Welcome to That Good, a series where I tackle things that the general public have deemed good and hash out my thoughts about it. This time, we're covering the very thing that inspired this series: Persona 5— specifically, the Royal re-release. P5 is one of those games of undeniable quality but still has a large regiment of detractors waiting to quote retweet you into oblivion whenever you express praise for it. Its got flaws, but Persona 5 is the complete package. For this first part, we'll be going through each of the game's "arcs." I'll try to be as through as possible, but unlike the Arcane Season 1 That Good, I haven't come off a fresh, 120 our replay of the subject matter. I'm going off of memory and research. I have, however, put more hours into this game than any other I have every played. Between vanilla P5 and Royal, I have 557 hours logged. I'm not saying I'm an expert, only a freak.
If you're unfamiliar with Persona 5, (I don't know how you couldn't be,) but I'll give a quick recap. Its the 5th entry in the Persona franchise, which is itself a spin-off of Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei series, or SMT for short. Persona's modern titles (3, 4, 5) take SMT's hard as nails turn-based combat formula and mix it with student life-sim elements like making friends and upgrading stats like confidence and intelligence by reading books and doing activities. Persona games typically have a party of teenagers awaken to their Stand—I mean, Persona—a psychic manifestations of their soul that allows them to battle Shadows on another plane of reality. In Persona 5, you follow the Phantom Thieves, vigilantes who use their Personas to go into the hearts of bad guys and make them pay for their sins in an effort to reform society.
This is a big game, and I don't want to leave anything out, so this first part is only covering the main story with some asides to discuss gameplay and music when appropriate. I'll discuss Social Links, music, UI, and gameplay in part 2.
Alright, let's get into it.
Prologue
Despite it being so important, I always forget that you begin the game in Sae's Palace. Its doubly important for Royal since it introduces Kasumi. Its an amazing cold open that shows off everything cool about the Phantom Thieves. As a tease for the rest of the game, it succeeds by letting you be powerful with Joker's Persona, Arsene, use the grappling hook, and engage with the game's admittedly shallow, yet traversal, traversal "system." Ending with Joker getting caught and alluding to a traitor in their midst is a curveball that has implications for the rest of the story. Sae's interrogation framing the rest of the game doesn't always work, not unless you can forgive flashbacks within flashbacks, but I've never really been bothered by that. Before Joker moves to Shibuya, we see the incident that got him on probation. Its a little cringeworthy, but its to set up the kind of world this is, one where a young person trying to do the right thing will be preyed upon by corrupt adults, if you didn't get that from the police brutality Joker suffers before Sae's interrogation.
Kamoshida’s Palace
In some ways, Persona 5 peaks early. Kamoshida's Palace, despite beginning the game with a 3-hour long tutorial, exemplifies what this game does best on the levels of story and gameplay.
The game makes a great first impression with its music and presentation. Stepping off the subway to "Beneath the Mask" is a core memory for me. Everything before Kamoshida's Palace proper is a slog on repeat playthroughs, but it does establish everything you need to know for this part of the game. The sojourn to and from the Ginza line is iconic for a reason. The subway is admittedly confusing to navigate for a first time player. Afterwards, Joker's initial meeting with Sojiro is cold and tense at first, but Leblanc as a setting is a look into his inner warmth. Their visit to Shujin Academy sets up Kawakami but also establishes it as a place that, for this upcoming arc, is one of hostility. Where LeBlanc is warm and inviting, the rest of the world is cold and dangerous. The first visit to the Velvet Room is impactful because it also presents itself as another hostile place when in previous titles, its certainly spooky, but always seen as a refuge. That, and Igor's balls dropping are another sign that things are wrong here.
Ryuji and Ann's introduction in that beautiful cinematic has been etched into my brain forever. The animation is exquisite, but the way that we're initially introduced to Ann, a beautiful ,delicate flower in need of saving, is perfectly subverted later on when she takes back her own agency in regards to her beauty. And our first introduction to Ryuji does something similar by characterizing him as a loudmouth delinquent at first, but we soon learn that his brash nature is a manifestation of a desire to do good and punish the wicked. being entirely honest, between the first Palace visit at the start of the Palace proper, my recollection is a little jumbled. You go in a number of times to see recruit Morgana, seeing Ryuji's Awakening, and rescue Ann before the operation's official start.
What I appreciate, and I'm truly talking out of my ass here, is Shiho's arc. Shiho's attempted suicide is a wake up call. One could argue that worse, more shocking things happen later in the narrative, but this one act this early on in the game shows that its not messing around, that it takes the subject matter of sexual assault and what it does to its victims seriously (most of the time.) I'm by no means an expert on this topic, and depictions of suicide in media are, rightfully, met with a lot of scrutiny, but regardless of its execution, Shiho's attempt is key plot beat that galvanizes our heroes to make some real change. Its a sobering moment to wake you and Ryuji up from your boyhood fantasies of revenge. It also gives Ann yet another reason to join your cause, for Shiho if not for herself. (Its rare to see a female character get fridged for another female character, but hey, it happens, I guess.)
I think Kamoshida's Palace has, pound-for-pound, some of the best storytelling in the game. Its not subtle, but its on theme, and intoxicating in how engaging it is. Day by day, you're given a new piece of the puzzle, whether that's meeting Mishima, Morgana telling you about the Change of Heart, or heading into the Palace again. The piecemeal nature of the world building and pace all contribute to how well this game sells the Persona fantasy: student by day, hero by night. The school storyline itself is something any drama would kill to have, but its just half of the game's substance.
The Change of Heart is a a genuine moral dilemma at first, and on a first playthrough, I thought that our heroes weren't going to perform what is effectively a telepathic brainwashing, but its more admirable that a tactic such as this, one that's morally dubious, is used as the main operating procedure of the heroes since its sells how compromised the world they live in really is.
The intra-party chemistry, while amazing later on, simply hits different here. With the scale being this small, the violence of the situation is much more impactful. The Phatom Thieves are much more self-motivated here, and since Kamoshida is an abuser to all involved, it makes good on the game's core theme of agency. The cast being so tiny also allows chances for them to breathe, unlike later in the game where the crew is a borderline army "sneaking" through these levels. Ryuji and Ann have a backstory that's only alluded to, but them being friends before this, unlike the other part members, provides so much texture to their relationship.
