Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

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Ys: The Oath in Felghana
Platform: PSP (via PSVita)
Completion Status: Beat game with all upgrades, armor, and weapons collected in roughly 14 hours

Ys: The Oath in Felghana was originally released on the PC in 2005 before being ported to Sony's PSP in 2010, and later localized on both platforms in North America. This is another remake, this time of the third game in the series, first released in Japan in 1989 for the PC-88 and PC-98 as Ys III: Wanderers from Ys. Despite being the third game in the series, this is actually set after Ys IV, for some reason. With that said, you miss out on nothing if you play most of these games out of order. In Oath, intrepid adventurer Adol Christin and his faithful sidekick Dogi visit the latter's hometown of Redmont in the region of Felghana after encountering a caravan of gypsies who warn of a strange darkness emanating from the land. They become entangled in an elaborate mystery: monsters have mysteriously begun appearing in the region, making daily life in Redmont increasingly dangerous; a despotic nobleman, Count McGuire, has been levying heavy taxes on the citizens of Redmont and closed the local mine they rely on for employment in his search for a set of mysterious statues; and Chester Stoddart, twin brother to Elena Stoddart and, like his sister, a childhood friend of Dogi's, disappears from the town and resurfaces as one of Count McGuire's knights months later, seemingly changed and hostile to his former friends. This being an Ys game, these circumstances of course converge into a larger supernatural plot with world-ending stakes (considering these games all take place a few years after each-other, it's a bit alarming how often some demon, sorcerer, or God is on the cusp of rending the planet asunder; the World of Ys is screwed if Adol ever dies or decides to retire), although the focus on an intimate village setting and Dogi's relationship with his childhood friends makes the story feel a little more intimate than it did in Ys I & II.

The original Wanderers from Ys shifted from the overhead view and bump combat system in the first two Ys games (where you literally collide with enemies at an angle in order to damage them instead of pressing a button to attack) to a side-scrolling adventure that was inspired by Nintendo's Zelda II, which similarly opted for side-scrolling level navigation. This change fundamentally altered the feel of the gameplay, though, and Wanderers from Ys was reportedly poorly balanced and brutally difficult. The Oath in Felghana, thankfully, doesn't opt to stick with that system. The gameplay and level design were COMPLETELY remade to go for the isometric look, similar to the first two games. In this sense, as a remake, Oath in Felghana represents a much larger project, as Falcom effectively created a new game from scratch while maintaining the broad plot outlines of the original Wanderers from Ys.

Combat has changed to a refined version of the combat first introduced in Ys VI on the PS2, and the difference is pretty revelatory when it comes to the moment-to-moment experience of it. The combat in Oath is responsive, fluid action gameplay, and, frankly, it's a blast having Adol run around jumping and slashing at enemies. The controls are incredibly basic, with more advanced movements made dependent on timing. For example, Adol has the ability to both swipe upward with his sword and to thrust his blade downward when he's recovering from a jump. Instead of locking these movements behind combinations of inputs, their activation instead depends on when the player presses the attack button. Pressing the attack button when Adol is still flying into the air will activate the upward swipe, and attacking when Adol is at the apex of his jump will activate the downward strike. Admittedly, the timing does take a bit of practice, but it all feels fairly intuitive in practice.

Like in Ys II, Adol also has access to special magic attacks, which he can either use quickly in succession, or charge up to do more damage. These are unlocked over the course of the game by finding special bracelets. Magic attacks will drain a meter that restores itself automatically, but charging larger attacks doesn't expend extra energy, so the player is incentivized to use magic carefully instead of mindlessly spamming attacks. Oath does a MUCH better job of balancing magic and physical combat than in Ys II, where it felt like the bump combat was largely brushed aside in favor of magic, especially when it came to the boss battles.

The player is encouraged to play more aggressively as well (as if charging Adol headfirst into monsters like a cocaine-addled bumper car while the old video game equivalent of thrash metal played in the background wasn't already inherently pretty aggressive), as there is a mulitiplier system in this game. If Adol is able to attack and kill enemies quickly enough, he'll gain boosts to attack, defense, and experience points earned, and, of course, to keep the multiplier going, he needs to feed on blood as soon as possible. The behavioral incentive works well, and I found that I rarely stopped to take in the lay of the land before charging into battle if my multiplier from a previous area was still active. Adol has an energy that wouldn't be be alien to the Doom Slayer as the player has him charge through dungeons, wildly hacking and slashing at the unwitting and probably terrified population of monsters in his path.

