What Happens When You Romance Multiple Partners in Persona 5?

As an avid Persona fan whose romanced almost every character across multiple playthroughs, I‘m here to give the full download on what goes down when you decide to date more than one of the available romantic interests in Persona 5 at the same time.

The Game Allows You to Juggle Multiple Girlfriends/Boyfriends Without Direct Penalties

Unlike some other games where cheating explicitly lowers stats or locks you into a "bad" ending, Persona 5‘s intricate social simulator mechanics let you date as many partners as you want with no immediate in-game repercussions.

You can romance multiple girls and max out their confidants without taking an approval hit or missing out on their ultimate Persona:

However, despite the initial lack of hard penalties, you will eventually face the consequences of your playboy/playgirl ways…

Valentine‘s Day Forces You to Choose – And Spurned Lovers Will Confront You!

On February 14th in the Persona 5 timeline, all your romantic prospects will ask to hang out and offer you chocolate. This puts you in quite the pickle – you‘re forced to pick just one girlfriend/boyfriend to spend Valentine‘s with!

Whoever you turn down will track you down afterwards and call you out for two-timing them. Their reactions are pretty hilarious:

• Ann will find you with whoever you picked and indignantly ask if you were cheating on her
• Futaba will text you furiously asking why you ditched her for someone else
• Takemi will scold you for being unfaithful when she spots you with another girl
• Kawakami will awkwardly question your intentions if she sees you with a student on Valentine‘s Day

So while balancing multiple partners early on is easy, February 14th is when the reckoning comes and your lovers find out the truth!

Maxing Out Multiple Romances Unlocks Exclusive Scenes and Gameplay Perks

However, it‘s not all dramatic confrontations – there are worthwhile bonuses to romancing as many interests as possible, which is why I always recommend it on the first playthrough:

• You unlock exclusive cutscenes and story tidbits by progressing each girlfriend/boyfriend to rank 10 and listening to all their confidant scenes.
• Powerful charms and battle perks are awarded along the way. Lovers Arcana grants boosts to gun damage and HP regeneration out of combat for example.

So I advise players interested in experiencing everything P5R‘s impressively fleshed out romance arcs have to offer to date around during the first run. You can always be choosey and do someone‘s arc solely in NG+.

Approaching the Endgame and New Semester – Time to Pick Your One "Canon" Partner

As Christmas Eve and Valentine‘s Day approaches though, the game starts locking you into more serious commitment.

• On 12/24, you have to spend the evening with your destined partner. Turning down their invite means you miss out on a special scene.
• In Royal‘s new semester, 2/2 forces you to dump every girlfriend except one. Rejecting all of them leads to quite the melancholy scene…

So after 60-80 hours of juggling up to 7 partners, the game cracks down by endgame and makes you officially pick that "one special someone".

Credit: Atlus/Sega via PlayStation Blog

Confronted By ALL Your Jilted Lovers in Persona 5 Royal‘s New Finale

Exclusively in Persona 5 Royal, if you romanced multiple interests throughout, you‘ll unlock a brand new post-credits scene where all your duped girlfriends and boyfriends team up to confront you one last time!

This special scene only triggers if you maxed out multiple romanceable confidants, so it‘s easy to miss if you committed to just one partner.

But for those players like myself who tending to date 5+ prospects per playthrough, it‘s a hilarious and fitting finale facing the fury of all your spurned lovers before New Game+!

So in summary – does Persona 5 punish you for cheating or dating around? Well…not explicitly with stat deductions and bad endings. But in Royal‘s new content? You better believe your unpredictable love life eventually catches up for quite the comedic climax!

Expert Romancing Tips From a Veteran Persona Player

So now you know exactly what happens if you romance multiply partners over Persona 5‘s 60-100 hour campaign. Should you date around or commit to "the one"? Well, as someone whose finished the games multiple times, here are my hot takes:

Newcomers Should Romance All Options on First Playthrough

• Experience all romance stories organically
• Unlock the most content possible
• Accrue bonus skills/perks/Personas
• See the Royal-exclusive finale scene

Returnees Can Commit After Seeing All Arcs

• Focus on your favorite girl/boy exclusively
• Roleplay a realistic romance second time through
• Compare single vs multi outcomes

Ultimately, I believe players should make the most of P5/Royal‘s brilliantly written relationship system by exploring all options during the first run. Then once you‘ve seen everything these deeper-than-expected romance arcs have to offer, settle down with your true love on subsequent playthroughs. Rinse and repeat for 200+ hours of Persona perfection!

So don‘t hesitate to break some hearts your first time through the Metaverse – just be prepared to face the splash damage afterwards!