Worst Boy Goro Akechi smugs his way into Persona 5 Royal

Did someone mention delicious pancakes?

Despite what Persona 5’s earworm of a theme told us, we all saw this coming. As we allowed Atlus to star our eyes with trailers for cool kids Ryuji Sakamoto, Futaba Sakura, Matoko Niijima et al, we all knew we’d get here eventually. Today’s trailer looks at insufferable square Goro Akechi, who returns in upcoming JRPG Persona 5 Royal.

Goro Akechi is a genius-level detective with S-tier irritability. Akechi is first encountered by Joker and pals where they meet the fame-hungry snoop at a television studio. Wearing gloves indoors and carrying a briefcase like he’s somebody, Goro Akechi proceeds to hound The Phantom Thieves at every turn, determined to break their resolve and unmask their identities to the world, before ultimately resigning himself to their assistance.

Wearing clothes that have been ironed to within an inch of their life, Akechi’s perfect hair, handsome features and passive-aggressive attitude belie an obsessional personality built upon narcissism and misplaced arrogance. Akechi is haunted by demons he is unable to control, driven by a desire not only to be the greatest detective of all-time but, far more importantly, to be known as the greatest detective of all-time.

In the new trailer, we see young Akechi playing pool with Joker in new district Kichijoji, as well as trying to disguise himself from fans at a local cafe. Unfortunately, we don’t see any footage of his Team-Up attack, probably because he’s Billy-No-Mates, but we do get to see his dapper new winter outfit.

Persona 5 Royal launches in Japan for PS4 on October 31, before heading west sometime in 2020.