Max Mittleman as Ryuji and Erika Harlacher as Ann absolutely kill their roles here and throughout the rest of the game. They're so light and bright at moment but smoldering with rage the next, and they're utterly and entirely believable. Morgana is a somehwhat controversial character, but I like him. Fans went a little too far with the whole "Morgana making me sleep" meme. He's a perfectly fine character, even cute at times. I like that Joker has a constant companion and someone to bounce off of even when alone. Kamoshida himself is an asbolute bastard, a great villain to start the game off with simply because he's cartoonishly evil yet scarily real. This man could be in your school, university, job, or hospital, and probably is. Defeating him proves that the Phantom Thieves' justice is morally justifiable. Seeing the pain he's inflicted on just Ann and Ryuji is enough, but Shiho and Mishima, as well as the faceless, countless others, make him despicable. The Shadow version of him is cringe, but so are all the other Shadow Palace Rulers. Its honestly funny seeing how little of a difference there is between real and Shadow Kamoshida, driving home how vile this man is.
Onto gameplay, this Palace is a softball. There aren't any crazy puzzles or especially difficult fights you're going to have to account for. You might die to some Shadows later in the Palace, however, right before the throne room. This difficulty makes sense, given that its effectively a tutorial dungeon, but in retrospect, there's very little that makes it interesting. Scaling a castle fulfills the thieving fantasy that all the palaces strive to fulfill, but is by far the least captivating. Kamoshida views himself as king of the castle that is Shujin, so Shujin becomes a castle. Not much else going on there. Starting in the dungeons of the castle and working out way up to the highest tower where the evil king sits his throne, even invisibly, works its magic, however. The Palace's simple nature is something I actually like about it. Its always nostalgic for me going back to it because I like how quant it feels compared to the others. Additionally, I like the general colors and aesthetic. The warmth irradiating from the twilight palates of orange, red, purple, and brown shouldn't work together, but it does anyway. I find it endearing in an ugly way.
In terms of combat, the most interesting encounters are the ones that tutorializes aspects like blocking, all-out attacks, and demon negotiation. I have a raging distain for P4's Shuffle Time but found P3R's to be far too exploitable. Here, negotiation is just right. Successfully negotiating with a Persona is a sweet reward, and even if you fail, you have ample chance to try again. At this stage, you won't be doing anything crazy in the Velvet Room, but its nice to feel like you're getting ahead early on.
Royal's addition of Will Seeds fixes the biggest problem with vanilla's dungeon crawling: SP. Now, you have more areas to explore and the reward is SP, so its a win-win for new and returning players. Royal's grappling hook also breathes new life into the level design not just with flashy animations but also new ways to get around. Its true; every game is made better with a grappling hook.
Shadow Kamoshida's boss fight is intense for this part of the game. Its a genuine challenge if you aren't prepared, or even if you are, considering how much damage he deals. I also like how you ahve to send one of your teammates to secure his crown, making you have to stand your ground with an incomplete squad. Royal adding Shiho into the fight was a stroke of genius. It adds another layer to the fight mechanically but also thematically. Working her back in was a good idea considering she's basically absent for the rest of the game except for Ann's Social Link. Ann sparing Kamoshida after his defeat is a great moment for her, but my favorite moment is actually in the cinematic afterwards where Ryuji's injury causes him to trip. Another moment that makes good on some background info. Its small, but memorable.
The dinner that the gang gets at the buffet after the deadline is where the Phantom Thieves go from localized vigilantes to straight up superheroes. With their goal of reforming the world, the stakes begin to grow from here. Additionally, Maruki's Royal inclusion is rationalized as a direct result of Kamoshida's Change of Heart.
Mementos
Between the first, two Palaces, Mementos is introduced. I know its not evreyone's favorite part of the game, but in Royal, its much improved. I was never fond of P3 and P4's randomly generated dungeons and much prefer P5's hand crafted levels, but this was an effective compromise. Royal making sure that the landscape changed (even if it was minimal), and more importantly, that the music changed, made Mementos visits far more bearable. Also, Jose's market allowing you to manipulate Mementos to your liking made it more engaging mechanically. In a story sense, Mementos offers the chance to see Changes of Heart on a smaller scale, and the way it interfaces with some Social Links, particularly Mishima's, is great. Overall, Royal's Mementos is much improved, but its still Mementos.
At this point int he story, its used to introduce Madarame via one of his previous victims.
Madarame’s Palace
Kamoshida's palace took way longer to get through than I antipcated, so the pace will be quicker (I tried, but failed) starting now: Okay, people sleep on Madarame's Palace. First, let's do story. I love the way its introduced. For a few days beforehand, Ann mentions how she's felt that she's being watched. When that comes to a head, we get to see the crew operate as a unit. The way that Joker and Ryuji confront Yusuke shows how close these three have gotten. Its protective and domestic in a fan-fic type way, I'll admit, but it makes sense given the previous arc why they'd act this way toward one another. Its a great way to transition from Kamoshida to Madarme. Plus, it has the assist from the Mementos mission.
Yusuke's introduction has red flags going off like crazy. He's aloof, got his head in the clouds, and makes our one girl friend uncomfortable. He's weirdly forward, (and snobby), when asking Ann to be his muse and reluctantly inviting Joker and Ryuji to Madarame's exhibit. By all rights, we should hate him, and he hasn't even committed his worst sins, but there's something already compelling about him. Full stop, Yusuke is probably my favorite party member. A wild statement to make after performing an autopsy of his introduction, but its something I'll get into in part 2.
What follows is the gang doing some detective work. What I appreciate is that the story always takes the crew to task about if they're doing the right thing. Is Madarame an actual abuser or are they just fiending for another target to chase the Kamoshida high? Is Yusuke a victim or just a loyal pupil? The most important question it asks is this: should we try to save Yusuke even if he doesn't want to save himself? Challenging the Phantom Thieves in this way, after their undisputed victory of their own abuser, is crucial. If they were to fail in saving then recruiting Yusuke, then the thesis of the game is defeated.
