Persona 5 continues the traditional mechanism of establishing relationships with NPCs in the series. Two previous Persona games have named this connection "Social Links," and Persona 5 follows a similar approach. Communities give players the opportunity to connect with team members, important adults in their lives, the main characters and other characters of the story, and the various residents they may encounter in the background of the game. Like previous Persona games, coop can add information about the game world and NPCs.
While most of the coop-building facilitators in Persona 5 are popular, the most popular is Sadayo Kawakami. She is the protagonist's homeroom teacher and one of the few adults trusted by the Heart Monster Gang, especially the joker. This is obvious compared to her eccentric and even corrupt colleagues, such as the first boss, Kamo Shida. Although her actions are reasonable, she is also negatively affected by the environment. If Joker helps her solve her problem, there will be amazing returns.
Sadayo Kawakami stands for moderation. Joker, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Yuki Mishima hold a maid appreciation party after picking up leaflets for maid service, inadvertently hiring their teachers. To start this coop, players must talk to Sadayo Kawakami and English teacher Ms. After school. Chouno talks, giving the impression that Sadayo Kawakami is tutoring Joker. Then, when Sadayo Kawakami's coop rating was at least 3, he called her on Lubbon's public phone. Joker allows her to do all sorts of chores, such as cleaning the room and doing laundry. As coop evolves, players slowly learn about Sadayo Kawakami's financial situation and why she works part-time as a maid.
Sadayo Kawakami's backstory is the most sympathetic in the game, which makes the character very appreciated by players. At first, Kawakami said she worked because her sick sister needed expensive medical bills. Later, the truth came out, and Kawakami helped Takase, a poor-living and poor-performing student at the school where he worked. Forced by the gossip in the school at that time, Kawakami had to abandon Takase. Due to the excessive pressure of life, Takase, who was in a trance, accidentally died in a car accident, and Kawakami always felt guilty about it. However, Takase's relatives used this as an excuse to accuse Kawakami, demanding that Kawakami compensate them for their losses, and turned into blackmail.
Kawakami, who has a more passive personality, has no reason to refuse, so he tries to earn money as a temporary worker in addition to his work, and as a result, he not only has difficulty resting, but even his work at school has been slack. As the coop continued, their demands became more and more unreasonable, and Kawakami eventually went to the hospital after being overworked. After the unsuccessful Kawakami showdown, the monster bandit group "changed the heart" of Takase's relatives, and they no longer pestered Kawakami, and Kawakami was finally able to concentrate on education.
Kawakami's tragic backstory makes it easy for her to get support. As a result, players are more inclined to help her, but there's another reason: it improves the joker's quality of life, in other words, enhances the player's gaming experience. At coop level 8, she allows players to lazily, read, or make tools in class. She can make not only coffee, but also curry, which can restore SP. Once the coop is full, she allows the player to go out again that night after raiding the Hall of Fame or Impression Space.
In a game, properly planning the next activities is key to getting better abilities and items. Sadayo Kawakami offers the benefits that best fit this philosophy. Her reward allows players to take a break while doing many missions, making each day in the game more fulfilling. Although some of the benefits of assisting people are not very useful except for specific situations, the benefits provided by Kawakami are closely related to the core gameplay of Persona 5.
Persona 5 is currently available on PS3 and PS4 platforms, Persona 5 Royal Edition is only available on PS4 platforms, and Persona 5: Phantom Raiders is on PS4, PC and Switch. It should be noted that the PS Plus in January will be free of charge including Persona 5 Chaos: Phantom Attacker.