2020-05-01_Official_PlayStation_Magazine_-_UK_Edition

084

INFO

FORMATPS4

ETAOUTNOW

PUBSEGA

DEVATLUS

PERSONA 5 ROYAL

Letting the demons off the (grappling) hook

L

ike the Phantom Thieves hauling back

treasure, this rerelease of Persona 5

has plenty to share. It’s been three

years since the basic game came out,

but it’s still the best JRPG on PS4. The latest

additions simply increase the amount of

everything we loved the first time around, and

ultimately, this is an even better version of the

game we gave 10/10 back in OPM #134.

The modern-day Tokyo setting is a perfect

location for dealing with societal issues and teen

problems in an earnest and compelling way; the

turn-based combat is slick and addictive; the

dungeon design, which has you delving into

the psyches of villains to steal their hearts, is

still some of the best ever seen in the genre;

and the balance between spending social time

with teammates to build abilities and exploring

those dungeons feels refreshing. Not only are the

events leading up to the third term (a brand-new

epilogue) seeded through the original game in

a completely natural way, dungeons have been

altered a lot too. They’re now more streamlined,

and the addition of a grappling hook increases

the feeling of verticality.

THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM

Prince detective know-it-all Akechi plays a

big role in the third term (the largest slice of

new content in Royal), which

takes place after the events of

the original game. It’s a little

annoying that there’s no option

to transfer saved games from

the original, upgrade your

vanilla version, or skip ahead

to play the events of the third

term only. What’s more, it’s

possible to miss the third term

completely if you don’t take

the time to hang out with the

right people to increase your

bond, though the game does

seem to nudge you into doing

these fairly strongly.

But enough here is different

that we can see why Atlus

wants you to play through the

whole thing, even if you’ve

seen a lot of the first part of

the game before. Characters

likeschoolcouncillorDr

You can knock

enemies over

with technical

attacks now.

Maruki and gymnast Kasumi

Yoshizawa, both introduced

in Royal, are integral to the

story, so not getting to know

them would take a lot away

from the narrative. Plus, in the

original we rarely got to hang

out with Akechi. Not only

does he play an important role

in the third term, you now

have to manually get to know

him throughout the events of

the original game, and it adds

depth to his character.

ROYAL FAMILY

When you enter the dungeons

to steal the hearts of corrupt

and manipulative adults you

loot treasure and solve puzzles

to progress, but for the most

part you’re sneaking up on the

Shadowswhoguardthesemind

ROYAL FLUSH @MrOscarTK

“THE TURN-BASED COMBAT

HAS BEEN OVERHAULED,

MAKING IT EVEN SLICKER.”