Enjoying Persona 5 Royal on your XBOX or PC? If so, you should definitely try out some other great games. Whether you’re a newcomer to JRPGs, playing P5R due to the hype, or a Persona 5 fanatic looking to get into more great games; there are plenty of other JRPGs on XBOX and PC like Persona 5 Royal for you to also play and enjoy.
XBOX
Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers 2
Persona started as a subseries of Shin Megami Tensei, so why not try ANOTHER SMT subseries? The story involves two factions at odds with each other, each holding different values and ideas on the path they believe humanity should take. An AI foretells the coming of “The Great One”, an entity that will cause the end times. The AI splits itself into two beings to counteract this foretelling. You take control of Ringo, one of these halves. There is relationship- building mechanics with your party members. Spend time with them and make favorable dialogue choices to grow closer with them. This unlocks personal dungeons to explore, which upon completion give party members new skills. The combat includes the elemental weakness of Persona, however, in SH2 you add effects to a stack each time you hit a weakness. At the end of each turn, your stack lets your demons go all out in a huge attack called a ‘Sabbath’. There isn’t really a disadvantage to enemies striking your weak points, so the gameplay is more relaxed. Explore dungeons, grow closer to your party, gather demons, and enjoy a great Atlus story. What more could you ask for?
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Persona 5 involves teenagers fighting for what is right while building relationships and growing intimate with the city of Tokyo. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is about middle-aged adults fighting for what is right while building relationships and growing intimate with the city of Yokohama. Huh, not THAT far off from each other. You even mostly play as characters that are at odds with the law in both games. Y: LAD involves a former Yakuza who got locked away in prison for 20 years. The story involves him getting back on his feet and diving back into the criminal underworld to find out the truth about how the world has changed and why his crime family abandoned him. Much like P5R, Y: LAD uses a turn-based battle system. LAD has some interesting mechanics like job classes and environmental aspects to battles. LAD’s plot is technically more mature and deals with stuff such as honor and modern-day politics. The Yakuza series has plenty of fun wackiness to engage with too. Enjoy these crazy substories that are fun and flesh out the world and characters.
PC
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD
This cult classic JRPG has been re-released. Persona used to carry the Shin Megami Tensei moniker, so why not check out a mainline SMT game? You’ll find some similarities in terms of the demon fusion and combat, however, the Press Turn combat system is both more rewarding and more challenging than Persona 5’s turn-based battles. Taking advantage of an enemy’s weakness will net you an extra turn, but these demons can and will hit you hard enough to take your turns from you. In this game, you get brought into a post-apocalyptic world filled with demons and moral dilemmas. Will you follow the lawful path or sow chaos? It’s your decision. SMT harbors a much darker tone than Persona. The soundtrack, art design, story, and difficulty mix together to create a truly unique experience.
The Caligula Effect Overdose & The Caligula Effect 2
These games have many similarities to Persona, mostly in the interaction systems. The writer of the game is even the same writer of the first Persona game and both Persona 2 games. The main characters of the games are trapped in a digital world that is supposed to protect you from life’s hardships. You aim to escape all while forming bonds with many people and helping them tackle their issues. You have a ton of characters to interact with and build relationships with. This creates an intricate web of questing and interacting with people to meet new characters to associate with. You can even recruit the NPCs you interact with when you reach a high enough association level with them. Besides the interesting premise and interaction systems, you still get a remarkably solid gameplay experience. Combat even has interesting mechanics like chaining multiple attacks together to create unique effects. The sequel has added polish but uses similar mechanics and concepts.
XBOX and PC
Final Fantasy Type-0
This Final Fantasy spinoff title is much edgier than the normal FF fare. Much bloodier too. The story this go-around is a little darker too, involving a group of specialized teens that must use their skills to help end a world war. The main cast attends a military academy called Akademia. You use your free time between missions to interact with other students, complete side objectives and participate in extracurricular activities. The tone and the game’s premise alone gives it some Persona vibes. The main differences lie in the FF iconography and the action battle system. Each face button is a different attack. Combine this with learning new skills and obtaining new magic, and you have a rich JRPG. You have over a dozen characters to play as, each with a different playstyle. So there’s plenty of variety and strategy combat- wise. Enjoy your school life when you can, because you have the fate of the world resting on you and your classmates’ shoulders.
Tales of Arise
Can you break the chains that enslave you and fight to survive? Rebel against your oppressors and make things right? Well, the themes of rebellion in Tales of Arise aren’t all that different from P5R. Tales of Arise is an action RPG epic. Battle monsters with a high-octane, action battle system. Explore a vast and varied world, gathering materials to craft gear and completing quests to rebuild society. While on your journey, you will meet many people and have the chance to form bonds with them. Your characters will interact with each other throughout the game via ‘skits’, short scenes that show snippets of their lives, worries, dreams, and shenanigans. The battles even have a ‘boost’ mechanic that involves breaking an enemy in order to enact devastating, cinematic attacks with your comrades. The gameplay couldn’t be more different from Persona 5, but I believe that variety will spice things up. The similar themes and character focus should be ample material to grab your attention if you enjoy P5R.
Also Consider Playing… More Persona Games!
More Persona games are on the way to both, XBOX consoles and PC! Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden will release on January 19, 2023! Enjoy a replay of some games you already love or try these cult-classic JRPGs for the first time. They will also be available on GamePass, so the ease of access for getting into the Persona franchise is even greater.