The bosses were a bit hit-or-miss for me in this game, unfortunately. Despite the game's terrific combat system, only a small number of bosses actually force you to fight them with your full arsenal of moves. These encounters are wonderful, and are among the most challenging fights in the game. Too often, though, bosses will be more gimmicky and force the player to figure out how to even damage them, and then to repeat one or two repetitive tasks over and over again in order to win. The first 'real' boss in the game was particularly annoying, as she continually casts spells that covered the entire area. The player is supposed to jump over and over and over to avoid these attacks while shooting fireballs at her. Another, much later game boss is shielded all over and can only really be damaged by downward sword thrusts to his backside at particular moments. It's not that I don't appreciate the appeal of puzzle bosses, but I feel like they're not particularly well done here, and it conflicts with the lightning fast and aggressive pacing of the gameplay overall.

Moreso than in the first two Ys games, Oath feels distinctly Zelda or Metroid-esque in terms of how Adol is able to explore previously inaccessible environments using equipment and upgrades obtained from dungeons. One of his magic attacks, for example, causes him to whirl around violently with his sword, which is necessary to kill some enemies and great when the player is surrounded. But you also quickly discover that Adol can use this ability to briefly hover in the air when he jumps, allowing him to cross chasms that stymied his exploration before. Surprisingly, though, the amount of forced backtracking in this game is fairly limited, and if the player wants to avoid optional content and barrel through the core story, they can do so without much in the way of revisiting older environments. This isn't the optimal way to experience this game, though, as progressing directly from plot beat to plot beat will both render certain upgrades and optional items inaccessible, and will cause the player to miss out on time-sensitive side quests.

The backtracking can be a bit irritating in the first few hours of the game, as it gets annoying having to run back through entire dungeons AND the overworld to get back to Redmont in order to buy a new sword or talk to certain characters, but, thankfully, a key character gives you an item fairly early on that allows the player to fast travel between key locations at pretty much any time, totally eliminating half of the tedium associated with backtracking. It's just one of the variety of ways in which Oath skillfully incentivizes the player to thoroughly explore and revisit its small but dense environments.

I do wish the dungeons themselves were more memorable, but they're still massively improved from the confused labyrinths of Ys I. There still aren't dungeon maps, which is annoying, but they're more well-designed in general, with plenty of hidden areas to access but also a greater overall sense of logic to how everything is laid out. Mostly, anyway. Certain upgrades and areas in this game are only accessible to Adol if he falls down into holes in certain parts of the dungeon (environments are all extremely multilayered in this game, so falling through the floor will just land you into another layer of the dungeon), which is a bit ridiculous, as it's impossible to know that you'll need to fall through them beforehand. IN GENERAL, though, they're not nearly as baffling as environments in the first two games, which were often incredibly easy to get lost within.

Possibly the best aspect of Oath in Felghana overall is the pacing of it. Like many of the classic games of the 8 and 16-bit eras, Oath feels exactly as long as it needs to be. It slows down a bit for big story moments, but never for too long; dungeons don't seem to go on forever like they did in the first two Ys games; and, in any given play session, it's possible, and even likely, to make significant progress. While I wasn't enthralled with it from the word go, there was never a moment where I felt like the game was wasting my time. Additionally, the game is good about letting the player know what they need to do next to progress the plot, which means of minimum of running around looking for the stray bit of dialogue needed to activate the next stage of the story. It's a bit difficult to verbalize, but Oath is compulsively playable, and I could see it being a title I return to in the future if I want something simple and fun.

Like in the first two games, this simplicity broadly extends to how items and equipment are handled as well. There are multiple sets of armor and weapons you can buy throughout the game, but they're unambiguous upgrades on what came before, and, other than using chunks of Raval Ore you'll find through dungeons and gain as side-quests rewards to upgrade the efficacy of your gear (each piece of gear can be upgraded three times), there's no customization to be done. Additionally, there's only a small amount of consumable items in this game. Most of your inventory slots will be filled with gear that passively benefits you in some way, such as making it easier to gain gold and whatnot. You also have a handful of optional accessories that are, in my opinion, absolutely vital, such as a piece of clothing that allows you to stand still and regain health in dungeons (without that, you either have to warp back to a save point to heal or pray that you level up soon, which automatically restores your HP as well).

Funny story: throughout much of the game, I often felt like enemies were much faster than my character, and struggled with certain mid-to-late game bosses. At one point, I went online to look up footage of how other players were beating a certain boss, and noticed that their character was moving significantly more quickly than mine was. I couldn't figure it out, but after an embarrassingly long time, I discovered that a consumable item in my inventory that I'd ignored until then actually permanently gave Adol the ability to dash. I'd been playing through almost the entire game without being able to run! The description made me think it just gave Adol a temporary speed boost and, like with all RPGs, I tried not to use it for as long as possible. It seems like a janky way to permanently upgrade your character with a necessary speed boost, but I guess I should have read the description more closely.

