It’s hard to believe it's been one year since Persona 5 Royal was released and forced me to put another 100 hours into a game I had already poured 100 hours into. It’s even harder to believe Royal was so good, writing this list has me contemplating adding 100 more. So, what makes a game so good you’d sink 300 hours into it?
For Persona 5 Royal, it could be any of its dozen great features, from its stellar jazzy soundtrack to its compelling story and resonant themes. For me, however, it comes down to the game’s characters and the moments you share with them. In celebration of one year of Persona 5 Royal, it’s time to revisit those moments and the misfit crew that makes up the Phantom Thieves once more.
Here’s a list of all the Joker’s fellow Phantom friends, from worst to best.
9. Kasumi Yoshizawa
Kasumi is a character completely unique to Persona 5 Royal and unfortunately, she didn’t stick the landing for me--gymnast pun intended. Don’t get me wrong, I think Kasumi’s story (which I won’t get into here for the sake of major spoilers) is interesting, sincere, and feels very at home in the game’s final chapters, but I almost wish she’d have purely been a confidant rather than a member of the Phantom Thieves.
As much as I wanted to adore the game’s brand new character, Kasumi’s personality resembles Futaba’s far too much for me and I felt she failed to bring anything new to the table--even if the game kept pushing her up to it.
8. Futaba Sakura
If there were any placement on this list I’m fully expecting to catch some flack for, it would be this one. Futaba fans, as it turns out, really love Futaba. However, for me, Futaba has always felt a bit out of place in the group. I like her as a support character, and I like the family dynamic between her, Sojiro, and Joker, but as a peer among the other playable characters she feels completely disconnected.
I think part of my frustration with Futaba comes from her personality that feels, for lack of a better term, “I’m not like other girls”-y. There is an air about Futaba that makes me think she views herself and both smarter and superior to the other Phantom Thieves, and at times she comes across as a bit mean rather than anti-social and “quirky.” While just like Kasumi, Futaba has an interesting and emotional backstory, her actual character to me is just not on the same level as the others on the team.
7. Morgana
Morgana undoubtedly deserves way more credit than he gets for all the work he puts in for the team, not to mention for being their only source of information on the Metaverse. He also deserves to be looked at with a bit more sympathy than we typically give him--it can’t be easy having no grasp of who you are and feeling like an outsider even amongst a group of outsiders.
However, Morgana can come across as incredibly condescending, and belittles Ryuji or sexualizes Ann far too often for my liking. Thankfully, the extra time in Persona 5 Royal results in some extra growth for Morgana and it looks like he’s on a path towards self-acceptance and maturity by the time things wrap up, but it doesn’t make the rest of the game an entirely smooth ride.
6. Yusuke Kitagawa
Let me tell you, I went through some ups and downs with Yusuke, but have inevitably come to this conclusion: Yusuke is good, actually. While your introduction to Yusuke is a bit problematic (though to be fair all the guys' behavior in that situation was, sorry Ann), Yusuke truly is solely driven by his art and I believe his desire to paint Ann nude was driven by that vigor rather than any other urges. Yusuke is eccentric in the truest sense of the word, but unlike Futaba, his distance from “normal” and the rest of his peers doesn’t ever come across as mean-spirited--though he can be a bit endearingly uptight.
While Yusuke is always gentlemanly, he also is incredibly goofy and dramatic, and it makes for some of the more memorable interactions in the game. However, he also has a serious side to him, and understands how it feels to be different. This quality makes him one of the more patient and understanding members of the team, which is a quality that is desperately needed.
5. Goro Akechi
If you’ve played Persona 5, you know there’s a lot to get into with Akechi. If you haven’t, I don’t want to risk ruining things for you so just like with Kasumi, I’ll keep his entry a bit brief.
Goro Akechi absolutely isn’t for everyone, but I dare you to tell me he isn’t compelling. Akechi is equal parts arrogant and charming, making him a character you absolutely love to roll your eyes at, and he poses good questions to both the Phantom Thieves and you as a player--questions that make you rethink things a bit. Ultimately, there really couldn’t be a better rival, or foil, to Joker.