Of course, this means that Yusuke has to see the light, and he does, but not before going to extreme lengths. He wants to paint Ann naked, which is obviously sus, but I genuinely belive there's no sexual motivation behind it, especially coming off of Kamoshida. I won't defend how Ryuji pokes and prods at the issue, but let's not forget that he himself acknowledged it as weird and did not trust Yusuke. Additionally, Yusuke threatens to call the police on Ryuji and Joker, setting a president for prospective party members giving them a lot of resistance. All of this makes good on Yusuke being a test of the Thieves, and not an easy slam dunk after Palace one.
Yusuke's awakening is one of the best in the game. The dialogue itself is iconic, but given how much resistance he put up, him coming to terms with the truth is genuinely impactful. Matt Mercer's performance here is an all-timer. Yusuke is simultaneously dynamic yet very consistent, which is how I'd describe Mercer's performance. He always delivers, regardless if Yusuke is deadpan or the obvious butt of the joke.
Yusuke's changes in demeanor also have more weight since we can ascribe them to the Thieves' involvement. Madarame as a villain is a little understated, but just as evil as Kamoshida. Letting Yusuke's mother die just to take credit for her portrait, then to further exploit her son by plagiarizing his, and countless other's, works? He's a generational menace.
Before recruiting Yusuke, I do have to say that I like how the second Palace makes more of an effort to hone in on the spacial relationship between the real world and Metaverse. When opening the peacock door becomes a mission objective, it drives home how things in the real world affect the Metaverse. I especially like how it changes gameplay, as when you have to go in with just Joker and Ryuji, the sequence is noticeably tougher.
Onto the Palace itself. No matter how gaudy they attempt to make it, I still find it beautiful. Like how the first Palace is about scaling a castle, this one is about a museum heist, which is more up my alley. Here, the setting is used to far greater affect. The portraits of exploited and abused pupils, the Mario64-style painting puzzles, and having to disable laser beams, all make this Palace one of the most engaging. Treasure Demons are introduced here, but let's be honest, they're not that interesting. What is interesting is Yusuke's addition to the squad. My first time through, I was giddy just seeing what new weapons, UI icons, and Personas the new party members brought with them. Yusuke's outfit and katana make perfect sense, but him whipping out an AR-15 will never not be funny.
"A Woman" is a slept on Palace theme. I know its not the most exciting, but I find it warm and beautiful in a way that sets it apart from most others. On the topic of music, I forgot to mention the Kamoshida Palace theme, "King, Queen, and Slaves," because I don't particularly like it. Its just fine. "A Woman" has it beat by simply being more interesting. The other version of "A Woman," like the part of the Palace its featured in, is a direct downgrade. While more dream-like, its simply uglier. Am I talking about the song or the level here? Regardless, by then, its really a race to the end.
Shadow Madarame is a decently stimulating fight. It asks you to tailor your attacks to the target's distinct resistances and weaknesses, whether that's in painting or clone form. Literally making copies of himself is a hilarious way to visualize his plagiarism. His dressing up as a Shogun is also greatly characterizing. He doesn't just want to be powerful, he wants to be powerful in an older, institutional way, a romantic way that aligns with the kind of ancient, artistic beauty that he'll never achieve by himself.
His defeat is the first time we hear of the this "Black Mask" killer that the Palace Rulers are afroad of.
Madarame's Palace isn't the best, but its a favorite of mine. It pushes the story forward, raising all the right questions and sparking all the right conflicts.
Kaneshiro’s Palace
Bias alert: Makoto is probably the character I relate to most in the game. Coming into this arc for the first, the prospect of her joining the team blinded me to a lot of its problems. On a positive note, Makoto is great. As the centerpiece of the arc, she consistently delivers by being interesting and engaging. Chaerami Leigh turns in an all-timer performance as this character.
This Palace starts by following up with the running thread of Makoto being tasked by the Principal to investigate things, this time some money racket targeting students. Firstly, I want to say how relatable this is. Not the criminals targeting students thing, but Makoto's whole struggle. Getting a little personal here, but I was playing this game mid-pandemic while attending virtual high school, and as an overachieving student, I knew what it was like to have teacher depend on you a little too much. There's a kind of pride there, but also the shame of not know how, or when, to say no. I saw, and still see, a lot of myself in Makoto, so whenever people say that this game is all style and no substance, or doesn't have anything to say, I simply can't agree. Makoto hits too close to home to be a fluke.
Her plot getting her involved with the mafia is a bit silly, however. Kaneshiro stands to be the most threatening villain yet, but he lacks a real connection to the Thieves or the player to be anything besides a placeholder. Makoto's villain ought to be the Principal, but since Akechi offs him later, that's out. Nevertheless, Makoto's joining is nearly as satisfying as Yusuke's since she also goes pretty hard on you. Seeing her follow you around in the overworld is a neat touch, but it speaks to how dedicated she is to catching you. She basically blackmails you into working for her before she joins the team. Like Yusuke, the game asks you if Makoto is able to be saved. Someone so thoroughly mired in the system is the kind of person the Thieves usually target. The open disdain that the gang shows to Makoto is almost hard to watch as a viewer has who superior knowledge, (and it also mirrors Akechi's treatment during his brief time on the team.)
I'll admit, the story surrounding this Palace isn't the best, but beyond Makoto's slide into the foreground, it truly excels in the gameplay department. Kaneshiro's bank might be my favorite Palace in the game based entirely off the strength of the level design. The strong, consistent aesthetic isn't as out there as the previous two, but since we're indulging in a classic bank robbery fantasy, it doesn't have to go crazy. The cool green, slate greys, and touches of metallics are enough to sustain the entire Palace. What keeps things fresh is the larger rooms featured here. My favorite is probably the big Scrooge McDuck money bin that you get to grapple hook around in. Added for Royal, it shows the scale of Kaneshiro's greed while providing a fun new room to explore.
The second half being a crawl though a giant vault is inspired. Once again, the level design uses wide, open rooms to contrast with more cramped spaces. The mechanic of remembering passwords is weak, and entirely skippable with Google on-hand. The Palace succeeds in the aesthetic department rather than the mechanical one, truly.
