My animated team of psychic thieves deftly leaps over the chandelier and hides to avoid the gaze of a patrolling guard in the ensuing hallway, zigzagging behind him to begin the ambush. As the jazzy soundtrack reminds us, he never sees it coming and takes advantage of the weakness of the demon living inside him (a cute looking pumpkin in a witch's hat) to wipe it out in seconds with a tag team attack.

This is the kind of dynamism you would not expect from a turn-based JRPG, but "Persona 5 Royal" is willing to buck tradition and execute this near-perfect adventure. Even years after its release, it remains the pinnacle of the genre.

Despite being released later than the PC version, this is a great version and probably the best on the market. Although clearly intended to be played with a controller, keyboard and mouse support adds a nice, direct layer to this largely slow-paced tactical affair (the cursor transforms into a thief's dagger). Graphics options are limited but get the job done, and the option to play at 120fps (with 30fps and 60fps options) adds to P5R's already polished feel.

This fluidity and flair permeates every layer of P5R, which seems to have an answer for every reason a player might be bored with the genre. Its combat is comfortable and maneuverable, whether in the arcade-like mode, where you clear boards by chaining together weak points like in a puzzle game, or in the boss battles, which require a thorough mastery of the tool set. Set in modern-day Tokyo, the story of a group of teenagers rebelling against the unfair world of adults is refreshingly similar to the real world. The main dungeon is not a straight path, but a challenging environment to explore and scoop up shinies.

The treasures you pick up aren't just gold trinkets to sell in the equipment store. You are literally stealing hearts. The player is a teenager with an unjust criminal record who enrolls in Tokyo's Shujin Academy to get a fresh start with a family friend. When you discover a strange smartphone app that refuses to be deleted, you become involved in another case of adults abusing their authority. The school's lecherous physical education teacher has been treating the girls in his care as sex objects, while injuring the volleyball team he coaches with cruel training. The game goes to great lengths to reveal the complex emotional toll of such abuse.

An app called Metaverse Navigator allows users to enter the shared consciousness of Tokyo, where a particularly nasty person exercising influence has a grotesque palace. There, particularly nasty characters who wield influence have grotesque palaces. Guarded by demons (who are inspired by the real world myths of many cultures and materialized in this world through their shared beliefs), it is a death trap for the average passerby. But you (and later your peers) can draw that demonic power for yourself by liquidating the masks forced upon you by society.

Awakening to your powers, you dress in the garb of a modern gentleman thief, matching your long leather coat and gloves, and take on the code name Joker. You and your companions call yourselves the Phantom Thieves in order to openly summon the teacher and manifest the treasure of his heart so that you can make off with it. As a result, the teacher admits his guilt and resigns. ...... The friends then decide to push on with their adventure for one JRPG.

It takes almost a full year to advance the story. In-game. In reality, it would easily take more than 100 hours, including this edition's thick post-game epilogue; they start school in April and spend their days on a calendar system. Whether it is to see what awaits them in a new dungeon or just to catch up on some downtime with friends, it gives them a sense of always pushing forward. As a result, their powers are enhanced or buffed in battle, depending on whether they are party members or not.

P5R's story is a great tale that will resonate with anyone who remembers being a misunderstood teen, and the characters still have enough charm to rival the best of the genre. However, the material is still poorly handled. This release is an improvement, though, as the off-color gay jokes have been toned down. But more often than not, hits will be made and one will become emotionally invested in the tragic tale of the fellowship. What doesn't work so well is the odd romance with the homeroom teacher (especially given the theme of the game's first dungeon) and a few scenes added in the royal edition that make fan favorite "Ships" feel queerbutty.

Getting back to what you can do, there is so much you can do, you will feel like there are never enough hours in the day. To max out every character or unlock everything, you need to follow the guide to the letter. Instead, by not doing everything, the game empowers you to follow your nose and get into your own groove. Depending on the day of the week and the weather, the people you want to play with and the things you can do will change from day to night. For example, the health-restoring fried noodle buns at the school store are so popular that you can only buy them once every Friday. Studying in the rain further enhances knowledge. It is a testament to the strength of the game that it rarely gets boring, even after hours of play.

I said "rarely," not "never." Shin Megami Tensei's (of which Persona is a spin-off) obsession with nearly endless dungeons continues in Mementos, a subway-themed procoginous dungeon that represents the general shared consciousness of the city. This dungeon is not optional either. Morgana's cat bus in Cat Pal now reaches a new top speed, Collector Jose offers new rewards for exploration, and there are more side missions; it's not the worst length for a JRPG dungeon (you can bomb to the exit of each floor if you want), but it's still long.

Thankfully, it's not just the calendar that keeps things moving. Everything is sophisticated, right down to the menus. Everything is designed to keep moving forward. For example, each combat command that bursts from the party is easily accessible from the controller or keyboard, so you don't have to spend time navigating. It sounds trivial, but it makes combat snappy, especially as you learn the stability of the demons in each area and how to exploit their weaknesses. The "Advice" command will help you quickly navigate the weaknesses of discovered enemies.

Tactically, fighting in "Persona 5" is all about maintaining momentum. Thanks to a cover system that allows you to easily jump enemies roaming the map, most battles can be fought to your advantage. In battle, you can destroy skulls with an enemy's weakest element, land a critical hit, or score a technical hit on a debuffed enemy to knock him down and score "one more."

This "one more" not only attacks a party member, but can also be passed to an ally using a baton pass. In other words, it can chain weak points from one gap. Once all the enemies are down, a hold-up is triggered, from which a brilliant, high-damage all-out attack is unleashed or, alternatively, a chattering. Unlike other parties, the Joker can have more than one demon in a battle.

Unlike other parties, the Joker has the unique ability to befriend multiple demons. The Joker of All Trades is immensely powerful in brawls, depending on how the kit is put together, and while "P5R" offers an easy mode (and a super-easy safety mode that allows you to get up even if you die), it also requires contemplation. For example, if you find yourself needing to rely on a demon resistant to dark insta-kill, thank your past self.

You will not only welcome a demon from the field into your arms, you will create one yourself. In the Aetherial Velvet Room, a mystical being will teach you the art of demon fusion, allowing you to merge two demons together to create a new demon that inherits the skills of the previous demon. Each demon levels up and gains new skills, and this version can also feed on other demons to gain XP directly, but it does not coincide with the growth of one's character. The path to advancement is to literally trade with demons (Satan makes an appearance, but ironically wields "harsh" ice powers) and level up, always mastering new powers and party compositions. This is another lock in P5R's set of thieves' tools, allowing the RPG to stay fresh over its long runtime.

P5R is a game that just moves along smoothly. There is an urge to watch the big story unfold and to cram as many meaningful character moments as possible into the schedule. It may be hard to imagine from this, the longest JRPG I've ever played, but each of those long hours is filled with ingenuity, and frankly, it's hard to go back to other games in the genre. The dungeons, the combat, even the hangouts at the burger joint are just great. I could play other games, but the chance to re-schedule with New Game Plus looks very appealing.