How do you review a game as good as Persona 5 Royal from famed developer and publisher Atlus? It’s a legitimate question. At this point, there’s really not much debate. Persona 5 is one of the best Persona games and one of the best JRPGs ever released. That’s simple fact. The transition of the game to every major console, its consistent popularity, and the plethora of merchandise, manga, and even anime that has spawned from the game is simply mind-boggling. But for those of you on the fence that a Japanese RPG can be that good or the simply curious, we should at least take a look at what makes Persona 5 Royal so incredibly good!
To give a basic overview of the game, this is a traditional turn-based RPG mixed with a school/friendship simulation. Persona 5 is part of the Shin Megami Tensei (SMT) series, one of the most venerated RPGs dating all the way back to the Famicom. Within the game, you play Ren Amamiya, a high school student who got into a fair bit of trouble by trying to help a woman being assaulted. Unfortunately for him, it meant that he ended up shipped to Tokyo to attend Shujin Academy, his final chance while he is on probation for his ‘crimes’. Ren lives above a coffee house in the back alleys of Tokyo and attends Shujin Academy, the focal point of the game. While on his way to Shujin, a mysterious app is installed onto his phone and he’s unable to delete it, sparking off a complex web of intrigue and tossing Ren right into the middle.
This is a plot-focused game and the story is utterly spectacular at every level so there’s no sense in ruining it. However, if you’re unfamiliar with the Persona franchise, you should at least know what you’re getting into. Ren and his friends become ‘Phantom Thieves’, people who can commune with demons known as ‘Personas’. These Personas merge with their human hosts, imbuing them with super powers and allowing them to perform spectacular tasks. They can also speak to demons and bend them to their will.
The core mechanics for the SMT series involve speaking with demons, winning them to your side, and then fusing their essences in a sort of demonic forge in order to generate more powerful allies which you can summon in battle. The complexity of the fusion system is one of the draws of the games, and it is possible to become wildly overpowered and obliterate enemy forces if you pay attention to strengths, weaknesses, and some of the other key mechanics of the series. In addition, Persona 5 adds in the ability to utilize guns, stun enemies and decimate them with All-Out Attacks, and a variety of other mechanics.
This is one of the most complex JRPGs out there, but there’s also no need to delve deeply either. The designers over at Atlus managed to scale the entirety of the gameplay so that if you’re a casual gamer who wants to enjoy the story, you can manage to play through without the detail required to maximize every character. Some gameplay processes can be set to trigger automatically and others are simplified. If you want to spend a hundred hours fusing and modifying demons you absolutely can too, but honestly, the story is so good you won’t want to get sidetracked unless you’re an intense completist. With an approachable game that’s fun to play for all skill levels, it’s hard not to love Persona 5.
The Royal Edition modifies the original game as well. Some combat and bosses are easier or have different patterns, there’s a new character (Kasumi), an additional third semester at Shujin Academy, new cut scenes, a new Thieves Den with unlockables, and a ton more. A spectacular number of new items, weapons, armor and confidants have been added and modified as well. Two new endings have been added as well and even party Personas have new forms to experience. In short it’s a gloriously expanded version of the original game with a slight drop in difficulty and a heck of a lot of updates. The game runs at a smooth 60 FPS on the XSX as well.
If you’re not already sold or still not sure what you’re getting into, don’t pass up the story lightly. The Phantom Thieves have the ability to move into the ‘Metaverse’ a tangible projection of the unconscious thoughts and desires of humanity. Certain damaged and corrupt people have warped the Metaverse with their psyches and formed Palaces filled with manifestations of their evil in the real world. The Phantom Thieves’ job is to purge these Palaces from the Metaverse by stealing the “Treasure” from each palace, a physical expression of that person’s deepest desires. Doing so returns the Metaverse to its original state and also stops those people from committing any other atrocities. It’s a fascinating plot and even this explanation of the basic mechanics only scratches the surface.
In addition to the complexities of the plot and mechanics of Persona 5 Royal, the game has STYLE! Not only is the art and design work utterly spectacular, but the entire vibe of the game just oozes cool. Each palace has a distinctly different style based on the mental landscape of its creator as well. With nine palaces in the game you’ve got a wide variety of environments to explore from a high tech fast food world to a strange high tech laboratory. Ancient pyramids, dungeons, and even casinos await you and the strange and twisted nature of each makes them a fascinating experience even if they don’t all have perfect pacing. Visually though, they’re an absolute feast for the eyes. Persona 5 Royal on the Xbox is smooth as silk too and the flow of the game is fantastic. The almost complete lack of load time means that transitions are essentially seamless and it only adds to the high polish that Persona 5 had to begin with.
Sound in P5R is on par with the plot and visuals too. The soundtrack for the game is absolutely thumping with a degree of cool usually reserved for the bleeding edge of the music scene. With a fusion of pop, rock, indie, and retro, the entire soundscape of Persona 5 Royal is a treat for the ears. It’s hard to explain how well the soundtrack and audio mix with the gameplay here, but suffice it to say that you literally feel cool playing the game. There’s really no higher praise than that. This is one soundtrack that you will definitely want a copy of! The English dub of the game is also excellent with some of the best voice acting around. Usually dubs can be hit or miss, but P5R absolutely nails the translation and the characterization at every turn. The voice work is realistic and compelling and the characters simply come alive. The only minor complaint here is that not every single bit of dialogue is voiced but between the fully-voiced cut scenes, voiced anime sequences, and fully voiced key moments of the game, this is certainly a minor quibble.
Persona 5 is a ridiculously fun and addictive game to begin with and the expanded gameplay of Persona 5 Royal just makes it that much better. The Xbox’s Quick Resume feature improves gameplay further, letting you turn off your system, power back on and just pick up where you left off, essentially creating an automatic quick save system even when saving is disabled in the game. The only tiny issue with the Xbox version specifically is that the D-pad on the Series X/S isn’t the best and some functions are mapped specifically to the D-pad in Persona 5 Royal, forcing you to use it a bit more than one might prefer. This is a long game too, averaging around 100 hours to complete and a good 150 or so if you’re an intense completionist. That’s a heck of a lot of super-cool Phantom thievery and a lot of time to spend with Joker and his friends. By the time the end credits roll, the Phantom Thieves feel almost like family and it’s hard to stop playing and set the game aside, like losing friends that you’ve made. That feeling of belonging is rare these days and just serves to remind just how incredible Persona 5 Royal is.
With the elimination of load times, addition of quick resume features, and the ridiculous amount of bonus content, Persona 5 Royal is a must-buy on the Xbox for any gamer that loves JRPGs, manga, or anime. Oh, and if you’ve got Gamepass, you’ve already got access to Royal too! Microsoft currently includes Persona 5 Royal on their Gamepass service so if you’re already a member, just go give it a try! If not, it’ll run you $60 for a digital copy but as of the writing of this review (just before Black Friday), Persona 5 Royal is on sale for $45 and definitely worth every penny of it!
This review is based on a digital copy of Persona 5 Royal provided by the publisher. It was played on an Xbox Series X using a Sony 55″ 1080P TV. Persona 5 Royal is also available for PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC on Steam.
