PERSONA 5 ROYAL
Letting the demons off the (grappling) hook
Like the Phantom Thieves hauling back treasure, this rerelease of Persona 5 has plenty to share. It’s been three years since the basic game came out, but it’s still the best JRPG on PS4. The latest additions simply increase the amount of everything we loved the first time around, and ultimately, this is an even better version of the game we gave 10/10 back in OPM #134.
The modern-day Tokyo setting is a perfect location for dealing with societal issues and teen problems in an earnest and compelling way; the turn-based combat is slick and addictive; the dungeon design, which has you delving into the psyches of villains to steal their hearts, is still some of the best ever seen in the genre; and the balance between spending social time with teammates to build abilities and exploring those dungeons feels refreshing. Not only are the events leading up to the third term (a brand-new epilogue) seeded through the original game in a completely natural way, dungeons have been altered a lot too. They’re now more streamlined, and the addition of a grappling hook increases the feeling of verticality.
THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM
Prince detective know-it-all Akechi plays a big role in the third term (the largest slice of new content in Royal), which takes place after the events of the original game. It’s a little annoying that there’s no option to transfer saved games from the original, upgrade your vanilla version, or skip ahead to play the events of the third term only. What’s more, it’s possible to miss the third term completely if you don’t take the time to hang out with the right people to increase your bond, though the game does seem to nudge you into doing these fairly strongly.
But enough here is different that we can see why Atlus wants you to play through the whole thing, even if you’ve seen a lot of the first part of the game before. Characters like school councillor Dr
Maruki and gymnast Kasumi Yoshizawa, both introduced in Royal, are integral to the story, so not getting to know them would take a lot away from the narrative. Plus, in the original we rarely got to hang out with Akechi. Not only does he play an important role in the third term, you now have to manually get to know him throughout the events of the original game, and it adds depth to his character.
ROYAL FAMILY
When you enter the dungeons to steal the hearts of corrupt and manipulative adults you loot treasure and solve puzzles to progress, but for the most part you’re sneaking up on the Shadows who guard these mind
“THE TURN-BASED COMBAT HAS BEEN OVERHAULED, MAKING IT EVEN SLICKER.”
palaces. They’re varied, each one linked to an Arcana, with a variety of moves.
The turn-based combat has been overhauled for Royal, making it even slicker than it was before. Hitting an enemy with a type of attack they’re weak to (such as gunfire for a Pixie) knocks them down as always, allowing you to use a baton pass to throw the turn over to a party member for extra hits, but now you can perform technical attacks to knock them down, such as putting them to sleep with a debuff skill and then whacking them on the head. Performing a baton pass has extra benefits in Royal, as you can heal HP and SP as well as boost attack strength (providing your bond is a high enough level).
A new grapple attack means you can start fights with an immediate debuff. You might encounter Disaster Shadows, strong foes that can unleash devastating counterattacks, but if killed off quickly explode and instead deal huge amounts of damage to the other enemies.
Most of the boss fights been given a fresh do-over, with interesting new phases and twists that make them feel a little more special being introduced. These challenge you to think about a fight in ways beyond doing the most damage to your opponent.
More than ever, Persona 5’s mechanics are used to further the narrative, whether that’s a high art plagiarist making fake copies of himself to fight you, or smart-aleck Akechi always throwing three bullseyes in a row at the new darts spot in town. It’s bigger, better, more.
VERDICT
While there’s a lot new to love, you still need to be a devoted Persona-head to go through it all again. But if you are prepared to put in the time, the Phantom Thieves will steal your heart once more. Oscar Taylor-Kent