One of the greatest Japanese Role Playing Games to come out in the last decade has finally broke out of its PlayStation 4 exclusivity. Released six years ago,Persona 5put the franchise on the map like never before, with its dedication to the turn-based combat and surprisingly mature conflicts. While other old school franchises were converting to more fast-paced, action oriented gameplay, Persona 5 stayed true to its roots, captivating audiences with its strategic gameplay, jazzy music and artistic flair. More than anything, it’s amazing how long it has taken Atlus to bring the award-winning JRPG to the Nintendo Switch, especially considering the massive popularity of the platform not only in Japan, but worldwide, but late is better than never. The same can be said about the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and PC versions to a certain degree, but there’s no doubt there’s a huge demand for the game on the handheld platform, especially considering the success ofPersona 4 Goldenand the Shin Megami Tensei releases. Has the remaster revitalized the monumental RPG or has it aged poorly over the years?
If you played the original Persona 5, know that this isn’t a drastically different game. You’ll still be going through the year as a transfer student who is thrown into a mysteriously dangerous world filled with monsters and palaces. You’ll still be grinding through the turn-based combat whilst seducing teachers and doctors, but what Atlus has done is refined it and extended it. Combat has a number of improvements that not only make the game a little easier, but a lot more fun. For starters, Showtime attacks have been added to compliment Persona 5’s flair. At certain points during the story, two teammates will interact and create a special move that will do a massive amounts of damage. These will trigger randomly during a fight (and best yet, don’t require both party members to be in your party) and showcase a spectacular attack. It’s a fantastic addition that adds to the quirky nature and relationships between the characters. Disaster Shadows have also been added that also make battles a little easier. They are slightly stronger enemies and will essentially counter any attack you throw at them, but if you kill them they will explode and do massive damage to the enemies around them, not to mention drop a rare item. These are rare but I’ve never been a huge fan of them because it allows you to relax a bit during the strategic battles.
Some of the bosses have also been redone, but not to a major degree. For the most part, it’s just an added enemy or mechanic that needs to be overcome, such as choosing between dialogue that might allow you to avoid unnecessary damage. It’s a fun aspect that spices things up and adds an even longer string of mostly comical events. Mementos has also been updated to be drastically more bearable. It wasn’t bad in the original game, as it was randomly-generated floors, but it was simply going through the same enemies you encountered in the dungeons with a lack of style. In Royal, Jose makes an appearance, a young robot looking kid who also runs the Thieves Den and has a significant hand in Mementos. Here, you’ll be able to collect items spread throughout the floors, not to mention stamps, and trade them in for not only items, but a boost in EXP, Gold and item drop rates through the entirety of Mementos. Speaking of Jose, the new Thieves Den is also a fun distraction that you will quickly forget about when you’re building relationships and progressing through dungeons. It mostly serves as a more social space to view your accomplishments and unlocked artwork. Still, you’re able to customize it and make it you own.
Outside of combat, there are numerous new events and scenes throughout the year with two added characters, Taukto Maruki and Kasumi Yoshizawa, both who intersect in the story nicely. Maruki is a councilor that comes on after Kamoshida’s actions come to light, and Kasumi is a student Shujin Academy who has a lot on her shoulders in making the school look good in gymnastics. Maruki’s role is perfectly set up and really delves deeper into some of the characters’ psyches, although mostly his own. While Maruki’s story is a fascinating one, Kasumi is the obvious attraction. Her role is not only a potential romantic option, but a new member of the Phantom Thieves, and she blends in with the group perfectly. With this comes a brand new dungeon to explore, one that is vibrant and full of charisma, and new Persona to obtain. My only complaint is that she’s a little too generic until her awakening. While Makoto was an uptight girl who fell in line, and Haru an obedient princess (or maybe pawn), Kasumi is kind of just there. She doesn’t stand out too much outside of eating a lot because she’s in sports. Regardless, while her personality outside of the Phantom Thieves leaves much to be desired or expanded upon in the first seventy hours, it’s her role moving forward where it improves.
The newly-added area in Tokyo, Kichijoji, also contributes to two relatively sizable aspects: leveling up your teammates’ baton pass and the revamped Justice confidant. The latter is the more important aspect as it drastically affects the fate of a certain character as you actually get to know them better, instead of the game automatically leveling their confidant status through story events. As for the former, Darts has been added as a mini–game, where you’re able to invite friends out to increase their baton pass functionality. Not only giving them an added attack boost, this will also allow them to gain health and SP (which is the most vital part) every time you pass the baton. The mini-game itself is enjoyable as you use the DualShock 4’s motion functionality to position your aim and release when you feel it necessary. There’s also billiards, but it’s lackluster. It’s not a mini-game like darts, but instead a quick increase in social links and Guts; think of it like a bonding exercise with your friends. It feels a bit half-baked that darts was added but a game of pool was subjected to a cutscene.
The Velvet Room has expanded to have more of an RNG element, not to mention a Challenge Battle mode. An alert will go off after killing a certain amount of enemies and will change how you fuse monsters (at least two times). The first, the monster you fuse will have upwards of three different skills that can change (generally within at least one skill’s parameters), and the second is a completely random all together. When there’s a screw-up on the Velvet Room’s part, it will generate a random monster and you may use this to your advantage here. In addition, there are new monsters you’re able to obtain and adjusted existing ones to fit the Faith and Councillor Confidants. As for the Challenge Battles, they are simply a number of battles in a sequence as you will rack up points based on certain factors that will dish out rewards in the end. It’s a fun challenge that ultimately I completely forgot about for the longest time.
Obviously the biggest draw for the re-release is its functionality on the Nintendo Switch. Being able to take the game on the go is perfect for such a lengthy game like this, something you can pick up and play at any time while picking up right where you left off with its power settings. Unfortunately, if you want to make use of the limited networking functions, such as seeing what players did during a specific day, you will need an active Nintendo Online subscription, which is a huge disappointment. At least on the Switch version, Persona 5 Royal holds up well. It’s no doubt running on a lower resolution, but performance wise we ran into virtually no issues through our playtime. Granted, it’s not exactly that graphically intense to begin with, but it’s good to know that it holds up even on the five-year-old handheld hybrid. The remaster also includes all the downloadable content released for the PlayStation 4 version of Royal, ensuring you can customize the looks of the characters in dungeons and battles. It doesn’t affect your appearance during cutscenes or confidant interactions, but at least you can fight in style. That’s not to mention the unique new Persona you can summon, although be advised, use them cautiously because they can break the difficulty of combat, as even the level 90 persona can be summoned at no cost. Overall, the remaster holds up perfectly on the Nintendo Switch.
Closing Comments:
Persona 5 Royal was already a remarkable victory lap for Atlus, but the remaster helps the RPG shine brighter. It’s well worth revisiting the 100-150-hour adventure, and being this is now made accessible to a lot more players, this is a fantastic jumping in point for those new to the game or the franchise. While the lengthy story can be intimidating with such a huge investment for players, especially since it can drag at points, it will still leave you wanting more as its gripping tale and phenomenal cast of characters immerse you within such a dark and dreary world. It tackles sensitive topics such as suicide, abuse of power, sexual assault and so much more, most of which has been tastefully handled. That’s on top of one of the best upbeat and jazzy soundtracks will you hear in a video game, a wonderful sense of artistic style to every scenario and a combat system that only strengthens the turn-based genre. Thankfully, the Nintendo Switch seems perfect for this as you can pick it up and play on the go at your own pace. The remaster of Persona 5 Royal for current generation platforms has turned out better than we could hoped, having the Phantom Thieves once more stealing our hearts.
