Persona 5 Royal (PlayStation 4) Review

Persona 5 was the first time I truly jumped into any of the Shin Megami Tensei games. There have been a few times that I explored a game in this massive franchise on the 3DS or the PS2 but I never stuck with them for long. Upon reviewing Persona 5 on release, I sank almost 100 hours into it and vowed to finish the game one day. It wasn’t long before an expanded release known as Persona 5 Royal was announced, which prompted me to halt my quest until that version dropped. Around launch, I talked about how Persona 5 Royal was a more refined version of the game but I was worried by the amount of time it would take to beat it. After almost an entire year of playing off and on, coupled with one of the most stressful years of my life, I have finally beaten Persona 5 Royal. 

Unfortunately, I missed a crucial social connection and missed out on the new optional dungeon. . . 

To preface how I made such an easy mistake, I played both Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal without a guide. I wanted to experience the game naturally and make my own decisions, leaving enough mystery in the game’s systems and story so that I could then entertain a second or third playthrough in the future. Thankfully, when skipping cutscenes and fast-forwarding through dialogue, Persona 5 Royal is a straight-forward but energetic dungeon crawler. This means that theoretically, I could get to the optional dungeon quick enough on New Game Plus but as of this writing, I have yet to do so. I was able to get through two palaces in a couple of days but my pacing just isn’t fast enough to satisfy my needs to finally put a score to this game and move on to something else. 

Needless to say, if you want to see the new dungeon, make sure to max out your social levels with Akechi, Kasumi, and Maruki. If you have further doubts, look up a guide on these characters. 

Anyone considering playing Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal should know that this is one of the longest games on the market. Despite the fact that the game is linear in the macro sense, most players can easily spend 150 hours playing through the game with upwards of hundreds of hours for those looking to see every bit of content or get all of the game’s trophies. There are a lot of little things to chase down but because the destination is always the same and the days keep moving forward, I didn’t see much of a need to get these rewards outside of the lofty goal of doing everything. 

Both of these games are a nightmare for completionists.  

Timesink aside, the narrative and characters are incredibly entertaining. Playing Persona 5 is comparable to watching five or six seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Riverdale, Supernatural, or Power Rangers as the story revolves around teenagers with powers taking down forces of evil in the form of nasty adults. Where things get interesting is that the teens struggle with the concept of who to target in their meta-physical burglaries, forcing them into discussions of morals and ethics. This doesn’t get as complex as novels or plays on the subject but it is fascinating to see these sorts of discussions in the JRPG framework. 

When it comes to the general flow of playing Persona 5 Royal, I do wish that there could have been more exploration of the game’s world. Japan is seemingly captured well visually but there is a painful lack of actual activities to do. In games like Yakuza, players can play various arcade games or spend time learning Mahjong. In many of the Grand Theft Auto games, players could go to the gym or play a round of bowling. Once a player has the ability to teleport to a location, they will usually just pop into an area to talk to a character or maybe buy items from a shop. There’s so much potential in these spaces and I hope to see more done with the game’s environments in future Persona titles to really drive home the idea of living the life of a Japanese high schooler. Having extra activities would’ve helped alleviate the tedium as the game progresses. That said, there are a few extra tasks and things to unlock in the new Thieves Den, which serves as a gallery of sorts that grows across all saves. Here players can play cards with allies, look over achievements and concept art, and generally have more things to check off and collect. There are a few game rewards but completing this list is a large enough task that the rewards are fairly pointless by that point. While the game’s overall systems and choices are complex, the joy of playing this game comes from the exciting style and the narrative.

Due to the game feeling more like a serialized story, I think that Persona 5 can be best enjoyed over a longer period of time, say a few months. Each palace, the game’s main dungeons crafted after the villain being targeted by the Phantom Thieves, feels like a season of a show. This is also the type of game that would be fun in groups; it’s fun to make decisions and guess about character motives. There are even a few twists in the plot that are exciting, if not a bit predictable. The adventure of living out this life is the appeal of Persona, so setting the game on the normal or even easy setting is recommended for most players as the combat is satisfying but over almost a hundred hours it will assuredly get dull. 

Mastering the game’s combat systems and menuing to the right moves for a single turn victory is one of the most satisfying feelings in JPRG history but there were definitely moments where I wished I could skip the combat altogether. In fact, my last few dungeons were spent zipping from hiding spot to hiding spot to avoid almost every battle. If there was a system that allowed players to instantly defeat enemies they were much stronger than, I think it would streamline the game that much more. If anything, adding in the ability to skip All-Out attacks would be a huge benefit in my opinion. 

