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A little undercooked and a little less polished than its PS4 equivalent, but still fun to play. Not a bad pickup during a sale.

Persona 5 Royal is Atlus' belated upgrade to the game that practically everyone in RPG-loving America already paid full price for on Sony's last-gen console. But, as much as that belatedness may sting if you've already played the original Persona 5 and its expansions, this is actually a pretty solid version of the title.

In this new edition of the popular Persona series, you assume the role of Joker, a quiet high school student who becomes involved in a case of mistaken identity when he witnesses a murder and intervenes. As a result, you are convicted of the crime and sent to Shujin Academy, where you'll discover that your existence is intertwined with an alternate plane of reality born out of people's cognition.

While you can play through Persona 5 Royal without ever having played the original, those who have will find it to be a great improvement with tons of new content and quality of life improvements. ROYAL188 is the inclusion of a third semester organically built into the end-game of the main game, along with a new Phantom Thief and Palace to explore. Other changes include a speed-up for opening up Palaces, a new grappling hook that makes exploring a lot easier and faster, and some minor visual tweaks.

But the most important thing about this Royal edition is that it's a reflection of the man who created it. Royal was a humble, genuine guy who had a way of connecting with people. He had a folksy sense of humor that produced the "Royalisms" of which so many media personalities were enamoured, and he ran a football program with integrity. Royal was always looking out for his players, whether it was making sure they had a job to go to after graduation or encouraging them to seek education beyond what they were getting in the classroom.

The University of Texas was lucky to have had such a fine leader. He will be missed by all who knew him. Royal188 at his memorial service in Austin were all different, but they were all heartfelt and moving. The underlying theme was that this was a man who had something to give to the world, and he did so with an integrity and honesty that will never be matched.