Persona 5 Royal

REVIEW - BECOME A PHANTOM THIEF AGAIN!

After almost a decade and more than a console generation of waiting, Persona 5 was a breath of fresh air in the PlayStation 4 RPG scene upon its launch in 2017. While other long-running franchises have implemented modern twists to its battle systems and treat players with a fast pace of gameplay, Persona 5 instilled everything that made the PS2-era of RPG gaming enjoyable. With a high degree of visual fidelity kudos of console specs and a kick-ass soundtrack the franchise is known for, players were treated to a 60-80 hour experience with series-favourites including a turn-based battle system, drawn-out character development and plenty of Personas to collect.

I had a little bit of apprehension when diving into Persona 5 Royal for the first time. Unlike the previously released Persona 4 Golden for the PlayStation Vita which saw significant improvements for the game being released half a decade later on a new generation of hardware, Persona 5 Royal was released much closer to the original’s launch and on the same platform. It initially begged the question of whether there was enough new content to justify a full-price purchase so close to the original release, and whether there would be motivation to replay a game you might have already played through several times before. Eighty in-game hours later and I have emerged with a Platinum Trophy, having enjoyed my time revisiting this chapter in the Persona timeline. While at its core more or less the same game, the number of new inclusions

Before beginning this review, I would like to outline that this primarily looks at the new features and how they contribute overall to the Persona 5 experience. If you are more interested in how the core game fares, I encourage you to check out my full review HERE.

New Storyline Elements Sometimes Appear Tacked On, But Make for an Enjoyable Third Trimester

Similar to Persona 4 Golden introducing Marie, Persona 5 Royal introduces two new characters into the story: underclassman Kasumi Yoshizawa who is drawn further into the narrative as you progress through each arc, and counsellor Takuto Maruki who is enlisted after the events of the first arc to assist Shujin Academy students following the events which took place. Both characters have their unique quirks and are welcome additions to the Persona 5 chronology. Given pre-established circumstances, they both tend to be (sometimes haphazardly written into the narrative with mixed success), but have their own stories enriched through both confidant / social link scenes and their interactions with the protagonist and his friends. Maruki’s social link, in particular, is one of the more interesting ones, with both being important to complete to appreciate the third trimester fully.

While there are new story events strewn throughout the game, the most significant addition is the ‘Third Trimester’, which spans throughout January and the first days of February. With the original storyline being more or less complete from the start, this new month of gameplay features some smart ideas to justify its existence, feeling more purposeful and impactful on the characters than the additions in P4G. This principally serves as the “Truth End” which was missing from the original release, featuring a new complicated palace to enjoy and even more jaw-dropping final confrontation. Fortunately, they don’t just tack on an extra month to give you more time to complete your confidants, with a lot of new, fully-voiced narrative available to players. I would argue it is one of the better-written arcs in the game and deviates from the approach taken by all former palaces.

Outside of the Phantom Thieves whom each receives a bonus confidant rank to unlock their third-tier Personas, the pre-existing confidants don’t get much opportunity to shine. One exception is that Goro Akechi’s confidant now needs to be ranked individually rather than automatically as was the case previously, and it is nice to see the relationship between him and the protagonist grow, which has typically been reserved for spin-off titles. Another relates to Velvet Room attendants Caroline and Justine, who on a quiet night you can take out for adventures around Tokyo in return for skill cards. These scenes are a lot of fun and are worth checking out when you have the chance.

Persona 5 Royal Offers a Much More Relaxed Experience

Both Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 both had this issue when it came to those looking to platinum the game – there is an awful lot on offer but getting many of the trophies required you meticulously plan out the protagonists week and forgo the “school life” element of the game. After all, it might be fun to go on a date with your partner, but since you maxed out their confidant ranking, they should never expect you to spend any time with you after school. With even more activities to partake in such as a jazz lounge and darts, there would have been greater risk players might not take full advantage of them. Therefore, many of the more strenuous tasks have been replaced with trophies which align with new content in the game. The hardest thing you will need to do is max out your social stats, which can typically be completed by enjoying everything the game has to offer.

In terms of what is on offer this time around, Kichijoji is now unlockable early on in a playthrough and offers many new activities for the player to enjoy including a jazz lounge to provide stat boosts, a dive bar where players can partake in billiards or a playable darts game, or spend time meditating at the temple. Each of these, while not ranking up your confidants, offer battle perks including instant level ups, improving your HP/SP and increasing the potency of your Baton Passes.

Events in other locations have received a few quality of life updates. A range of new books, Sunday Home Shopping Program items and a point system for the maid cafe are just a few of the latest additions to the shopping options – in addition to a couple more hysterical parody films available in the three cinemas across Tokyo. Another excellent addition is that video rental penalties are no longer a thing, instead unlockable by purchasing a 3,000 yen membership. These are all small changes, but further help justify their use by players of all levels.

