Everything new that we found in Persona 5 Royal in the first 80 hours. Preview

The first thing is about the new characters. Royal’s debutant is another potential member of the Phantom Thieves team, gymnast Kasumi Yoshizawa. She goes to the same school as the protagonist, only a year younger, and the dedicated Arkan, “Faith,” is non-standard: it is absent in most Tarot decks

While she takes up relatively little space in the plot: occasionally she encounters the main character in school or in the city, pops up in the conversations of his friends, but nothing more. Nevertheless, it can be pumped as a confidant (though only up to five levels, and not up to ten, like others). Each meeting with her adds + 5HP to the protagonist, but we’ll better talk about perks a bit further in the text.

The second additional hero is Takuto Maruki, a school psychologist who appears after you finish the first palace. Maruki also has a non-standard Arkan – “Advisor” – and for each consultation in his office there is a bonus: + 5SP and some cookie that restores HP

The main perks of Maruki. The rest are just their enhanced versions

Almost all of the key characters had new options for dialogue heads: now they reflect emotions more vividly and turn in different directions

Subject updates in an already familiar plot are few. Before the New Year, the script, apparently, will remain mostly unchanged, so for now we have to be content with small additional episodes. In some fragments of the story, new events appear, and in bossfights in the palaces – unexpected characters or stages of the battle

By clicking on the touchpad of the gamepad, not only the network statistics of other players now pops up, but also a quick menu, from where you can directly go to the place of team gathering or to available confidants. And also – check where and which social parameters can now be pumped

In the quick menu (line from the bottom right) you can see what useful action can be performed in a particular location. Now, for example, you don’t have to go around every movie theater to check which particular feature the film that is being played there will raise – this is immediately visible on the map

A new meeting place for confidants – the aquarium

Updated screensavers while traveling by subway. They vary depending on the season, time of day, weather and a specific area.

Many questions changed during the lessons. Most topics are already familiar, but the wording sounds different, so others need answers. There are, however, completely new tasks

Moreover, they call not only the protagonist: sometimes teachers turn to Ann, and then she must be prompted. Although the result is the same: +1 to knowledge for the correct answer

The calendar now records what the hero did in each of the days lived

The phone receives messages from part-time jobs. Usually they arrive on days when there are a lot of customers in a particular institution and you can get an increased bonus both to salary and to characteristics

By the way, you can meet new friends at the side job

A quick read tutorial can now be taken in the library starting in July

One of the most pleasant news: in the evening after a story event or a trip to the Metavers, Morgana no longer drives you to sleep immediately. You can still do something useful: sit down for school, read a book, craft new lockpicks for yourself or make coffee. But you still can’t leave home

A new useful entertainment is a crossword puzzle magazine that is lying on a table in Leblanc. You can solve a simple word and get a bonus to the characteristics, but at the same time find out an interesting fact

Thanks to free evenings, more time appeared for the development of social skills, but the conditions in the old pumping places changed. For example, in Persona 5, the bonus day in the baths was twice a week, and in Royal it was only on Sundays. Characteristic points are also issued more sparingly: for example, in a diner in Sibu during rain it was possible to get +3 knowledge before, and now only +2

The diner himself at the beginning of the game for some reason is closed for repair and only opens on May 6

In the dialogs and plot scenes appeared auto-play (button on the bottom right). It’s convenient if, for example, you brought food to the TV: you can just turn on the “car” and eat yourself calmly, without being distracted by the gamepad, while the characters are chatting among themselves. Anyway, the protagonist casts a voice once a hundred replicas

One of the strangest changes – they completely rewrote replicas of minor gay characters who pop up a couple of times in the plot. In the original Persona 5, they were portrayed almost pedophiles: they openly molested Ryūji, the classmate of the protagonist. Western players naturally criticized the developers for homophobia, and at Royal they tried to rectify the situation. It turned out, however, not perfect. Now the scene looks like this: Julian and Angel noticed that Ryuuji was trying to enter the Crossroads bar, which is run by drag queen, and concluded that he was interested in this art – he was simply afraid to admit it. And they are always ready to help a beginner

Companions now call the hero after the meeting to add something on the topic of conversation or just to find out how he got home. This is an extra opportunity to earn a couple of points to the relationship – unless, of course, you choose the right cue

And friends sometimes throw off funny and cute pictures from parties in the chat

Some confidants have changed perks, but only in the details. For example, thanks to Ryuji, you can now run around the palaces and get caught less often, and Aketi helps to discover the weaknesses of unfamiliar Shadows

Yes, by the way, now you can also spend time with Aketi. And even give him presents

And also “walk” in Tokyo twins-jailers, Justine and Carolyn. True, this does not increase the level of confidant (for this you still need to bring them specific people – these tasks, by the way, have been updated), but you can listen to their funny observations about human entertainment and get a reward of a skill card

So far, new persons and enemies can be counted on the fingers of one hand. However, further they will surely be more

Assisting during negotiations at Royal has become a little more difficult. Previously, any random member of the team could scare the stubborn Shadow so that she went to the roster to the Joker. And now each Phantom Thief has his own type: Morgan agrees with animals, Makoto with melee masters, Yusuke with loners, and so on.