In terms of music, "Price" is a favorite track of mine, and like others, when it switches to its other version, its just not as good. "Price" is simply electric. Its rumbling drums and soaring guitar just make me want to run this Palace's big rooms and tear into enemies. Its effortlessly cool while having a hint of that Kaneshiro grease in that slinky bass line. Its feels like the kind of song that plays behind an Ocean's 11 montage.
Makoto, as a party member, represents a paradigm shift in story and gameplay. Her arrival shakes up the team dynamic as now, Morgana is no longer chief navigator. Makoto fills that roll as well as doubling as buff support, healer, and a physical and magical damage dealer. Give it up for a form and content moment because you do in fact stop using Morgana in favor of Makoto. Her arrival brings with it Showtime attacks. I like these in principal, since they put characters together in a cute way, but they're not really balanced. They pop up whenever they feel like it, which includes multiple times per battle, effectively handing you free damage. All the pairings make sense, but instead of Ryuji and Makoto, I think Ryuji's could have been with Ann. I think a Yusuke and Makoto team-up might have been more interesting considering they share little screentime together as a pair.
Kaneshiro's Shadow as a boss battle is...fine. All Shadows are reasonably difficult considering the sheer health they possess and damage they can deal, but its the gimmick that matters. Relying on status effects struck me as odd since it doesn't feel particularly relevant to Kaneshiro or what he represents. I could be offbase here, but I've always felt this way. Kaneshiro being protrayed as a fly is inspired, though, and him bringing bigger fly bodyguards is amusing.
Kaneshiro's Palace, despite introducing one of my favorite characters and possessing some of my favorite level design in the game, is probably the game's first misfire. Makoto more than makes up for that, since she's never not relevant to the plot going forward, but it can't not be said. Kaneshiro's shadow brings up the "Black Mask" again, further setting that up.
Futaba’s Palace
Futaba's Palace dares to ask this question "what if Persona 4 were good?" Just kidding. Or am I?
Upon replays, I always look forward to this one but come out a little disappointed every time. This is in part because the build up is so good. Medjed is not just the biggest threat to the Thieves we've seen yet, but also a global threat. We're used to dealing with villains in the physical realm, but a digital antagonist entirely turns our operation on its head. Each palace has upped the stakes considerably, but since Makoto's recruitment has leveled up the Thieves' game, a threat like this is a natural next step for the narrative. The scale of Medjed supplies irony to the eventual twist of Futaba being just a little gremlin.
The heat of the summer plays a big part in why I like this arc. As a literary device, heat as a sign of doom or looming danger is well-worn, but always effective. Just ask Shakespeare. The gang dressing down to their summer wear is another neat touch to show the passage of time.
Compared to the others, this arc feels sequestered, almost self-contained. Because it finally incorporates the one thing that Joker can call a personal life in Sojiro, it also feels like worlds colliding. Of course, the Thieves have visited Leblanc and formed a bond with Sojiro, but never have we actually gotten to really know him on a personal level before now. In fact, you can't progress his Social Link until completing this Palace, its that important.
The search for Medjed/Futaba reveals so much. Not only do we learn about Futaba herself and her connection to Sojiro, but also her mother Wakaba and her connection to cognitive pscience/the Metaverse. This is a point of no-return. This Palace effectively works as the middle point of the vanilla game, drawing a line between two eras of the Phantom Thieves: vigilantes vs world-changers. Futaba's Palace breaks the mold in a few ways. The first is that the person to whom it belongs is the person we're trying to save and eventually recruit. Like Persona 4's party members, Futaba must reckon with her Shadow self. Another is that this person isn't evil; instead of their Palace being born from malice, its born from grief. Our understanding of the Cognitive world is being cracked wide open.
Futaba herself is a fascinating obstacle in the Thieves' justice. She's asking for a Change of Heart, but given the game's themes of agency and self-determination, the story have to motivate her to actually work to make those changes. The Change of Heart that we inflict upon her returns to a metaphorical one. Yes, the destruction of her Palace allows her to reckon with her own grief, but Futaba's true growth comes as a result of becoming a Thief and learning to change on her own accord.
Onto the level design: I'm conflicted. I suppose this is going for a Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones style fantasy, but instead of a swashbuckling tone, its swap it our for melancholy. In repeat playthroughs, I always forget about the beginning section in the desert town outside the pyramid, even though its one of the more distinct environments in the game. Its rare you get to explore a bona fide outdoor section. Inside the pyramid, while I like the fusion of ancient Egyptian and sci-fi aesthetics, most rooms are quite samey. The previous Palaces, despite being confined to a single indoor location, found ways to spice things up, so I don't see why it couldn't be done here. The initial indoor area, after the gang has fallen down the trap door, is one of its most interesting because of its verticality, but other than the big room with the big balls, not many rooms stick out to my memory. Additionally, the puzzles in this Palace were ones I found more annoying than anything else.
Pit stop to talk about the music: "When mother was there" is a top tier Palace theme. Where "A Woman" conveys the warmth of a mother's embrace, this track conveys the coldness of her absence. The high synths capture the science fiction part of Futaba's character while the earthy bass and drums capture the ancient vibe of the pyramid. Its one of my favorite tracks of the game, and has accompanied me on many an independent reading time.
The only gameplay innovation here is the gallows in the Velvet room, allowing you to sacrifice one Persona to level up another. By now, you should have made some decent progress in your Social Links and might have Kasumi's chaines hook ability to grapple Shadows from behind, or Ryuji's Insta-kill, both of which are game-breaking. At worst, this Palace is bit boring, but you might have the tools to make quick work of it.
Shadow Wakaba was tough for me on a first playthrough, but Futaba's assists from her Persona clue you in to what the rest of the game is going to look like. A carefully timed physical reflect can cut down Wakaba's health pretty fast. By now, your team comp is most likely incorporating Makoto. I usually take her, Ryuji, and Yusuke for their respective buffs, but I use Makoto for healing and sometimes magic damage while using Joker to plug the gaps.
