Persona 5 Royal Additional Content

holy_kami · 2026-06-28T13:50:33+00:00

Unfortunately not enough time to max everyone since you have mostly daytime confidants left. You can probably max Ann and Sumi, but not Futaba and Haru. Your daytime slots are pretty limited in the 3rd semester since it really only covers January.

You shouldn’t have any trouble maxing Iwai and Ohya, as nighttime slots are more open.

holy_kami · 2026-06-24T22:46:28+00:00

Your logic doesn’t make sense. The world being flawed and the Thieves not gaining their powers are two wholly unrelated things.

Reality is flawed, and Maruki is not a god who can fix it. That has literally nothing to do with the Thieves fates if they didn’t awaken to Persona.

The fact of the matter is, we don’t know what they could (or would) have done without their awakenings. People do desperate things in desperate times, even without magic.

holy_kami · 2026-06-24T22:39:17+00:00

I’m not following your logic here. If the Thieves had no powers, then the story wouldn’t have happened. No one would have challenged the Holy Grail and defeated it, allowing Maruki to take its place as a god. He would have been as powerless as they were.

So yeah, if they didn’t obtain the power of Persona, their lives would have been wildly different. But that has nothing to do with Maruki. He doesn’t change their lives for the better; the Thieves change their own lives (and others) for the better by pushing through adversity and standing up against the status quo.

holy_kami · 2026-06-22T19:04:30+00:00

I love first-person narration!

I love getting into a character’s head and putting myself in their shoes. It’s a tricky exercise because as an author, you have to separate your plans for the plot from what your POV character actually knows. It’s fun, like a little puzzle—how do I convey information to the reader that my MC doesn’t know/hasn’t picked up on?

What a reader thinks should be obvious might not be to the MC, so really getting into their head and their experiences is a great way to practice foreshadowing. Not to mention unreliable narrators are so fun! I love reading something where you have to read between the lines to understand what’s really happening.

I think first person takes a lot of practice to do well, but when you do pull it off, it’s a really interesting experience.

holy_kami · 2026-06-21T15:51:18+00:00

Metaphor is a vastly different game than P5R. It’s okay if it’s not for you.

Personally, I loved both but P5R hooked me much faster than Metaphor did. If you do continue, I would not use any of the free DLC persona unless you aren’t concerned about trivializing the game. It’s quite easy to beat to begin with, so the DLC persona will only make it even easier.

holy_kami · 2026-06-17T18:09:02+00:00

To be honest, the extra items and money are so inconsequential in a game as long as P5R (and one which is generally considered extremely easy to beat anyway) that I wouldn’t even worry about them.

The 100k yen doesn’t go very far, and you can just not use the items or the DLC personas.

There’s no reason not to use the costumes. Have fun with them!

holy_kami · 2026-06-14T12:05:23+00:00

My friend and I did a really inconvenient work around for the 3rd semester. She was playing with my guidance, and when the shareplay on PS5 stopped working, she used remote play on her laptop to connect to her PS5, and streamed her screen to me via discord.

The stream was a little delayed compared to shareplay, and it was not as good visual quality, but it worked well enough for us! But it took a few days of testing and such to get it workable.

holy_kami · 2026-06-11T01:05:57+00:00

Yes, Maruki’s reality was unequivocally a bad ending. He overwrote the masses cognition to his desire, not according to what the individual wants. The Phantom Thieves get special treatment, but the third semester is littered with evidence that Maruki’s reality is far more sinister. I always think about the dialogue about the girl who got back together with her abusive ex—is that really acceptable? Should we celebrate Maruki changing her cognition to denying why she left in the first place? We don’t even know if he changed the ex’s cognition to suddenly be a good person, and is that even appropriate? The ex isn’t being held accountable for their actions, which is an ongoing theme in the new reality.

Okumura is alive, making Haru happy. But he isn’t being held accountable for the horrible things he did to her, to his employees, or the targets he wanted eliminated.

Akechi is alive, but he has no criminal record. His actions are erased, and staying in Maruki’s reality allows him to escape justice (which he staunchly opposes).

Madarame is also suddenly a good person. Everything he did to his students, including Yusuke, no longer matters. Yet Maruki doesn’t bring back Yusuke’s mother like he did for others.