Each person now has a special property (die on top). Some increase the chance of crit, others lower the damage received, but the coolest passions are “discounts” of 50% on a particular type of skill. One person has “cheaper” fire skills, the other heals, the third psychic, and so on. This is especially useful closer to the climax when spells costing 20-40 SP appear

People of friends have similar passives that apply to the whole team and also help you in battle. True, already without discounts on skills

Another great addition is accessories with skills. Some of them are passive, but the best are with active elemental skills. Moreover, it is most advantageous to hang them not on yourself, but on the allies. Go back one screen above and check – with such “body kits” any party member can beat with additional elements, and this greatly simplifies (and speeds up) every skirmish. If the teammates knock out not just one, but two weaknesses of the enemies, then it is easier to make the transfer of the turn (Baton Pass), and the SP flow in the team is much more even – more than one protagonist is already taking more than half the damage

Speaking of Baton Pass: before, it only increased damage, but now it also restores health and mana – and the bonus increases with each next turn transmission. And if you correctly calculate the sequence of attacks and use all four team members, then the last hero in the chain will be able to use any spell for free. Thanks to this, SP is again consumed (and restored for free!) More evenly, and battles are resolved faster. And it’s not so boring to bring down the same Shadows ten times: every skirmish turns into a problem that you want to solve as ergonomically as possible

A new type of Shadows has appeared – “destructive”. If all health is knocked down by such a Shadow in one circle, it will explode – and the other Shadows around itself will be shaken as much damage as it was inflicted upon the last blow. The easiest way is to roll out the attack bonus on Baton Pass’s (for this it is most convenient to hit the weaknesses of neighboring Shadows), and then with one explosion take all the enemies to the battlefield at once

Another joy: ammo is now updated in every battle. If you were also surprised that you had to go into the palace, spend all bullets on the first few Shadows with vulnerability to a firearm, and then walk for a couple of hours with an empty clip, then you won’t have to do this again

But the special shot of Xingyi, which always knocks crit from anyone, can now be fired only once per call to the Metavers. There used to be a limited number of bullets, but a large clip could be enough for two or three such attacks. And now there’s only one chance

We don’t just improve the guns in Royal with one button, but we customize: there are several characteristics to choose from. Damage or accuracy can be improved, or additional effects can be added: for example, shock or burn. But you have to pay for it with a reduction in ammunition

Separate pleasure – “show times”, or special pair attacks of allies. They do not require mana or health, but appear only at random moments (most often after passing a move or when the target is already in low health) and cause enormous damage

Futaba now has its own animation and screensaver after a total attack (All-Out). It sometimes works randomly if the protagonist inflicted damage last

Another new spectacular mechanic is the use of a cat hook. It works only in palaces and, in fact, does not change much: there are not so many places where you can use the rope, all of them are very noticeable and either lead to hiding places or allow you to cut off the path above the heads of the Shadows. Free to fly through the levels on this thing will not work

Strange as it may seem, this device is much more useful in battle. The best of the perks from Kasumi (opens at the fourth level) is the ability to attack the enemy from afar with a cat-hook and pull up to him on a rope. This works like a standard Ambush, but in an improved version: Shadows immediately start a fight in the state of Fear, Confuse or Dizzy, and it is much easier to deal with them. True, this technique can not be used from shelter: to throw a hook, you must stand at full height, and so the hero is much easier to notice. If you want an advantage – take a chance

In each palace, three skull artifacts are now hidden – they were called the “Seeds of Will.” If any of them is found, the team recovers a little SP, and if you find all three, they will also combine into a unique accessory with a useful spell

Both in palaces and in Mementos there were much more unlocked chests, and somewhere around 30-50% of all the booty from there were dirty armor, which 10-15 pieces were collected in one visit to Metavers. Previously, such clothes could only be washed in the laundry room, but now there is an option not to waste time and just hand over finds to second-hand goods – we will talk about it below

With some of the Shadows from the applications in Mementos, now it is necessary not only to fight, but also to talk, in order to convince them to switch to the good side. True, so far we have met only one such case – in a new side quest, which was not in the original P5. And all the other battles ended as usual: you lose health to the enemy, and he himself admits his mistakes

A convenient menu of thieves’ tools appeared in the Metavers, which opens by clicking on the square. Previously, it was only possible to automatically replenish health.