Musically, the game lacks a lot of the atmospheric or symphonic tracks that made the OST in the first two games so memorable, but it really outdoes itself with the more hype/blood-pumping tracks. A trade-off, I suppose. I like the soundtrack a bit less in this game than I did in the Ys I & II collection, but it's still really, really good as far as this style of video game OST goes.

The overworld exploration music, for example:

Probably my favorite boss fight theme:

And, of course, as mentioned, some strong dungeon tracks:

The presentation is a bit of a mixed bag. The version I played was on PSP, so, of course, the low resolution looked a bit muddy on my PS Vita, thanks to the heavy presence of dark dungeon environments. I was also a bit disappointed to see that the detailed, gorgeous full screen character illustrations that appeared whenever you talked to an important NPC in the first two games was absent, sans the item shop screen, and replaced with more generic character portraits next to the dialogue boxes. The introductory video is also sort of bland compared to those games, and it's lacking in cutscenes until the very end of the game.

On the other hand, Oath is impressively almost fully voice-acted. Now, this isn't always... amazing voice acting. There was actually a character or two I was tempted to turn the volume down on whenever they'd start talking. But, in general, the voice acting helped liven up the presentation and bring many of these personalities to life. You get the impression that the actors had a LOT of fun recording their lines, and it really comes out in the game. I'll admit I laughed at a lot of it, though: particularly the narrator, who occasionally pipes up when our silent protagonist says something in-game, because he sounds like he should be narrating a nature documentary or something.

The localization is also strong, and the game is filled with well-written dialogue that rolls off the tongue. This all helps to humanize the cast of ordinary townsfolk you'll come to know over the course of the game (especially if you do side-quests and help them with their lives). Some of the characterizations could be better (there is, for example, a fat dude in town, and literally all of his dialogue relates to food somehow; I get the humor, yet, admittedly, it's a bit much), but, overall, a strong portrait is painted of the good folk of Redmont, and even the game's antagonists are fleshed out just enough that they are sometimes sympathetic (which leads to some strong tragic story beats in the final hours of the game).

Despite my slight misgivings about the presentation, I was really happy with the performance. Oath sticks to a rock-solid 30fps throughout, no matter how many enemies are on screen, which, IMO, was really necessary for this style of action gameplay to land. Loading times are surprisingly short as well. The PC version is the place to be if you want the best image quality and performance, of course, but I think this works really well as a portable experience, especially given the late game grinding I did before the final boss to gain enough money to have the best armor in the game crafted for me.

Once you're done with Oath in Felghana, there's a variety of post-game content to engage with. My favorite is a short (15 minutes or so) and beautifully illustrated storybook prologue that fleshes out the circumstances that led Adol and Dogi to Felghana in the first place. The game actually just sort of starts when they get to Redmont; the stuff about gypsies and whatnot is fleshed out in that post-game prologue. I kinda wish it had been integrated into the game, though. I guess Falcom didn't want to hit players with a ton of reading at the start, but it feels like it should have been in the game itself.

If you fancy playing through the game again, the game incentivizes engaging with it via higher unlockable difficulty settings, a time attack mode, and a boss rush mode. I didn't really mess around with this, because I prefer to beat a game and move on most of the time, but it's fair to say that this is possibly one of the most replayable games that Falcom has ever made.

Ys: The Oath in Felghana comes together remarkably well by the end. Its design flaws seem mostly insignificant given how much Falcom got right with this entry, which explains why its so highly regarded by Falcom's small but hardcore fanbase worldwide. While I do think there is room for the series to improve (Ys VIII remains my favorite game in the series so far, of the four I've played), and there was never a point where any aspect of it really blew me away, Oath is nearly the definition of a good, solid, satisfying game, and I'm excited to see how the series evolves over time. 8.5/10

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@RogerRoger Thanks!

Yeah, I reviewed Ys I & II (they're a connected duology and even shorter than Oath in Felghana, so I decided to review them together) a while back. My intention is to play and review all of the games in this series up to Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, which came out this year. Although I'll have to skip Ys V: it's the only game that has yet to see a remake, and I've heard it's the worst entry in the series anyway.

The interesting thing about playing these games in number order is that, since most of them have been remade over the years, some of the earlier games are more polished than later entries. For example, Oath in Felghana, which is a remake of Ys III, has more polished gameplay than Ys VI, which wasn't remade. Ys IV's remake, Memories of Celceta, elaborates upon a system first introduced in Ys VII. And even if you do that, you're not guaranteed chronological progression, since, as I pointed out, the altered continuity of the remakes means Ys IV takes place before Ys III.

It'd be a mess if these games were more closely connected, but since they're almost all disconnected adventures that only lighten reference each other, it doesn't really matter what order you play them in.

