Persona 5 Royal, Persona game number 2 for 2020! This Royal 'update' is their version of the Golden/FES of 3 and 4, a rerelease with bonus content and editing of the main game. I originally played Persona 5 on its initial release in early 2017 and I was... disappointed with the game? I loved it, I did, but there was an inescapable air of "this doesn't quite match what came before". That feeling still hasn't really been shaken by Royal because the base game is like 99% the same (unlike FES/Golden, where the 10~15% that is changed in those versions makes pretty big difference in the feel) and that 99% is still bombastic and proud and full of energy and STYLE - and in those areas the game is an unqualified success. So the game is a tremendous achievement at being what it is striving for - a story of rebellion and not accepting the world as it is, to change yourself and the world around you. The characters, story and gameplay all support this and there are so many QOL improvements and mechanical changes to the Persona Formula that are great here, but ultimately leave me a little wanting due to the same care being lacking in its predecessors greatest strength: SOME STAKES.
So the gist of this game is the two halves of Persona 5 - 1. A 'slice of life' simulator where you get to choose each day who you're going to hang out with or what activities you'll engage in (interspersed with story beats or events from your personal/school life) and 2. A dungeon crawler where you enter the "mental palaces" of adults you've identified who are causing problems in the real world and need to have their hearts stolen so they can see the error of their ways. These two systems sound completely separate but Persona 5 does a fantastic job of having the two systems 'overlap' in ways that far exceed P3 and P4. As you level up your friendships in the real world you not only get stronger Personas to fight with in the battles, each Confidant of yours teaches you some new skills that are of use to you in the mental world. From special gun attacks, swapping out party members mid fight, bonuses to negotiations - and of course leveling up your teammates lets them protect you in battle or shake off blows that would kill them. Conversely, you'll be able to change the hearts of people who are giving your confidants shit in real life making your battles in the mental world affect your progression in the slice of life section. The Persona games (modern ones but honestly who really gives a shit about P1/P2) do a variable job at balancing the pacing of these two sections of the game that would be kinda boring on their own and P5 does the best job at making them feel like a cohesive whole, so kudos to you P5!
Persona 5 Royal is a GIANT fucking game. I spent 100 hours (99h 54m to be exact!) doing mostly everything, but I also had played P5 before so generally knew what I was doing. Because it is so big there is a LOT to talk about but I'm not sure it can all be tackled in one of my reviews because that's boring. So I'll just hit the strengths and weaknesses in general then talk about the royal stuff + my overall feelings towards this massive, excellent, and disappointing game.
Strengths
The music. Jesus H. Jones the music at basically all times is amazing. The chill jazz ambiance (Beneath the Mask) of running around, especially during the rain, is 11/10. When you enter the palace to steal the heart of the target, the music amps up to 110% and you feel like a phantom thief who can take on the whole damn world. Battle music continues to be 10/10, with different tracks for whether you're fighting bosses, minibosses, regular battles or surprise battles.
UI presentation. Everything in the ui drips with style and flash. A cutout version of Joker flips through the screen and punches through glass as you move through options, even other characters get in on the action in certain stores or interactions and it just LOOKS cool.
SOME of the story arcs are excellent. This makes some of the other arcs feel a lot weaker by contrast but we'll get there... Kamoshida arc, Futaba's and of course Shido's are top because they deal more directly with characters we've gotten a good chance to know and are just well constructed.
Royal Changes - more stuff to do, much more free time in the evenings for character growth, two new characters are damn solid. In fact the last act of the game is a lot stronger than what precedes it as he is a MUCH more interesting antagonist than a god out of nowhere at all apparently... The new semester also starts off with a BANG - the new 'world' is so weird and unsettling you know it's going to turn out awful. Plus having crazy Akechi on your side is fucking amazing, he's so great. Also Maruki and his palace have some STRONG Lovecraft vibes (his persona is Azathoth and he is straight up the Yellow King, it is awesome) but it uses it in like... a positive way? Warping the world into something happy rather than madness inducing. It's a neat take on the idea actually.
Weaknesses
Confidants. I say 'weakness' not because any of them are actually BAD, there's just no real standouts in my opinion. Sun is pretty good (politician trying to redeem himself), Justice has an interesting twist (what if you were friends with a crazy person, but done much better than Hunger from Persona 4) and of course your bond with Sojiro is solid but I am struggling to think of any others that were particularly noteworthy. Nothing even close to Death from P4.