Weak (shaded in green) Shadows in Mementos can now be crushed by a car from dispersal – then the battle does not even begin, and the money and experience for the victory are automatically counted. Moreover, if the Shadow has not yet been recorded in the register, it will instantly get into your set (provided that there are free slots left)

Previously, such weak Shadows had to be attacked secretly, and the hero got only their personages. And now you can just ride on the low-level “floors” of the collective unconscious, crush every oncoming Shadow and collect free money and experience. Moreover, the latter is counted not only to you, but also to the companions

An equally important addition to the mechanics of Mementos is Jose, a little boy (although, in his own words, he is not a man at all), who travels on rails in a wheelbarrow with balloons. After the first meeting, he randomly appears on procedurally generated levels, where you go, with approximately 20% probability

To trade with Jose, money is not needed. Instead, you need to collect flowers in the subway tunnels (they can be filled as many as you like, but they burn out after exiting Metavers) and look for machines with stamps (a limited number of them, and now they are stored forever)

For flowers from Jose you can buy standard useful items: healers, mana potions, resources for crafting and the like

He also sells amplifiers that permanently increase the selected characteristics of your personalities.

But with the stamps much more interesting. With their help, you can customize your rewards in Mementos: adjust bonuses to experience, mana or finds. Moreover, these bonuses can be reconfigured as you like even with each new call (flowers are also spent on this). Not enough money? Pour all the stamps into them, and you will take out the golden mountains from each battle. Do you want to pump faster? All in experience – save yourself a lot of time

And if you invest in finds at a level, then from each “cube” a whole list of resources, values ​​and other junk will drop out along the way

In our “prison” appeared training regime with challenges. To get a reward from the twins, you need to score maximum points in one battle with predetermined conditions. For example, you will be awarded triple points for a specific type of damage, or even x7 – for hits of a selected companion

In fact, these are the same combat puzzles as in the main game: it is necessary to calculate to whom and in what order to hit weak points in order to increase the attack power by transferring the course and get the maximum points. But modest rewards are given only once at each difficulty level, and to win is quite simple – in a word, entertainment a couple of times

Much more interesting is the new random event – Fusion Alarm. It happens if you win several times in a row in a battle at Palaces or Mementos (that is, almost constantly). A red rather than a blue door opens in the air, and the twins call you to the “dangerous” mode of creating people. However, it is completely optional: you can completely ignore the alarm

During this “anxiety”, the prison has the same functionality as always, but the persons or objects are stronger, and the final result of the execution or crossing may differ from the expected

One or two skills of the created person usually change to random ones – but they will first ask you if you want changes or whether it is better to leave things as they are, so the risk is not necessary. But each tool (guillotine, gallows, electric chair, and so on) can be used once for an alarm – if you try to start the process in the second round, there will be an accident, and you will get a low level it is not clear what. Better go out, kill a dozen more Shadows and wait for the next siren

Well, just a nice detail: when creating complex people, you no longer need to manually remove those that are missing from the register and release them under each cell in stock. Если все нужные персоны уже зарегистрированы, близняшки сами их оттуда вызовут, а вам надо будет просто доплатить положенную мзду, как при обычной покупке из регистра

Новая большая локация наподобие Сибуи или Синдзюку, но ещё просторнее: торговый район Китидзёдзи

Район полон магазинов и развлекательных заведений, но главная достопримечательность — вот этот диван, на который можно присесть отдохнуть. Правда, Моргана быстро начинает ныть, что вы слишком долго на нём прохлаждаетесь, но не слушайте кота и сидите до упора — будет маленький сюрприз

Тот самый секонд-хенд, куда можно сдавать грязные доспехи и даже получать за них неплохие деньги. За каждую сбытую вещь вам ещё и начисляются баллы постоянного покупателя, которые можно обменять на полезные расходники, амулет или местный лутбокс — сумку со случайным набором новых немытых тряпок. Но всё же лучше тащить туда только то, что вы принесли с низких уровней Мементос, — просто чтоб не валялось в инвентаре. А вот находки из Дворцов выгоднее отмывать: доспехи оттуда лучше магазинных