I think the intention was to force players to actually learn the combat system instead of just being able to wildly slash their way through the game's bosses, but it doesn't work well, IMO. The best bosses in this game force you to engage with the entire combat system by adjusting their tactics and making it dangerous for you to attack outside of certain windows of opportunity. That one boss that forced me to jump over and over was the worst, though. Most boring fight in the game.

Lemme know if you figure out what game you're thinking of.

I don't mind crude or somewhat offensive humor (within reason) if it's done well, but repetitive, one-note jokes drive me up a wall. It's why I didn't like Disgaea 3: the game had exactly one joke, and it grinds it into dust over just the first few hours of the game.

The best and worst thing about XSeed, the localization company that worked with Falcom's games until NIS swooped in and offered them a better deal by agreeing to port their games to Switch and the PC for free, is that they're accurate to a fault. They want to offer audiences experiences as close to the original as humanly possible, and only get less literal in their translations when it comes to localizing jokes or wordplay that just wouldn't make sense in English. I really do admire them, though: they've pushed back against censorship for years, and refuse to allow their own personal biases to alter a localization.

On the other hand, this can lead to worse English-language scripts. A good case study for this is the first Lunar game. A company called Working Designs localized the Sega CD and PS1 versions of the game, and they took a LOT of liberties with it, up to and including heavily altering the lyrics to the game's songs. But... these changes worked well.

Years later, XSeed localized Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, a PSP remaster of the first game, and translated the game much more faithfully. This led to a game that was much less funny, because the snarky scripts from the older iterations were largely thanks to the efforts of Working Designs' localizers, and the song lyrics didn't flow as well in English.

In general, I'm a proponent of XSeed's localization philosophy, but there are instances where it benefits a game to take some liberties with the script. Especially when it comes to humor.

Yeah, literally every Ys game to date has had fantastic music, it seems. Going back a long time, actually. I found a playlist for music from the PC-Engine version of Ys I & II back in the late 80s, and it's unbelievably good. It sounds generations ahead of its time.

Unsurprisingly, some of Falcom's talent has gone on to be quite successful outside of the company, like famous Japanese video game composer Yuzo Koshiro, who started working at Falcom as a teenager, and defined the 'sound' of Ys with his work on the first two games.

Here's a video with the entire OST of Oath in Felghana on it:

This should link to a playlist with the tracks separated:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFTGYa_evXiQUDpjYjUIB...

Thanks for reading!

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@RR529 Thanks. Yeah, these older Ys games would, to use the now overworn phrase, be perfect for the Switch.

I bought Origin when it went on sale for $10 or so on my Switch. Also bought it on PC. Never played either version. I think Origin will likely be my next stop in the series, especially given its gameplay similarities to Oath in Felghana.

@RogerRoger

I want to play the PC Engine version of Ys I & II one day. I'll get my chance if I ever snag that TurboGrafx-16 Mini console that released a while back, which includes those Ys games alongside a bunch of other games I've never heard of. Although, looking at how prices of the console have exploded, that seems unlikely to happen.

I've also heard good things about Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys. The history of Ys IV is actually really interesting, and I plan on tackling it a bit when I play the remake. Also a PC Engine game, actually. There wasn't an official translation of it, as far as I'm aware, but Falcom has the most dedicated fans, and, in this case, they translated the game and even created an english dub track to replace the Japanese vocals in the original version.

With that said, the remakes are excellent, readily available, and officially canonical, so I'll be sticking with those for the immediate future.

I actually had no idea there was a Naruto RPG. That's interesting!

Yeah, I've discussed those songs before. It's starting to sound like I'm fixated on them, I suppose. They're just such a great illustration of how "accurate" translations aren't always necessarily going to result in the best possible outcome.

In general, I'm not a fan of altering documents and media from other cultures to align more closely with our norms and values, though. The practice feels very culturally imperialistic, especially when the English localizations of games, movies, etc. often become more commonplavr than the originals they're based on. I'm not a cultural relativist, but I also think it's important to understand and tolerate different cultural traditions instead of overwriting their values with our own. If we're going to do that, then what's even the point of importing and/or localizing movies, books, games, etc. from overseas?

Moreover, as (an amateur) student of history, I recognize that censorship almost always turns out to be short-sighted and regrettable. No censor in their day feels like they're removing access to or are altering material that will one day be seen in a different light, but that's usually what happens. It also doesn't help that there's no common set of moral principles to work from, in this regard, and altering a localization along one's own moral faultlines is de facto imposing them on every person who pays money for the resulting commercial product.

But, look: I'm not denying the reality of big business. Sometimes changes need to be made when a product is going from one market to another, if only so that products don't violate existing laws in different regions, or to ensure that said products are able to be distributed as widely as possible. It's easy for me as a random person with no skin in the game to sit back and condemn any company that makes choices I disagree with when they're bringing over something potentially contentious, but they've invested time, money, talent, and have even staked their public reputation on the products they're bringing to market. It's a complex issue, and, frankly, I don't think it can be said that any one approach will be correct 100% of the time. But, in general, I think it's advisable in every sense for people to interrogate the necessity of their censorious impulses.

