, it stands as one of my favourite stories and made me question a lot of life questions.
Heh, 68 streams later… and the P5R journey finally came into a close, crazy isn’t it
Your P5R experience was spectacular and gotta be hands down one of best of the best Persona Playthrough I encountered. Can’t wait to see other games you have planned in store
Thanks JC for playing peak and Satchel editing this series
but til next time, Farewell Phantom Thieves o7
The entire Zombies community owes JC an apology.
"What if no one watches?"
Narrator: *more than one, in fact, watched it*
the girl who claimed he cheated was a diagnosed pathological liar.