Persona 5 Royal was originally released on the PS4, so what are the differences between the PS5 version and the original Persona 5?
Persona 5 Royal has been launched across a long list of platforms, but originally, Persona 5 was exclusive to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. However, the leaked Sega sales figures show that loads of Persona fans flocked to the series after the original game’s launch in 2016. That means for many, there hasn’t really been any other version of the game to speak of.
So what are the actual differences between the original Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal? Here’s a full breakdown of each version of the game, and what it has to offer.
What’s the difference between the original Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal?
Persona 5 Royal adds a significant amount of new content to the story, new songs, and introduces several quality-of-life improvements.
Persona 5 Royal looks the same as the original PS3 and PS4 version of the game at a quick glance, but it makes several major changes. The centerpiece of these changes is several more in-game weeks of playtime following the end of the base story.
The original Persona 5 effectively ends on Christmas Eve, 12/24. In Persona 5 Royal, the story stretches into February. This extra chapter revolves around a new final boss who has a dungeon of their own, with the story impacting each member of the Phantom Thieves. This is capped with an extra holiday date opportunity for Persona 5 Royal’s romance options.
Alongside this, hangouts with confidants add an extra phone call conversation. This adds some extra time with the confidant while also making it easier and faster to level up the relationship with them. Similarly, the game also adds more opportunities to level up social stats without spending a block of time.
This more streamlined approach also applies to palaces and Mementos. New equipment is available that allows players to more reliably storm their way through palaces in one day. There are also new “Showtime Attacks” that see different party members team up to deliver big damage.
Finally, an area named the Thieves Den was added to the game. This allows players to unlock a variety of collectibles, play cards with the Phantom Thieves, and see some of the NPCs interact with each other in new ways.
The one bit of bad news? The Reaper cheese strategy from the original game got removed.
Persona 5 Royal PS4 vs PS5 version differences
Persona 5 Royal’s PS5 version runs at 60fps at 4K resolution and has slightly better loading speeds relative to the PS4 version.
The PlayStation 4 version of Persona 5 Royal can run on PS5 thanks to its backwards compatibility. That includes the ability to run at 4K resolution through either a PS4 Pro or a PlayStation 5. However, there are some slight improvements in the PS5 version.
The PS5 version runs at 60 frames per second while the PS4 version is locked at 30 frames per second regardless of whether it’s on PS4, PS4 Pro, PS5, or PS5 Pro. Persona 5 Royal running at 60 frames per second looks and feels much better than 30, so PS5 owners will definitely want to get the more recent release rather than the PS4 original.
The game also runs natively at 4K resolution. The PS4 version can be upscaled from 1080p to 4K on a PS4 Pro or any PS5 model, but doesn’t look as good on expensive televisions or monitors.
Finally, as a small quality-of-life improvement, the many different free DLC packages available in the PS4 version are bundled together and automatically loaded into the game. All in all, the differences between Persona 5 Royal on PS5 and PS4 are comparatively small, but they’re big enough that new Persona 5 Royal players who own a PS5 should make sure to get the newer version.