Ys I & II maintained a better 'balance' of track types, IMO, but yeah, the music still rocks.

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PERSONA 5 ROYAL

Platform: PS4 (2020)

Persona 5 released to rapturous reviews in 2017, and arguably marked the point where this once niche spin-off of Shin Megami Tensei crossed over into the mainstream. After years of earlier titles seeing enhanced rereleases, a new version of Persona 5 was expected, finally arriving in Europe and North America in 2020 as Persona 5 Royal. While there was consternation from some gamers that they would have to repurchase the whole game in order to enjoy Royal’s new epilogue, there are many new features, enhancements and story elements integrated throughout the game.

Persona 5 Royal oozes style from every pore. While the in-game graphics are actually pretty rudimentary, even by the PS3 standards of the original release, excellent aesthetics, colour usage, and other presentational decisions ensure that it looks fresh, vibrant and classy. This filters down to the menus and battle interface, and the game is interspersed with wonderful animé cutscenes. The acid-jazz infused soundtrack, led by Shoji Meguro, is excellent and cohesive, blending with the visuals and story. Vocals are supplied by Japanese songstress Lyn, who, in struggling with the high notes occasionally brings to mind a warring goose guarding a hippo in the latter stages of childbirth. Nevertheless, her tracks remain a highlight, which is testament to the incredible quality of the compositions. They’re that catchy.

Opening with a series of gorgeous animé cutscenes punctuated by light gameplay, our story begins with a heist in a bustling casino, slot machines whirring and buzzing in a busy plaza below. A shadowy thief is making his escape, darting across the upper rafters and backrooms while he communicates with the rest of his team. Unfortunately things seem to go horribly wrong, and the leader is soon arrested, before being dragged to a grim interrogation room where he’s beaten and forced to sign a confession. A mysterious prosecutor arrives, demanding answers. It’s here that much of the story is recounted, in media res, with the young man slowly relaying the events that led his arrest.

We play as Joker, a scruffy, near-mute lad with an uncanny aptitude for making everyone think he’s absolutely awesome. And he isn’t even wearing an enchanted jacket. After being wrongly accused of assault, Joker finds himself on probation for a year, and as a result is sent away from home and placed in the care of curmudgeonly Sojiro, who runs a small coffee shop called Leblanc in the fictitious Tokyo neighbourhood of Yongen-Jaya. He can’t quite bring himself to allow a miscreant youth to stay in his home, so forces Joker to live in the dilapidated attic above the coffee shop. Naturally, Sojiro softens over the course of the game because there are reasons for his grouchiness, and he goes from being one of the least likeable characters Persona 5 has to offer to a solid gold favourite.

Outside of dungeons Joker attends school

On their way to school one day, Joker and his new friend Ryuji unknowingly activate a strange smartphone app by bitching about a nasty teacher, causing them to stumble into a mysterious “other world” known as the metaverse. It looks identical to the real world, but for the large castle looming in the background. They’re quickly thrown into the castle’s grimy dungeon, before Joker dramatically awakens to the power of persona. I’m not sure I would listen to a scary voice in my head wishing to make a pact, but brave lad that he is, Joker does so anyway. This power only manifests for those who have accepted their weakness and possess a rebellious spirit, and it allows Joker and Ryuji to escape back to the real world.

It’s in the metaverse castle that Joker and Ryuji bump into talking anthropomorphic cat and natural mascot Morgana, who seems to know an awful lot about this mysterious world. While it seems odd that Joker would so blindly trust a giant talking cat he just met in a dungeon (although to be fair he did just trust a growly talking voice in his head), their goals seem to align, and so they band together to defeat the evil ruler of the castle. Joker and his new friends name themselves The Phantom Thieves, although you can call them whatever you please (I chose “The Mooks”), and together they resolve to seek out other injustices inflicted on the youth of Japan. As the game progresses, this crew expands as more outcasts join the fight and awaken to their persona powers. They’re generally a likeable bunch, although don’t quite have the same level of camaraderie as the party in Persona 4, and there are fewer opportunities for them to bond as a group outside of metaverse shenanigans. One of my favourite characters represents a sensitive portrayal of autism, abandoning the Rain Man stereotype that is unfortunately so common in visual media. There’s also a sensitive painter and perennial weirdo; a pretty girl who’s judged by her looks alone; and a high achiever who feels pressured to conform, alongside others. Their persona are based on a variety of gentleman thieves lifted from legends and fiction, such as Arsène Lupin, Robin Hood and Ishikawa Goemon, highlighting the themes of rebellion and fighting the powerful on behalf of the oppressed. Joker himself wields the power of the “wild card” and can switch between a number of different persona at will. While the teens want to slowly reform society by removing the corruption caused by adults, and have a genuine desire to help people, they are not above self-aggrandisement or a desire for fame. This is as much a motive, at least for the first half of the game, and underscores the childishness of the gang. It’s therefore interesting to see them mature as the story progresses.

