Most gamers already know that Persona 5 Royal is an incredible JRPG. Thanks to plenty of positive reviews and general word of mouth, players everywhere know this Atlus game is a classic.
A proper playthrough with the third semester can reach more than a hundred hours, so this RPG is usually a one-and-done for most gamers. While there are reasons to replay this game, including bonus bosses and picking a different love interest, most fans are content with what they’ve played.
However, as someone who is obsessed with this game, we finally found a new way to play this amazing JRPH in a fresh way: Hard mode.
If you’re playing Persona 5 Royal and want the general Persona experience, play this on Normal difficulty. This way, managing battles with the social sim elements feels more balanced and doesn’t feel particularly grueling. However, those who do want more of a challenge should consider playing this again with the difficulty ramped up.
Simply put, the battles on Hard make this veteran Persona 5 player feel alive. Basic enemies can kill your party in a few hits if you aren’t careful, adding importance to healing spells and items. Considering how SP items can be hard to come by, this should make gamers extra conservative with the magic they use.
This also makes bosses a lot more difficult, which should result in more strategy than usual. Even the first boss fight against Shadow Kamoshida was tough, with his volleyball attacks and stronger defense making things more difficult. While not impossible, this writer was on his toes during the fight, and finally beating him felt fulfilling.
Hard mode on Persona 5 Royal also makes grinding mandatory, which isn’t bad. As someone who only went to Mementos for side quests and immediately left Palaces after beating them, Hard Mode changed things. I now stayed in Palaces and Mementos a bit longer after beating them to get more items and money, which are now mandatory for more challenging fights down the line.
click to enlargeAdmittedly, gamers who want more of a challenge probably started this game on Hard because that’s what they always do. This writer prefers playing games on Normal for a solid experience because Hard can be too much.
With all that being said, I’m pretty obsessed with Persona 5 Royal, so finding another reason to replay this game just makes me happy. This Atlus classic is one of my comfort games, and I try to beat it once every year. Battles are addicting, hanging out with your anime friends is comforting, and the game’s art style is incredible. There’s a reason why this game never leaves my Nintendo Switch case.
I should be playing on New Game Plus, so I don’t have to max out Joker’s social stats, but that doesn’t appeal to me. Maxing out the social stats is one of the many reasons this game is so addictive, and it’s why I avoid New Game Plus entirely.
Yes, I have a problem. But that’s nothing another playthrough of Persona 5 Royal can’t solve…