I Finished PERSONA 5 ROYAL and it Changed My Heart

[@JCbackfire]

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! kzbin.info/aero/PLBtVoLyKbpUCvEQjCGV-BrjPw3EgtYeko Playlist to all 68 Uncut VODs if you're real hardcore! kzbin.info/aero/PLMDBc3vySr2ugLy6X1gMKoKYyhndjSp_u

[@aylinilya.]

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 ❤

[@Hellscream_9999]

Loved watching your journey on stream and the edited videos. Hoping you play Xenoblade one day.

[@diabolic_ghastly]

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

[@aylinilya.]

@@Hellscream_9999yesss he would adore xenoblade if he loved persona so much

[@marquisepixley684]

Please play persona 5 strikers next

[@cpMetis]

2:50:55 I love that, at least in this moment, you see Akechi's face. Honestly, earnestly, distressed and sad. He's not holding back Sumi because he just wants Maruki to not get help, he's genuinely just protecting her. You rarely get to see Akechi genuinely care for someone else, and this is one of the few moments he does so for someone other than Joker.

[@izzy1356]

His dynamic with Sumi is honestly so underrated. Almost right from the start when it was *just* the Royal Trio, he's shown worry about her well-being, and outright called Maruki's actions regarding her out for what they are (i.e. "using her to prove the validity of his research" which Maruki doesn't even deny). And even in the cut content they've got sweet moments like their commentary on Robin Hood in the Thieves Den, where she makes fun of his Black Mask attitude to his face and he just laughs in response. Or game data heavily implying they would've had a showtime too. It's honestly a shame they didn't get more scenes together. They've got decent moments with Joker individually, but *together* they really have "unexpected best friend" energy

[@alainbcdefghijk]

Always loved how Royal changed up Akechi's character. In the original, Akechi was actually one of the more weaker confidants and one of the main reason is that it ranks up automatically on certain dates. In a game where your time and choice matters, being robbed of both kind of cheapens whatever impact the relationship would have had. Then they mostly redid Akechi's whole confidant links in Royal, leaning in to the fact that he's a rat bastard out to stab you in the back and you know that he's a rat bastard out to stab you in your back. Despite that, the two of you found genuine respect for each other and the bond you have with him is proof of how strong it is. To put it into perspectove, Akechi's 1v1 with you and his salty runback challenge by throwing the glove at Joker was NOT in the original P5.

[@PixelatedFlu]

Despite being a little rat bastard, the respect for him as my Rival alongside my love for Joker's friends made me select the True Ending without hesitation despite what that will cost. I respect Akechi's choice as his friend and rival, taking that away felt too gross.

[@siemingly]

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]

You're incredible for this. I salute you 🫡

[@siemingly]

@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

[@ninjapistol14]

@@siemingly I cannot watch anything else with the voice actors in it without thinking "OMG it's _____ from persona 5!"

[@julien827]

@@ninjapistol14 meanwhile i cant hear lindbeck in anything including futaba without going "OMG MAGILOU"

[@awakarikatase]

"Your eyes are as bright and honest as ever" will forever be my favorite persona line, I think. It's so beautiful.

[@th0mm027]

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.

[@CozmicKoala]

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.

[@AlexFreezeman]

I'm crying now, thanks :D

[@CalicoCoffee101]

STOPPPP IT'S LIKE THEY'RE TRYING TO RIP OUR HEARTS OUT

[@usrnmntavlibl2666]

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.

[@CalicoCoffee101]

@@usrnmntavlibl2666 Yes I was actually thinking that!! He's actually helping people now :D

[@RavenGamingOverLord]

That makes sense I suppose, he doesn’t really have a real home except for that small cafe place

[@Immortal_Ninja]

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-

[@stygian6642]

That makes a lot of sense. I had all the information but didn't quite connect the dots until this comment.

[@yourlocalscalie0614]

Rest in peace Billy, you absolute legend

[@ellahusk3689]

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.

[@usrnmntavlibl2666]

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

[@nsampone3]

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

[@StarKiller98K]

Fuck Cancer, Justice for Billy!

[@Chubby_Bub]

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+

[@JCbackfire]

SO TRUEEE

[@usrnmntavlibl2666]

The NG+ debate is hilarious, people were arguing gaming statistics with the literal Junior game designer.

[@Shalakor]

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.

[@marshallburlew-pg7nw]

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.

[@phillemon7664]

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

[@usrnmntavlibl2666]

@@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.

[@Shalakor]

@@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.

