Persona 5 originally debuted in North America on April 4, 2017, for the PS3 and PS4. This was about half a year after the Japanese debut. Now three years later Sega and Atlus have decided to re-release the game in an enhanced capacity dubbed Persona 5 Royal, which is now just a PS4 exclusive.
Fans that played it the first time may be wondering if it is worth their time to replay this massive JRPG again and so soon. This can be daunting especially because Final Fantasy VII Remake is also impending. Let's examine what was changed to make this double-dip potentially worth it. For this article the protagonist will be addressed as Ren Amamiya, his canon name in the anime.
10 Fixed: Sharing Restored
When Persona 5 originally debuted in 2017 for North America it was followed by controversy. Sega/Atlus barred people from taking screenshots, or video natively on the PS4 using the Share button. Companies block what can and can’t be captured all the time but within reason. Story cutscenes, for example, can often times be blocked.
However, except for the prologue, everything was blocked, which was too far. Thankfully that restriction has been lifted allowing players to capture images and videos, mostly, to their heart’s content. Suffice it to say it helped out writing this article.
9 Not Fixed: Not Enough Voiceover
This edition of Persona 5 did add some new voiceover to the game that wasn't present before. Without getting into spoilers there have been tweaked and new events added as one example. Then, of course, there are the new characters: Kasumi Yoshizawa and Takuto Maruki. These changes are welcomed, but still, not enough was done. For example, it's still weird that Ren is silent as the hero when he sometimes talks, or more like mumbles, lines in the animated cutscenes. Not having fully voiced confidant missions was weird the first time around and stranger still now.
8 Fixed: Morgana’s Relaxed Polices
One of the more annoying aspects of the original release was Morgana's babysitting. Too often did he scold Ren for wanting to do something after an event like going to a Palace in the daytime and then wanting to do something at night.
Players can't go out after an infiltration, but they can now at least hang out at the coffee shop to read, watch movies, and so on to at least take advantage of some free time. Morgana can still be a tyrant at times, but again, his leash is at least relaxed.
7 Not Fixed: No Legit Skip Option
The original runtime, depending on one's completionist dedication, can range from eighty to a hundred-plus hours. There is a lot to digest here and with this expanded version that number only increases. Given that the game is only three years old, the story is still probably somewhat fresh for old players.
That is to say, they may want to skip through the old story to get to new scenarios. While one can fast-forward through conversations, like in the original, there is still no way to fully skip story beats. This will cut down the run time significantly to about half of the average so about forty hours, but that is still a lot to get through to get to the really big endgame stuff that is new.
6 Fixed: Beefed Up Battles
The battle system was already robust, but the improvements thrown into this version make them all the better. For example, about a third of the way through the game two party members can start learning team attacks called Showtimes. They are both powerful and hilarious. A particularly great one has Ryuji and Makoto team up with the latter of the two acting as a dominatrix over the other. There are also Disaster Shadows that if hit first will explode, thus damaging other monsters as well. Passing the Baton can also trigger new power-ups.
5 Not Fixed: Speeding Up Battles
The one thing missing from all of the battle tweaks is a fast-forward option. There is an auto-battle that will have the players rush with melee attacks, which does speed up the momentum, but it isn't the same thing.
If it can exist in the story options then why not in battles too? This isn’t a huge deal as battles tend to be quicker than most turn-based RPGs, but still a complaint worth noting.
4 Fixed: Improved Palaces
Palaces were a large improvement over Persona 4 that they were meticulously designed compared to being randomly generated. The addition of the grappling hook was not necessarily needed, but it is welcomed. It makes Joker look ten times cooler than he already was. It opens up new pathways that lead to three Will Seeds per Palace. The purposes of which will be explained later on.
3 Not Fixed: Stat Rankings
How many musical notes does it take to rank up stats like Guts? How many notes does it take to become closer to a confidant? The answer to both is still a mystery.
While it is easier to rank up this time around thanks to Morgana's relaxed eye it would have also been nice to see a meter on the old stat and friend meter to not waste as much time guessing each situation. It could have helped with planning days out.
2 Fixed: Improved Mementos
There is a lot done to Mementos to make each trip less tedious. Floors are still randomly generated, but now there is a new character wandering around down there too: Jose. He wants players to collect flowers that can be used to buy things in his shop. Flowers are randomly placed, like items, around the pathways.
Collecting stars, also randomly located, can have him change the overall dungeon by increasing the number of items, experience, or money players earn permanently. The aforementioned Will Seeds can also unlock equipment from him.
1 Not Fixed: Persona Experience
If a Persona in Joker's arsenal does not participate in battle then they do not gain experience. There are exceptions like if the Persona has the Growth skill equipped that allows for experience sharing, but that is it. Since fusion is a big element of the Persona aspect it isn't necessarily needed, but like the absent increase in battle speed, this addition would have been nice.