Game of the Month #95 (December 2022) - Persona 5 Royal

Persona 5 Royal is a remake of the original Persona 5 with the addition of many new elements, including a new third semester, new events involving daily school life and the Phantom Thieves, new characters, locations, and more.

When focusing on the main objectives, Persona 5 Royal is about 102 Hours in length. If you're a gamer that strives to see all aspects of the game, you are likely to spend around 143 Hours to obtain 100% completion.

I'm always up for a good Persona 5 discussion, although I don't think I will replay the Royal version of the game right now due to me just wrapping up my first playthrough of the original game a bit less than a year ago. Persona 5 is legitimately fantastic, and even though it's length is frightening, it's all worth it in the end.

I'll skip this month, but have fun everyone! And just a reminder, the game is on Gamepass, so if you already have that, you don't have to spend extra money on it!

I did consider it but not going to head into Royal just yet. Very much enjoyed the original version; looking forward to what newcomers and those returning have to say.

I think this being GotM is a good reason for me to start playing Persona 5 Royal. I've played Persona 5 back in 2019 for about 35 hours before dropping it. I remember playing for a few hours and shutting the PS down without saving - or at least I'm pretty sure I lost some progress - and then I never went back to it, despite enjoying the game very much. I don't think I'll ever return to that playthrough now, so I might as well restart this by playing Royal.

I've just had my first session with this game and I could already see that there were some changes. Overall this is just very intense and dark and even as I played this for the first time, I was a bit shocked at how dark the game starts out. So far I've moved into my new room and I've been introduced at the new school, so not a lot of gameplay has happened yet.

I'm really excited to play this again. I really love the style of this game and I remember really liking the story back when I first played it!

I won't be playing Persona 5 Royal either. Because I'm still busy playing two other long games and I still have a lot left to do in both of them. My brother will also start playing it when he gets the game, so I don't stand a chance of being able to play it.

About to send 2nd calling card, loving the soundtrack and press turn combat system.[SPOILER][/SPOILER]

Perfect timing - I'm about to be done with RE3 Remake (short but awesome) and Persona 5 Royal is installed on my Steam Deck and ready to go!

So started my first session of Persona 5. I'm playing the original version not Royal but think it's sufficient for me to play the original in this GotM:

Basically reached the school which has turned into a castle and have been taken away by the guards

Like alot of JRPGs I've played it's taking quiet sometime to set up the game. As this is in the first hour or so I ain't giving spoiler tags but the adults definitely are acting rather dismissively and aggressive to the main character who for the most is treated like a criminal in an act which seems to be a justified use of force and with the amount accidents which are taking place I think something which will probably explained to me shortly is affecting the adults of this.

In terms of gameplay I haven't really done much there been one simple combat section but apart from that it's been mainly cut scenes and i'm getting MSG4 flashbacks. Still the stylized way things are displayed to you is excellent and it truly has a unique style and theme to it's UI which works tremendously well. I will have to see what happens once things start picking up

I'm currently at the start of the preparations for the invasion of the Shido Diet Building

So started my first session of Persona 5. I'm playing the original version not Royal but think it's sufficient for me to play the original in this GotM:

Basically reached the school which has turned into a castle and have been taken away by the guards

Like alot of JRPGs I've played it's taking quiet sometime to set up the game. As this is in the first hour or so I ain't giving spoiler tags but the adults definitely are acting rather dismissively and aggressive to the main character who for the most is treated like a criminal in an act which seems to be a justified use of force and with the amount accidents which are taking place I think something which will probably explained to me shortly is affecting the adults of this.

In terms of gameplay I haven't really done much there been one simple combat section but apart from that it's been mainly cut scenes and i'm getting MSG4 flashbacks. Still the stylized way things are displayed to you is excellent and it truly has a unique style and theme to it's UI which works tremendously well. I will have to see what happens once things start picking up

There is a reveal about something that's affecting people on a wider scale, but in this case I always looked at it as how adults can act in general. You see this in a lot of children's/youth literature as well;" dismissive adults" is a common theme. It looks like this is the first Persona game you've played? Between dungeons there's always a bit of a cooldown where you take a breather, but things will develop once you're at the next plot point. Sometimes you may need to visit a dungeon a few times even if you could have functionally cleared it in one go.

JJLCompany: I'm currently at the start of the preparations for the invasion of the Shido Diet Building.

That was fast! 😯

At my current pace I will complete in 3-4 months, 3-4 months less than I completed P5 vanilla.

Have been having a hard time to find a game I can sink time into lately, so I think this will be good.

Will be interesting to see how the new character will add to the story this time.

