A Show to Remember:
Persona 5 Royal is simply one of the greatest video games I have ever played. It is stylistic, fun, emotional and supersaturated with an eclectic cast of compelling characters that I grew to love. The environment and art direction proved absolutely stunning. Even the UI oozes style while incorporating a level of practicality that so many JRPGs neglect. As for the OST, words obviously could never do it justice. I adored nearly every single song this game featured, of which there were many. The impressive scope of its original score allowed Atlus to attach even the most mundane of the daily life-sim tasks with a banger track of their own.
Throughout, there is a great attention to detail maintained from beginning to end. In-spite of this being, for some, a 100+ hour video game… it remarkably demands your attention and remains interesting at every turn or twist. The plot near-constantly pivots, to the point where one assumes the next revelation might be the last surprise the game will offer, only to have expectations subverted yet again shortly thereafter. P5R fearlessly tugs at players' heartstrings and cleverly rewards your diligence as you guide Joker's journey. Common writing tropes are addressed head-on, and are often sarcastically rejected in favor of Atlus' own witty dialogue. The narrative pay-outs, both from the major and minor story beats, are sublime. Daily life will change gradually and scripted events are well-placed through the progression of P5R's in-game calendar, granting players familiarity without monotony. I took my time with Persona 5 Royal, putting over 130 hours into the game before completing it. While this sort of commitment is certainly not required for enjoyment, it was additive to my own experience as I built personal rapport with P5R's characters, world, and narrative. The combat felt like a fresh and evolved version of the turn-based combat I first encountered playing Japanese role-playing games in my youth. Fusing, sacrificing, developing and capturing new personas prompted more frequent adoption of novel combat strategies. As a result, combat remained fresh for the duration of my playthrough. The "confidant" system for hanging out with your companions works excellently to give players' stake in the lives of Joker's numerous allies. Joker himself was as phenomenal a RPG protagonist as you could ask for. He was calm, cool, collected and recurrently put everything on the line to uphold his ideals. Every second with this game felt like time well spent. P5R will be a game I feel comfortable recommending to any and all in the years to come.
This was my first Persona game, but I believe it will not be my last. The mask might be thrown away for now, but I plan to engross myself in the worlds of Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden... while also earnestly awaiting the global take over that will ensue with the reveal of Persona 6. This game succeeded in stealing my heart, that much is for sure.
Persona 5 Royal is simply one of the greatest video games I have ever played. It is stylistic, fun, emotional and supersaturated with an eclectic cast of compelling characters that I grew to love. The environment and art direction proved absolutely stunning. Even the UI oozes style while incorporating a level of practicality that so many JRPGs neglect. As for the OST, words obviously could never do it justice. I adored nearly every single song this game featured, of which there were many. The impressive scope of its original score allowed Atlus to attach even the most mundane of the daily life-sim tasks with a banger track of their own.
Throughout, there is a great attention to detail maintained from beginning to end. In-spite of this being, for some, a 100+ hour video game… it remarkably demands your attention and remains interesting at every turn or twist. The plot near-constantly pivots, to the point where one assumes the next revelation might be the last surprise the game will offer, only to have expectations subverted yet again shortly thereafter. P5R fearlessly tugs at players' heartstrings and cleverly rewards your diligence as you guide Joker's journey. Common writing tropes are addressed head-on, and are often sarcastically rejected in favor of Atlus' own witty dialogue. The narrative pay-outs, both from the major and minor story beats, are sublime. Daily life will change gradually and scripted events are well-placed through the progression of P5R's in-game calendar, granting players familiarity without monotony. I took my time with Persona 5 Royal, putting over 130 hours into the game before completing it. While this sort of commitment is certainly not required for enjoyment, it was additive to my own experience as I built personal rapport with P5R's characters, world, and narrative. The combat felt like a fresh and evolved version of the turn-based combat I first encountered playing Japanese role-playing games in my youth. Fusing, sacrificing, developing and capturing new personas prompted more frequent adoption of novel combat strategies. As a result, combat remained fresh for the duration of my playthrough. The "confidant" system for hanging out with your companions works excellently to give players' stake in the lives of Joker's numerous allies. Joker himself was as phenomenal a RPG protagonist as you could ask for. He was calm, cool, collected and recurrently put everything on the line to uphold his ideals. Every second with this game felt like time well spent. P5R will be a game I feel comfortable recommending to any and all in the years to come.
This was my first Persona game, but I believe it will not be my last. The mask might be thrown away for now, but I plan to engross myself in the worlds of Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden... while also earnestly awaiting the global take over that will ensue with the reveal of Persona 6. This game succeeded in stealing my heart, that much is for sure.