I had dropped the vanilla version of this game at around the halfway mark. It felt like there were dozens of tiny grievances that made the experience feel like a slog. Fast forward to the Royal version appearing on Game Pass, though, and it's safe to say the game's been honed into a fantastic experience.

While the narrative isn't the most groundbreaking in the genre, it serves its role with a decent number of twists and hurdles to keep you engaged. Good performances from a varied cast makes the world very colorful. As a lot of people note, it really picks up in the Royal-exclusive extra content. Although some messages miss their mark, like those in some of the confidants, many of the overarching ones do well to leave an impression.

The game comes close to perfecting the Persona formula in terms of gameplay, with flashy, streamlined battles and addicting monster-collecting mechanics. The slick presentation elevates each battle into a spectacle, said style being present in every corner of the game. The myriad of QoL mechanics does well to assist newbies and veterans alike, though added with the benefits from your confidants, it can make the experience somewhat easy.

Overall P5R is just an extremely solid package. Whether you're a JRPG diehard or only vaguely familiar with the genre, there's something for you.