Also it seems there are items you just get when interacting with your dresser, including 100,000¥ and a lot of healing items, at least on the GP version. Beware, I believe I got one warning but pressed OK and the items kept pouring into my inventory. This allowed me to get to the treasure in the first dungeon on the first day possible. I kind of like having the items, though. Plus, I am playing on easy mode, when I played the original on safety/story and barely got by the last boss. These items will perhaps give me something in between easy and safety. This time I will also bring some more experience of turn-based JRPGs but at least I know I can drop down again if needed. Though, you can't come back from safety mode.

There is a reveal about something that's affecting people on a wider scale, but in this case I always looked at it as how adults can act in general. You see this in a lot of children's/youth literature as well;" dismissive adults" is a common theme. It looks like this is the first Persona game you've played? Between dungeons there's always a bit of a cooldown where you take a breather, but things will develop once you're at the next plot point. Sometimes you may need to visit a dungeon a few times even if you could have functionally cleared it in one go.

JJLCompany: I'm currently at the start of the preparations for the invasion of the Shido Diet Building.

That was fast! 😯

Yeah first Persona but tbh the slow build seems to be a reoccuring theme in JRPGs it usually takes time for these types of games build the world up. I'm not going to hold it against though as this is something I see alot elsewhere

I'm going to skip this month's as well - I don't have the free time to pump into P5R, which I know will be somewhere in the region of 100+ hours. I haven't gotten round to the Royal version yet, having played through the original when it was released. Hope the rest of you enjoy it though, it's a heck of a ride!

At my current pace I will complete in 3-4 months, 3-4 months less than I completed P5 vanilla.

Have been having a hard time to find a game I can sink time into lately, so I think this will be good.

Will be interesting to see how the new character will add to the story this time.

Also it seems there are items you just get when interacting with your dresser, including 100,000¥ and a lot of healing items, at least on the GP version. Beware, I believe I got one warning but pressed OK and the items kept pouring into my inventory. This allowed me to get to the treasure in the first dungeon on the first day possible. I kind of like having the items, though. Plus, I am playing on easy mode, when I played the original on safety/story and barely got by the last boss. These items will perhaps give me something in between easy and safety. This time I will also bring some more experience of turn-based JRPGs but at least I know I can drop down again if needed. Though, you can't come back from safety mode.

I believe the Royal version comes with some DLC. There was some free DLC I downloaded for the original PS3 version that sounds like what you found. Any DLCs should be able to be downloaded by interacting with your dresser. Comes in handy.

Right EoW update:

Made it through to get Ryuji his persona and now will move onto the day where we try and deal with the abuse in the volleyball team

Okay so moved onto the real combat now and it's got the same break system as Octopath traveller. Means that it's important to test different moves to find different weakness of an enemy so the turn based shouldn't get stale quickly as you defiantly can't rely on the same moves over and over again. I can see alot of variety in how this can be played. It's off to a mostly good start but there are a few things which annoy me mainly the save system. In this day and age I get annoyed about games that don't allow me to save anywhere (does so in the real world but not the palaces) it feels that it's forcing me to continue to a save point before I can move on and so far the save points feel sparse so likely long sections I can't save in

So not much today forgot to do the dishes just basically talked to the volleyball team and yeah they didn't want to speak. Morgana showed after and told us we need to we need to steal their treasure to kill their desire

Ann has joined the team now after my last expedition. It seems a time limit has been added with expulsion after shiho threw herself off the roof and we confront komasida about his part in it all

So stocked up on supplies and started my first infiltration. Currently at the central room save point

Made it too the central tower. Had to do alot of sections repeat as I kept dying between the church and the base of the tower

So reached the treasure. Decided to grind now until my character runs out of sp

Defeated Kamoshida and established my phantom guild. Spent some time building my skills and relationships in the meantime

So think i've got a more bigger idea of the game and my impressions have 100% improved. It mixes slice of life gameplay extremely well with it's RPG elements with the palaces taking place when you feel ready to challenge them when you are ready. These palaces are meant to be beaten in multiple attempts and each time you leave your health and sp reset so you are refreshed for the next run. During your downtime you can build up your relationships with other characters or your stats to gain addition abilities. I do wish that you can do some of these activities after running a palace but I guess the game wants to emphasis the importance of these palace runs. The same applies for days which are designed for plot points. Never the less the game is off to a great start for me

Right EoW update:

Made it through to get Ryuji his persona and now will move onto the day where we try and deal with the abuse in the volleyball team

Okay so moved onto the real combat now and it's got the same break system as Octopath traveller. Means that it's important to test different moves to find different weakness of an enemy so the turn based shouldn't get stale quickly as you defiantly can't rely on the same moves over and over again. I can see alot of variety in how this can be played. It's off to a mostly good start but there are a few things which annoy me mainly the save system. In this day and age I get annoyed about games that don't allow me to save anywhere (does so in the real world but not the palaces) it feels that it's forcing me to continue to a save point before I can move on and so far the save points feel sparse so likely long sections I can't save in