Broadly set over the course of a Japanese school year, Persona 5 Royal follows the same basic formula initially established by Persona 3. Part RPG, part life-simulator, much of the story is presented in the style of a visual novel, with text boxes accompanied by spoken dialogue and rather attractively designed character portraits. As the year progresses Joker and gang visit a series of dungeons, each populated by dangerous enemies known as shadows. In a series’ first, all make use of bespoke designs that utilise fixed layouts, rather than the randomly generated corridors of its predecessors. This allows for more deliberate design and a careful use of visual motifs, as well as facilitating better flow and story integration. MegaTen’s dungeon crawling legacy is maintained in the sprawling “Mementos” dungeon that represents society’s collective consciousness, where each floor is randomly generated. Dungeons are referred to in-game as “Palaces”, and these are the manifestations of the distorted hearts and desires of their owners. They reflect the true self, and the dark, hidden feelings that the various antagonists wish to keep hidden from society. Collectively these palaces are based on the seven deadly sins.

Shadows and persona are modelled on an array of demons, mythological creatures and celestial beings, each lifted from various real-world religions and cultures. Most are not unique to Royal, having featured in many other Shin Megami Tensei games, although there are some new additions later in the game. One of the strangest is Mara: a literal giant penis riding a spiked chariot, that inflicts powerful psychic attacks and gunshots from its drooling mouth. In a feature lifted from Shin Megami Tensei, Joker can “fuse” persona in the mysterious Velvet Room, a place that exists between dream and reality, and whose sardonic inhabitants aid him in his quest. One excellent new feature is the “fusion alarm” that randomly appears after ambushing a certain number of enemies, and powers up persona fusion even more.

Royal’s story is a little unevenly paced: most of the first half is spent assembling the Phantom Thieves. Like a pensioner retrieving pennies from her purse at a supermarket checkout, much of the first half of the game plods along at a somewhat sedate rhythm. A wider conspiracy is hinted at, but otherwise the game is content to make the player work to get to the good stuff. Midway through the opera the brakes are finally ripped off and dramatically thrown in a furnace by a shrieking soprano. From here the story never really lets up, before eventually reaching its thrilling crescendo. This makes the game feel very bottom-heavy, as suddenly EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING AT ONCE. Despite this unevenness, the story is undoubtedly Persona 5 Royal’s strongest feature. Brought to life by brilliant voice-acting, the script is largely excellent, and its themes are interesting and incisive, working as commentary on many aspects of modern society. These broadly range from the problems with modern political discourse, to our reliance on modern technology and social media, to how politically apathetic users tend to coalesce round trends before quickly moving on to the next thing. The Velvet Room represents the panopticon, a circular prison where all inmates can be observed by a single guard, perhaps mirroring our own society and how we’re boxed in and surveilled. Modern, youth-driven movements such as the climate strikes may be a real-world touchstone, given how the Phantom Thieves are resolved to confront the power structures maintained by the older generations. Jungian psychology and the work of Friedrich Nietzsche underpin the broader philosophical themes of the game, particularly with notions of the collective consciousness, and the death of god and the übermensch archetype. Free will is perhaps the story’s central motif, and is weaved throughout the entire game, through to the third semester, new antagonist and true ending. There’s an occasional tendency for scenes to get bogged down in exposition, as though it’s explaining things to a room of pre-schoolers, but in the game’s wider context this is forgivable.

Joker assumes the role of an improvised therapist for the wayward souls he stumbles across and befriends throughout Tokyo. Because clearly a sixteen-year-old mute is best placed to deal with the myriad complex and adult problems these characters face. Most have been wronged by society in some way, tying into Royal’s wider themes. These bonds, now known as confidants - a classier version of the old social links - underpin much of the out-of-dungeon gameplay. Many confidants bestow useful abilities and perks on Joker that help the party as they explore the metaverse. These range from being able to buy certain healing items, to advantages in battle and shadow negotiation, to minor effects on palaces. One particularly raunchy and completely inappropriate confidant offers to massage a weary Joker after his metaverse visits, replenishing his stamina and allowing him to leave his café abode at night. Another is able to psychically improve Joker’s bonds with confidants, which means less time is wasted and he can progress through them more quickly. This wider gameplay utility renders confidants far more useful to the player than the social links of previous titles. As Joker maxes out confidants and completes certain side-quests, he’s eventually able to fuse some incredibly powerful persona in the Velvet Room.

