I was a little cautious going into P5R; not because of any preconceived notions about the game necessarily, but because it was hard for me to imagine improving upon P5 vanilla, at least in terms of gameplay.
Fortunately for me, Royal’s series of small gameplay improvements add up to make something that I think is somehow a good deal better than the vanilla version.
My biggest issues with P5 vanilla were all writing related, and sadly I don’t think much improvement has been made in that regard.
Some party members are still more-or-less benched in favour of others (Makoto gets so much to do, and I just don’t find her very interesting. The fabled ‘Atlus new girl syndrome’ I’ve heard about is also at play here, although I do kinda like her). Leading with the most despicable character in the game still robs the rest of the game of its weight. The game’s exploration of vigilantism flirts with the complexities of such subject matter—the morality of vigilantism and its ramifications—and then promptly forgets about said complexities, instead preferring an approach that’s very naïve. In the new third semester, they try to get a little more morally grey, but once again its exploration of the ideas it presents are quite simplistic.
Persona writing has always shined in its individual characters—explored through ‘Social Links’ and whatnot—and it’s still mostly fantastic here.
I think the level design could be a bit better, too. And all the hyper-contextual platforming linearises the levels a little too much for my liking. Also the grappling hook is pointless.
Everything else about Persona—the time limits, the life/dating sim elements, the combat, etc.—is as great as you expect; if you’ve played one, you get the deal by now.
It’s still not as good as P5 could be, but it’s about as good as it’s gonna get, and in this case, ‘as good as it’s gonna get’ actually means pretty amazing.
Edit: I forgot to mention Akechi is an edgy loser and I should be allowed to bully him.
Fortunately for me, Royal’s series of small gameplay improvements add up to make something that I think is somehow a good deal better than the vanilla version.
My biggest issues with P5 vanilla were all writing related, and sadly I don’t think much improvement has been made in that regard.
Some party members are still more-or-less benched in favour of others (Makoto gets so much to do, and I just don’t find her very interesting. The fabled ‘Atlus new girl syndrome’ I’ve heard about is also at play here, although I do kinda like her). Leading with the most despicable character in the game still robs the rest of the game of its weight. The game’s exploration of vigilantism flirts with the complexities of such subject matter—the morality of vigilantism and its ramifications—and then promptly forgets about said complexities, instead preferring an approach that’s very naïve. In the new third semester, they try to get a little more morally grey, but once again its exploration of the ideas it presents are quite simplistic.
Persona writing has always shined in its individual characters—explored through ‘Social Links’ and whatnot—and it’s still mostly fantastic here.
I think the level design could be a bit better, too. And all the hyper-contextual platforming linearises the levels a little too much for my liking. Also the grappling hook is pointless.
Everything else about Persona—the time limits, the life/dating sim elements, the combat, etc.—is as great as you expect; if you’ve played one, you get the deal by now.
It’s still not as good as P5 could be, but it’s about as good as it’s gonna get, and in this case, ‘as good as it’s gonna get’ actually means pretty amazing.
Edit: I forgot to mention Akechi is an edgy loser and I should be allowed to bully him.