I usually do not write serious reviews for games, also because of my language barrier, but after recently finished my first ever playthrough in this game (I still can't believe it's over), I truly believe this game changed my heart.

Like many other people, this has been my first real game of Persona franchise and, not only that, also my first ever JRPG!

It was reccomended to me by a very close friend of mine, who's also a long time Atlus enthusiast, many times but I've always been skeptical about it because of it being very different from any game i've ever played before (+ the anime artstyle has never really been my cup of tea).

Eventually I gave in to the constant begging of my friend and hoo boy, what can I say that hasn't been said countless times by others?



Persona 5 Royal is not just a simple game, it's a journey. A long, looong journey of rebellion; rebellion against the unjust world of adults that surrounds you, a high school transfer student who's a victim of this corrupt system.

But you are not alone in this journey: You have your confidants who will follow you and help you through this quest, if you put the time and effort to create a bond with them first, and, of course, your team: The Phantom Thieves of Hearts , your partners in crime in changing the twisted hearts of Japan and reforming society by making use of your Personas, psychological beings unleashed by ripping off the mask you subsconsciously use to blend in with society.

A masterfully crafted story with a heavy focus on the many beautifully written characters which I've simply fallen in love with. I'm not going to say anything more than this to avoid accidentally spoiling something.



P5R is a notoriously long game, with well over 100+ hours of content for the completionists, it can be daunting at first.

I personally took a very long time to finish it, simply because I kept burning out everytime I played it for an extended streak of days, and I think that's completely fine.
You don't have to finish the game in 2 weeks. If you simply can't do it, don't worry and just take a break, the game has a summary feature which you can check at any time and automatically updates everytime you reach a new major plot point.

Despite the game covering many deep and sometimes dark topics and themes, it also has many fun moments and activities which always give you something to do inbetween story arcs.

One of the most important aspects of P5R, and Persona as a whole, are the confidants , they are your teammates and helpers in this journey and can grant you many unique skills and boosts, some more useful than others, while also letting you learn more about their personality and troubled backstory each time you decide to spend time with them.
The game features 20 of these confidants (+ 3 automatic ones), allowing you to also romance most of the female confidants. (Makoto best girl)

Another aspect that I personally love about P5R is... making Personas, dear god how fun it is.
With around 200+ possible personas, each one customizable from top to bottom, I can safely say that at the very least 40 of my total hours in this game were spent in the Velvet Room fusing personas.

When reviewing this gem of a game, of course one cannot simply forget to mention the absolutely gorgeous artstyle and incredible OST that the game provides through the ENTIRE experience. (Literally listening to P5 music as I'm writing this review lol)



As you may have noticed from the previous segments, a large portion of P5R's gameplay consists in time management and social simulation, but that's not all!
It's a JRPG after all, so P5R also blends into the mix RPG elements like strategic turn based combat and, like mentioned previously, a in depth Persona making system.

So the game is sort of split in two halves:

-One being a social simulation with a calendar system in which you have to manage getting to know the characters, doing activities to level up your social stats and preparing for the action, all while also attending school.
-And a second half being a turn based dungeon crawler where you battle enemies known as " Shadows " and level up/gain Personas to use in battle.

This split makes the overall gameplay feel very diversified and fun.

(MINOR SPOILER AHEAD:)
P5R's core consists in exploring dungeons known as " palaces ", which are manifestations of people's distorted desires, with the goal of finding and stealing the target's treasure in order to effectively change their heart. Each palace is quite unique from the other and brings new enemies and mechanics.

The combat of the game is extremely unique and addictive, allowing you to use melee/ranged weapons and, of course, your Personas and their abilities.
(Small note: PLEASE change your teammates tactics to direct command and NOT TO ACT FREELY.)

Understanding these mechanics makes the gameplay feel very smooth and fun even in the late game. Plus, combining these mechanics with persona making, the game allows you to exploit these to become very OP by the end of the game if you wish so.



Persona 5 Royal, like I stated at the beginning, is the best game I've ever played, even though I'm quite late to the party I'd go as far as to say that it's a perfect game in what it wants to accomplish and has set a new standard for JRPG games.

Sure, it does have its few cringey moments and poor taste jokes, but they're mostly overshadowed by the plenty of good things there are to say about this title.

But it's not a game for everyone, I get that, but if this review somehow intrigued you then PLEASE give it a chance, buy it on sale, put some time into it and then decide if you want to continue or not, you won't regret it.

Persona 5 Royal has been my first introduction to the Persona franchise and I can't wait to try out more games of the series! (Currently looking forward to play P3R!)

Overall rating: 9.8/10
(P.S: I couldn't find a way to put this into the review but can I just say just how much I ADORE the animated cutscenes in this game oh my god)