PlayStation Magazine - 05.2020

(Barré) #1

084


INFO
FORMATPS4
ETAOUT NOW
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
like school councillor Dr

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
Shadows who guard these mind

ROYAL FLUSH @MrOscarTK

“THE TURN-BASED COMBAT


HAS BEEN OVERHAULED,


MAKING IT EVEN SLICKER.”

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