So not much today forgot to do the dishes just basically talked to the volleyball team and yeah they didn't want to speak. Morgana showed after and told us we need to we need to steal their treasure to kill their desire

Ann has joined the team now after my last expedition. It seems a time limit has been added with expulsion after shiho threw herself off the roof and we confront komasida about his part in it all

So stocked up on supplies and started my first infiltration. Currently at the central room save point

Made it too the central tower. Had to do alot of sections repeat as I kept dying between the church and the base of the tower

So reached the treasure. Decided to grind now until my character runs out of sp

Defeated Kamoshida and established my phantom guild. Spent some time building my skills and relationships in the meantime

So think i've got a more bigger idea of the game and my impressions have 100% improved. It mixes slice of life gameplay extremely well with it's RPG elements with the palaces taking place when you feel ready to challenge them when you are ready. These palaces are meant to be beaten in multiple attempts and each time you leave your health and sp reset so you are refreshed for the next run. During your downtime you can build up your relationships with other characters or your stats to gain addition abilities. I do wish that you can do some of these activities after running a palace but I guess the game wants to emphasis the importance of these palace runs. The same applies for days which are designed for plot points. Never the less the game is off to a great start for me

I remember there was this one part where I was running low on health but I wanted to explore a little more. I turned a corner, ran into a scripted ambush, and thus ended the run. I think it was near a painting.

What sorts of activities were you not able to do after a palace? While some characters have their off periods for the most part you can still meet with them or do activities.

I remember there was this one part where I was running low on health but I wanted to explore a little more. I turned a corner, ran into a scripted ambush, and thus ended the run. I think it was near a painting.

What sorts of activities were you not able to do after a palace? While some characters have their off periods for the most part you can still meet with them or do activities.

Mainly upgraded my stats for the most part. I found that I couldn't level ryjui so left him alone. Thought I needed to level stats to increase bond but found out later that you need to spend time with them to increase the bond not your stats. Oh well I've unlocked other areas with these stat increases

I remember there was this one part where I was running low on health but I wanted to explore a little more. I turned a corner, ran into a scripted ambush, and thus ended the run. I think it was near a painting.

What sorts of activities were you not able to do after a palace? While some characters have their off periods for the most part you can still meet with them or do activities.

Mainly upgraded my stats for the most part. I found that I couldn't level ryjui so left him alone. Thought I needed to level stats to increase bond but found out later that you need to spend time with them to increase the bond not your stats. Oh well I've unlocked other areas with these stat increases

Mainly upgraded my stats for the most part. I found that I couldn't level ryjui so left him alone. Thought I needed to level stats to increase bond but found out later that you need to spend time with them to increase the bond not your stats. Oh well I've unlocked other areas with these stat increases

Yeah, you need to invest time into your social links to get various perks. Sometimes it’ll even open up a new area for you to travel to or allow you access to certain items/services. The back alley doctor is a good one to unlock a few levels for. If you’re going in blind you may want make your own idea of a schedule so you can make the most of your days.

Wow, I am so glad this game was recommended. I am about 15 hours in and I adore it so far. Though I have some issues with it, like your choices in dialog seeming largely irrelevant to the progression of the conversation, it is fun, stylish, and provides plenty of sentimental moments to fall in sappy love with the characters.

EoW update:

So made my first trip into mementos. Morgana can turn into a bus 10/10

So I finished my first exams and made it to the second palace. Madarames palace

So started my infiltration in madarames palace gonna start to call it the museum though. Reached the second exhibit

Recruited kitsune and looks like I'm half done with the museum

Second palace is done. Finished the mementos quest about the bully bully just basically going build bonds and strength for now

Not much today just the side activities while I wait for time to run out on the second palace. Found out that my homeroom teacher has a second job as a performative maid... basically like every other teacher atm in the world

So one thing I notice is how things are still being brought into the game and at a good steady pace. I say i'm about 25 hours in and there are def things more things to come. The further I go in this game the more I enjoy it

oh yeah and this (Spoilers)

What in the name of moogles did I just watch? Although, there was a missed opportunity here. It could have been, “I am thou, and thou art dead.”

Glad you’re enjoying the game! 👍

Spending an average of an hour a day so far. Enjoying as much as when I played the vanilla one.

Some of the changes I am loving. Hanging out with Justine and Caroline. Image. Playing darts with the group to improve stats. Improvements to Mementos, where trying to make it to where Jose spawns makes me want to grind longer.

EoW update:

Just more of the side activities. Madarame has admitted to his crimes though so should be onto the next target soon

Met Akechi at the tv station. Not much else this session

Hot pot

Basically Niijima confronted me about being a phantom thieve and has set a "target" and time limit to do it