В одном из переулков дежурит подозрительный торговец, который не признаёт деньги и работает по системе обмена: вы приносите ему то, что он хочет, а он отдаёт вам редкий предмет. Причём актуальность таких заказов обычно истекает за несколько дней, и если явитесь слишком поздно, товара уже не будет

В конце главной улицы расположен храм, где можно медитировать. По факту герой просто посидит в тишине наедине с собой (и вездесущим Морганой, разумеется), подумает о Важных Вещах и поднимет SP на несколько баллов

На другом конце района расположен джаз-клуб — новое место, куда можно приглашать своих друзей, чтобы прокачивать их персоны, а заодно и улучшать отношения. В зависимости от дня недели там подают разные коктейли (для школьников, разумеется, только безалкогольные), а иногда играют живую музыку. Все эти факторы влияют на то, как именно прокачается персона союзника: иногда поднимается HP, иногда SP, иногда характеристики, иногда просто уровень. А в удачный день напарник может выучить новый навык.

В бильярде на соседней улице система попроще: туда герой зовёт сразу всех друзей. После игры у них — бонус к отношениям с протагонистом, у него самого — плюс к какой-нибудь социальной характеристике

Но самое интересное (и, пожалуй, полезное) развлечение в Китидзёдзи — дартс: именно там можно повысить уровень Baton Pass для каждого напарника. На первом все они (да и вы тоже) получают только бонус к урону, а вот на третьем, максимальном, ещё и восполняют ману со здоровьем. Вдобавок за каждую удачную игру вам достаётся 1-2 балла мастерства (Proficiency)

За один поход в дартс можно сыграть с двумя напарниками. Одного герой выбирает сам, второй — рандомный из числа Фантомных воров. Основная цель — вместе выбить точное число очков. Если управитесь за пять раундов, уровень Baton Pass напарника повысится на один; а если за четыре — то сразу на два. Механика прицеливания довольно простая, хоть разработчики и попробовали её усложнить: по умолчанию вам предложат бросать дротик резким дёрганьем геймпада. Впрочем, кнопка Х тоже отлично справляется с этой задачей, так что если вы пришли за быстрой прокачкой, лучше используйте её — так куда удобнее

В главном меню теперь доступно Логово воров — это что-то вроде хаба, где можно в любой момент (без потери игрового времени) общаться со спутниками и коллекционировать памятные предметы. Чтобы покупать последние, нужны особые золотые монеты, которые используются только в Логове: они выдаются за ачивки и при победе в карточной игре Tycoon

Интерьер хаба можно настроить под эстетику подземки, Бархатной комнаты или любого из зачищенных дворцов

В центре зала много платформ, где можно разместить фигуры персон Фантомных воров или побеждённых боссов. У каждой такой статуи будет появляться случайная пара ваших сопартийцев — можно послушать, что они думают про свои и чужие персоны или поверженных злодеев

Можно даже расставить по Логову диорамы любимых заведений Токио в натуральную величину — там их легко рассмотреть изнутри любой точки, а не только через зафиксированную камеру, как в основной игре. И сюда тоже заходят поболтать спутники

Половина стен Логова отведена под достижения, за которые как раз и выдают монеты для новых сувениров

Tycoon похож на что-то среднее между «девяткой», «червами» и «сундуком»: надо раньше противников избавиться от своих карт, выкидывая их на стол по одной или собирая в пары, тройки и каре. Компаньоны, впрочем, мало общаются за игрой, да и монет на все украшения хватает и от ачивок, так что эта механика скорее декоративная

В «Кино» можно пересматривать ключевые сюжетные моменты, шоу-таймы и рисованные катсцены. Каждый ролик тоже покупается за символическую сумму золотых монет. Но никакой особой анимации «сесть на диван, включить телевизор» тут нет: просто включаете видео из меню

В «Галерее» похожим образом собраны ключевые изображения персонажей и локаций, а ещё концепт-арты с ранних стадий разработки. Жалко, что их по стенам их не развесить

В музыкальном углу всё то же самое, но с саундтреками

На втором этаже Логова расставлены платформы для смены облика главного героя. Если наступить на одну из них, превратишься в Рюдзи, Юске, Анн или кого-то ещё — смотря кто нарисован на кнопке. А если забегать на платформу раз за разом, будет меняться образ: от повседневной одежды и школьной формы до костюма Фантомного вора

Можно даже побыть Морганой в обеих формах…

…И выяснить, что у Футабы своя специальная анимация бега: с руками назад, как в «Наруто»