In a recent interview with Persona Magazine (via Games Talk) Persona series director Katsura Hashino shared some new information regarding Persona 5, specifically regarding the main cast and setting.
Here is what he had to share:
Regarding the Game’s Setting:
- The level design of the dungeons will be incredibly different from previous titles, with all of them incorporating different stories.
- By choosing the theme of “phantom thieves”, Atlus hope to take the user base by surprise and to put more ideas into their heads. They want to combine contemporary dram with Persona to create “something that expresses the fun of entertainment”
- The reason they chose Tokyo as their primary setting is because Atlus wants to play out an unimaginable phantom thief drama in a world where most people are familiar with.
More Information for the Characters:
- Many of the characters are either labeled or have a very bias point of view. They go through their daily lives unhappy, feeling that they can’t change them and that they don’t fit in. The introduction will develop once the characters break the status quo.
- Ryuji Sakamoto is a character with a “let’s change the world” kind of attitude. The protagonist begins his phantom thieving after getting caught up with Ryuji. His Persona, Captain Kidd, matches Ryuji’s “setting and episode”
- Ann Takamaki is a quarter-American who’s returned to Japan and is generally well liked but doesn’t have any friends. Though she stands out, she is cut off and isolated from her surroundings. Once she becomes friends with the protagonist, her bright personality makes her the lively mood maker of the group. Her Persona Carmen is described as having a femme fatal side to her. In an incident that happens to Ann, Ryuji and the protagonist get involved and take the fight to the other world, thus Ann is described as having an influence on the fate of the main cast.
- Morgana, much like Teddie in Persona 4, will act as the groups guide in the other world. As the only party member to have a done some phantom thief business (for unexplained reasons), she also acts as the groups mentor in the phantom thieving business. Morgana takes on the form of a cat whenever shes in the real world. Hashino wants the user to look forward to the reason why that is. Morgana’s Persona Zorro is her idealized form, seeing as she’s very small and often called a cat, her Persona takes on a macho form.
- Yusuke Kitagawa is an eccentric character who has a talent as a painter and is also an art scholarship student. Hashino describes that his art “might give off a different appeal”.
- Persona 5 will have a system similar to “Social Links” which were in the previous two titles. Hashino ponders “Is communication the driving force for those who are trying to make change?” With this in mind, he hopes to take the human relations a step above those of Persona 3 and Persona 4.
Hashino ends the interview saying that the 20th anniversary of the Persona series is this year, and that Atlus are thinking about making an announcement that will please fans still waiting for Persona 5‘s release.
Persona 5 is set to release in Japan sometime this summer for PS3 and PS4.
Valwin Mediaz
February 24, 2016 at 12:03 pmJust release the game release already
Shiggy Diggy Doo
February 24, 2016 at 12:05 pmDid they just say they’re revamping the social links?
Because that was a real snoozefest in 3 and 4, not to mention tedious. Plus a guide being mandatory if you wanted all of them maxed out in a single play through
deadeye
February 24, 2016 at 12:11 pmThe very first point about dungeons being revamped is fantastic.
The dungeons are easily the weakest parts in P3 and P4.
Everything else sounds great of course, but the first point has me very excited.
Steven T.
February 24, 2016 at 12:12 pmI’m still wondering what role the demons play and how negotiations will work this time.
deadeye
February 24, 2016 at 12:17 pmWell, P3 and 4 had neither of those things so I doubt P5 will.
Chensaw
February 24, 2016 at 12:18 pmThat’s like your opinion man.
I quite frankly felt the marie social link to be the only one i disliked an got bored from the beginning, but there aren’t many i would say are tedious.
Donwel
February 24, 2016 at 12:20 pmAny money they’ll allow you to romance the cat.
Uncle Ocelot
February 24, 2016 at 12:23 pmCool, I just hope it doesn’t get “localised”.
Shiggy Diggy Doo
February 24, 2016 at 12:30 pmI meant doing them were tedious. The stories are fine.
Like you don’t have a matching persona? Better go back to the Velvet room to fuse something new unless you wanna spend 5 ingame days for the same result.
Then the choices, you don’t ever have an indication which one is the best choice because there were never any hint drops and even if you “know” them sometimes the “wrong” answer yields the most social link points. It’s pretty damn annoying,
alterku
February 24, 2016 at 12:31 pmIs it foolhardy to hope for a Vita port? I don’t even need the “golden” treatment.
Lloyd
February 24, 2016 at 12:33 pmAtlus USA is pretty good at bringing games over… but I really hope they have dual-audio in this title. Atlus USA’s VAs usually do a good job, but I wanna play this game with the JPN vocals first.
Lloyd
February 24, 2016 at 12:34 pmI doubt it, but nothing’s impossible. I’m just gonna remote play it lol.
Leandro Teixeira
February 24, 2016 at 12:42 pmI’m with you, my main concern right now is wether or not it will have the original dub. I hope so, because I really didn’t like the dubs on the previous titles, especially Persona 4
Shiggy Diggy Doo
February 24, 2016 at 12:43 pmI meant doing them were tedious. The stories are fine.
Like you don’t have a matching persona? Better go back to the Velvet room to fuse something new unless you wanna spend 5 ingame days for the same result.