After the Palace is over, the gang has some time to bond. The beach trip sees them perhaps at their most whole. Futaba's inclusion rounds them out but further emphasizes Morgana's diminishing role. Futaba integrates into the group pretty easily after this, despite being a little gremlin most of the time. Her connection with Yusuke is sweet, as they both are characterized by the loss of their mothers. Their victory over Medjed emboldens Ryuji to become even more glory hungry, setting up the next arc.
Okumura’s Palace
This is probably the game's most controversial Palace. The story here makes sense, (to a point), but isn't bulletproof. Many videos online will dissect why it doesn't really work, but to put things quickly: slow pace, lack of player agency, some inconsistent lore, and poor characterization. Morgana and Ryuji's rivalry is well-established, and it blowing up to seriously cause problems make sense, but the way its executed here only causes problems for the player. In vanilla, the amount of nights that the player would miss out on because Morgana was missing was absurd. If I recall correctly, this is slightly remedied in Royal, but still a huge pace breaker.
This focus on the Ryuji/Morgana conflict is a disservice to the character that is supposed to be introduced here, Haru. Haru's arrival is simply ill-timed. She's a character that I love, but truthfully, the least relevant cast member going forward. Since Okumura is a step stone to Shido, this particular link in the chain is important, but her role afterwards isn't crucial. I only bring this up because in the base game, we're nearing the end. She's a fan favorite for sure, but a late-stage addition that never got the development she needed. Her Social Link makes up for this, but its just not enough, and the amount of similarities she shares with P3's Mitsuru doesn't help. Unfortunately, a first-time player isn't likely to finish her Link before the end of the game.
Haru's Persona only "half Awakening" is a cop out. The plot needs Haru to already appear as "Beauty Thief" with her own outfit when she resurfaces with Morgana, but for proper characterization and consistency purposes, we need to see her Awakening ourselves. As a character, I like Haru a lot, and when compared to Mitsuru, I find her to be the better executed character, but because of her half-baked nature, she relies on tropes instead of becoming a fully developed individual. The "cuddly but deadly" shtick is overdone, and with some borrowed class from Mitsuru, she doesn't quite stand shoulder to shoulder with the others in my opinion.
On a positive note, I appreciate what they're doing with her aesthetically. This Palace's retro-future look is supposed to tell us that her father is obsessed with the past in an ugly, self-destructive way, but Haru's musketeer outfit evokes a kind of dignity found in antiquity, showing how returning to the past doesn't have to be mired in toxic nostalgia. This connects to Morgana's struggle. He was important in the early game, where things were easier and simpler. This theme extends to Haru struggle of an arranged marriage, an archaic principle by most modern standards. Haru needs to break through harmful traditions and forge her own path forward with the Thieves. She takes this attitude in her Social Link, but scaling back the company's efforts and emphasizing on smaller, local, and sustainable food production.
Weakly characterized with hardly any screentime, Kunikazu is by far the worst Palace Ruler. As a pawn of Shido, he has to be meek, but despite his treatment of his daughter, he doesn't inspire 1% of the hate Kamoshida or Madarame do. Hell, even Kaneshiro makes more of impression by straight up kidnapping Makoto and threatening to sell her into sex slavery. The same threat is what Haru is effectively living through, but since her father is such a wafer thin antagonist, its hard to think we'd ever actually be defeated by him. Haru's would-be husband is a more contemptible antagonist.
Oh, and the level design. Unfortunately, I won't be much more positive here. This 60's outer space look makes this the ugliest Palace outside of Mementos, which has a beauty of its own kind. Grey on grey with splashes color here and there pale in comparison to even Kaneshiro's bank. I don't want to blow this negative critique out of proportion, because its not as if this Palace can't be looked upon, but its a serious downgrade compared to every other Palace. Mechanically, I hated fighting the color coded robots and hated even more to run around talking to them. There's at least some interesting traversal puzzles, and the environment changes to reflect the different parts of the factory. Otherwise, this spaceship fails to really take off.
Somehow, Royal made Shadow Okumura's boss fight even worse. To pass the damage threshold, its actually better to turn the difficulty up to Merciless. I know its passé to complain so much about this Palace, but its truly the worst in the game. It has bright spots, like Haru, but otherwise, its bit of a flop. Okumura is killed by the Black Mask character, tying into the fact that we saw Akechi go into the Palace alongside the Thieves earlier. Looking back, its an obvious twist, the "pancakes" of it all aside. Before the deadline, you have an encounter with Kasumi at what is later known to Maruki's Palace. You see her Awakening and she knows you're the leader of the Phantom Thieves, but she refuses to join you. Chekhov's Kasumi.
My last comment will be about "Sweatshop," the Palace theme. I want to dunk on it, I really do, but I gotta say, its gets groovy around that 50 second mark. Its the last Palace theme I'd ever seek out, but I can't call it a plain dud. Its gets memed a lot because it does sound kinda funny, but as an electronic music fan, I can dig it.
On the deadline day, we find out that Haru's father is dead, which sends the group in a frenzy and put a damper on their public image. Trip to Destinyland ruined. The Culture Festival isn't just a way for the gang to get their heads right, its a way for all of the characters to converge in one place. Akechi's arrival puts pressure on the gang even before he finds them out. What's even crazier on a replay is knowing that even at this early stage, the Thieves were working on his double cross. The scene where Akechi catches you is genuinely exhilarating. You've been in far more dangerous position, but Akechi simply makes it feel like its terminal. I love how an antagonistic force muscles his way onto the team and now the others, and the player, just has to deal.
Sae's Palace
Its hard to argue with people who say this is the best Palace. I already explained why I like the build up so much, but having Akechi on the team is truly surreal. The entire game, he's been set up as a rival to you, and his presence on the team truly makes him 3-dimensional. We see an efficient, brutal side to him that, for now, is still wrapped up behind the careful guise of his toy soldier outfit. Frankly, I love his stupid ass costume. When the gang makes fun of his, they don't know that he's really making fun of them. Knowing what his real costume looks like, its clear that he's using a fake disguise to show the Phantom Thieves that to him, they're children playing dress up. Of course, its not all sarcastic. Because of his backstory, we know that the toy ray guns and laser swords he uses are remnants of his shattered childhood. He's a young man trying to reconcile with that broken child inside him. Akechi is a bit of a meme now, but I don't let that stop me from appreciating the well-crafted character he obviously is.
