maxing Yusuke’s social link. Just…holy shit so good. His social link handles a difficult topic that I’ve never seen done well before.

[spoilers ahead!!]

Yusuke lived almost his entire life with his abuser, Madarame, who he saw as a father figure. Madarame HEAVILY influenced who he is, his belief systems, and his experiences. Those experiences, life lessons, and memories don’t just disappear, and they’re not ‘bad’ just because they involved a bad person. But it can be extremely, extremely difficult for someone who has been abused to be able to sort out such strong conflicting emotions.

Yusuke’s social link handled this so, so, SO well. Yusuke realized that his mentor and guardian, this terrible, awful, bad person, was not ALL bad. Madarame’s good actions certainly don’t justify the bad, but…his actions did help shape Yusuke into who he is today. He was a major positive force in Yusuke’s life, as well as a major negative force in his life. And that’s okay.

Yusuke can appreciate and cherish the good memories he has with his father figure, if he wants. There is no shame in it. Denying all of the positive things he gained from Madarame…would only mean Yusuke is rejecting himself.

So yeah, I bawled my eyes out. It was such a relieving feeling. I’ve never connected more with a character before in my entire life. This is something I’ve struggled with myself for over 15 years, regarding my own abusive father figure. The writers did such an amazing job portraying the depth and emotional complexities of this conflict and Yusuke’s feelings.

Maybe it’s cheesy and stupid to say this, but I really want to thank this game for helping me heal.