In much of the opening of Persona 5 Royal a lot of your time is spent with your other classmates Ryuji and Ann, as you come to discover the truths about Kamoshida’s actions. Throughout the game relationship-building acts as the main core surrounding gameplay, as the more you develop stronger bonds, you receive extra bonuses along with abilities.

Through this core fundamental mechanic that’s implemented in the game we learn the importance of relationships, and how it can greatly affect your performance down the road. This works hand-in-hand with life itself because as we continue to build trust with those closest to us, we too develop inner strength and new abilities to carry us forward through life. Persona 5 Royal exemplifies all of this incredibly well by always putting the player in a position of choice, encouraging you to make decisions just as you would in a real-life scenario. While the game is certainly entertaining, it does help to yield some important results when placing emphasis on persona character growth and friendships.

This doesn’t just apply simply to Persona 5 Royal but rather the entire series as a whole. Persona does a stellar job of creating an atmosphere that feels real, while not overwhelming the player by making it too realistic, thus robbing the player of an imaginary experience. By this, we mean things like using actual real-life locations like Shibuya, Tokyo as the main focal point of travel when hanging with friends or other things like going to work.

This creates an element of desire from the player because it encourages you to learn more about your surroundings, eventually opening up a world of possibilities. For someone not living in Japan, for example, may find the allure of Shibuya to be intriguing and thus entices them to perhaps travel to Japan to feel like they’re a part of the Persona experience.

Another element that ties in well pertaining to real-life circumstances is the overall culture of Japan itself, which we tend to see in classroom settings, but also throughout the vast majority of the game. When in the classroom you’re almost always learning something fascinating about human psychology, such as the Golden and Silver Ratio, or the more in-depth questions pertaining to Japanese imperial history.

Sure, a lot of these quizzes are curated for the Japanese audience but there are times when universal questions are asked and they’re not easy. This sequence of events once again entices the player to do their research outside of the game, something not a lot of other mainstream titles tend to do, since it does take the player out of the game. However, with Persona 5 Royal it’s actually a really great way to stimulate the player and much like in-game, can help to develop greater knowledge about topics you’d otherwise overlook. The game creates a fine-tuned balance that doesn’t alienate the player but keeps them engaged enough to come back for more. The Carl Jung inspired philosophy surrounding Persona is incredibly vast and it will take time for players to wrap their heads around certain issues, such as domestic abuse, suicide, depression, just to name a few.