[@jomar1001001]

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.

[@gmnobrega0704]

Yeah, really hope he plays Strikers

[@havokaine]

@@gmnobrega0704now i really hope he retires from the internet. what a fucking creep

[@aftaahlife]

Have ya heard the news 😂

[@thatgreencat7978]

Mf cheated on his gf with her sister

[@thatgreencat7978]

​@@aftaahlifeyoikes!!!!

[@MrAnub1s]

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.

[@JoeB_91]

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 KZbin, 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.

[@usrnmntavlibl2666]

You had me in the first half until you lied with that last sentence, I’ll go to war for Hifumi.

[@sp3dweed673]

i believe the chat was correct for PERSONA 5 ROYAL for Sumire.

[@paroxysm4566]

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

[@edscarlet865]

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.

[@soulnha]

SHUAKE IS REAL

[@mrwrigh]

"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

[@ZonaiHero-ul5nm]

Billy killed it for this game. RIP

[@tchukkelz2246]

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.

[@stygian6642]

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

[@er_cl]

>constantly final boss monologuing about how bad it is that people suffer >is a literal therapist 🤣 likeee this is literally your job maruki (i know its not something that can be fixed overnight or by one person) but it did make me chuckle. like "damn, if only there was a profession that was made for this exact scenario! what a shame"

[@Magic_Ice]

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)

[@JCbackfire]

❤️ 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!

[@superbabycowsbc9356]

@@JCbackfireyour play through was absolutely amazing, I can’t believe I felt like I was playing the game again for the first time. Xenoblade is amazing, go play it next time! No rush though! Savor the games you play! 😄

[@alchemist824]

Funny how for Akechi and Joker's Showtime, it says Two Sides, Some Coin instead of Same Coin

[@cadenzact9593]

Nearly a full year of absolute PEAK. Thank you for giving us the *BEST* playthrough of P5R on the internet!

[@JCbackfire]

😭😭😭❤️

[@jelly_is_thicc4872]

@@JCbackfirelex made you popular and you just betray him like that without looking at the evidence, you suck dude fr

[@JA811]

😬

[@paperclip6377]

​@@JCbackfire 🐍 🐍 🐍 💔

[@Awesomeness4627]

​@@JCbackfire🐍 🐍 🐍

[@brythkaltaris]

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

[@galaxyveined]

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!

[@JCbackfire]

You’re so kind!! Genuinely I wanna cry reading this!! So glad yall enjoyed 😭❤️

[@galaxyveined]

@@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!

[@kisukoev]

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)

[@herojdb-8583]

3:37:09 "I dont even know what story would hit me as much" *Cries in P3*

[@azk9218]

Sooo this. I played P5 first, but P3 hits much harder in the end :/

[@Herrscher-of-Autism]

He'd better play it I'll probably cry again watching it tbh

[@Loner098]

And they said Mother 3/EarthBound 2 was sad.

[@MasiPT]

P3 didn't hit me nearly as hard but still an amazing game with heartbreaking moments

[@SonicTheCutehog]

@@Loner098That's more Mother 3 than EarthBound

[@roger_towny_jr]

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. ❤

[@hikari3507]

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

[@JCbackfire]

Thank you for the art seriously, it made me smile so much :'))

[@CrystalGeny]

That was your art? Your design is so cool!! Congrats on getting featured, it’s such a great piece!! :D

[@garrettneeley4393]

@@JCbackfirewhat you gonna do now buddy

[@AceofSpades-6728]

I wonder if it still was worth it...

[@MagicalBunni]

Oh this one is actually sad

[@dhn6154]

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

[@DJTachanka]

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”!!!

[@JCbackfire]

Appreciate you so much :')

[@Magic_Ice]

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.

[@vlad_ruda4202]

​@@Magic_Ice I believe you mean in his Heart)

[@abzinhoo]

!

[@fredericdumais5329]

I suggest you go watch mrtlexifys last video, cause this guy is not someone you're gonna wanna support in the future

[@hosanau]

4 HOURS HUUUH yeah, the third semester could be its own short game

[@wileecoyotegenius5955]

I have always felt it should've been it's own mini-campaign separate from the base game like The Answer in P3.

[@WhySoBlve]

No matter how many times I’ve watched people play through of persona 5 Royal, I always get emotional at the end and remember the feelings I had when I first started the game. Your game through was a great journey to watch and i absolutely love your reaction! If you do end up missing the phantom thieves, I’d recommend the spin off of persona 5!

