History YMMV / PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth

** When S.E.E.S hears the Overseer's announcement, the Overseer resembles Ikutsuki, who S.E.E.S does not recognize as a villain or enemy of any sort, making them feel awkward until they are assured that he's an actor. [[spoiler:Ironically, the real Shuji Ikutsuki is nearly identical to the Overseer in terms of personality.]]
** The definition of "normal" in this game is twisted beyond the usual definition; It doesn't simply mean being the cog in a machine. A more accurate definition of "normal" in this game is withdrawing yourself forever from the world...and NeverBeHurtAgain.
** The Traitor's redemption in this game is genuine, and his personality is actually getting better from what he was before. [[spoiler:However since the memories will be wiped once the Persona users return to the real world, Akechi will not remember anything from this game and his redemption is an all for nothing RedemptionFailure.]]
** In one dead end event on the second level of the fourth labyrinth, Yukiko pretends to narrate what is going on. [[spoiler:When she narrates Akechi, she describes him as someone holding a "terrible secret."]] It's a joke, but [[DramaticIrony if you consider what happens in the base game...]]

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: The ''[=P3P=]'' Heroine is the only character capable of performing a unison with every member of her own team, including her male counterpart. This can be viewed as her forming a bond with SEES despite them not being the same people she knows, overcoming the issue that had caused her to feel out of place.
* HighTierScrappy: Unlike most of the original game's [[GameBreaker Game Breakers]], Aigis didn't get nerfed at all, in fact she arguably got ''even better''. Her trademark Shura Tensei + Orgia Mode combo is still just as powerful, and now it takes even less time to get going since you can outsource her Power Charge needs to Huang Di and his Fury Order. She also has a chance to render her entire row immune to most magic attacks. The only thing even vaguely reigning her in is the fact that she's the last party member to join, coming in midway through the third labyrinth.

** With the inclusion of the female protagonist from ''Persona 3 Portable'', the events of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rm7qZVuLas this video]] can happen.
** After Kanji ends up being disappointed that he couldn't pet [[CatFolk Jubei]] in ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'', he is now able to have a second chance at petting a talking cat thanks to Morgana.
*** [[spoiler:This actually happens albeit hilariously in the A.I.G.I.S. movie where everyone has to crawl through a vent. Kanji uses the opportunity to [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything feel up Morgana and his voice and remarks about it make it sound like he's enjoying it too much.]]]]
** [=FeMC=]'s return to the franchise in this game was announced two months after ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' would bring back a long-absent Nintendo female protagonist: Leaf from ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen]]''. The fact that both return in popular spin-offs makes it just that sweeter.
** Yukiko and Yusuke have a unison attack together. This is hilarious when you remember Yusuke's voice actor, Creator/TomokazuSugita, often [[https://youtu.be/8piM-qaj8s4?t=118 cosplayed]] as Yukiko on ''Persona Stalker Club''.

** The very concept of a villain keeping people trapped in theaters and forcing them to watch movies in order to break their spirits. Is this a Persona game or ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''?

*** In one dead end event on the second level of the fourth labyrinth, Yukiko pretends to narrate what is going on. [[spoiler:When she narrates Akechi, she describes him as someone holding a "terrible secret."]] It's a joke, but [[DramaticIrony if you consider what happens in the base game...]]

* HighTierScrappy: Unlike most of the original game's [[GameBreaker Game Breakers]], Aigis didn't get nerfed at all, in fact she arguably got ''even better''.

** Teddie, who was [[TierInducedScrappy one of the worst party members in the last game]], got a '''huge''' buff here. He now has solid stats all-around and went from being the slowest character in the game to one of the fastest. In a story sense, Teddie is surprisingly more tolerable here than in the first game: his flirting has been toned-down and the game emphasises more of his positive traits like his loyalty to Yosuke. For those who still dislike him, there's a few TakeThatScrappy moments.

** On the high TierInducedScrappy end, Naoto is no longer a blatant GameBreaker, but is still decent.
** On a more general level, magic is actually good in this game as your characters have more SP than in the previous ''Q''[[note]]In the previous game, you can be at the endgame and some characters will have less than 100 SP at level 99. In this game, they can go well over 200-300SP mid to late game[[/note]], magic skills are significantly cheaper[[note]]For instance, Agilao and Agidyne cost 14 and 32 SP respectively, as opposed to 28 and 46 in the previous game[[/note]] and the majority of bosses have weaknesses to exploit. This makes all magic-based party members a lot better.