The other story arcs. Following up Kamoshida's arc, one with real emotion and drama and stakes, with a ...fraudulent artist who... threatens us with legal action.... and a character who is a twerp for 90% of it is.... a choice. The criminal yakuza dude is fine I guess since we see the consequences of some of his actions but otherwise is whatever.
Royal Changes - the last arc feels kind of out of nowhere? I think this is a bit 'unfair' of me as I played the original version so obviously I KNOW it was tacked on but there's barely even a line spared for how any of it is even possible - at the end of the original final boss the stakes are clear: if we beat this god, mementos disappears and the Thieves are finished. Except.... everything is totally fine in mementos and Maruki can do his thing? Somehow? And then you beat him and "oh hey Mementos is disappearing I guess". The new semester also has barely any content to it other than the main story beats with the new world + an apology tour from your whole team for... being happy for a couple days? I get the need for these scenes, I do, but they play out 95% the same way with everyone and it is actually kinda embarrassingly repetitive, like when you get chocolates from everyone on Valentine's but like it actually matters where chocolates don't.
So yeah, Royal stuff - a whole new semester! 2 new main characters! The new semester I'm a little mixed on - the dungeon and story/characters are great, the rest is meh. I love Maruki and Kasumi's interaction and how it deals with the 'canon' of the P5 metaverse and playing with how this story could logically go - but it seems to completely ignore the ending of the original game? Why not change it to fight better with the Royal additions? Like, the end of the game is SO CLEARLY THIS IS THE END OF THE GAME - Arsene comes back, new Giant persona who KILLS A GOD and prevents worlds from being merged... and then we just get another plot month of metaverse stuff? Narratively it is just a clusterfuck. It feels like the game desperately needed a proper editing pass (cut some sections or just rework them to give them a bit more punch. Why the fuck do we still not meet Haru until October for god's sake?!) but the team was too scared to change the base game significantly to make room for the Royal stuff so just tacked it on and it feels WEIRD. Seriously, is there ANY explanation for how the metaverse keeps going in January? Or who or what Jose is and is up to? Hey maybe I missed a throwaway line somewhere.. It sounds like I'm mostly negative on this stuff and I swear I'm not - it is mostly very good. It just doesn't FIT into the rest of this game and it is really weird it doesn't since they should've done a whole pass on the game but just didn't.
Overall, this game is a fuckin' doozy. There's so much character and style to everything you do, yet like everything that is 100% style they forget the substance in a few too many places. There's no quiet and moving stories here, only bombast and drama. It's a game about freedom and forging your own path against a world that will often get in your way and it succeeds with flying colors in that regard - I just wish it remembered the heart that 3 and 4 were built on.
So the gist of this game is the two halves of Persona 5 - 1. A 'slice of life' simulator where you get to choose each day who you're going to hang out with or what activities you'll engage in (interspersed with story beats or events from your personal/school life) and 2. A dungeon crawler where you enter the "mental palaces" of adults you've identified who are causing problems in the real world and need to have their hearts stolen so they can see the error of their ways. These two systems sound completely separate but Persona 5 does a fantastic job of having the two systems 'overlap' in ways that far exceed P3 and P4. As you level up your friendships in the real world you not only get stronger Personas to fight with in the battles, each Confidant of yours teaches you some new skills that are of use to you in the mental world. From special gun attacks, swapping out party members mid fight, bonuses to negotiations - and of course leveling up your teammates lets them protect you in battle or shake off blows that would kill them. Conversely, you'll be able to change the hearts of people who are giving your confidants shit in real life making your battles in the mental world affect your progression in the slice of life section. The Persona games (modern ones but honestly who really gives a shit about P1/P2) do a variable job at balancing the pacing of these two sections of the game that would be kinda boring on their own and P5 does the best job at making them feel like a cohesive whole, so kudos to you P5!
Persona 5 Royal is a GIANT fucking game. I spent 100 hours (99h 54m to be exact!) doing mostly everything, but I also had played P5 before so generally knew what I was doing. Because it is so big there is a LOT to talk about but I'm not sure it can all be tackled in one of my reviews because that's boring. So I'll just hit the strengths and weaknesses in general then talk about the royal stuff + my overall feelings towards this massive, excellent, and disappointing game.
