For those who missed it, Persona 4 Golden is still considered by many to be the gold standard of JRPG upgrades. Golden was a port of the PlayStation 2’s Persona 4 to the then-still alive PlayStation Vita, adding a new, fan-favorite character in Marie on top of new story elements and some new features that made grinding more palatable. While the base game had already been well-received, Persona 4 Golden was borderline revered by fans.
That brief history lesson is important because it helps set the stage for what’s expected of Persona 5 Royal, a game that looks to similarly take an already great experience and transform it into something better. Persona 5 Royal succeeds in that regard by introducing two new standout characters in Takuto Maruki and Kasumi Yoshizawa, a new palace, and an incredible amount of tweaks and gameplay additions that make the game an absolute joy to play. For as hefty a time investment as Persona 5 Royal is, it’s the kind of game that will ensnare those who have already experienced its story and have them contemplating a New Game+ run to do it all over again afterwards.
Persona 5 Royal can be off-putting at first because it chooses to slowly introduce the new characters over time, slow-dripping them into the narrative and teasing fans who want to know more. Because of that, a lot of the early game feels quite similar to the last outing, with the same characters interacting with each other on the most important beats while the new ones operate on the periphery of the main story. When they’re splashed into the early going, however, they behave like stars – especially Takuto, who fills a very obvious need at Shujin Academy as a mental health counselor. His interactions with the Phantom Thieves help flesh out how they feel about their circumstances and gives them an outlet to express thoughts that might not have fit the progression otherwise, and that insight feels fresh.
Eventually, though, Takuto and Kasumi come to steal the show. Naturally, the bulk of the new content centers around Kasumi, the new addition to the protagonist’s merry band of heart-stealing thieves. She doesn’t quite measure up to Marie’s addition in Golden when it comes to adding a meaningful new look at the supernatural circumstances of Persona, but she certainly never threatens to detract from anything, either. Kasumi is also fun to roll out in combat and expanding her Confidant rank gives the player access to newly-added dungeon exploration skills.
This is where Persona 5 Royal shines the most, however. The way the game tackles its core concepts – the daily life of a student in Japan and the nightly masquerades as fighters of injustice and superpowered summoners – is what makes it so refreshing to play through again. One of the smallest but most fun changes is the addition of the grappling hook to Joker’s arsenal, which lets him traverse dungeons and explore new areas added exclusively to Persona 5 Royal. If nothing else, it makes Joker feel more like a proper thief of fantasy lore, and it’s another excuse to exhibit the game’s fluid and stylish movements.
The grappling hook is often how players will discover the new Will Seeds mechanic as well, items contained behind locked doors in palaces that offer a minor SP healing effect. Collecting all of them will create an item that, in turn, is modified by new character Jose in Mementos to produce a powerful accessory. These accessories all grant the user a unique skill that’s a callback to the boss they are related to. For instance, the Kamoshida accessory allows players to be replenished by a trophy, while Madarame’s is tied to art. The skills are useful and exciting, too, so they’re not there just for show.
Another major change comes in the introduction of Disaster Shadows, which allow players to exploit their weak points for item drops and an explosion that will damage other enemies. They’re an exciting addition to the dungeon-crawling routine that shake up random encounters. This is further complemented by some ease-of-life changes that simply make Persona 5 Royal a better experience overall, like upgrades to the Baton Pass system and sweeping changes made to each boss fight to make them more interesting.
A recurring theme throughout Persona 5 Royal is the fact that Atlus wasn’t content with adding new elements and calling it a day. Most of the small annoyances that may have given players pause in the base game have been looked at once more in Persona 5 Royal. There’s more accessibility in menus when it comes to locating potential Confidants to hang out with, upgrades to UI and text messages based on seasons, and new locations to visit. Even Morgana’s fabled insistence that the player sleep after visiting Mementos has been replaced, allowing players to instead do tasks in Leblanc instead of losing an entire evening.
It’s difficult to pinpoint any real flaws in Persona 5 Royal, at least through the lens of being an upgraded Persona 5. Sure, the game still has some of the same warts that may have bothered consumers in the first go, especially when the narrative begins to drag in the second half a little as gameplay struggles to keep pace with narrative exposition. But the additions of Persona 5 Royal do go a ways in mitigating even that, and in virtually every regard, it’s cemented itself as the premier way to experience the series. Perhaps for newer players, Persona 5 Royal will now offer too much – it’s true the game was already overwhelming at times, and now it offers even more options. But that’s not something that will hinder players’ progression through the main game either way.
Is Persona 5 Royal enough to justify purchasing a game fans have already played? Yes. The amount of change brought to the title is significant, and it all feels like a marked improvement. For a game that was already one of the best JRPGs in recent years, Persona 5 Royal is a follow-up that cements itself as an experience well-worth repeating in lieu of a proper Persona sequel.
Persona 5 Royal releases on March 31, 2020 in the west, exclusively on PlayStation 4. Screen Rant was provided with a digital download code for the purpose of this review.
