Besides the shippy delight of Goro and Joker having a completely honest relationship in his new Confidant, there’s also the hope that this improves the narrative.
What I’m hoping this means is something me and fellow mod Sirea talked about last week: There needs to be a balance between Goro’s stance of justice as punishment, and Joker’s belief that justice is atonement.
The game as it stands right now in vanilla lands heavily in Joker’s favor. Though many of us have come to the conclusion of agreeing with Goro (to an extent), the game really fumbled both the delivery and representation of Goro’s perspective. This fumbling happened primarily because Goro’s Confidant is automatic instead of manual. We get very limited scenes with him because of the “twist,” which as a result limits the time we can really understand him (though again, many of us have already been able to understand him despite this).
One of the highlights of the anime was we got to see a little more of Goro and understand him better, and OVA flat out showed their bond as a mixture of tension (they had to keep their true identities secret) and genuine affection and appreciation for each other. I think this may be the foundation for Goro’s Confidant in Royal. The anime writers could have asked the devs for any suggestions on what to do with the OVA, or may have even been told “this is what the OVA should show off alongside some more Royal hangouts.”
So with the new Confidant being manual, and with the note that Goro’s relationship with Joker will be completely honest, this could mean Goro isn’t going to trick Joker. Which makes me wonder: is that twist still in place? Will Goro be in on the ploy to fake Joker’s death?
That honesty could just mean the twist still happens, but Goro’s feelings for Joker and how they bond isn’t a lie or a ploy to pull the wool over Joker’s eyes. This may also allow Goro to side with the PT instead of hesitating: he knows what he had with Joker was sincere and real, and their bond would have been more open than it was in vanilla.
Goro mentions in the anime repeatedly that he knows his relationship with Joker is one of give and take, a friendship of convenience, and it’s only when Joker mentions that he’s Goro’s rival does Goro brighten up and smile. A rival implies more of an emotional bond than a friend of convenience; you have to respect the abilities of your rival to even have one. This rivalry could very well save Goro’s life, or make him want to save his own.
I’m trying to temper my expectations about Royal, but I just wanted to lay out my thoughts and speculation instead of keeping the hype to myself.