Persona 5 Royal is a game I was very excited to get my hands on, especially considering my sheer love for the original Persona 5. While the idea of an enhanced re-release is nothing new, not just to Atlus or the SMT/Persona series, what matters is HOW the re-releases are handled and made, and I think with Royal - you are given the absolute most definitive Persona 5 experience yet.
With this review I will try my best not to delve into spoiler territory, but as with everything - take it with some caution.
Story
Persona 5 Royal's story largely follows the same structure as Persona 5 did though it has been tweaked here and there. Much like Persona 4 Golden before it, P5R adds a few new characters to the base Persona 5 story that extends the runtime of it by a significant margin while also adding additional content by the endgame.
The short premise of the game is that you tried to stand up to a drunk guy on the street who was harassing a woman on the street and end up arrested for it & sent to Shibuya under probation for a year. You discover some sexual abuse going on at your new school as you attempt to readjust to your new life for the next year and awaken your Persona. From there, the rest is up to you to find out.
I really wish I could talk about the story more but this is one of those games that you really need to play for yourself and experience. But to those who played the vanilla Persona 5, be prepared for the amount of changes to the story, in a good way of course.
Gameplay
Gameplay is where P5R truly shines in its improvements compared to P5. There are so many great QoL additions and tweaks to the overall gameplay throughout the palaces, such as the grappling hook, Will Seeds & the ABSOLUTE OVERHAUL AND IMPROVEMENT OF MEMENTOS, THANK YOU. Mementos was easily the lowest point of the original game, P5R actually improved it by giving you more collectibles and rewards for said collectibles, which effectively let you catch up with stuff you may have missed out during your playthrough.
Combat itself also received a huge improvement. The best improvement made to the combat is the fact that you no longer need to raise your confidants extremely high to perform a Baton Pass, it's now a default option in a fight and it improves the flow of battles by a ton. Another great improvement is that ammo for your gun is no longer a per-palace requirement, which in the original game made them near useless. Guns, this time around, are handled per-battle, meaning after every single fight your ammo replenishes, which...THANK YOU. God, THANK YOU.
These improvements to what was already an amazing gameplay loop made it so much better, to the point where I find it genuinely difficult to go back to the original game, nor see much of a point in doing so.
Graphics, Sound & Optimization
The style that both P5 and P5R go for is, at this point, iconic. The red & dark aesthetic, with each menu, character, animation and background detail having so much love, care and attention to detail added that, no matter where you look, you will always find something new to spot. This game looks great. It genuinely does in every sense of the word, this game looks amazing.
For sound, this is another case of a sheer slam dunk. The sound design in this game is wonderful and impactful. Every little & big thing has presence, and the art of sound design cannot be overstated, as it's one of the key components that brings the world to life. Don't get me started on the music either. To this day "Take Over" is still a song I listen to on the regular. And the ending theme for the whole game? Beautiful.
As for optimization, I played this game on the PS4 and not once have I ever noticed any kind of issue with the game at any point. No crashes, no save corruptions, no sudden framerate drops, etc.
I cannot comment on the PC version, or on any other version of the game for that matter, but the experience on the PS4 is phenomenal.
Overall
If you're looking for a solid 100+ hour game to sink your teeth into, Persona 5 Royal is a game that NEEDS to be added to your list. It's one of the very VERY rare games that I don't have practically anything negative to say about, and that on its own makes the game worth recommending.
Play Persona 5 Royal. Seriously.
With this review I will try my best not to delve into spoiler territory, but as with everything - take it with some caution.
Story
Persona 5 Royal's story largely follows the same structure as Persona 5 did though it has been tweaked here and there. Much like Persona 4 Golden before it, P5R adds a few new characters to the base Persona 5 story that extends the runtime of it by a significant margin while also adding additional content by the endgame.
The short premise of the game is that you tried to stand up to a drunk guy on the street who was harassing a woman on the street and end up arrested for it & sent to Shibuya under probation for a year. You discover some sexual abuse going on at your new school as you attempt to readjust to your new life for the next year and awaken your Persona. From there, the rest is up to you to find out.
I really wish I could talk about the story more but this is one of those games that you really need to play for yourself and experience. But to those who played the vanilla Persona 5, be prepared for the amount of changes to the story, in a good way of course.
Gameplay
Gameplay is where P5R truly shines in its improvements compared to P5. There are so many great QoL additions and tweaks to the overall gameplay throughout the palaces, such as the grappling hook, Will Seeds & the ABSOLUTE OVERHAUL AND IMPROVEMENT OF MEMENTOS, THANK YOU. Mementos was easily the lowest point of the original game, P5R actually improved it by giving you more collectibles and rewards for said collectibles, which effectively let you catch up with stuff you may have missed out during your playthrough.
Combat itself also received a huge improvement. The best improvement made to the combat is the fact that you no longer need to raise your confidants extremely high to perform a Baton Pass, it's now a default option in a fight and it improves the flow of battles by a ton. Another great improvement is that ammo for your gun is no longer a per-palace requirement, which in the original game made them near useless. Guns, this time around, are handled per-battle, meaning after every single fight your ammo replenishes, which...THANK YOU. God, THANK YOU.
These improvements to what was already an amazing gameplay loop made it so much better, to the point where I find it genuinely difficult to go back to the original game, nor see much of a point in doing so.
Graphics, Sound & Optimization
The style that both P5 and P5R go for is, at this point, iconic. The red & dark aesthetic, with each menu, character, animation and background detail having so much love, care and attention to detail added that, no matter where you look, you will always find something new to spot. This game looks great. It genuinely does in every sense of the word, this game looks amazing.
For sound, this is another case of a sheer slam dunk. The sound design in this game is wonderful and impactful. Every little & big thing has presence, and the art of sound design cannot be overstated, as it's one of the key components that brings the world to life. Don't get me started on the music either. To this day "Take Over" is still a song I listen to on the regular. And the ending theme for the whole game? Beautiful.
As for optimization, I played this game on the PS4 and not once have I ever noticed any kind of issue with the game at any point. No crashes, no save corruptions, no sudden framerate drops, etc.
I cannot comment on the PC version, or on any other version of the game for that matter, but the experience on the PS4 is phenomenal.
Overall
If you're looking for a solid 100+ hour game to sink your teeth into, Persona 5 Royal is a game that NEEDS to be added to your list. It's one of the very VERY rare games that I don't have practically anything negative to say about, and that on its own makes the game worth recommending.
Play Persona 5 Royal. Seriously.