[@scorp-ion-battery]

WE'RE SO FUCKING BACKKK i was staring at that "there is 1 private video in this playlist" for TOO LONG

[@JCbackfire]

Hahaha, it took days to chapter it out and get it ready for publishing 😂

[@ShadowMorph608]

That aged well😢

[@RyanVLR0]

"Thank you for everything" thats the last thing joker said to Sojiro so... Thank you for everything jc!

[@alexinator-hh5fe]

Akechi and Maruki are probably my favorite Persona characters. Ever. Absolute masterclass. 11/10. They're just so good.

[@usrnmntavlibl2666]

They genuinely put up Maya numbers in terms of character quality. Royal is great.

[@drewcleaver815]

Persona 5 is one of those games that has fallen into the category of "Old Reliable". I can play this game a thousand times and will always come back for more. I have been playing p5 since it dropped on the ps4, before P5R was a thing. And it is amazing how night and day the differences are between the Vanilla and Royal. I would also suggest getting in strikers. However, there is a bit of fair warning, Strikers was meant to be a direct to P5, not P5R. I won't go into details, but they will become apparent when playing. Strikers plays differently as well. Think Dynasty Warriors style gameplay. Now, onto you directly. I have been following your Videos since the first upload, and I was just looking for random p5r reactions videos (Ironically, yours had only been uploaded for a day), specifically, for the Akechi reveal to be alive to start of the 3rd semester. It has been nothing short of a joy watching the game being played by someone, start to finish, with fresh eyes (I remember my best friend from my time in the Navy watching me play P5R and falling in love with it), and love seeing how chat just led you on the entire time, something I know would have done as well. Us members of the fanbase truly love seeing someone new play this game, because by the time they get through a portion of it, they understand the love of the game, attachments to the characters and amazing story telling that Atlus constantly gives us. Keep playing the Persona titles, you won't regret it.

[@TheLostSheep578]

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.

[@utopes]

Same

[@bulgoking4220]

Brought back the emotions I felt from my first playthrough after burning out (8 playthroughs in) best playthrough

[@kusapedia]

Way later i just finished watching your whole play of the game. Myself, i played both vanilla and Royal. And if Vanilla had it's good, Royal just made it so much higher and better, it ended being the third game of my life that made me not shed a tear, but full out cry. I love the game with all my heart. It had a huge impact on me, probably on anyone who got into the story of the game. I ... i don't know how to word what i felt, but all your reactions, i loved them, because it's what i'm not able to do. I'm not an expressive person. But internally, i'm always moved by almost anything. And seeing you, having the exact reactions i had in many of the situations made me feel even better about my own feels of the game. Now, little infos : All Persona games (specially starting from Persona 3) are related to something and a lesson in the way the protagonists invoke their powers. For Persona 5, we rip away a mask. It's based on the Glass Mask from the Theater comedy shows. The idea that we all wear a mask hiding who we truly are all the time. And by pulling that mask away, to reveal our Persona, we are revealing who we truly are. We are showing our soul in all it's uniqueness. Joker being able to use so many different Personas is because, Joker is all of us at once and none of us too. He is him, but him being able to have any possible soul is a way to show that he is here to be anyone from the magnificient and highly thought of him Oberon to the little frail, a bit scared of the others Pixie. Persona games explore who we are humanly. It may not be always pretty, but it's trying its best to show both sides, the good and the bad. And that the bad side isn't necesseraly evil, but just, the wrongs, our flaws or errors ... Sorry for the long message

[@not-Hutch]

Yknow guys… maybe the real Royal was the shuake we made along the way ❤

[@goodguybrady]

The real royal was the little sisters we cheated on our wives with 🥳

[@not-Hutch]

@@goodguybrady ok lol... proof?

[@animegames1202]

@@not-Hutchhe should've asked the same thing when supporting an abuser

[@not-Hutch]

@@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.

[@goodguybrady]

@@not-Hutch you're weird lol

[@morelovebetweenboys]

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.

[@yuqueeri]

chat spamming the rainbow hand heart thingy the moment Akechi is on screen is so funny to me

[@shinxen8181]

I think it's literally called GayPride

[@tisibiaedeakamatsu]

​@@shinxen8181 it literally is

[@katsimpsforleviathan]

He's just so fruity /pos

[@partygamingz3332]

honestly when is he not a walking pride flag

[@Taoru11]

Persona fans are one the same level of fujoshi as MHA fans.

[@NiteEXE]

This game is special. I am glad you were able to experience it and have a great time.