Then the choices, you don’t ever have an indication which one is the best choice because there were never any hint drops and even if you “know” them sometimes the “wrong” answer yields the most social link points. It’s pretty damn annoying,
Lloyd
February 24, 2016 at 12:49 pmI personally loved the P4 dubs, but I can understand why some people would dislike it (“SENPAI!” lol). There’s nothing wrong with having vocal options, and I hope AtlusUSA figures that out.
Steven T.
February 24, 2016 at 12:56 pmActually the demons are in P5. They’ve already shown Sandman, Norn, and Ganesha as enemies in battle. So it makes me wonder why they’re enemies again after being reduced to just Personas in P3 and 4.
deadeye
February 24, 2016 at 12:58 pmCould it be that they’re just using them as enemy types?
TsukuyomiMagi99
February 24, 2016 at 1:04 pmWow this sounds awesome! I can’t wait to play it especially since I am sick of Persona 4 since its been milked to death.
Leandro Teixeira
February 24, 2016 at 1:32 pmTrue, the MCs were ok but the rest seemed forced and Nanako was annoying as hell, having the option to switch is for the best, dubs only are mostly used to cover shitty translation, when Tales of started using dual audio people started to riot about how bad the translation was (which is true and the same for Zestiria), I do hope Atlus in coop with SEGA makes a decent translation with the dual audio option
Guin
February 24, 2016 at 1:55 pmNothing to complain about when it comes to Persona.
Valwin Mediaz
February 24, 2016 at 2:32 pmstream it to vita
alterku
February 24, 2016 at 3:13 pmNot without a PS4. Kinda hoping to not need a reason to get one, heheh.
sanic
February 24, 2016 at 3:19 pmIf I get to play this and yakuza 0 I could probably die without haunting the earth.
SommenRider
February 24, 2016 at 3:24 pmJohn Hardin is in love with Atlus USA’s dub casts and constantly gets into fights about whether or not dual-audio is worth the trouble.
SommenRider
February 24, 2016 at 3:26 pmI doubt it. It’d make more sense to stick with Shadows then if demons were just in it only as enemies (without any real explanation).
Fear Me I Am Free
February 24, 2016 at 4:01 pmI hope this is good.
Jack
February 24, 2016 at 4:02 pmFrom the PVs it looks pretty good, it looks like there’s a lot of stuff you can do, i hope they have like a timer instead of just ‘you can do one thing and then off to bed like a good boy’
Jack
February 24, 2016 at 4:04 pm>casting ashley burch as Rise in Dancing all night
>having a 40 year old woman voice a 15~16 year old girl (this was chie in golden)
Michael Krause
February 24, 2016 at 4:45 pmGod damn it Atlus, this teasing is too much. I can’t handle it.
Etherblaze
February 24, 2016 at 5:26 pmYES. I CANNOT WAIT
Uncle Ocelot
February 24, 2016 at 5:27 pmGod I hope Burch doesn’t show up in P5.
Evropi
February 24, 2016 at 5:29 pmTo be fair, a 58-year old woman voices *Bart Simpson*. I don’t think it’s that ridiculous. Better an experienced voice actress than a green one.
Evropi
February 24, 2016 at 5:31 pmI agree. I was impressed for a while about how they gamified human relationships (and indeed, the visual novel portion of the game) without removing all the emotion from it.
I still think there should be *some* kind of gameplay system attached to the visual novel portion. Still, social links need to be revamped because they can honestly make the excellent writing of the game feel skippable if E.G. you’ve forgotten to get the right persona a few times and you are not levelling up.
thatguyEZ
February 24, 2016 at 7:27 pmA release date would be nice.
Jack
February 24, 2016 at 8:28 pmYeah i know, women voice children in stuff, but she had a slight lisp (listen closely whenever Chie talks and it will forever be noticeable to you) and her voice just seems out of place in places
Jack
February 24, 2016 at 8:29 pmsame man, the entire Burch family is cancer when it comes to vidya
2501
February 24, 2016 at 8:56 pmBesides the Sun social link, Persona 3’s social links were just awful, it felt like you were just being an ass kisser to people in order to level up consistently. In contrast, Persona 4 managed to give you choices that weren’t so obvious, and they where more personality orientated too.
Carl B.
February 24, 2016 at 9:13 pmAnn sounds like Lisa Silverman from Persona 2:IS. She was my favorite character in that game, so now I’m even more psyched.
Raspberry
February 24, 2016 at 11:34 pmdear Katsura Hashino, show moar waifus or GTFO
tccboss
February 25, 2016 at 3:49 amThis just has me more hyped I’m so ready for this game.
MusouTensei
February 25, 2016 at 8:55 amSounds good.
Valwin Mediaz
February 25, 2016 at 9:14 ami get it now funny that they did a ps3 version bit not a vita one
alterku
February 25, 2016 at 10:48 amI don’t get the rationale either. Maybe Persona does way better in the west which would explain the PS4, but abandoning the huge install base for Vita in their home country seems strange.
Alistair
February 25, 2016 at 11:06 amSo there going to be just 3 main characters 2 male & 1 female & a Cat?
Johnathon
February 25, 2016 at 12:39 pmJust because 1 woman that has good vocal range can pull it off doesn’t mean most can.
Exceptions do not make the rule.
Valwin Mediaz
February 25, 2016 at 2:05 pmi would have cancer the ps3 version at this point and do a Vita one
萌えゲー
February 25, 2016 at 7:51 pmHardin is sooooo unprofessional when dealing with this issue.