Persona 5 Royal Gameplay Details Revealed in New Famitsu Interview

While many details of the upcoming Persona 5 Royal, more light is being shed on this enhanced version of the beloved RPG. Fans who’ve already played Persona 5 may find plenty of reason to return to Tokyo, as the newly-added third semester appears to offer even more content than what was introduced in Persona 4 Golden. That’s in addition to a whole soundtrack’s worth of new music tracks and a more streamlined gameplay experience.

That’s just one of the many pieces of information given in a new Famitsu interview with director Daiki Itoh and producer Kazushi Wada. With regards to the third semester, which wasn’t part of the original Persona 5, the pair said they expect this new content to “go beyond the expectations” of those who played Persona 4 Golden, which wasn’t stingy with its content, either.

One of the biggest additions to Persona 5 Royal is Kasumi, a brand new party member. While she’s portrayed as being against the Phantom Thieves, she is clearly shown to join them at some point in the story, and a “different side” to her is teased. While her story is still wrapped in mystery, Itoh and Wada want her to fit organically into the story. We also know that a new confidant, Maruki, will be introduced to the story, though the addition of even more confidants was teased.

There’s more than story additions, however. There will be more than 20 music tracks added for this edition. Persona 5 has already been praised for its stylish soundtrack, so giving fans even more to listen to is certainly nothing to complain about. In addition, Itoh and Wada mentioned they’re making it “easier” to earn experience in the game. This is done so Persona 5 Royal can be played at a “better tempo,” which may mean we can power through this extra-long game even quicker.

Persona 5 Royal will release for the PlayStation 4 in Japan on October 31, 2019. A Western release is confirmed for 2020, though we don’t have a date for it yet. Persona fans also have the recently-announced Persona 5 Scramble to look forward to, though that doesn’t have a release date yet.