This is one of my favorite games ever, and definitely a champion among JRPGS. It has excellent battle mechanics, loveable characters, and a good premise: powerless people getting back at abusive and corrupt adults.

It is an improvement on the original vanilla game in every way, especially with the new third-semester arc and the addition of Goro Akechi's confidant. Kasumi and Maruki are wonderful additions as well, and all three characters are spectacularly written.

I can't justify giving it five stars though, because the story is well-written until it isn't. At points, the game has times where the characters act out-of-character for the sake of the plot. Also, while each thief is an amazing character on their own, the game struggles with making them feel like anything more than co-workers in regard to their relationships with each other.

I critique because I love. Persona 5 Royal is truly an amazing game, especially compared to the original base game.