Objectively P5R is an upgrade. Maruki is awesome. There are so many nice QoL changes. And while I left the vanilla game hating Akechi, I realized that it's not Akechi I hate... it's the fans who woobify him that I hate. Akechi is actually a pretty neat character and I appreciate that he doesn't expect you to pity him. He's an awful dude who has endured a lot. That doesn't excuse the awful things he's done, but there's something I respect with his resolve. Made him one of my favorite (just behind Makoto & Yusuke).

While I like plenty things about Royal, I still have issues. I've always felt like P5 is too bloated. Part of that is because the characters kind of refuse to shut up. And this game is EVEN LONGER. I do like the 3rd semester, but Kasumi was a royal disappointment. She's just not enough of a character for me to care. And despite adding like 20 hours of gametime, they still didn't do Haru justice. Also, they made the gameplay even easier. P5 was at the very least super fun, but this is a bit too braindead. I enjoyed the 3rd semester and everything with Maruki, but that doesn't do anything to fix the existing issues with the base game.... I also do not like the new ending.