Jumping from platform to platform as I run in a hurry, I observe sheepish people gambling in a grossly-decorated casino, oblivious to the situation going on above their heads. With my package in hand, I run from corridor to corridor until there’s nowhere else to go. I jump through a glass window. The second I land on the streets outside of the casino, lights go up. I’m n🌜ow a prisoner.
Persona 5 Royal tells the story of the Phantom Thieves, more specifically the story of their leader, Joker. His is a tale of resilience against a villainous world that cares too little about taking the reins of their lives or too much aboutౠ harming others for their own benefit. Under those circumstances, the Phantom Thieves become a force of good that try to teach people to get their lives together, while also making a defiant statement to abusive figures of power that nothing, not even their influence, should be takenဣ for granted.
The ever-growing relationship between the Phantom Thieves has always been my favorite part of the game. Party members are always part of RPGs, usually presented as heroic team-ups that occur in the heat of a conflict. While this is true for Persona 5 Royal as well, every character in your party joins the roster in very specific circumstances regarding their🐻 personal lives where you get to know who they are, the trauma they’re dealing with, and, ultimately, what compels them to become your allies.
As you proceed through your thieving schemes in the many palaces that this game offers, you will be accompanied by gorgeous aesthetics and music throughout all your endeavors. Each palace 🅺you explore tells a story about the character you try to defeat, giving subtle details about the lives and intentions of their hosts, the art elevating the storytelling.
Your journey through these dungeons is accompanied by the wonderful soundtrack composed by the great Shoji Meguro, with massive hits like Beneath The Mask and Life Will Change serving again as the situational ambient soundtrack. However, there are also great new additions, such as Colors Flying High, the new opening for this version, or the new battle theme Take Over, which sadly doesn&rsqu🌱o;t improve upon the former one, Last Surprise (stand up for ovation, please).
A lot has also been said about this game’s story back in the day, like the im🐎portance of the topics it touches on, how seriously it deals with traumatic situations and self-acceptance, and its character development. This is only improved in the Royal version with the inclusion of a new trimester that expands on the main story, and new characters Kasumi Yoshizawa and Takuto Maruki. While the original version of this game left me wanting to see more of its cast, Royal adds just enough to satisfy that craving without making me feel too bloated, and I can’t be thankful enough for that.
If you had told me years ago that I would see a Switch version of P5R in the future, I would have laughed. And yet, this port runs smoothly both handheld and docked. Of course, there are one or two situational hiccups during particularly cluttered scenes, but the whole experience remains enjoyable, with the great benefit of being able to pla𒈔y on the go, something that makes this port incredibly attractive.
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It’s also worth mentioning that some rewrites have been made. Atlus has reworked a controversial scene depicting two gay men in a stereotyped and homophobic light, and while I want to think the intentions were good, the execution of this rewrite d♒oesn’t land quite well either. This has been a constant issue with Atlus’ writing on its games, and it’s incomprehensible for a studio that focuses on criticizing hate and prejudice in𒁃 their works.
Ultimately, Persona 5 Royal brought♏ me back to the Phantom Thieves, and made me realize how much I missed them and their antics, and the beautiful world where their story occurs. Being able to play this journey on the go only sweetens the de🌃al, and the experience is as immaculate as it was years ago—a masterful port of a masterpiece.
Persona 5 Royal
- Released
- March 31, 2020
Persona 5 Royal adds even more to Atlus' hit RPG, including an extra semester, a new Palace to take on, and two new confidants. Two new endings add to the Phantom Thieves' story, and you'll be able to hang out in the Thieves' Den.
