While I still have to play this game in pc, I have already played this game on PS4, I played the base Persona 5 almost to completion (Minus the trophy for requests and battle with the twins), and played a bit of persona 5 royal too, but didn't manage to finish it again (it was technically my 4th play-through of the game, so I was tired of it).

I have my own type of Venn diagram for game analysis, composed of 4 categories: Game-play, Narrative, Visuals, Soundtrack. each can interact with each other, for example, game-play and music combo is mostly present in rhythm games, Game-play tends to be reduced in light novels, and some games may have nice visuals and good game-play, but the combo of the 2 is trash.

This game is the prime example of a game that manages to perfect all 4 categories, but manages to have them be mostly separate from each other, this is not a bad thing, but most games tend to have a way of compensating one with the other.

Game-play: this game is a nice change of pace from traditional JRPG, while this one is also a turn based JRPG, this one is more responsive and active compared to other games in the genre, having actions between turns, interactivity in some actions (GUN). Overall this game is a simplified Pokemon, with some interesting mechanics in-between.
The addition of the All Out Attack, is a great way of rewarding the player for playing the game correctly, and giving the player the chance to capture another persona is also a nice way of relating to them.

Regarding the other side of the coin, the real world (a.k.a. A redditor's worse nightmare) is a nice way to relax and enjoy the fictional "Real" world of Japan, while this tends to be called the "light novel" of the game, it's also a great gameplay and storytelling device that helps the player stay grounded that while the game might have combat and imaginary palaces, the player is still a human AND a student.


Story: honestly, this one is both a great part of the game while also being the one that has the most issues.
the one that has the most issues is the main story, that sometimes suffers from pacing issues, and tends to go for a more EPIC COOL EDGY style, that can end up being a bit much sometimes (the ending specially).

HOWEVER, the true heart of the game is the character narratives from both your companions and the struggles our protagonist goes through, I still recall every single important bit of the confidants, they are absolutely amazing, and the second or third best part of the game. The game didn't steal my heart, the characters did.

Visuals: no comments here, just look at the screenshots, while the anime parts might look a bit weird, the game, menus, UI, world, models and HUD are absolutely stunning.

Music: I'll just say that I consider Shoji Meguro to be just behind Koji Kondo in terms of game music, with Lynn adding an amazing vocal performance to the tracks of the game.

the last 2 were a little bit short because it is super difficult to express how good these are, please just google images and search the game OST, you'll understand.

All in all, this is a game that I consider to be one of the few cases where a game is OBJECTIVELY good, absolutely amazing game, but it is also a really hard sell, I can't really recommend it to others because it isn't for everyone, but I can wholeheartedly say that this game is one my favorite games of all time.

although, a tip for new players, the pause screen doesn't say "take your time" for nothing, this game is a journey, PLEASE take your time with it, enjoy it, savor it, experience it. You can easily get tired of it if you have a marathon, and the latter game is more fulfilling if you spent more time on it.

please play it if you think you will like it, and hope you have as much fun as i had with it.