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Persona 5was already a massive game that takes around 100+ hours to beat. The Royal edition adds new gameplay mechanics and a whole new final section of the game to play. The Royal version is seen as the definitive addition, and the bonus content is a must-see for any fan of the original game.
Related:Persona 5 Royal: Best Personas, Ranked
The third semester is the entire month of January, which is now playable. This semester bringsin a new Palace, ruler, and Phantom Thief to use. The third semester can surprisingly be very easy to miss. Preparations to unlock this bonus content start early in the game, and should you miss a deadline to finish a specific confidant, the added semester is locked out for your playthrough.
Dr. Maruki: The Councillor
Dr. Maruki is an added character andconfidant in the Royal edition. At first glance, he is a goofy Councillor, there to help the students cope with the events of the first palace. He becomes aConfidant on May 13thand can be found by thenurses' office in Shujin Academy. You are then able to level up Maruki onMondays and Fridays after school.
to unlock the third semester, you must reachRank 9 with Maruki before November 18th. There are more than enough days to compete with this confidant through the game, but once the deadline is reached, you are permanently locked out of the bonus content for that playthrough. After reaching Rank 9, Maruki and Joker have one last talk before he leaves on November 18th, ranking the confidant to Rank 10. After this interaction, you are set to access thenew semester’s contentat the start of theNew Year on January 1st.
Kasumi: Faith
Kasumi is the new Phantom Thief added in the Royal edition. Kasumi is a unique confidant in the early months of the game, byonly having 5 ranks. While ranking up Kasumi isn’t a necessity to unlocking the third semester, bonus scenes in the third semester are made available by having her rank up before a deadline.
Kasumi’sconfidant begins on May 30thafter officially meeting Joker and can later befound in Kichijoji. They do have a few interactions in the days prior, as Kasumi is worked into the already existing world of Persona 5. to achieve the bonus content for Kasumi in the third semester, Kasumi’s confidantmust reach Rank 5 before December 18th.
Related:Persona 5 Royal: Tips and Tricks For Beginners
Akechi: Justice
Akechi was a character and confidant in the base game of Persona 5. His confidant was more railroaded with specific story moments serving as his confidant rank-ups. In Royal, hisconfidant has to be reworkedto level up from random hangouts during free time. This new confidant system allows for hischaracter to be more fleshed outas opposed to the base game’s rank-ups.
Related:Persona 5 Royal: Best Villains, Ranked
Akechi is another confidant that can be ranked up before the third semester in order to achieve bonus third-semester content. Akechi’sconfidant begins on June 10th, and he can befound outside of Sniper Penguin in Kichijoji. Akechi’s confidant will need to beRank 8 before November 24thto access the bonus content for his character in the third semester.
While only Maruki is required to access the third semester,all of these charactershave deadlines to unlock bonus content for them within the third semester. To experience this game to its fullest potential, prioritize these confidants before their deadlines, and you’ll alsounlock this game’s true ending.
