ATLUS as a publisher loves creating enhanced re-releases. Games of some of their franchises Director's Cut versions after their release. Persona franchise isn't different. All main Persona titles since Persona 3 have gotten updated versions with improvements on both story and gameplay. While the new stories aren't always well-received by fans, the gameplay improvements are usually a reason to get the updated version of each title.
Persona 5 Royal, the updated version of Persona 5 adds new content in every corner. It updates the battle system with new abilities and enemies. Baton Pass system totally revamped. New Confidants. New Personas, (including ones last seen in Persona 2.) Guns reload after every battle which makes them actually useful. The Trait System gives each Persona infinite customization. Finally, Royal makes Palace (dungeon) even exploration more stylish by adding new sections accessible via grappling hook!
The only downside gameplay-wise is that Royal version adds new ways to break the game on top of the already existing ones. You can reach end-game levels of power halfway of the game if you know what you're doing. Persona 5 Royal is too easy even on the hardest difficulty. Whatever your skill level is, you probably won't find most of the game challenging.
[Minor Spoilers for Persona 5 Royal's New Content]
The article is as Spoiler-free as possible but beware of Indirect Spoilers.
What I like the most about Royal is the new story content. The new Confidants stories as well as The Third Semester which unlocks if you meet certain conditions. (You get the original ending of Persona 5 if you fail to meet them.)
The new story revolves on two new characters introduced in Royal. The first one is Kasumi Yoshizawa. The girl that you know will eventually become a party member considering how she was introduced 10-minutes into the game. The other one is Takuto Maruki. This funny guy becomes the counselor of the school after Kamoshida incident and tries his best to help students overcome any trauma that resulted from witnessing that teacher.
I won't spoil their stories in this article, I plan on writing one for each of them (and the antagonist,) but I've got to say they have deep stories that are worth your time.
I still can't recommend the game at full price for those who played the original. It's sad that those who played the original will have to repeat +100 hours of content to be able to enjoy the new story...
For now, let me gush on my love of both of their impact on the game's main-story (which only becomes apparent when the third semester comes,) and their Confidant interactions. Kasumi in particular has the most adorable Confidant interactions in the whole game. (Read: More adorable than Futaba, at least in my opinion.) She also has a very interesting backstory that adds depth to those adorable moments.
Her Persona is Cinderella too! (Extra points!)
The story of Royal's third semester gives a new perspective on how the power of The Metaverse can be used. For example, in the original we've seen how different people use the cognitive world for their goals: Black Mask uses it for Murder. The Phantom Theives use it for Justice. The big bad of the original Persona 5 uses it rule over people. The new antagonist of Royal version uses it for a completely different goal than all of them. Their goal and methods fall into such a gray-area category as the Phantom Theives own methods do. I'm still thinking about it a week after watching the game (and all the endings on YouTube.)
I have to add, considering how self-contained the original Persona 5 story were in the first place, I'm surprised that they managed to include a continuation that doesn't fall short of the original ending's awesomeness. In my opinion the new ending is even better despite few flaws here and there.
So, that was my introductory article to the next few ones exploring Yoshizawa's and Maruki's backstories as well as the new antagonist's brilliant arc. I hope that you wait for those articles and for them to spark a good discussion on #HIVE blockchain!
For now, I hope you comment your thoughts below~