[@tehepicduckeh1409]

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.

[@theviniciuspedro]

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

[@efhancock9797]

Honey, wake up, (get up, get out there!) New JCbackfire Persona 5 Royal video!

[@masnousonia]

THIS, this comment man.

[@liambishop2460]

Honey wake up he Cheated on his Girlfriend with her sister.

[@efhancock9797]

@@liambishop2460 I am not chronically online enough to have context to this, or to particularly care. I just liked his persona playthrough

[@PIGEONPOWER]

Just starting the video and I’m SO EXCITED for you!! Beating this game takes commitment. It’s definitely in my personal top 5 games ever.

[@CrystalGeny]

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!!

[@nicoleellemberger3506]

Please play reload!!!❤❤❤

[@Arkleo21]

Banger video title, and even better video. I've loved this journey JC

[@CrazyGamer336-]

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING SATCHEL AND JC!!!!!!!

[@weepingblade]

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!

[@pmc202]

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)

[@kinghvk4445]

Guess again lil bro

[@javierg.paramo4451]

I loved this game and I loved sharing this playthrough with you❤

[@diabolic_ghastly]

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

[@JCbackfire]

Thanks so much for being around since then :’)) I’m so glad

[@warrenhubschman9291]

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.

[@arloverde4099]

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!❤

[@reddie1705]

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 🙏

[@blakegomez14]

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!

[@-daredevil_7595]

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!!❤

[@zidemelee]

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 KZbin 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!

[@TheNerd]

I had a lot of fun watching you playing this game for the first time! Also: This game is an absolute masterpiece and should be played by every single developer in the industry. The people who wrote this are genius.

[@jmonterroso12]

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!

[@nialia5414]

Bro this has been THE persona 5 royal lets play for me 😭😭

[@Swam0811]

The CJfrontwater line was hilarious. I was not expecting it 😆

[@GenV0lt]

Dude I’m not the type of guy to comment, but thank you so much for playing this masterpiece. Your reactions, theories and passion are absolutely wonderful. Truly the best persona 5 royal play though. I’m looking forward to new videos and I’ll definitely come pass by your streams! 🫶

[@JCbackfire]

Appreciate you!! Seriously means the world! ❤️😭

[@jackwalkeruwu8527]

14:00 I love the mutual "Akechi! good to see you, now please tell me that you still hates me, please!"

[@VoltGraphics]

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❤

[@kinghvk4445]

Might want to check again

[@VoltGraphics]

@@kinghvk4445 check what

[@AkamineSora]

I'm not sad that this serie's ended, I'm happy that it happened. Thank you JC, thank you Satchel, for this amazing experience! I'll make sure to keep watching your videos and your streams!

[@OneColtsGuy]

Still love this game. Still my favorite. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@justanotherpxrson]

Seriously man. Thank you so much for this. This is one of my all time favorite games and I loved seeing you play and love it as much as I do. Shoutout to satchel too. You killed it with the editing!

[@ZakMilz]

One of the greatest games I have ever played. It makes me happy to see other people have the same excitement and passion for this game and this series, I hope to see more persona content from you in the future.

[@KieranMaher-ji7pk]

Finally finished the video P5R is one my favourite games of all time and I discovered this a year ago thanks to these videos been loving going back and watching some of your streams hope to catch you live one day but until then thanks for taking on this journey with you!!

[@grimwolf03]

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!

[@bradkohl99]

Happy you continued playing and enjoyed the game. It’s one of my favourites of all time.

[@faithrabbit4330]

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.

[@jonatanp.1976]

This gotta be my favorite gameplay series of all time, of one of my favorite games ever. And now, this is one of my favorite videos ever. I absolutely love this. THANK YOU FOR THIS JC!! ❤

[@o_stanza6544]

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.

[@johnhightshoe996]

Thank you for the amazing play though. I love you reactions to the game and even better was watching and going man the reaction for the next palace is going to be legendary. Persona 5 Royal is easily one of my favorite games of all time. Having dealt with my fair share of trauma with close friends unaliving themselves and the sheer amount of horrible things I’ve seen as a paramedic the world that Maruki wants to make is extremely appealing at times but then like the Akechi points out a world where you don’t have the choice to move forward and overcome the trauma of your life isn’t a world worth living in. Everything that this game stirs in me is reminds me of the promises I’ve made to live my life to the fullest and keep pushing forward. I played the vanilla version of this game and remember thinking that it felt incomplete and then when P5R came out a friend of mine bought it for me because they thought I hadn’t played any Persona games yet and wanted me to try it and well I’ve played it 4 times through now and watched your play through and it never gets old or stale. From the characters to the voice acting everything is at the peak of video gaming for me and the only other game that compares in my mind is the Mass Effect trilogy. Again thank you for the wonderful ride and I’ll definitely be on the look out for you other content, you are great streamer and content creator and deserve all the love, admiration, and more importantly the “likes, comments, and shares.” Don’t worry I remembered the bell icon.

