The best music in Persona 5 Royal

I played Persona 5 Royal earlier on in my sabbatical and ended up loving it more than any other RPG I’ve ever played. A big reason I love this game is the music. So I ranked my top 20 music tracks from the game.

Without further ado, here’s my list:

20. Beneath the Mask

“Oh, you’re back!” Yes I am, papa Sojiro. Yes I am.

19. Tokyo Daylight

What should I do today? Eat a giant burger? Some laundry? Darts? The world is my oyster.

18. Price

Not exactly what you picture when you’re pulling off a bank heist, but what a groove!

17. When Mother Was There

This one simply drives you forward. We have to help Futaba!

16. Ark

Pretty epic! It also seems to call back to Tokyo Daylight.

15. Colors Flying High

Not as earwormy as the original Persona 5 intro song, but Royal’s new intro is still great!

14. Butterfly Kiss

Takemi is cool AF. Honestly woulda picked her as Joker’s romance option if it wasn’t ridiculously creepy for a doctor to be dating a high schooler!

13. The Whims of Fate

The only person in the game cooler than Takemi is Sae. Everything about the casino chapter was amazing.

12. Triumph

The coolest “you win!” theme in video game history.

11. Last Surprise

This is a hell of a basic battle theme bop. The only problem is that it feels like a bummer when you hear this song because you didn’t ambush the opponent to earn Take Over. So technically, the opponent did “see it cooommmiiiiiinnnnnnngggggg!!!!!!!”

10. Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There

Damn. This one’s as relevant today as it ever has been. We should raise our collective voice against liars.

9. Gentle Madman

Dat piano.

8. Our Light

What a way to roll credits on this beautiful song. You finally hear the soulful voice of Lyn in her native Japanese. Also, whether intentional or not, the hints of My Chemical Romance’s Welcome to the Black Parade hit hard.

7. Rivers in the Desert

Shit got real. It is indeed now or never.

6. I Believe

Everything about Maruki start to finish was amazing. One of the most philosophically provocative final opponents - not "big bad” - in gaming history.

5. Throw Away Your Mask

What I said in #6, copy-paste.

4. Take Over

Easily the song you hear the most in Persona 5 Royal and it’s absolutely perfect as the “I’m in control of this battle” energetic theme.

3. Life Goes On

If only they played this bop during finals when I was in high school!

2. No More What Ifs

I barely heard this one in-game, but it’s the one I’ve probably listened to the most in real life. What a vibe.

1. Life Will Change

Yeah, it’s the basically the first thing you hear when you start playing the game. But this one gets you amped up and you never really forget it. This is the most confident video game theme I can think of. The driving introduction. The string flourishes. The bass breakdown. This is Persona 5, it knows what it is, it’s proud of it, and it wants you to know it. It’s the best thing in the game.

Ronjan Sikdar