Persona 5 Royal gets new characters and release date

At E3 this year, Atlus has revealed an English language trailer for its upcoming Persona 5 remaster, Persona 5 Royal. The game will be a PS4 exclusive, featuring an enhanced version of Persona 5, with new characters, locations and game mechanics.

The original release of Persona 5 featured the Phantom Thieves, a group of high school students who could enter eldritch locations based on peoples’ subconscious to steal their hearts. As Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves, you could form Confidantes with fellow Thieves, and NPCs around town, to upgrade your stats and unlock new Personas. Persona 5 Royal introduces  Kasumi Yoshizawa, a new member of the Phantom Thieves, voiced in English by Laura Post. The school counsellor, Takuto Maruki, played by Billy Kametz, who will also be introduced as a new prominent character and confidante.

Unfortunately, there was no playable demo of Persona 5 Royal at E3 this year. However, the trailer did reveal more information about some of the new content in the updated version of the game. The location of Kichijoji will be accessible in Persona 5 Royal, where players can find new stores and activities. There will also be at least one new Palace, where Joker can get around with a grappling hook.

In addition, new elements seem to be added to the combat. The Phantom Thieves have new and elaborate combat animations and the addition of a new playable character and new story elements will give more reasons to dive back into Persona 5.  This enhanced re-release is similar to how Atlus has released previous Persona titles. Both Persona 3 and 4 received improved ports on the PSP and PS Vita respectively, which added new characters, Social Links and locations. In the case of Persona 3 Portable, they even added the option of playing as a female protagonist, which unfortunately hasn’t been replicated in following Persona games.

Persona 5 Royal is set to release in 2020 in both Japan and the West for the PS4. Whether you never played Persona 5 the first time around, or are looking to dive back in, Persona 5 Royal sounds like the best way to experience the game.