After unlocking this Palace, you also have a limited window of ranking up Akechi's Social Link. These are some of the most memorable in the game, as it takes their rivalry from typical anime shenanigans to peak hater performance. Having to fight one of your Confidants isn't what typically happens. Its especially funny if you trounce Akechi with your juiced Personas. Its in these sequences that we see the real Akechi come out.
Sae as the Palace Ruler is so fascinating. Throughout the game, we've known her individually, seen the pressures of her job, but also viewed her as scene partners for Akechi and Makoto. In those sequences, we know that she's ruthless at her job and at home, and despite having respect for Akechi and love from Makoto, she's drifting away from them both. She hasn't yet crossed the point of no return, but is very close to doing so if she takes her investigation any further, risking the alienation of her sister, her last remaining family member, forever. Sae has what Okumura lacks: a genuine challenge to the Thieves' justice. Can the Thieves intervene before an adult becomes a monster?
Interestingly, Sae counts herself as one of the adults that need to take over for the Phantom Thieves after their work is done, but I see her as one of the children that the system failed as well. Like with Zenkichi in Strikers, the narrative opens up to include adults as victims of the system, as victims of other adults. I find this compassion to be inspiring, as it would be easy to close the door on all adults, but knowing Sae's backstory, that's far too harsh a judgement on her.
As an actual level, the Casino of Envy is simply awesome. Every time I replay, I notice how long it is. Of course, there is a required stop to mess with Sae in the real world, but the casino is huge, sprawling, and I enjoy exploring every inch of it every time. Where Okumura's spaceship drags on, you never want Sae's to end. "Whims of Fate" is part of the reason. Its hard not to say its the best Palace theme. Its everything great about Persona 5's soundtrack just in one song. Groovy and stylish with vocals by Lyn, its stands next to "Last Surprise" in terms of quality and immediate charm.
The look of the casino taps into Sae's psyche by having these vibrant, beautiful gambling floors contrasting with the drab, grey backrooms that are more akin to the actual building that the cognitive casino is transforming. Additionally, the metaphor of Sae treating justice like a game is hardly subtext. She just straight up says it. Sae, for all her talk of justice, is just a pawn of the system. If the system is a casino, then the house always wins, so where the real justice? She gets at the self-serving nature of what standing for "justice" can devolve into by seeing it as a way to climb higher for yourself, regardless if that desire is born from protecting your loved ones. The team's obstacles being in the form of cards, points, and unnecessary fetch quests are allegories for bureaucracy getting in the way of justice, and the Thieves cleverly circumventing them or just straight up cheating is advocacy for changing the system instead of attempting to work within a broken one.
At this stage, you're likely going toe to toe with heavy duty Shadows in the wild but also beginning to craft your own heavy hitters. You probably have some ultimate Personas on your party members by now as well. You've also unlocked itemization, so you probably have some good weapons on you, too. On normal difficulty, Sae's Palace will give you some guff, but nothing can't be surmounted with some good old fashioned grinding. That, and making busted Personas.
Shadow Sae is a neat fight. Her roulette table adds an element of the unexpected to the fight, and she can really lay the smackdown if you aren't ready. A standard team formation helps, but I like bringing Akechi simply because you only have one opportunity to do so. Sae's Leviathan form, a rusted, machine like monster of twisted metal, is doing a lot at once. Firstly, it mirrors Makoto's own leather biker aesthetic, but also showing what Sae might become: a machine beneath the guise of a person. The fight has one of the better gimmicks in sending a sniper to make the ball go into the pocket you want it to. I like when the fight forces you to do something with your party members, the best of these probably being Kamoshida's.
The destruction of the Palace coincides with the police rushing in, looping back around to the very beginning of the game. Its surreal playing through the intro again now with context and real motivation. The surprise meeting with Kasumi also hits much better. I'll be honest, I'm still not entirely clear on the twist, but I at least have it down that the Phantom Thieves were suspicious of Akechi as early as the "pancakes" incident, but confirmed to be so when Akechi made his move and temporarily joined the team. At that point,Morgana susses him out and begins formulating a plan to fake Joker's death to Akechi using Sae's Palace as it doubles as the interrogation building. Sae unwittingly plays her part in this, but uses her powers as an attorney to get Joker out of jail after the smoke clears. Knowing the broad strokes is much more important than the details here. What I like most about this is that the players are actually put into Akechi's POV, as we know about as much as he does about this plan because its hidden from us, too. Getting hoodwinked never felt so good.
The twist keeps you on the hook because the entire time, you're led to believe that the team goes about their day and are left in sadness as the death of their leader is broadcasted on the new , but Ryuji's sly smile and "Got 'im," proves that there was so much more at work that we could have ever known.
To touch base with Sae, its a little confusing what happens to her Palace, but its safe to assume that she undergoes a natural change of heart after this experience. She's brought into the fold and organically changes as a result of exposure to the Phantom Thieves, allowing her to begin repairing her relationship with Makoto and provide her abilities to the team. Overall, this is one of the best stretches of the game in terms of gameplay, story, and the two halves of the game synthesizing to create something magical.
Shido’s Palance
We're getting a little long here, so I'll speed things up: Shido's Palace is just okay. As an antagonist, I find Shido to be very blah. This bald bastard isn't very compelling, and as Joker's "nemesis," fails to deliver. The build up to this isn't the worst, however, although I felt that the nation being swept up by him, regardless of any cognitive shenanigans, to be far too fast. Of course, the seeds for this were planted during the Okumura arc, but that's also the worst part of the game, so that's not great. Shido imagining himself as the captain of a ship mirroring his political aspirations isn't the most subtle or original take, but it works. Shido isn't the more subtle or original character, either.
In the realm of level design, I think the Cruise Ship of Pride isn't beating my favorites, like Sae's or Kaneshiro's, but holds its own. Turning into mice and having to actually think about navigating some of the ships corridors was an interesting change of pace. The actual rooms and spaces within the ship are varied in terms of verticality, size, and decor, always showing you something interesting and new. As it goes on, it shows how Shido has his hands in other plots throughout the game. Actually interacting with cognitive NPCs was another interesting way to vary the gameplay for what feels like the penultimate, if not last, Palace for first time players.
