Persona 5 Royal was my most anticipated videogame for some time, so I decided to preorder the Ultimate Edition... was it worth? The story remains mostly the same, but it's been expanded with 2 additional characters, a new Palace and a third semester, which is undoubtedly the best story arc in the entire game by far! The gameplay is improved in almost every way! There are new mechanics like the grappling hook and the showtimes but there are also minor improvements over the baton pass and the guns, which made the combat system even more fun. Same with the characters; In Persona 5 Royal, not only there are 2 additional major characters, but there's also a proper confidant and more screentime for a vital character as well. The Palaces have received some changes; there are new areas to explore, new items to collect and some frustrating parts have been removed. The music is absolutely phenomenal; Shoji Meguro strikes again with a unique "Royal" touch this time! Lastly, there's new music and additions for Mementos, interesting changes to the boss battles, more free time & content, a ton of other QoL improvements and faster loading times. Unfortunately though, all these changes made the game much easier; even on harder difficulties, the game is still quite easy. Other than that... what more could I ask for?
Pros:
+ Expanded story
+ Refined gameplay
+ Additional characters
+ Major improvements
+ Minor tweaks
+ More content
Cons:
- Pacing issues
- Balancing issues
Narrative: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Content: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Music: 10/10
Art Style: 10/10
Final Rating: 10/10
Persona 5 Royal is Persona 5 at it's finest; by improving upon the original game in almost every way while adding stuff that I consider essential to be in the game, it's exactly how I wanted Persona 5 to be in the first place.
Persona 5 Royal is a dream come true for fans and newcomers alike; it's the perfect videogame experience.
Do I recommend it?:
If you've played Persona 5 before, yes!
If you haven't played Persona 5 before, then it's a must-play!