Those seeking a challenge can set the game to a much harder difficulty which does require the player to truly master the battle system. Based on what I’ve played of the battles, I can see the appeal in this but I would only jump into a harder challenge if it was an isolated dungeon crawl or something similar. I just don’t have it in me to extend the game’s length any more than what it already is. 

Now, anyone making the decision between the versions of Persona 5 can find a bulleted list of differences online but I honestly wasn’t much of a fan of the new characters so I lean more towards liking the base game more. I found the new party member Kasumi to be sweet and endearing but her constant use of the word Senpai grew old quickly. I do enjoy the way social stats are easier to gain, thanks to fewer instances of being forced to go to bed, but this also meant that I was maxed out in stats after the fifth palace, meaning my time was spent just idly talking to confidants or wasting time at an activity that I couldn’t benefit from. Finding new items in Palaces and having more things to do in the randomized Metaverse dungeon definitely felt better but the end goal was still the same. 

If price isn’t an issue, go with Royal, but those wanting to save a few bucks can’t go wrong with the base Persona 5. 

Regardless of version differences, this game could’ve been much shorter and instead could’ve added more optional content. The last act just doesn’t feel satisfying at all; it’s more like noticing the main antagonist has been beaten so it’s time to fight a godly monster more than a culmination of everything before it just because the game is a JRPG. There was so much potential with the last act too! Some of the reveals were genuinely interesting but were padded out with dialogue between characters that all boiled down to the same basic statements or having enemies with little to no weakness for the sake of making the fights longer. 

Thank goodness I made it through the last act without losing any battles, otherwise, I may have stopped playing due to sheer boredom. 

This is why from a story perspective, there are much better games than Persona 5 Royal. However, from a presentation perspective, there are few games, especially turn-based JRPGs, more engaging than Persona 5 Royal. There’s nothing I can add to the praise of this game’s style that hasn’t already been said. It is just incredible visually. I do wish that there had been fewer visual art styles overall, as the game shifts character model types and uses occasional anime scenes throughout, but this is definitely a cornerstone release that will influence many other games (Persona 5 already has, especially in UI design) and future entries in the franchise. After hundreds of hours, I did find the music to be repetitive but those tracks are incredible on their own, just overused. 

Stylistically Persona 5 Royal is an absolute treat. 

Additionally, there is a treasure trove of topics, symbolism, and philosophies to explore in this game. Even something seemingly as simple as an enemy’s design can make for an intellectually engaging evening of tracing back inspirations. I guarantee that there will be further, deeper studies of Persona 5 for years to come.

All in all, I think just about any type of player would enjoy playing the first few palaces of Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal. The early segments are full of mystery, high stakes, mature themes, surprises, and fun characters. The game’s opening and frame narrative immediately grab one’s attention. The visuals and sound are stunning, hard to look away from. Where I think Persona 5 fails the most is the game’s overall runtime and the required commitment to see the credits roll. 

Persona 5 Royal is a fantastic JPRG that is undoubtedly worth playing. Beating the game is just not for everyone. 

Having finished Persona 5 Royal, I painfully realize that I could’ve played many other games instead. I could’ve read a few books or spent more time on other hobbies or tasks. Yet, I’m still glad I finished the game. It was a journey and it was a constant in my life when things were constantly changing. This year was really rough for me and I’m still trying to keep the boat from sinking in the storm but hanging out with Ryuji, Futaba, Morgana, and the others was something familiar that I could fall back on. I’m glad I know their story and I like to think that knowing it adds to my own life, even in a small way. 

I am now incredibly excited for Persona 5 Strikers, a musou game using the Persona 5 branding that supposedly continues the story of the Phantom Thieves. I am also more apt to try other Shin Megami Tensei games or take a look at the previous Persona games I missed. In many ways, playing Persona 5 has opened me up to more games and that’s something special. Here’s hoping that Persona 5 opens enough doors for these developers to continue making cool experiences both in this franchise and outside of it. 

Learn more about Persona 5 Royal on the official website. A digital PS4 copy was provided for review purposes. Screenshots were captured using native PS4 features. 

 For another game similar to, and clearly inspired by, Persona check out my review of Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition. For more anime-style visual flair, read my review of the anime film Promare from Studio Trigger.