The focus on class as a topic in this Palace is interesting, as its opens the thematic framework to not only discuss adults preying on children, but the wealthy preying upon the poor. On more than one occasion, you must pretend to be rich or prove your class some other way to gain entry to a part of the map or to get information from an NPC. Comparing Madarame's Palace to Shido's in an interesting exercise since they both comment on class. Both use gold and gaudy aesthetics to hammer home with deadly sin the Ruler represents. What makes Madarame's hit for me most is the presence of Yusuke, a chief victim through which we can interpret the abuser. In Shido's case, Joker explicitly has cause to hate Shido, but so does Futaba and Haru, so this cause is spread amongst them in diminishing portions. Akechi is Shido's chief victim, but its tragic that he's not here with us to bring him to justice. This could work if it were executed better. My real issue comes in the fact of trying to blame one man, (or deity) for all the world's problems, but we'll get to that later.
Shadow Shido, despite all the shit I just talked about his Palace, is one of my favorite fights in the game. It hits the sweet spot in terms of difficulty and skill level necessary to take him. For a first-timer, is most likely a slaughter. He's got 5 phases, each of which are tanky in the health department and do savage damage. I remember holding on for dear life during my first time fighting him and having to lock in like I've never locked in before. Its turn-based combat at its finest; tense, and requiring forethought and planning, but euphoric when you cinch the victory. Watching Shido change forms, literally riding on a lion comprised the masses, or weaponizing them into a tank to fire on you, ascends past the need for subtlety because its so goddamn cool. Finally, him become a beefed up muscle man, devolving into simply pummeling you, shows you that in the end, he's just a bully throwing his weight around. A brute pretending to be a politician.
Oh, and "Rivers In The Desert" is a banger until the end of time, especially compared to the Palance theme, "Ark," which is probably the most forgettable in the game.
No discussion of this Palace is complete without Akechi. In his Black Mask outfit, he ironically goes mask off. I never really liked how Akechi's motivations were boiled down to mommy issues, or daddy issues, from a certain point of view. At this point, we know that he was working for Shido, but knowing that was a means to the end of killing him, doesn't really reshape how I feel about his action up until this point, only making making me bad for him generally. I love him, I do, but he literally orphaned two of your friends. The fight against him is satisfying, and made better as it echos Akechi's social link.
By the end, I just feel bad for the guy. He's unraveling in a way that betrays a underlying mental illness and crippling emotional baggage. The reveal of him being a wildcard like Joker but lacking the ability to hold multiple true personas because he never forged bonds also casts him in a more sympathetic light. Robbie Daymond is going crazy here, putting in an all-timer voice performance. Despite everything that he's done, is this that makes me think Akechi isn't beyond saving. After all, he's still young, and adults have ruined his life as well. His death at the hands of NPC Akechi is genuinely sad after learning his backstory. Even after the fight, the Phantom Thieves want to save him, and I think that's beautiful.
Mementos Depths
I hope you liked Mementos, because here's more of it. Royal makes Mementos a more bearable journey, but still crazy that this is how vanilla ended. The Depths aren't a bad Palace, just underwhelming. It goes full fire and brimstone apocalypse mode at the finish line, which, while entertaining for how wild it is, never quite worked for me. The parts that actually take place in Mementos are strangely beautiful. The red, neon spider-web design across the glassy platforms is pleasing to the eye and "Freedom and peace" is a criminally slept on Palace theme. Its ominous yet melancholic, a strange yet appropriate fit for the eldritch heart of Mementos.
Along the way, we see the previous Palace Rulers imprisoned here, implying that the will of Yaldaboath has found them, too. This whole "people only want to be told what to do" narrative is overdone, but since it aligns with what the game is trying to say, I forgive it here.
Mechanically, the floor light puzzles are simple, but far from the most offensive puzzles in this game. The environments are samey, but establishing a visual cohesion between this and the Mementos we're used to was well worth it for me. The Holy Grail fight isn't much to write home about, but its a prelude to fighting Yalaboath proper. Being set to "Rivers In The Desert" is a little more than it deserves, let's be honest.
I could be wrong, but I think this is when the Igor twist happens. Even as a first time Persona player, I knew something was wrong with Igor. The voice simply didn't match his long-nosed demeanor.
This is when we learn that Igor's been body-snatched, and Lavenza was bisected into Caroline an Justice. With Lavenza on our side, we're about to get our friends back. In a slow-paced, kinda clunky sequence, Joker has to talk all of his buddies into joining the fight again. All of the dialogue is good, if a little ham-fisted, but it gets the job done. Its one of my least favorite parts of the entire game, not because its particularly offensive, but because its such a pace breaker. Its the finale of the game, just let me get this done.
The last leg of the Palace before the big fight is the flesh and bone tower. Its a gauntlet of powerful enemies until Yaldaboath himself. Its definitely a challenge, which I appreciated, but at that point, I wanted things to be over. The fight against Yaldaboath starts with fighting the Grail again, but this time, you get to send out one of your party members to cut off its life support. Otherwise, its just the Grail again. Yaldaboath himself is the real fight. No matter what Personas you have, this fight is a marathon. What makes it frustrating is the sheer amount of status effects and other chicanery that's going to happen to you, but also the sheer amount of health he has. Its a slog. For a "final" boss, its underwhelming not because its not a challenge, but because its not entertaining. It might produce some hair-raising moments, but not because your emotionally invested like any of the previous Palace Rulers—even Shido had me going there—but because of pure numerical values.
Yaldaboath as an antagonist also fails to inspire. I cannot overstate how much I hate that this is game falls into the tired formula of "killing God at the end of a JRPG." I know that's what Persona games do, but it doesn't even make sense here. The game's Palaces were at their best when they had a strong tie to their hateable Ruler, but Yaldaboath has exactly no character, charisma, or anything remotely interesting going on at all. This stretch of the game is largely unremarkable to me because it either indulges in Jungian jargon or seeks to undermine earlier plot points by ascribing Yaldaboath to them. I understand that the game's themes are about agency and self-dertimination, so killing the God of Control is the obvious way to square that circle, but its also the least interesting one, too. This game, more than the others, was a story about human choices and human conflicts, so ending it with a fight against a cold, robotic God was the wrong move.