* TierInducedScrappy: High-tier example. Unlike most of the original game's [[GameBreaker Game Breakers]], Aigis didn't get nerfed at all, in fact she arguably got ''even better''.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Thanks to SchrodingersPlayerCharacter, the female protagonist from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' ''[[UpdatedRerelease Portable]]'' has been entirely absent from further adaptations and sequels to the game. Her appearance here is her first appearance since the release of ''Portable''. To drive the point further, [[https://twitter.com/Persona_Central/status/1026312860446679040 promo art of the game]] and her "I'm him and he's me" quote imply that her home universe is [[AlternateUniverse an alternate reality]] to that of the S.E.E.S. cast. For extra points, she is confirmed to play a major role in the story.
** [[VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth The first game]] having two routes had a somewhat mixed reception from fans, either because they felt it padded out the game or because of disagreements on which was the canon route, which wasn't helped by the fact that the ''Persona 4'' cast was pushed as being the game's default path. Having to play both routes for the full experience made for quite a bit of tedium as a result. The fact that this game only has one route and a clear focus on [[VideoGame/Persona5 the Phantom Thieves]] effectively removes both issues to allow for a more streamlined storytelling and gameplay experience.
** A few gameplay issues in the previous game have been streamlined or re-worked:
*** The ability to switch out the protagonists instead of [[CantDropTheHero always being required to have at least one in the party]] allows for more freedom.
*** All-Out Attacks are no longer triggered [[LuckBasedMission randomly depending on how many characters are boosted]]. They now work like they do in the main ''Persona'' games: weaknesses are guaranteed to knock down enemies and an All-Out Attack is available when all enemies are downed. Boost instead powers up certain attacks, like Smirk in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', as well as allowing Boosted members to act first.
*** You no longer need to pay for healing, you are instead fully healed upon returning to the lobby. This doesn't make the game much easier, but it does help you save money.
*** You now get to choose which skills to overwrite when a party member's main Persona learns new ones, unlike the previous game which would replace BoringButPractical low-cost skills with AwesomeYetImpractical higher-tier versions automatically.
*** Not only do a lot of characters here have more SP than before, several bosses now have weaknesses(even if they can't be knocked down) and many magic skills are cheaper to use, mitigating the issues with casters in the previous game.
*** The unique skills of each character's Personas are now far less gimmicky than the previous installment.

** EverybodyLives... Although it is pretty clear for the ''Persona 3'' and ''Persona 5'' cast, [[spoiler:[[EtTuBrute that]] [[BolivianArmyEnding doesn't]] [[HeroicSacrifice last]] [[KilledOffForReal too]] [[FateWorseThanDeath long]].]]

** She also appears to have an ''extremely'' serious case of C-PTSD[[note]]This is different from "normal" PTSD, which can be traced to one or more specific events. Complex PTSD is triggered by sustained stress experienced over a long duration, often during formative years.[[/note]] resulting from repeated emotional abuse, from her general apathy and self-loathing, borderline suicidal tendencies, crippling paranoia about her father (Or more accurately, everyone but Nagi), to having a trigger phrase that can invoke visual and auditory {{Hallucinations}} onto her.
** Her change of heart lets her get around most of these, but her hyper-obsessiveness over movies remains. This is likely because her interest in movies was genuinely formed outside of her traumas, and much like with Futaba, her change of heart would've cured the PTSD, not the autism.

** The [=P3P] Heroine's first appearance which also marks her first appearance in a nearly a decade after being left out in the anime movies and other spin-offs.

* FanPreferredCouple: This game is responsible for launching the fan ship of Joker and the Female ''P3'' Protagonist, known as the "Red Duo", thanks to their chemistry in the early parts of the game and the fact that the two effectively serve as the game's protagonists.

** The fourth labyrinth, despite being a perfect hybrid of AdultFear and NightmareFuel, comes off as less serious than ''Q'''s reveal when the depressing and dark contents turned out to be [[spoiler:reasons why Hikari was so distorted and depressed while the actual person is close to ''actually recovering'' from her crippling condition during that point and its purpose is to understand why she ended up there in the first place.]]

** The first thing that Hikari said at the start of the game is asking if Morgana is a cat. And Morgana is not known for being intelligent. Just imagine what would've happened if he responded with "[[spoiler:[[TraumaButton Why do you have to be like that?]]]] I'M NOT A CAT!"

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: While the game isn't exactly subtle about criticizing mindless conformity, it's also a highly relevant message in Japan, where individuals are expected to defer to authority figures (Kamoshidaman), go along with the group mentality(Junessic Land) and pursue hobbies and careers that are socially acceptable (A.I.G.I.S.).

%%%%SPECIFIC EXAMPLES HIDDEN UNTIL PROPERLY DISCUSSED. (Basically every one of the five bosses AND the ultimate boss qualify into this trope. They either have ridiculous amounts of HP ([[spoiler:Super Kamoshidaman, Yosukesaurus and Enlil]]) or feature gimmicks that can draw out the battle to unbelievable lengths ([[spoiler:Mother Computer and Doe]]). It's also telling when you can defeat an [=FOE=] with no problem before even going after the dungeon's boss (compared to ''VideoGame/PersonaQ'' where the [=FOE=]s are more difficult than the boss).)

* DisappointingLastLevel: Some players regard the final labyrinth, [[spoiler:the Cinema District]], as a bit of a letdown compared to the endgame of the previous game, as well as the previous labyrinth. The last dungeon is relatively short and doesn't have many unique mechanics apart from the wind. It doesn't help that [[spoiler:unlike Rei in the previous game, Hikari has mostly come to terms with herself by now, so all that's left is to defeat Enlil and save everyone else inside the theaters]].