Then there’s romancing, where Joker can pick up a girlfriend or dozen. Perhaps inspired by the antics of medieval sultans, he’s the head of a large, complex harem. Despite only communicating via a series of sporadic grunts and nods, and never brushing his hair, a raw animal magnetism entices and entraps every girl and woman he comes into contact with, causing them to fall helplessly and madly in love with him. Driven mad by his intoxicating pheromones, these beauties will then do everything in their power to aid Joker in his quest. If the player so chooses he can even romance each and every one of them. Being a total man-slut will not break confidant links, but his girlfriends do eventually suss out his antics and band together to beat him up. Sisterly solidarity and all. Although I only romanced one character, all maxed-out female confidants gifted Joker chocolate after Valentine’s Day regardless of their relationship status with him. Because he’s that awesome.

If Joker’s not careful his jilted lovers go a bit bunny boiler

The third semester is Royal’s headline addition, and includes an extra palace as well as a new area to explore in Mementos. There are also two brand new confidants, while a pre-existing one is massively expanded with a new story, eschewing the tepid, automatic progression of the original. The new confidants are introduced relatively early and are very well integrated into the body of the main game, while the third is transformed from one of my least favourite characters into someone who is genuinely complex and interesting, as well as better highlighting their mental health issues. Their bond with Joker is underpinned by some curious homoerotic sexual tension, although it is impossible to romance them. This confidant is further unique in that they don’t use Joker as some sort of Woman’s Weekly agony aunt, and are keen to repeatedly state the things they admire about him. All three confidants must reach certain milestones by specific dates in order to unlock the third semester and reach the true ending. This is unfortunately a little opaque, and so some players may inadvertently miss the true ending without guidance.

After defeating the big-bad the original ending is abandoned, and while everything seems rosy for Joker and the gang, things naturally don’t stay peaceful for long. As soon as the game passes the endpoint of the original story, a new menace rears its not-entirely unattractive head. This new foe is surprisingly complex, going beyond the simple megalomaniacal antics of the original antagonists. Driven by a strong, single-minded conviction and an unwavering belief that their actions are good and just, they don’t seem to be evil in the same vein as the game’s other villainous grotesques, but are nonetheless deeply warped. Of course, once the mask slips they show no hesitation in trying to kill a group of school kids. The new palace is the best in the game, with an interesting visual aesthetic and unique puzzles underpinned by a beautiful, yet sorrowful and almost discomforting musical theme.

The additional length improves the game in other ways, too. One party member joins the Phantom Thieves quite late in the original story, and so never really had time to form a proper bond with the player. Royal’s extra playtime enables them to feel like an integral part of the group. Joker can also spend time with the Velvet Room’s prison wardens, taking them to various locations throughout Tokyo so that they can learn about humanity. Invariably, this leads to some rather amusing scenes as they come to terms with the strangeness of the human world. There’s also time to complete any other unfinished confidants and sample small activities that may have been missed earlier in the game. Furthermore, in addition to new “hangout” areas where Joker can go on dates with friends, there’s a fully explorable area in Kichijoji, where a handy darts and billiards club allows the party to increase their powers. As expected, there are some new music tracks, including a battle theme that plays when the party ambush an enemy.

Royal’s minor changes, additions and nips and tucks are so well integrated into the game they feel like they were always there. There are many quality-of-life improvements, streamlining gameplay and making the adventure smoother, snappier and arguably less challenging. The localisation has also been improved, with a revised script that cleans up mistakes and allows certain sentences to flow better. The localisation is excellent in general, however, most Japanese surnames are pronounced a little strangely, apparently at the behest of Atlus itself.

Morgana tended to be a real nag in the original game, and would actively work to undermine, if not destroy the player, by refusing to allow them to leave the confines of Leblanc at night. I’m not too sure why Joker would acquiesce to the demented demands of a cat (reminder, Morgana is a domestic cat in the real world, not a tiger or mountain lion), but then to be fair, as anyone who has ever been backhanded by an open-clawed mog will attest, you don’t want to get on their wrong side. I once annoyed my family’s cat and was ignored for weeks. It hurt. Anyway, to somewhat mitigate the frustration from being forbidden to leave the café, the player can now partake in a number of new tasks inside Leblanc that further boost the social stats required to unlock certain confidants and activities. These range from being able to read books at the counter, to cleaning the bathroom. The latter will earn praise from Sojiro and boost Joker’s kindness, because nothing screams Mother Theresa like scrubbing the inside of a toilet bowl.

