Here’s How Persona 5 Will Get Royal

Atlus has kept their fanbase in suspense regarding the identity of Persona 5 Royal for months, and fan reactions over time showed how they knew exactly what they were doing. There were long discussions with fans speculating what this could be, which further intensified with the announcement of the name and glimpse at a new character in March. With the first day of the Persona Super Live P-Sound Street 2019 concert complete, its identity was finally confirmed. Turns out, it’s exactly what most fans expected.

Royal (The Royal in Japan) is an expanded port of the original Persona 5, just as Persona 4 Golden (The Golden in Japan) was an expanded port of the original Persona 4. The naming scheme was included the answer (no, not that one) all along. One key difference is how Royal is coming to PlayStation 4, one of the same systems the original released on (alongside PlayStation 3), while Golden was a port of a PlayStation 2 game to Vita. Thanks to this, Royal will come with enhancements over the original no-frills port on PS4. The visual differences can be seen in the first trailer, which include more detailed lighting and backdrops, but they’re subtle. It will also have special visual adjustments for the PS4 Pro, and can be played in up to 4K resolutions.

The new character previously teased is Kasumi Yoshizawa, the expected new female character (or “new waifu,” if you’re into that) who comes with nearly every new Atlus port. She’s a Shujin Academy student who transfers to the school in the same year as the protagonist, and is an experienced rhythmic gymnast. She admires the protagonist, to no surprise for an anime high school student given his stylish looks, but doesn’t trust the game’s Phantom Thieves — of which the protagonist is the clandestine leader. Kasumi will eventually join them in their exploits, gaining her own curiously risqué outfit in the process, and use her own Persona. She’ll fight with a rifle in battle, though other details about her Phantom Thief iteration are being held back at the moment.

In a twist, there will actually be two new characters, the second being Takuto Maruki. He’s a part-time counselor who will be hired at Shujin Academy following the events that occur with the Phantom Thieves’ first target, and will also serve as a new Confidant. He’ll apparently become popular with the students, and could make for a good addition if he’s developed well.

It didn’t seem like there was much room in the original to develop even more characters, given how existing cast members could have received more attention — especially Haru. To compensate, Atlus will add an entire third semester to Royal. They likely won’t detail too many events that will happen in this portion given how late in the game it will be, but a mysterious male character who several fans think might be a human Morgana will be involved. It will also have a New Year’s Event involving the main characters, and the protagonist will get a new trench coat for casual wear. Whether this will give players enough time to complete relationships with e existing Confidants or characters is currently a mystery, along with how some characters will be available to participate in these activities at all given what happens in the original.

Royal will add the Kichijoji district of Tokyo as a hangout spot for more activities. (This is also where the original Shin Megami Tensei started, and I’ll be disappointed if they don’t include at least one neat reference.) A DartsLive collaboration will be added, where characters can, you know, play darts. More dating and hangout spots will be added in general, likely for the new Confidants and other events. The protagonist will also be able to go out with Velvet Room twins Caroline and Justine, and while I’m sure a certain subset of fans were asking for this, these segments could be good if they let them do goofy stuff like Elizabeth in the updated Persona 3 iterations.

There aren’t many details about updated features for the Phantom Thieves’ exploits just yet, outside mentioning how there will be new Personas (demons in the overall Megaten universe). They’ll detail Kasumi’s Persona soon, so they’re saving a bunch more details for another time.

Like any updated Persona port, this version will have new music from composer Shoji Meguro, including for the opening, ending, and battle music. Atlus describes the number of additions as “countless,” though history suggests the count will actually be in the teens, and Meguro may not be the sole contributor. The trailer already featured a new song with Lyn’s vocals, likely from the new opening.

Persona 5 is a long, long game, one that took me around 120 hours to finish. The mere thought of playing an expanded version sounds daunting, but I’ll admit they have me intrigued. The details about the third semester are worded in a way to make everyone who played the original think they’re missing out on the full story, enough to get anyone who enjoyed it to at least give this version a look. Just like their aforementioned teasing methods: It’s devious, and it’s going to work.

Persona 5 Royal will release in Japan on October 31 — yes, right on Halloween. It will subsequently arrive in western and some Asian territories in 2020.

Meanwhile, the identity of the Persona 5 S website will be revealed tomorrow, though something tells me that anyone hoping it will be a Switch version of the game following last week’s release of Joker in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is setting themselves up for disappointment. It’s just a feeling.