Before I dove deeper into Megami Tensei and had only played Persona 3-5, this was my favorite game in the series. Now, after finishing 20 games in the franchise, this is still my favorite game in the series. And the Royal version just cemented that.
The overall story isn't quite as strong as Persona 4's, but is still phenomenal, despite its occasional cringe anime moments. Each dungeon has its own little story tied to it and each comes to a satisfying, emotional conclusion, with several emotional moments spread throughout as well. The party members are my favorite in the series, I love each and every one of them dearly for different reasons.
Do I really even need to say this? The visual style is amazing, one of the best in any games ever in everything including the pause menu. Also, the soundtrack is phenomenal, my favorite in the franchise (although Persona 4's comes close).
Social links (now called confidants) are, in my opinion, the best in the series. Basically every character is interesting, and each social link also gives you more benefits now than just the bonus fusion XP. One might give you more negotiation skills, or unlock more healing items to buy, or more gun customization. This encourages you to try to complete them all even more, and adds some strategy to wanting to complete certain ones earlier on to get their rewards. There is a structure in social links that's a bit repetitive, though:
1) Social Link 9: Character is in trouble, needs someone's heart changed
2) Joker goes into Mementos and changes that person's heart
3) Social Link 10: Character is happy their problem is resolved, reveals they know Joker is in the Phantom Thieves but promises not to tell.
Obviously, this is a pretty minor complaint though.
Combat and fusion is mostly the same as the previous 2 games, with a few key differences. First, guns are back! Each character has a unique gun type which can target multiple enemies per turn, and adds a fun twist to combat. Second, there's no more shuffle time, instead demon negotiation is back (although it's somewhat simplified compared to other Megaten games).
The best thing about this game, and why it's still my favorite, is the dungeons. They're hands down the best dungeons in the series. No longer randomly generated, each one is carefully crafted to give a satisfying progression through, almost a bit like a Zelda dungeon, and very highly themed.
Now I want to talk a bit about Royal. It adds three new social links, all of which are very good. It adds another dungeon, which is decent although I would say for this game it's fairly average. But what it really adds is a new ending, and this new ending is amazing. Obviously I won't say too much about it, but it's my favorite ending in the series. The next paragraph doesn't really contain spoilers, but if you want to go in absolutely blind it does sorta describe the conflict in vague terms so be wary.
The new ending, imo, is the best version of a Law vs Chaos ending where you can really see the argument the Law side is making. The Law side doesn't even want to fight you as they truly just want what's best, but is willing to do so to see their goals come to fruition. Everything about the final scenes from the acting, music, the action, and even the gameplay was absolutely heart-wrenching and created an unforgettable experience that I'll always remember as one of the best game endings ever.
The overall story isn't quite as strong as Persona 4's, but is still phenomenal, despite its occasional cringe anime moments. Each dungeon has its own little story tied to it and each comes to a satisfying, emotional conclusion, with several emotional moments spread throughout as well. The party members are my favorite in the series, I love each and every one of them dearly for different reasons.
Do I really even need to say this? The visual style is amazing, one of the best in any games ever in everything including the pause menu. Also, the soundtrack is phenomenal, my favorite in the franchise (although Persona 4's comes close).
Social links (now called confidants) are, in my opinion, the best in the series. Basically every character is interesting, and each social link also gives you more benefits now than just the bonus fusion XP. One might give you more negotiation skills, or unlock more healing items to buy, or more gun customization. This encourages you to try to complete them all even more, and adds some strategy to wanting to complete certain ones earlier on to get their rewards. There is a structure in social links that's a bit repetitive, though:
1) Social Link 9: Character is in trouble, needs someone's heart changed
2) Joker goes into Mementos and changes that person's heart
3) Social Link 10: Character is happy their problem is resolved, reveals they know Joker is in the Phantom Thieves but promises not to tell.
Obviously, this is a pretty minor complaint though.
Combat and fusion is mostly the same as the previous 2 games, with a few key differences. First, guns are back! Each character has a unique gun type which can target multiple enemies per turn, and adds a fun twist to combat. Second, there's no more shuffle time, instead demon negotiation is back (although it's somewhat simplified compared to other Megaten games).
The best thing about this game, and why it's still my favorite, is the dungeons. They're hands down the best dungeons in the series. No longer randomly generated, each one is carefully crafted to give a satisfying progression through, almost a bit like a Zelda dungeon, and very highly themed.
Now I want to talk a bit about Royal. It adds three new social links, all of which are very good. It adds another dungeon, which is decent although I would say for this game it's fairly average. But what it really adds is a new ending, and this new ending is amazing. Obviously I won't say too much about it, but it's my favorite ending in the series. The next paragraph doesn't really contain spoilers, but if you want to go in absolutely blind it does sorta describe the conflict in vague terms so be wary.
The new ending, imo, is the best version of a Law vs Chaos ending where you can really see the argument the Law side is making. The Law side doesn't even want to fight you as they truly just want what's best, but is willing to do so to see their goals come to fruition. Everything about the final scenes from the acting, music, the action, and even the gameplay was absolutely heart-wrenching and created an unforgettable experience that I'll always remember as one of the best game endings ever.