[@kyoyugo6402]

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

[@guilhermepereira3860]

This game changed my life, and it's great to see that i'm not the only one. This playthrough reminded me of what is so special in this game. Thank you guys for making it happen!! ❤

[@Inkastar-tz8yd]

1:05:39 lavenza really just said "im going through a tunnel right now it's hard to hear you"

[@Nalucha]

My favorite playthrough of my favorite game, and it introduced me to my new favorite streamer. So grateful for everything!

[@bradreed4414]

3:42:40 this game helped me realize a few things. And since I’ve first played it I’ve changed careers to a dev myself as well (though I make mobile mapping apps). I was so miserable as a cop, and always pretending to be something and someone I wasn’t. And exploring that, changing my reality im far happier.

[@Mynamme29]

P5 was has been my fav game of all time since the day i got it and just wanted to say thank you and so much love for letting me relive it through these vids❤️

[@ydnaslounge3651]

1:05:12 When you started talking about the beliefs and stuff I just smiled because I knew the final boss fight was gonna blow your mind

[@ydnaslounge3651]

On a side note what a fun journey it’s been watching all of your persona 5 videos, it brought me to your channel and gotta say you’ve made it almost as entertaining as playing the game myself! Keep up the great work JC!

[@15shuake]

i saw these streams but still gonna watch the condensed version, im so happy i found ur channel thru this series 😭🫶 one of my fav playthroughs bc i can rly tell how much u love the game & that means a lot to me because the persona franchise is super special to me

[@valleyard8674]

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

[@erm718]

I loved Persona 5 Royal so much, its definitely a top 3 game for me. You were the first streamer I've seen play this game that I've genuinely enjoyed watching along with. PS: You saying P5R makes you concerned based on how sad the ending is funny after playing Persona 3 Reload in general :)

[@weepingblade]

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.

[@helios_is_my_name]

This playthrough single handedly reginited my love for this game. In recent times I'd kinda fallen out of love with this game and became a lot more critical of it. Still liked it, just less so. Then i saw a clip of this playthrough. I decided to start watching it. The enjoyment and levels of reactions to things was so absurdly *fun*. I ended up watching the VODs right from twitch because i couldn't wait for the edited videos or the youtube uploads of the VODs. And watching it I felt the exact feelings I felt back on my first playthrough, the love of the characters, the rush from seeing new plot lines unfold, the adrenaline from the bosses. This is by far the best persona playthroughs I've watched, and one of the best playthroughs of any game I've watched. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making me love persona 5 again.

[@imruka530]

I will be watching this all right now no matter what 🙏

[@RandyFarmerVideos]

My wife doesn't play video games (I only play 1-2/year) but my son-in-law recommended P5R strongly (bought me a copy on Steam). I played it through and had a strong emotional reaction, but I was alone at the end and realized there were *so many paths* throught the game but I would never return to it, so I looked for streamer reactions and found yours. It allowed me to vicariously experience having the experience of shaing something awesome with a friend... Thank you so much. I'm so glad to see you allowed your emotions to pour through - you're reactions were cathartic for me. Reminded me of the first time I cried in a video game.....ffvii/aerith... Good luck in the industry from a former pionneer... You have what it takes, I can tell...

[@amaki_]

one of my favorite p5r playthroughs of all time ! glad u enjoyed and i was happy to stick around for the ride !

[@ozymandas4746]

Easily my favorite playthrough of P5 I’ve ever seen. Thank you for the experience. This is one of my favorite games and seeing another man experience it so genuinely with all the tears feels amazing. Thank you.

[@arxc_]

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

[@arxc_]

I didn't erase farmer Kun from my board so he is still stuck to the white board lmao

[@razriga]

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!🎉

[@realredcy]

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

[@Carius-pn9tf]

great series. also big props to the editor - couldnt have been easy to compress the story for youtube so well

[@Null82085]

You should play Persona 3 reload, it’s super wholesome. A positive shift from Persona 5 that’s for sure.