Judging from my glowing review, It's no secret that I enjoyed Persona 5 Royal immensely. Video Manager Mario Rivera and I talk in-depth about the updated re-release to one of the most popular JRPGs released in 2016 in our Person 5 Royal review discussion. As heard in the video below, it's clear as day that there's way more about the game I can gush about.

As it soon becomes apparent, I truly enjoyed the two new characters Maruki and Kasumi, who are not only written brilliantly in their own right but are incorporated seamlessly into both the main storyline and character interactions with the main cast. Not to mention how once you delve into their Confidants, their hidden layers begin to shine through. Maruki is an absolute standout as the beacon of mental health in a game heavy with dark themes and corruption and I'm still impressed with how well written and sensitive his dialogue is consistently throughout Persona 5 Royal.

The Thieves' Den, an expansive new feature that lets players collect mini statues, soundtracks, and an art gallery, also has the most addictive card game I've played since Triple Triads from Final Fantasy VIII. I've sunk an almost shameful amount of time into Tycoon, which plays like an oddball mash-up of War, Uno, Hearts, and Spades that somehow comes together to create a simple yet deep and compelling game.

Of course we had to come right back to one of the most standout features of Persona 5, which is the incredibly stylish UI that later inspired a number of Japanese developers including Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai. Persona 5 Royal is an improvement overall, with tons of new content and gameplay balancing we never knew we needed, such as having gun ammo reload after every battle versus after a dungeon run.

Persona 5 Royal will launch in the West for PS4 on March 31, 2020.