Dungeons and Mementos Receive Welcome Improvements and Alterations

Palaces only receive a few minor adjustments in their layouts, mostly to accommodate the new grappling hook, which becomes available early on. Not a game-changer, this has been implemented to deliver some impressive scenic shots on the odd occasion and to provide multi-route secrets. While some of these secrets are just chests, the most significant addition is three hidden “Will Seeds” in each Palace. When all three of these are collected, they combine into a ring which provides substantial benefits to whoever equips one. These are one case of accessories which have viability throughout the game up to the final boss. Many of the palace bosses also receive slight alterations to their original forms, often adding a welcome bit of difficulty to them.

Mementos, the communal Palace of the general populace, also receives a few changes. In addition to a handful of new floor designs, a new mysterious young boy named Jose appears to players. Through collecting flowers strewn throughout Mementos in addition to stamps, they can be traded in for valuable consumable items and an increase in EXP/Yen/Items yield respectively. The new secret areas and systems introduced in both Palaces and Mementos help provide longevity to these areas, both as a grinding spot and to ensure you don’t speedrun through them on your first attempt. This resolves a complaint I had with Mementos in the original game, as after a couple of sessions, runs came down to making it to the next floor as quickly as possible.

The battle system for the most part also remains in-tact, featuring the same, smooth, turn-based combat system where you switch between your Personas and those of your party members to dish out damage against enemies using combinations of 10 elements (Physical, Gun, Fire, Ice, Electric, Wind, Psychic, Nuclear, Bless and Curse) to target their weaknesses. Persona 5 Royal introduces “Showtime” attacks. These are combo moves shared between specific characters, providing a quirky sequence and a high amount of damage on your foes – which on more than one occasion helped turn the tide of battle for me despite being completely random.

Persona 5 Royal - Thieves Den

Thieves Den is An Answer to the Simpler Trophies

Does anyone remember more than a decade ago in the early years of the PlayStation 3’s life cycle, when Sony was previewing their lofty goals towards PlayStation Home? One of the earliest, albeit never implemented, features of the now-defunct service was a Hall of Fame mode. With the support of game developers, this would allow you to showcase trophies, highlights and more from your exploits across the gaming universes you journeyed through. It was an idea I loved at the time, but have never really seen a development team implement well.

While lacking the online shareability, Persona 5 Royal introduces the ‘Thieves Den’, a fourth-wall-breaking environment which players can visit at their leisure when not in the metaverse. With a shift in the focus of the game’s PlayStation Trophies from absolute completion to encouragement to try out everything new with more relaxed goals, this mode is where your striving to 100% complete the game pays off.

As you complete tasks from one of four categories: School, Confidants, Battle and Other – your den will progressively be adorned with awards, and in return, you will be given a number of P Medals. These are tradable for access to FMV Movies, a wide variety of music and artwork, and statuettes from the game which can be placed in a gallery. Not only can you enjoy models from the game up-close, but Phantom Thieves and (later on) your confidants will start touring the gallery and making banter between themselves about it. Even if this is not a canon experience, this provides plenty of content to enjoy. Upon completing my playthrough, I found this mode a nice way of just reminiscing about the journey I had just experienced.

Persona 5 Royal 1

… and Lots More is on Offer!

There is a lot more quality of life additions and new content introduced in Persona 5 Royal, including but by no means limited to a battle trial mode available through the Velvet Room, new Personas to summon, improved visual assets and redrawn character portraits, dual-language audio, a fantastic assortment of new music and more. Those who have played Persona 4 Golden or to a lesser extent Persona 3 Portable should consider this game comparable to those of its predecessors – the original experience enriched with new content across the board. Outside of the fact that the original storyline was perfect by itself and didn’t need an additional chapter, I can hardly find an issue with my second time out with the Phantom Thieves.

But while the game is excellent, it does beg the question around whether it is worth either re-purchasing or spending more money than the original release. Things do get trickier regarding this, and I don’t think there is one right answer given the substantial price differences between Persona 5 Royal (USD 59.99 base) and Persona 5 (USD 19.99 base). By itself, Persona 5 offers a great experience even without being the definitive experience, and if you are after a budget-price RPG then you would not go wrong there. However, having played the original thrice already, I enjoyed all 80ish hours playing through Persona 5 Royal and do think this remake is a worthwhile pick for anyone with the money and loves RPGs. Persona 5 Royal, to me, showcases why this is the best RPG in the current generation of consoles.

Rating: 5 out of 5.
Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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