Persona 5 Royal is striking in large parts due to the changes that it makes to Persona 5's story. Although for the most part it follows the exact same plot as the base game, the extra character moments and the final Palace added after the end of the original game mean a great deal. They create opportunities for the Phantom Thieves to stop and think about their vigilante justice, what they really want out of their lives, and what they're fighting for altogether. Persona 5 Royal does a great job of helping flesh out a cast of characters that was already pretty well-rounded.
Even though he's a silent protagonist, that goes for Joker too. His adventure is totally different from beginning to end thanks to the new perspective Persona 5 Royal offers on the first game's characters, and due to the new characters that Royal introduces. Over the course of the game, Joker has to make new kinds of choices that are completely different from what Persona 5 asks of him, and calls into question what exactly Joker has been fighting for all this time. Atlus offers Persona 5 Royal players some great choices on how cope with the biggest questions Joker ever has to answer. Warning: Persona 5 Royal spoilers ahead.
Persona 5's Joker and Kasumi Yoshizawa
A lot of people who played Persona 5 Royal probably played the first game, and were excited to get the chance to experience it anew. Considering how many adjustments Atlus made to combat, both in terms of combat mechanics and possible Shadow encounters, there's plenty of fresh experiences for Persona 5 fans to enjoy. Another new part of Royal is Kasumi Yoshizawa, the first-year Shujin student whose story frequently intertwines with Jokers. In a lot of interesting ways, Yoshizawa is actually a good reflection of Joker and explores a similar character model in a new way.
Yoshizawa is represented as the perfect student: intelligent, athletic, hard-working, and well-mannered. However, most other Shujin students think she's arrogant and privileged, acting cruelly toward her. The person who can relate to this the best is the Persona 5 protagonist. Joker is both a masterful Persona user and a talented student, especially when players put an emphasis on maxing out his Social Attributes. Yoshizawa changes Joker's perspective on his work as a Phantom Thief by showing him who he would be without the world of Personas: a quiet, brilliant social reject with no support system to keep him afloat at Shujin.
Persona 5 fans are already familiar with Joker's character arc, growing from a social pariah to a hero to his friends, and all of Tokyo. Yoshizawa offers a new way for both players and Joker himself to understand where Joker's character arc is going. Yoshizawa also transforms from a meek high schooler to a strong-willed young adult determined to resist the image that others have of her. Even though Persona 5 is full of social rejects that Joker can befriend, Yoshizawa's story is definitely one of the closest to Joker's. She reminds Joker of what he's been through and how much he's changed.
Persona 5 Royal's Sympathetic Villains
Another crucial thing that Persona 5 Royal does is change Joker's relationship with his enemies. For most of Persona 5, Joker is clashing with obviously evil people and has no reason to second guess his quest to defeat them. Even though defeating selfish and cruel Palace rulers is satisfying, there's never much moral complication that could add weight to the story. Persona 5 Royal is very different. It introduces a new antagonist that demands a ton of self-examination from Joker, and even gives him the choice to side with him. What's more, Persona 5 Royal completely changes the perspective that Joker has on his biggest rival, Goro Akechi.
Takuto Maruki is a wonderfully sympathetic character, constantly trying to empathize with other people and help them escape their pain. It's that desperate need to heal others that makes Maruki Persona 5 Royal's most compelling antagonist.
When he claims Yaldabaoth's power and starts reshaping Tokyo into an illusory world without pain, he's frantically trying to make the world a better place, but not by ethical means. Joker and the Phantom Thieves have spent a whole year fighting for the right to be themselves and live independently, but that whole mission is called into question by Maruki's tantalizing power to wash their trauma away. Joker never has to think about what he's doing more critically than in the fight against Maruki.
Goro Akechi also goes through a totally different arc in Persona 5 Royal than in Persona 5. Joker gets to know him better thanks to an additional Confidant arc, and the time they spend together better justifies Akechi's obsession, as well as Joker's empathy towards him. Akechi also becomes much more empathetic when Joker realizes that Akechi, who mysteriously reappears in Maruki's arc, will probably die again if Maruki's plan is thwarted. Even so, Akechi fights for the right to determine his own fate, and wants to see Joker stay dedicated to that right too. Maruki and Akechi teach Joker a level of empathy for his opponents that Persona 5 never made room for.
Characterizing Joker and Other Persona Protagonists
It's always hard to characterize silent protagonists like Persona 5's Joker. Developers walk a thin line between offering interesting decisions and relationships that define the protagonist, while keeping the protagonist a blank enough slate for players to project themselves onto. Persona is historically pretty good at it, thanks in large part to how often the protagonist puts in the time to befriend and interact with others. The way Persona protagonists talk to their Social Links, Confidants, and other characters goes a long way in depicting who they are themselves.
By the end of Persona 5 Royal, Joker isn't the same character that he is at the end of the original Persona 5. He's seen who he is in other people, seen how much his journey in the Metaverse has changed him, and his mission with the Phantom Thieves has been called into question in totally new ways. Atlus really raised the bar of Persona storytelling with Persona 5 Royal's expanded plot. Fans will expect a story of this caliber, moral complications and all, in Persona 6, whenever it comes out. Considering how impactful Persona 5 is already, Joker's journey will surely have an effect on the future of Persona.
Persona 5 Royal is available now on PS4.
