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The release date for Persona 5 Royal for Xbox, Switch, and PC is near. Here's everything you need to know about P5R.
Persona 5 Royal Release Date: October 21, 2022
“Don the mask and join the Phantom Thieves of Hearts as they stage grand heists, infiltrate the minds of the corrupt, and make them change their ways!
Forced to transfer to a high school in Tokyo, the protagonist has a strange dream. “You truly are a prisoner of fate. In the near future, ruin awaits you.” With the goal of “rehabilitation” looming overhead, he must save others from distorted desires by donning the mask of a Phantom Thief.”
Persona 5 Royal will be coming to Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Windows via Steam on October 21st, 2022. As part of the series' 25th anniversary, P5R and two other games in the series will be ported to modern platforms. Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable will follow suit early next year.
Persona 5 Royal is the enhanced re-release of 2016's Persona 5. Released in Japan as Persona 5: The Royal, P5R provides an additional Phantom Thief member, a new Palace, new plot elements, more story, and many other changes. It was initially made available for the PlayStation 4 in Japan on October 31, 2019, and worldwide on March 31, 2020.
This follows the trend of games in the Persona series having an enhanced version of the base game released several years in.
The version of Persona 5 that comes to modern platforms will include all of the downloadable content. Here is a list of all DLC included:
- Persona 4 Costume & BGM Special Set
- Persona 3 Costume & BGM Special Set
- Persona 2 Costume & BGM Special Set
- Persona Costume & BGM Special Set
- True Goddess Reincarnation if… Costume & BGM Special Set
- Persona 4 Dancing All Night Costume & BGM Special Set
- Persona 4 The Ultimax Costume & BGM Special Set
- True Goddess Reincarnation IV Costume & BGM Special Set
- Katherine Costume & BGM Special Set
- Orpheus & Orpheus Pirate Set
- Izanagi & Izanagi Pirate God Set
- Thanatos & Thanatos Pirate God Set
- Magatsuizagi & Magatsuizagi & Magatsuizagi & Pirate God Set
- Kaguya & Kaguya Pirate God Set
- Ariadne & Ariadne Pirate God Set
- Asterios & Asterios Pirate God Set
- Tsukiyomi & Tsukiyomi Pirate God Set
- Messiah & Messiah Pirate God Set
- Persona 5: The Royal Recovery Itemset
- Persona 5: The Royal Skill Card Set
- Persona 5 The Royal Plainclothes & Uniform Costume Set
- Persona 5 The Royal Phantom Thieves Mark Morgana Car Sticker
- Persona 5 The Royal Swimsuit Costume Set
- Persona 5 The Royal Persona 20th Anniversary Logo with Morgana Car Sticker
- Persona 5: The Royal Maid & Butler Costume Set
- Persona 5: The Royal Christmas Costume Set
- Persona 5 Dancing Star Night Costume & BGM Special Set
- Persona 5: The Royal Belle Bedroom Costume & BGM Special Set
- Persona 5 Dancing Star Night Featherman Costume & BGM Special Set
- True Goddess Reincarnation DEEP STRANGE JOURNEY Costume & BGM Special Set
- Persona 5: The Royal Jersey Costume Set
- Iina Nagi Ōkami & Iina Nagi Ōkami & Pirate God Set
- Orpheus & Orpheus Pirate God (F) Set
- Athena & Athena Pirate God Set
- Persona 5 The Royal Exploration Aid Pack
- Persona 5: The Royal Battlehand Pack
- Yoshizawa Kasumi Costume Numbering Package
- Yoshizawa Kasumi Costume MEGAMI Package
- Yoshizawa Kasumi Costume Extra Package 1
- Yoshizawa Kasumi Costume Extra Package 2
- Persona Raúl
- Challenge Battle Extra Set
- Persona Q2 New Cinema Labyrinth Costume & BGM Special Set
- Challenge Battle Best Guest FULLMOON
- Challenge Battle Best Guest FOGGYDAY
The last two refer to the secret boss battle, allowing the Phantom Thieves to fight the protagonists from Persona 3 and 4.
Persona 5 Royal Gameplay
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You play as a transfer student, codenamed Joker, over the course of his year in modern-day Tokyo.
Like its predecessors, it revolves around a day-night cycle and weather systems, which both determine which actions you can take during that point in time. At its core, Royal is a Japanese Role-Playing Game (JRPG). You construct a party of up to four members, each taking an action on its turn-based combat. Most of the time, combat will happen in dungeons called Palaces or the randomly generated dungeon called Mementos. Personas, which are the source of your party members' special attacks, are also Joker's trump cards. Joker can wield multiple Personas at a time, which can be acquired through negotiation or as a result of a “fusion” in the Velvet Room.
Joker can also foster relationships with Confidants, a carry-over from the prior games' Social Links. Some Confidants can be romanced, leading to special cutscenes and interactions between the players. Improving his bond with Confidants grant different buffs and bonuses.
Other side activities, such as working in a flower shop, fishing, or playing in a batting cage, can also be done as you explore Tokyo.
Persona 5 Royal Story
The game is set in the same universe as the previous games, as confirmed by posters and easter eggs scattered throughout the game. It's set in modern Tokyo, with set explorable locations pulled straight from the real world. The in-game calendar begins in April 2016, and the story happens throughout a year.
In the base game, there was a considerable chunk of this year that was skipped. In Royal, these months were returned and is now dubbed the “third semester” of the game. We once again get a silent protagonist, codenamed Joker.
This “change of heart” is the result of the Phantom Thieves utilizing the “Metaverse,” an alternate world where humans' desires manifest. A majority of the story itself is told in a flashback as Joker is being interrogated by Sae Niijima. “Joker” was forced to move to Tokyo after being framed for assault. Upon moving, he enters the Velvet Room, another recurring theme of the Persona series. As he discovers his abilities, he finds himself at the head of a vigilante group which were eventually known as the “Phantom Thieves of Hearts,” advertising themselves as being able to change the hearts of criminals and evil people.
