Persona 5 + Persona 5 Royal: Official Design Works — Review

Rating: 4.5 / 5 (80 ratings)

I treat every game and companion tome like a checklist to be finished—this design works book is no exception. If you approach Persona 5 and Royal the same way you approach a New Game+ completion run, this volume becomes a strategic companion. It includes character sheets, artist notes, level sketches, and behind-the-scenes decisions that shaped the Palaces and the Phantom Thieves.

What’s inside

  • Hefty character focus: roughly 412 pages largely dedicated to character art. Main cast, side characters and antagonists with artist commentary and development sketches.
  • World and environment material: the final ~100 pages dive into Palaces, Mementos and set dressing layouts, color palettes and moodboards.
  • Format notes: about an inch thick, packed with full‑color illustrations, concept sketches and explanatory captions. And the occasional typo that’ll make you chuckle.
  • Design thinking: candid notes from artists explaining silhouette choices, costume motifs and how characters’ arcs influenced visual direction.

Key specs (reported by buyers)

  • Pages: ~412 (character art heavy; last ~100 pages for world design)
  • Content: character designs, concept sketches, level designs, artist commentary
  • Audience: fans of Persona 5 / Persona 5 Royal, game designers, illustrators and collectors

Why completionists and artists will want this

If you obsess over every confidant rank, trophy, and secret in-game, this book rewards that same instinct. Seeing early sketches of Joker’s mask or Morgana’s expressions helps you appreciate the subtle visual storytelling across Palaces and cutscenes. For artists and cosplayers it’s a goldmine: costume closeups, alternate color studies, and notes on fabric and silhouette let you replicate outfits with confidence.

How to use this book while replaying the game — tactics from a completionist

  • Pair pages with playthroughs: flip to a Palace design page while replaying that Palace to spot visual motifs you missed in your first run.
  • Character study for roleplay: use expression sheets and pose references to inform dialogue choices or RP streams (e.g., steer a conversation as the confident or sardonic Joker).
  • Persona fusion insight: reviewing persona and antagonist sketches can clarify arcana themes and inspire fusion strategies or thematic party builds.
  • Cosplay & art practice: crop reference images for pattern and prop details—great for planning prop builds during NG+ downtime.

Player snippets

  • “5.0 out of 5 stars — Fantastic” by Brady (Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2025): This book contains so much art it has set the new standard for design works. About an inch thick of character illustrations, sketches, level designs, and the thought process behind the design choices. Easily worth the money especially if your a fan of the game or game design in general. The occasional typo can have you chuckling but despite that this book is wonderful
  • “5.0 out of 5 stars — Mostly a Character Art Book” by Chris Wayne (Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2024): Definitely a hefty artbook, which makes sense given the high price tag. Be forewarned though that most of the book, around 412 pages, is dedicated to character art from the main cast to side and antagonists. I did appreciate how there is an artist explanation on how each character was designed. The last 100ish pages are focused on the world of P5. The characters are the stars of the game, which makes their emphasis in this book make sense. Its just different from most game art books that spread focus around environment art and characters evenly.
  • “5.0 out of 5 stars — Really cool for Persona/Shin Megami Tensei fans” by Zach S (Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2024): The art is super high quality. Feels like there is an endless amount of pages and design documents to graze over. Super detailed and really awesome.

Final Thoughts

4.5 / 5 — This is a must‑own for dedicated Phantom Thieves, concept art collectors and anyone who loves the craft behind game visuals. It leans heavily into character design (so expect fewer environment spreads than some other artbooks), but the detail and artist commentary make it worthwhile. Keep it on your shelf next to the game cases and flip through it between Palace runs to catch little design cues and inspiration for your next completionist project.

Cover preview

View Persona 5 + Persona 5 Royal: Official Design Works on Amazon