Shooting him the head with a big fucking bullet felt really good, though.
Maruki’s Palace
Yeah, he's got the juice.
I haven't really talked about Maruki because I was saving it for this section. After the destruction of Yaldaboath, we can see Maruki's reality take hold because Akechi is alive and agrees to take the fall for crimes the Phantom Thieves stand accused of. When the game skips ahead to the new year, we're past the point of no return; the entire world (presumably) is under Maruki's control. Maruki presents a classic moral dilemma: your heart's desire, for the price of your freedom. A devil's bargain. It's engaging, and will be until the end of time. What's most engaging is the man himself.
Throughout the game, you know him as a meek school councillor who has some questionable attitudes towards conflict resolution. He's kind of a loser, and at the beginning, we might judge him for that, but after his Social Link, we know that like the Phantom Thieves, and the other adults we know, he was dealt a bad hand. Even more like us, he's using his Persona to change the world to avenge those wrongs. Maruki is the most interesting Palace Ruler not because we hate him like Kamoshida or want to save him like Sae, but because he's giving us what we want, whether we like it or not. Whose to say we wouldn't to the same thing in his position? The game never wants us to believe that Maruki is evil, only that his good intention has paved his way into hell.
Billy Kametz (RIP) brought this character to life with a voice so perfect is hard to imagine anyone else could have done it. The performance always makes Maruki soft, but when he gets agitated, or frustrated by the world, his strength comes out, and an edge to his voice rises to match it.
This arc begins on the first day of the new year, and the section before the start of the Palace proper is just electric. I love when characters a thrust into situations like this and have to figure out what exactly is wrong. And Akechi, confirmed murderer and overall dickhead, being your partner in crime is the icing on the cake. Akechi—the real Akechi—brings a refreshing edge to the group dynamic. Now that everyone knows who he is, he sees no reason to hide his thoughts. Any of them. Teaming up with him in this new reality is just...well, its cool, okay? Not sure how else to say it.
The brief period where its just Joker, Akechi, and Kasumi is great just for the novelty of seeing these three bounce off one another. The pacing is a bit off, since this part will having you wasting days at a time talking to one of your teammates a day, waking them up from Maruki's dream, and heading into the Palace at least once before the actual operation start date. Nevertheless, the piecemeal nature of this part actually reminds of the first Palace. We're getting a lot of new information here, so that makes sense. Maruki himself has changed a lot since last we saw him. Gone is the meek councillor with the bad posture and frizzy hair, and here is the master of the world, standing straight in a slick white suit. He's projecting power because he knows that the Thieves threaten him. Akechi being here to see through all of the good will Maruki has built with Joker was a genius move. Akechi, someone who's alive because of Maruki, still wanting dominion over his own life speaks volumes about what the game is trying to say.
Maruki's Palace is by far the biggest. It has multiple, distinct sections, large rooms, and a variety of puzzles, but crucially, it makes you do another block of Mementos. One of my favorite parts about this one is that you're rewarded by completing sections of it with lore dumps about Maruki, each and every one of them deepening your understanding of him. Aesthetically, this Palace is one of my favorites. I love how its horror inspired in its soundtrack with "Gentle Madman" and "Out Of Kindness" sounding beautiful yet ominous. The tower coming out of the Palace having these oscillating eyes that resemble microscopes convey the silent, watchful terror of Maruki's world. The shadows you fight here are also Lovecraft creatures, monsters derived specifically from cosmic horror literature. Monsters that are not unlike Gods, or is the other way around?
As you get further into Palace, more organic elements begin to appear. Sure, large tubing and wiring acted as veins, and the aforementioned eyes, but the Garden of Eden symbolism is hardly even metaphorical by the time you reach the top of the tower. The only section I'd ever complain about is the light bridge sections, since they can be frustrating. Otherwise, Maruki's Laboratory of Sorrow is a slam dunk.
The final fight isn't the special until the vey end. Fighting Azathoth for the first two rounds is a matter of checking weaknesses and resistances, nothing new. Your team comp matters here because Maruki will have unique dialogue with whoever you bring. ("Keep Your Faith" is a great boss track, by the way.) You think you've won, then Maruki whips out Adam Kadmon, a kaiju-sized Persona bigger than any we've seen before. What annoys me here is that the Phantom Thieves win against Maruki by doing the same thing they always do. Its just kinda tacky when a game like this pulls the "power of friendship" card during its most interesting, morally frought conflicts. The actual final fight is just fists. Its a little silly, but I enjoy how its no bullshit. No masks, no Personas, only rage. Billy Kametz absolutely kills this scene. "Help me kill every last one of my regrets" is etched on the back of my brain. Persona 5 Royal ends on the highest of notes. It has the confidence to flip the script in the home stretch and nail it.
As for the ending itself, yeah, its a little sad that the Thieves all go their separate ways, but that's to be expected of Persona games. Some characters get a nice ending, like Haru going to college or Futaba finally attending school in person, but Makoto becoming a cop is just...I don't really have a single word for it other than disappointment. Since both Sae and her father were in law enforcement, it makes sense for her to have some positive connection to it, but after the events of the game and what she's learned happened to her friends, she shouldn't believe that the system can be improved.
The real ending, with Joker going back home, driven by Maruki, is sweet. I quite like their relationship. Maruki, despite his intentions, still made his adult problems the burden of children, and I like to think this is his way of making it up to Joker in particular, who made him see the light. The ending also implies that Akechi is alive...again...somehow. Considering no Persona 5 spin-off has picked this up, I'm not holding my breath, not unless Persona 6 does something with him. After everything our boy Joker has been through, I do hope that his boyfriend is alive after all.
This is all for part 1. I didn't intend on splitting this up, but it became way bigger than I intended. Like I said, this is a big, big game, and I don't want to forget to talk about anything. In part 2, I'll be talking about everything else. I'll touch on story again, I'm sure, but I'll mostly be discussing the gameplay, particularly the life-sim stuff, the Social Links, Personas, the Velvet Room, as well as UI and music. See you...sometime!
