Persona 5

This is a great game with a lot of content (100+ hours). As an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a great combination of JRPG and visual novel. I think the ESRB of M (17+) is appropriate because of specific things that happen in the game, though most of the game is probably closer to a Teen rating. There are a lot of deep and dark topics including suicide, stalking, murder, physical and sexual abuse, rape, police brutality, and other crimes. The protagonist is portrayed as someone who is approximately 16 years old and has romance options with characters ranging from 15 years old to mid to late 20s, including a romantic relationship his homeroom teacher who moonlights as a sexy maid/adult escort. While there are no explicit sex scenes, they are implied in some places. There isn't a lot of blood in the game. Most of the blood is brief, like the first time characters get their personas and rip off their masks, they bleed from where the mask was. Some of the characters in the story also die a fairly gruesome death, bleeding from their eyes and other places. There are at least two enemies in the game that are definitely not for children. One appears to be the head of a penis and is oozing what appears to be semen. The second appears to be a full on penis, with tenticles, on wheels. One of it's attacks is to squirt a dark liquid from its tip. Allegedly, these both have mythical origins from somewhere, but nonetheless some parents may find these images offensive and inappropriate for children. For a preview of what a lot of the story of this game is about, Persona 5 The Animation follows the exact same story. It's available to stream on Hulu and Crunchyroll as of 2/24/23.

No children, but in my early 20's. As a player of both Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal, I believe this game is appropriate for anyone in their early teens, and older. Many of the themes of the game involve actions & consequences, communication with colleagues (whom you'll unlock as you progress through the story), and self-improvement. Disregarding the fictional aspects of the game, the story itself is very thorough and in-depth; as it touches on real world problems, and the ramifications of such. Things like suicide, depression, low self-esteem, injustice, trafficking/prostitution, and false accusations are just a few of the topics that are brought to light. These are also topics that are being discussed to children as young as 10 years old. In terms of role models, the confidants you interact with are good examples. Not only do you learn about each one of them, but they've all faced some type of trauma or conflict that could happen to anyone in real life. In all, these confidants use those events as motivation to better themselves, and in turn, aid the protagonist. The ease of play could not get any easier. The combat system is simple, as each battle links certain actions to certain buttons. Outside of battle, and while traversing the real world, you can explore a plethora of areas based on modern day Japan, improve social stats, build bonds with confidants, and purchase goods as needed. In all, I believe Persona 5 is a great experience for anyone who understands these real world topics, and for everyone that enjoys the standard JRPG.