Strengths
The music. Jesus H. Jones the music at basically all times is amazing. The chill jazz ambiance (Beneath the Mask) of running around, especially during the rain, is 11/10. When you enter the palace to steal the heart of the target, the music amps up to 110% and you feel like a phantom thief who can take on the whole damn world. Battle music continues to be 10/10, with different tracks for whether you're fighting bosses, minibosses, regular battles or surprise battles.
UI presentation. Everything in the ui drips with style and flash. A cutout version of Joker flips through the screen and punches through glass as you move through options, even other characters get in on the action in certain stores or interactions and it just LOOKS cool.
SOME of the story arcs are excellent. This makes some of the other arcs feel a lot weaker by contrast but we'll get there... Kamoshida arc, Futaba's and of course Shido's are top because they deal more directly with characters we've gotten a good chance to know and are just well constructed.
Royal Changes - more stuff to do, much more free time in the evenings for character growth, two new characters are damn solid. In fact the last act of the game is a lot stronger than what precedes it as he is a MUCH more interesting antagonist than a god out of nowhere at all apparently... The new semester also starts off with a BANG - the new 'world' is so weird and unsettling you know it's going to turn out awful. Plus having crazy Akechi on your side is fucking amazing, he's so great. Also Maruki and his palace have some STRONG Lovecraft vibes (his persona is Azathoth and he is straight up the Yellow King, it is awesome) but it uses it in like... a positive way? Warping the world into something happy rather than madness inducing. It's a neat take on the idea actually.
Weaknesses
Confidants. I say 'weakness' not because any of them are actually BAD, there's just no real standouts in my opinion. Sun is pretty good (politician trying to redeem himself), Justice has an interesting twist (what if you were friends with a crazy person, but done much better than Hunger from Persona 4) and of course your bond with Sojiro is solid but I am struggling to think of any others that were particularly noteworthy. Nothing even close to Death from P4.
The other story arcs. Following up Kamoshida's arc, one with real emotion and drama and stakes, with a ...fraudulent artist who... threatens us with legal action.... and a character who is a twerp for 90% of it is.... a choice. The criminal yakuza dude is fine I guess since we see the consequences of some of his actions but otherwise is whatever.
Royal Changes - the last arc feels kind of out of nowhere? I think this is a bit 'unfair' of me as I played the original version so obviously I KNOW it was tacked on but there's barely even a line spared for how any of it is even possible - at the end of the original final boss the stakes are clear: if we beat this god, mementos disappears and the Thieves are finished. Except.... everything is totally fine in mementos and Maruki can do his thing? Somehow? And then you beat him and "oh hey Mementos is disappearing I guess". The new semester also has barely any content to it other than the main story beats with the new world + an apology tour from your whole team for... being happy for a couple days? I get the need for these scenes, I do, but they play out 95% the same way with everyone and it is actually kinda embarrassingly repetitive, like when you get chocolates from everyone on Valentine's but like it actually matters where chocolates don't.
So yeah, Royal stuff - a whole new semester! 2 new main characters! The new semester I'm a little mixed on - the dungeon and story/characters are great, the rest is meh. I love Maruki and Kasumi's interaction and how it deals with the 'canon' of the P5 metaverse and playing with how this story could logically go - but it seems to completely ignore the ending of the original game? Why not change it to fight better with the Royal additions? Like, the end of the game is SO CLEARLY THIS IS THE END OF THE GAME - Arsene comes back, new Giant persona who KILLS A GOD and prevents worlds from being merged... and then we just get another plot month of metaverse stuff? Narratively it is just a clusterfuck. It feels like the game desperately needed a proper editing pass (cut some sections or just rework them to give them a bit more punch. Why the fuck do we still not meet Haru until October for god's sake?!) but the team was too scared to change the base game significantly to make room for the Royal stuff so just tacked it on and it feels WEIRD. Seriously, is there ANY explanation for how the metaverse keeps going in January? Or who or what Jose is and is up to? Hey maybe I missed a throwaway line somewhere.. It sounds like I'm mostly negative on this stuff and I swear I'm not - it is mostly very good. It just doesn't FIT into the rest of this game and it is really weird it doesn't since they should've done a whole pass on the game but just didn't.
Overall, this game is a fuckin' doozy. There's so much character and style to everything you do, yet like everything that is 100% style they forget the substance in a few too many places. There's no quiet and moving stories here, only bombast and drama. It's a game about freedom and forging your own path against a world that will often get in your way and it succeeds with flying colors in that regard - I just wish it remembered the heart that 3 and 4 were built on.