4. Haru Okumura
Persona 5 Royal added a lot of great changes to Persona 5, and one of the best was giving us more time to get to know Haru Okumura--a character who felt a bit shoe-horned in in the base game. Haru is sweet, charming, nurturing (to both plants and humans), and a complete hopeless romantic, making for an all-around endearing character. It therefore makes it even harder to watch such a lovely character have to go through so much at such a young age, as she is forced to confront her own abusive father and escape an arranged marriage.
However, despite all her struggles and her shy nature, Haru treats those around her with nothing but kindness and acceptance. She is the only party member Ryuji never butts heads with, as well as the only party member to always use affectionate honorifics (-kun, -chan) when speaking with the others. She also has a bit of a sadistic streak, which rears its head in battles and can at times shake up the rest of the Phantom Thieves, but adds a bit of silliness to her overall elegant demeanor and humanizes her.
3. Makoto Niijima
I don’t think there’s a character in your Persona 5 Royal party that’s more divisive than Makoto Niijima. Just like all the characters on this list, there’s a quality to Makoto that isolates her from the rest of her peers, but unlike the rest of the characters, that quality isn’t necessarily endearing to everyone. When you first meet Makoto, she is an honor student who is closer to the teachers she seeks to impress than she is to any other student. Outside of her teachers--who don’t treat her particularly well, I might add--Makoto’s only other companion is her older sister, Sae, a detective who also doesn’t treat her particularly well. All around Makoto are authority figures who expect constant maturity and obedience from her, so it’s no wonder she has no idea how to be a normal teenager.
For all the reasons above, I find Makoto’s growth and journey towards freedom and self-realization in Persona 5 Royal exceptionally cathartic, touching, and relatable. Despite her not being my favorite romanceable character in the game, I always choose her to pair up with Joker because she comes across as such a natural fit and equal to stand alongside him. Whereas Joker leads through his actions, Makoto leads through her words, which are always well worth listening to. Together, they form a literal power couple, each bringing levity and strength to the other.
2. Ryuji Sakamoto
Ryuji doesn’t get enough love and it's a goddamn shame, really. I adore Ryuji and resent the fact that so often he is reduced to being a punching bag or a punchline when he is so much more. Ryuji Sakamoto is the first friend you make when you transfer over to Shujin Academy, and you are immediately made aware of the fact that the entire faculty deems him not the kind of friend a good kid should have. And you know what? Sure. Ryuji is loud, irresponsible, and irrefutably hot-headed. However, all of this is fueled by compassion, honesty, and a deep hatred of the establishments--such as Shujin--that makes others feel like they are lesser beings or dole out injustices.
Ryuji understands not only what it feels like to be abused but what it feels like to be condemned and forgotten rather than helped. Ryuji is just a teenager, but already he feels the responsibility to take on forces larger than himself if it means he can make things easier for others like him--if he can ensure others do not have to hurt. While he might come across as brash or dim-witted, Ryuji is more compassionate and understanding of systemic failures than the rest of his peers.
1. Ann Takamaki
Ann Takamaki is not only the best party member in Persona 5 Royal, but is genuinely one of the greatest video game characters ever. She serves as a perfect example of how compelling and charming female characters can be when they are allowed to be both dynamic and multifaceted, when they are permitted to possess qualities we consider weak and strong simultaneously. Ann is beautiful, alluring, ditzy, emotional, and feminine, and absolutely none of those things stop her from being quick-thinking, determined, grounded, laid-back, and fiercely kind.
There is a tendency for characters to abandon their own stories and submit entirely to being just a part in the main character's story in all media, but repeatedly throughout Ann’s confidant route, we act as the supporting character in her life as she tends to her friendships and learns to take herself and her work more seriously. Ann is the heart of the Phantom Thieves, and acts as a source of comfort for those around her without making herself small in the process. My heart breaks at the instances in which the writing of Persona 5 Royal sexualizes her in a way that feels disingenuous to her character, but all in all, I do think she’s the best female character they’ve created thus far.