Battles utilise a modification of the “press turn” turn-based system introduced in Shin Megami Tensei III, where exploiting enemy weaknesses or landing critical hits allows characters to execute a second action. This provides Joker a massive advantage in battle, and as a result most skirmishes are over quite quickly. Of course, the reverse is also true, and shadows can quickly gain an advantage by exploiting the party’s own weaknesses. Once all enemies are downed Joker and his crew are then given the opportunity to either perform a powerful and frenzied “all out attack”, or talk to the shadows. Conversation then allows Joker to blackmail shadows for items or money, or invite them to join his cause. By answering a series of vague questions to the shadow’s liking, they will then join Joker’s own persona roster. In practice battles are considerably less demanding than those of earlier Shin Megami Tensei games, and the game makes it extremely easy to level up and become overpowered. Joker is further augmented by a series of new mechanics, such as randomly triggered cinematic attacks, and the ability to start battle with powered-up stats.

A typical battle screen

Party members can now “baton pass” in battle immediately, rather than requiring their confidants be levelled up first. This allows them to hand over to active party members in a chain after attacking an enemy weakness or scoring a critical hit. A new addition is “technical damage”, where certain attacks on ailment-afflicted enemies cause large amounts of damage and have a high probability of being a critical hit. The new grappling hook is useful for ambushing enemies from afar, ensuring the Phantom Thieves go first in battle. The bullets used for ranged gun attacks are now replenished after every battle, rather than having a single finite supply per dungeon visit. Another useful new feature are the collectibles housed in Mementos, referred to as “stamps”. These can be traded with a bizarre flower-eating little boy for bonuses that alter the cognition of the dungeon. This increases the amount of experience points, money or items earned from battles in Mementos, making it extremely easy to level up, particularly if whizzing around at full speed in the bus that Morgana handily transforms into, insta-killing everything in sight.

Weird flower kid

In all, Persona 5 Royal is an impressively enhanced version of one of the last generation’s best Japanese RPGs, with a wonderful epilogue and thoughtful additions that improve the game across the board. Everything gels and perfectly comes together: from the story, to the confidants, dungeons, and music and art-style. While an excellent experience for series’ fans and newcomers alike, the gargantuan length and uneven pacing arguably drags the experience down a little. But for those able to stick with it, it’s massively satisfying. This mammoth beast of a game is a must-play for anyone with even a passing interest in the genre. Like the enormous burgers sold in Shibuya’s Big Bang Burger, it’s rich, rewarding, and perhaps ever so slightly exhausting.

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@mookysam I'm coming to the end of Persona 5 Royal now. My biggest complaints about OG Persona 5 still stand, but the enhancements really do add up over time. The visual improvements don't feel like much until you start comparing it with the original release, but it actually looks quite a bit nicer in spots. Especially the brand new third semester content.

It's funny how the series has recently improved itself by becoming closer to mainline SMT mechanically (guns; actual dungeons; negotiations; etc.). If they could balance the battle mechanics a bit more, it'd be perfect, IMO.

Atlus' localizations all seem to get the English dub actors to mispronounce the Japanese names. Drove me nuts when I played SMT IV: Apocalypse and they kept pronouncing Asahi's name as "Uh-Saw-Hee."

You know, as a fan of Japanese media, it's easy to forget how weird some of these plots must be to people who aren't in that bubble at all. Really struck me when I read your recap of the beginning of the game.

Really great piece, and you touched on pretty much everything I would have touched on. Even down to the existentialist influences on the writing and plot. Good work!

Did you get the platinum trophy? I've almost completed all of the non-automatic trophies for Royal. I REALLY appreciate how much easier they made the plat to get after the nightmare that was platinuming the original game.

Thanks! I definitely was also a little underwhelmed when it was first revealed. 3D Land was a ton of fun (it's the reason I bought a 3DS in the first years of its release), and that was a massive step up for Mario game design, but 3D World just didn't... look... like a home console game, y'know? In some ways, I think it still isn't really all that fit for a pure TV-bound experience. As a hybrid experience, though? I loved it.

Just be prepared to not want to go back to the Wii U version ever again after you get used to the speed boost is this one.

Yeah, the bump combat was surprisingly inoffensive to me, but the combat in this one is just vastly better by any metric. As for the dungeons, they're a big reason why I probably won't replay Ys I & II much, despite thinking they were quite good overall. Narm Tower, as it exists in Ys I, is a bit of a nightmare in particular!

@RogerRoger Well, in my case, I loved Mass Effect and played through it 2 - 3 times, but I only played ME2 once and was so disappointed by it that I never even bothered with ME3! I want to play Andromeda one day, but probably not for reasons that the developers would appreciate.

So, for me, ME3 will be a brand new game.

I'm going to try and go into ME2 with an open mind, though. I think I'll probably be able to appreciate what it does well more these days. Especially since I've noticed more people speaking out in appreciation for the original now. My attitude toward ME2 soured even more when I saw how much people drooled over it and castigated the original game for daring to be an RPG. Kinda like how fan defensiveness of Super Mario 64 soured me on that game for years.