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I really like Persona 5, however over time, Atlus’ fashionable, supposedly socially-conscious RPG hasn’t beloved me. Queer Persona followers know the collection to be fraught, and even essentially the most passionate amongst us deal with it just like the enjoyable uncle who claims to like everybody and nonetheless says one thing extraordinarily out of pocket every vacation. I figured Persona 5 Tactica, the tactical spin-off launching on November 17, would observe all of the earlier video games and discover some method to throw a jab at queer individuals for no purpose. However after years of feeling like considered one of my favourite collection has been making an attempt to push me out, Tactica opened the door for me, if just for a second.
We aren’t going to get into any huge, overarching story spoilers as I clarify how, however a short scene in Tactica’s first chapter does require a bit table-setting. If you’d like completely no context, perhaps reduce this tab and are available again if you’ve completed the primary chapter.
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Persona 5 Tactica opens with the Phantom Thieves, the teenage superhero vigilantes heading again into the supernatural world referred to as the Metaverse. This time they’re going through Marie, a tyrant bride who has repurposed a whole city to carry her dream marriage ceremony. There’s no have to get into the why and who right here, because it’s a spoiler, however this serves to arrange the scene we’re right here to speak about. It’s referred to as “The Ideally suited Marriage,” and you could find it within the Discuss menu in Café Leblanc after you discover out Marie’s plot.
The Phantom Thieves talk about Marie’s plan of their dwelling base, and the dialog strikes on to the workforce’s personal concepts of “dream weddings.” Ann excitedly talks about how she will be able to’t wait to put on a white marriage ceremony costume, and it’s all very cute. Ultimately, Ryuji turns to our principally silent protagonist, Joker, and playfully asks which of the Phantom Thieves he would marry.
I went by means of just a few phases of subverted expectations right here, so maintain my hand, Phantom Thief, and let me stroll you thru. When Ryuji requested the query, I absolutely anticipated my choices to be restricted solely to the ladies within the room, as that will mirror the unique Persona 5’s extraordinarily restricted view of romance. These spin-off video games don’t import your P5 save, so video games like Persona 5 Strikers discover methods to ask you who your paramour within the first recreation was so you possibly can expertise a bit continuity.
However a lot to my shock, Tactica allowed for everybody within the room to be an possibility, together with Ryuji, who I’ve headcanoned as my Joker’s unrequited crush since first taking part in Persona 5 in 2017. Even nonetheless, my trepidation wasn’t gone, as any time a dialogue possibility gave me an opportunity to recommend how my Joker felt a door was immediately slammed in my face. Persona video games haven’t simply denied characters’ doable queerness at each likelihood, they’re usually keen to show any gesture towards it right into a mean-spirited joke.
I braced myself as I selected Ryuji, prepared for Tactica to hit me with the metaphorical backhand within the type of my would-be boyfriend jolting away in the wrong way…but it surely by no means got here.
As a substitute, what I obtained was a extremely candy scene of Ryuji in a classy white tux, saying he couldn’t imagine the individual of his desires had been proper by his facet the entire time. It was a reference to probably the greatest interactions between Ryuji and Joker in OG Persona 5, one usually pointed to by followers as a second that suggests some degree of romantic belief between the 2. However right here in Tactica he additionally acknowledged sparks had been flying between the 2 since they met in the beginning of Persona 5, and I assumed to myself it was about rattling time he wisened as much as this.
As Joker stops pondering his dream marriage ceremony it’s again to actuality, the place he and Ryuji aren’t relationship, regardless of these sparks. The scene then ended, and earlier than a wave of pleasure hit me, my first feeling was a way of reduction.
Persona 5’s homophobia downside
Persona 5 has at all times positioned itself as a narrative about standing up in opposition to oppressive forces within the title of standing up for the little man crushed underneath their boots. The Phantom Thieves use their supernatural powers to battle crooks as small-time as an abusive highschool coach and climb up till they attain a serious politician. The sport tackles energy imbalances, class points, and corrupt regulation enforcement, however queer identification has at all times been its blind spot. Even because it stumbles in advocating for victims of abuse by placing those self same individuals by means of the identical violence after the very fact, not less than Persona 5 does, sooner or later in its 100+ hours, take a stance.
However on the subject of how identification is a marginalizing issue, Persona 5 has at all times been prepared to shun, and even level and giggle at queer individuals. Males, particularly. Taking part in the unique Persona 5 as a homosexual man was an extremely disheartening expertise because it each refused to let me go down a romantic path with any of my male associates, and in addition bombarded me with assumptions of who Joker, and by extension, myself, was in its dialogue.
On high of this, Persona 5’s therapy of its sole canonical homosexual males, two harassers assaulting Ryuji in the midst of a crowded avenue, stays one of many lowest factors within the collection. The English localization workforce stepped in for the definitive Persona 5 Royal model by making these characters enthusiastic drag queens keen to indicate Ryuji the ropes reasonably than predators, however even that can’t make Persona 5 an inclusive recreation when it’s fully bored with telling a narrative about queer characters, even when the participant is making an attempt to push it in that course. Certain, you possibly can inform a random shadow in a buried battle menu that you simply like males, however when it comes to dwelling as a homosexual teen in supernatural Tokyo? Persona 5 received’t allow you to.
It’s irritating as a result of I’d argue the social hyperlink arcs between Joker and Ryuji or Joker and his rival Goro Akechi nonetheless get pleasure from essentially the most romantic stress within the recreation, excess of many of the ladies the participant can pursue. However actually, it didn’t come as a shock that Persona 5 was dismissive of queer identification, as a result of Persona nearly at all times is.
Persona 3 has bizarre transphobic jokes that I’m curious to see dealt with in Persona 3 Reload. Persona 4 almost has attention-grabbing conversations about queer identification with social gathering members Kanji Tatsumi and Naoto Shirogane initially being offered as presumably working by means of male attraction and gender fluidity respectively, just for the sport to handwave these conversations, fall again on the established order, and have interaction in some informal queerphobia alongside the way in which. Shoutout to Persona 2, which had a homosexual romantic curiosity in 1999. I want your successors adopted swimsuit, however perhaps they’ll shifting ahead?
Persona 5 Tactica doesn’t make good on the collection excluding queer individuals, and it positively doesn’t repair that it made us the butt of the joke for nearly 20 years. Nevertheless it does trace that perhaps the longer term’s trying brighter for queer Persona followers sooner or later. Now, even when the love tales that ought to’ve been there aren’t, these of us who spent years taking part in as Joker pining for Ryuji or Yusuke (apologies to the Akechi lovers however he isn’t right here, R.I.P. to you) have one thing in hand to beat the headcanon allegations.
I didn’t flirt with any of the ladies in any of those video games as a result of I used to be actually dedicated to the self-insert bit. Now I lastly have not less than one scene on this entire collection that acknowledges that my Joker needs to smooch his golden retriever finest buddy. This leaves me a bit extra hopeful that whoever I play as in Persona 6 would possibly get a boyfriend of his personal.P
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