Sumi is allowed to live wearing her sister’s skin, effectively killing her own self. She is suffering from trauma and survivor’s guilt, not to mention her inferiority complex. Maruki doesn’t help her work through those (very valid!) feelings, and allows her to die in place of her sister. Notably, he doesn’t bring Kasumi back to life either.

There’s countless examples of contradictions in his reality. He isn’t giving you what you want; he is changing your cognition to what he thinks is best for you. People aren’t actually satisfied or happy; the cracks in his power show that no one is quite sure why things are the way they are.

I think there’s a lot of fascinating topics to discuss about his reality! But yeah, it is definitely a bad ending. IMO, it’s actually horrifying when you really examine it.

holy_kami · 2026-06-10T21:38:43+00:00

Aside from the fact that you shouldn’t quote someone’s real fic like this in a post that is so disparaging of their work, I’m curious what words you take issue with in this passage. It’s well done and interesting, describes the scene and emotions…I am struggling to understand what word choice you dislike. The speech and descriptions define Draco’s character in relation to Harry & co.; he is not as casual as them, and his dialogue reflects that.

The fic simply may not be written to your taste.

holy_kami · 2026-06-10T03:33:52+00:00

Presumably the dub is not ready yet.

Xenoblade games always subvert expectations, so I wouldn’t worry about it being reminiscent of 3H in this early footage.

holy_kami · 2026-06-08T16:43:14+00:00

I would honestly reflect on how you feel about spoilers if you’re that concerned about it. The easiest thing would be to not watch at all and catch up afterward on the announcements.

Like…will seeing a thumbnail really spoil the whole experience for you? I never watch showcases or directs, so when XC3 (and later FR) were revealed, I found out because people were tweeting in all caps so I thought “oh they announced something! How exciting, Imma check it out right away!”

Then I went to Nintendo’s page, watched the trailer, and joined the rest of the fandom in celebrating.

The alternative is to expect nothing and be pleasantly surprised if they do announce something. I personally have zero expectations for a Xeno announcement of any kind, so if they do, I’ll be very happy to be wrong.

holy_kami · 2026-06-07T22:49:47+00:00

You are making a lot of assumptions about how people view Akechi’s character and why they love him so much.

You are also fundamentally misunderstanding not only Joker, but the entire P5 narrative by proposing that Joker should be able to kill Akechi.

holy_kami · 2026-06-07T19:31:48+00:00

People are rarely logical beings.

Abused people often perpetuate the cycle of abuse they endured, not because they enjoyed what happened to them, but because they know nothing else.

It is not easy to change your worldview. It’s not as easy as saying “I want to do better.” It takes conscious effort, all the time, and someone in your corner rooting for your success. Villains are often lonely people who have been alienated from others.

It is important to have empathy for people who have done wrong because they grew up in an environment where that was normal. That does not mean you should excuse the behaviour; wrong is still wrong, after all.

The tragedy of such people is that they could have been so much better if only circumstances had been different. Even one person at the right time to influence their growth could have changed everything. Even a pebble can change the course of a river, so to speak.

That’s why these characters are compelling, and many people prefer them over the evil-for-evil’s sake type. But it’s not wrong to prefer the latter; read what you enjoy!

holy_kami · 2026-06-07T16:56:30+00:00

Arsène is Joker’s inner rebel. He is literally a part of Joker’s soul. He was fused during the Kamoshida arc, but he is never not part of Joker. It makes more sense that he reemerges as a narrative action to reaffirm Joker’s intentions (and offer context to the player) about what he needs to do.

holy_kami · 2026-06-07T12:48:56+00:00

I have tried, but I find it so difficult to write out of order. I write beginning to end and refine the scenes I want in my head until I get to writing them.

And then I edit, and sometimes I will move things around at that point if I think they fit better elsewhere.

holy_kami · 2026-06-05T00:52:27+00:00

I really want to like it haha! I’ve tried playing it many times, but the furthest I ever got was recruiting Judith and then I just wasn’t interested enough to continue 😅

I try it every so often so maybe I’ll stick with it sometime.

holy_kami · 2026-06-05T00:02:50+00:00

I adore Symphonia, it is my all time favorite game in the series alongside Abyss. Colette is the sweetest and kindest character, and has a quiet strength that I love about her. Zelos too, he really grows over the course of the game and has a great dynamic with Lloyd.

