Like millions of others, Persona 5 was my introduction to the series and to Atlus as a developer. I started playing the game in late 2019 and through all the next year, but March 31, 2020, saw the release of Persona 5 Royal. As a lowly newcomer, I thought Royal was simply a “game of the year edition” release which included all previously released DLC, so I ignored it until finishing the original.
Turns out, Persona 5 Royal isn’t just a “game of the year” edition, it’s a standalone release packed with new content and changes to the base game inaccessible anywhere other than inside its confines.
As I sat there, reeling from the realization that if I wanted to see the new winter semester and fresh characters like Kasumi Yoshizawa I’d need to buy this game and play it for 100+ hours all over again, I was having an experience that Atlus fans see as a rite of passage. It was almost a question of loyalty from Atlus. “You liked Persona 5, huh?” The studio seems to ask, “Well if you want to see the new stuff, I hope you’re ready to play it again.”
It all begs the question: why, Atlus, why do it like this?
Drinking the Atlus Kool-Aid
This unusual practice is well-known among Atlus fans. If the studio is going to release a game, you can expect a revamped version of it with new content to be coming down the line sooner or later.
Persona 5 Royal, Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, Catherine: Full Body, Persona 4 Golden, Persona 3 FES, and Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse are all re-releases of Atlus titles that launched just a few years after the originals. In many ways, they are still the same games at their core, but Atlus has made a habit of adding new mechanics and characters and storybeats, while introducing quality-of-life improvements that directly feedback on fan complaints.
Speaking of, if you haven’t played Metaphor: ReFantazio at this point, I’d just wait for the enhanced release.
To clarify, I really enjoyed my time with both Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. I wasn’t upset about having to play the base game again because of how much I loved the original. Yes, I’m drinking the Kool-Aid. I’ll never forget the face my friends made at me when I explained why I was “replaying” the 100-hour game I had just finished. “Well, after 100 more hours of essentially the same game, there’s an extra 15 to 20 hours of cool new stuff!” I explained. They were horrified, and I can totally see why.
Most Persona fans don’t mind having to play the base content of each game again to access the “DLC” thanks to the smaller pieces of new content peppered into the likes of FES, Golden, and Royal, like quality of life updates, small narrative changes, and new characters to spend time with.
But I still find it strange that this is how Atlus primarily dishes out new content for its existing games, let alone blockbusters like Persona. While I can certainly point out the differences between Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal (not including the major story additions), if I’m being completely honest with myself, they’re not all that different. They’re certainly not completely unique experiences.
Who Has Time For This?
With most of Atlus’ expanded releases, it would be entirely possible to simply launch the additional content as DLC that doesn’t require people to sink another hundred hours into a game they’ve already put 100 hours into. The studio has been relaunching its games like this consistently for well over a decade though, so clearly enough people are showing up to justify their existence
Persona 5 Royal also saw it launch for PS5, PC, and Xbox platforms for the first time.
That being said, maybe things are finally changing for the better, because Persona 3 Reload offered its DLC content as, well, regular DLC that can be bought and played without having to make another $70 purchase. Perhaps that was an experiment or outlier, since Persona 3 Reload isn’t a new mainline game for the studio and also a remake in its own right.
What will really tell us about Atlus’ future will be how additional content for Metaphor Re:Fantazio is handled. Six months from now, if we get a trailer for Metaphor Re:Fantazio Reprise or something like that, we’ll know which way the wind is blowing.
Regardless of the grim acceptance that Atlus fans seem to have of the studio and how it will likely it never change, I’m still baffled by its handling of such things. For me, it took Persona 5 Royal to break the glass on this particular revelation.
- Released
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February 2, 2024
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence