Persona 5 Royal

Persona 5 Royal, released in Japan as Persona 5: The Royal, is an enhanced version of Persona 5 in a similar vein to Persona 4 Golden. This version features an additional Phantom Thief member named Kasumi Yoshizawa, a new Palace, a new area of the city (Kichijōji), new music, additional plot and social elements, a playable third semester, and support for the PlayStation 4 Pro, alongside many other changes and additions. In a first for the series, Royal features subtitles in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. It features a new opening sequence directed by Yuichiro Hayashi and produced by MAPPA, and as with the original game, Domerica co-produced the new anime cutscenes. 

Atlus first teased the game as Persona 5 R in December 2018, with a full reveal in April 2019. It was released for the PlayStation 4 in Japan on October 31, 2019, and worldwide on March 31, 2020. The game was also released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 21, 2022. These versions were ported by Atlus owner Sega. In Persona 5 Royal, two new characters interact with the Phantom Thieves: Kasumi Yoshizawa, an accomplished gymnast who transferred to Shujin Academy the same time as Joker, and Takuto Maruki, a counsellor hired by the school after Kamoshida is exposed. Kasumi awakens to her Persona after discovering a new Palace in Odaiba with Joker.

Maruki, in turn, talks to each of the Phantom Thieves throughout the main story and learns their deepest wishes and regrets via their counselling sessions with him. After defeating Yaldabaoth, a still-living Akechi turns himself over to Sae in Joker’s place. At the beginning of the following year, Joker finds reality distorted; Akechi was released without reason, and each Phantom Thief has had their deepest wish granted, including some deceased people being brought back to life. Joker, Akechi, and Kasumi investigate the Palace in Odaiba and learn that its owner is Maruki, who is revealed to be a Persona-user that can alter reality by forcefully changing people’s cognitions. After Yaldabaoth’s defeat, Maruki took control over Mementos and is determined to create a world where everyone’s dreams become reality.

Though hesitant at first, Maruki, at the group’s insistence, reveals that “Kasumi” is actually her twin sister Sumire, who had been unknowingly impersonating her to cope with the former’s death due to the influence of Maruki’s powers. Maruki gives Joker time to choose whether to accept his idealized reality. Joker reminds the Phantom Thieves and Sumire of the strength and growth they gained from their real lives, and they agree to change Maruki’s heart before the altered reality becomes permanent. Joker later learns from Maruki that Akechi is alive in the altered reality because of Joker’s desire to save him, and that whether Akechi lives depends on Joker accepting Maruki’s world.

Akechi convinces Joker to refuse the offer, stating he would rather disappear as himself, than live under Maruki’s control. The Phantom Thieves then defeat Maruki the following day, and reality returns to normal.  With Akechi gone, Joker finds himself back in prison as he was meant to be before reality was altered, but as with the original game’s story, he is cleared and released thanks to his friends and allies. At their final meeting, having reflected on their rejection of Maruki’s reality, each member chooses to pursue their own futures, and make their wishes come true under their own power. On the day he is due to return home, Joker escapes tailing government agents with help from both the Phantom Thieves and a reformed Maruki, who is now a taxi driver. At the station, Sumire finds him and bids him farewell.

A post-credits scene achieved by reaching Rank 8 of Akechi’s Confidant before November 17 shows a person resembling Akechi passing by the window on Joker’s train ride home. Persona 5 is a role-playing video game where the player takes on the role of a male high school student, codenamed Joker, who lives out a single year while attending school in modern-day Tokyo. The game is governed by a day-night cycle and weather systems that determine general behavior, similar to a social simulation game. The year is punctuated by scripted and random events as Joker attends school, and outside of school he can have part-time jobs, pursue leisure activities, or create battle items. Joker’s activities in the real world affect his social statistics; increasing these values grants additional activities and options. 

When in the real world, Joker can develop character relationships known as “Confidants”; an evolution of the “Social Link” system from Persona 3 and Persona 4. With this system, he can converse with and improve his relationship with other characters he meets, with some leading to possible romances. Improving Confidant ranks with party members unlocks various abilities for use in combat. Improving ranks with non-party Confidants grants other bonuses, such as access to new equipment or boosting experience point gains. Alongside the normal school life is dungeon crawling gameplay of two different types within a realm called the Metaverse: story-specific dungeons called Palaces and a randomly-generated dungeon called Mementos.

Both are populated by Shadows, physical manifestations of suppressed psyches modeled after mythological and religious figures. Within the dungeons of Mementos, the party can fulfill quests received from Confidants and other non-player characters. While navigating, the party can use stealth to avoid enemy Shadows, and some areas hold puzzles that can be solved using Joker’s “Third Eye” ability, which highlights interactable objects and enemy strength. Throughout Palaces are locations known as “Safe Rooms”, where the player can save their game and fast travel to other safe rooms within the Palace.