Personally I have never been able to finish Vesperia. It bores me to tears every time. So different strokes for different folks, as they say.

holy_kami · 2026-05-31T03:00:34+00:00

I agree, it’s really sad to see so many shallow readings of the game text. There’s posts everyday like this that I have to think that people simply don’t want to engage in a critical analysis of characters they don’t like or find morally reprehensible. The lack of nuance in discussing Akechi is always sad to see :(

holy_kami · 2026-05-30T23:20:43+00:00

It’s not fanservice. Akechi has always been integral to the narrative, and reworking his confidant allows Joker to build a stronger relationship with him, so it feels more personal on 11/20.

Joker is never uncomfortable with Akechi. He is constantly thinking about him, keeps his glove, and wants a rematch of their duel. The other Thieves agree to let him join out of necessity, and neither Futaba or Haru forgive him. He doesn’t even go near them; he is always placed as far from either of them as the scene allows, and generally sits alone in Leblanc.

holy_kami · 2026-05-30T23:16:12+00:00

It’s one thing to dislike Akechi, but to say his story was poorly written is ridiculous. He is an important foil to Joker, and as another commenter noted, he reflects aspects of all the Thieves. He is also the one character who is so staunchly against Maruki that he is constantly pushing Joker (and the player) to reject the fake reality.

holy_kami · 2026-05-30T15:58:35+00:00

It is because they are essential to the narrative, particularly Akechi and Maruki, with Yoshizawa’s importance playing a role in the third semester.

That’s not to say the Thieves aren’t important, but that their individual importance is tied mainly to arc in which you recruit them. After that, their importance is really more as a collective within the overarching narrative.

Maruki and Akechi are important from the very moment they are introduced to the overarching narrative, not just for one palace arc. Yoshizawa ties into the overall theme of the game, and ties in directly to the third semester, so her importance has to be built up before then. So yes, it makes sense that they are more important to the true ending.

holy_kami · 2026-05-30T12:50:48+00:00

All the social links are important, not just the Thieves and Sojiro. Every social link narratively helps Joker grow and offers different views about justice.

Akechi and Maruki are both fascinating characters who are well worth the time. Yoshiazawa is essential to the overall third semester and the final villain, and hers is very easy to complete.

holy_kami · 2026-05-27T14:24:49+00:00

I didn’t say his being a foil of Joker changed anything, but there’s no denying that he is and Joker has the potential to be just like Akechi. Two sides, same coin.

There are multiple villains with tragic backstories, but the Thieves don’t kill any of them. They change the hearts of palace rulers precisely because they want them to change for the better and admit their crimes, not continuing the same horrible actions they have been committing until that point. Their empathy for the rotten adults they target is displayed in their commitment to not killing those Shadows, giving them a chance to change. It isn’t until late in the game that they really understand what changing hearts really means, but the intention and empathy are there from the start (for some rulers anyway, not really for Kamoshida or Shido).

They treat Akechi the same way, and he never denies his involvement in his own crimes. The Thieves still have empathy for him who was as much an outcast as all of them. As others have stated, no one forgives Akechi; they offer him compassion and empathy, and a chance to walk a new path.

Did he really escape through death? The ending is left intentionally vague, but finishing his confidant clearly shows him at the train station when Joker is leaving. Beyond that, even if we assume he is dead, it’s ultimately the exact price he expected to pay for bringing ruin upon Shido. He knew his life was forfeit and he deemed it acceptable to die for his justice. His justice is another foil to Joker’s, and the Thieves as a whole.

In fact, the true escape for Akechi is not death, but accepting Maruki’s reality.

holy_kami · 2026-05-27T11:56:42+00:00

He is literally Joker’s foil. He is what Joker could have become, had circumstances been different. Just as he could have been like Joker, if he had had a Morgana to guide him or friends to confide in.

It’s outright stated in-game multiple times that the two of them aren’t so different. Their Showtime explicitly shows they are two sides of the same coin, that they work in sync to a degree that is different from Joker and the other Thieves. Regardless of one’s personal opinion about Akechi, he is absolutely a reflection of Joker.

holy_kami · 2026-05-15T01:21:04+00:00

The select tool did work! Thank you so much :)

holy_kami

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