Persona 5

My impressions

So. Persona 5. Oh my god. 

Where to start other than saying how completely blown away I was. That and watching the trailer like fifteen times. Ah to hell with it one more time……because its relevant…….I lied I've watched it at least twenty times already. 

If your not familiar with Atlus's JRPG series Persona then you need to take a good long look at it. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 5 is the newest instalment from Atlus who lead the way in terms of original story ideas for games. Canonically the persona series revolves around young high school students who have the ability to summon persona's which are the manifestations of a persons soul or psyche. Each game in the series focuses on different aspects for instance Persona 3 focused on an event called the dark hour a hidden hour of time that not many humans knew about or were conscious for the plot of the game is to put an end to this supernatural event as you, the protagonist, is aware of the dark hour as are others. Sounds complex I know, its a lot easier to watch it than to explain it. 

The Persona series is a long running series and like I said above each one is different and adds something that the previous iterations didn't have. This is the latest in the long running series. 

Persona always prides itself on how diverse it is, challenging many adolescent idiosyncrasies and stereotypical behaviour.



Here is some information I have summarised and gathered based on screenshots and the trailer. Bear in mind at the moment this is all speculation.

• First off, because this is definitely one people are getting worked up over and is definitely not speculation at all just common sense, there are more than four party members in the game. 
• The protagonist seems to be transferred to a new school for rehabilitation. Implying that he has some criminal past. That's already way more personality than the last two protagonists. 
• The protagonists friends are sort of social rebels as they don't wear the correct uniform in school. Not a big deal since most persona characters are easily distinguishable from the rest of the npc's but still worth noting. 
• When in school and out on the street the protagonist is rather timid looking maybe even bored. However when in dungeons his true personality comes out that of a phantom thief. Pay attention to the true personality bit especially. 
• This is the first persona game, since the very first, to include multiple weapons the party is seen wielding both melee weapons and firearms in battle.
• Their is an element of stealth to the game as the protagonist is seen jumping around dungeons as well as moving stealthily from one hiding spot to the next. How this is going to be incorporated is anyones guess.
• The all out attack animation has been changed somewhat. It now looks even more hectic than before.
• The velvet room returns with Igor and two twin Velvet room attendants. Although it seems that the velvet room is less of a nice and safe place as the protagonist is seen wearing stripped black and white prison clothes. This is probably symbolic in a way although how isn't made clear. Its probably how the protagonist gets his persona though  as the tag line of the original trailer said: "You are a slave. Want emancipation?" Signifying that the emancipation bit probably refers to being free i.e. being able to use a persona. 
• The clothes the protagonist wears during the velvet room scene look eerily similar to that of Pharos from P3. Its possible, and this is a long shot, Pharos might have also been a prisoner and his escape was related to the P3 protagonist. Like I said, long shot and probably not related seeing as his presence is explained in P3. Still bear it in mind. 
• When in dungeons the protagonist and his friends don masks. This could have a dual meaning. The first is that it means they are hiding their identities which is the fairest assumption. The second is that their masks are what they truly are and when wearing them it represents their link to their personas. Seeing as the word persona quite literally means mask thats what led me to this.
• No actual persona's have been seen yet or at least not in battle. The end of the trailer shows the protagonist being consumed by blue flames. But what is interesting is that his eye's are yellow similar to P4 shadows. This could be a hint at how persona's are summoned or maybe it signifies that these personas are dangerous. Perhaps the protagonists need to force them out and as we know forcing a persona to manifest itself is dangerous to the individual.
• The shadows, enemies in all previous games, have appeared as black blobs and take numerous different forms. The shadows in this game look like some of the personas you can attain from previous titles implying that maybe the negotiation system from previous games might be reintroduced or something similar.
• The protagonists persona is Arsene Lupin also known as the phantom thief further alluding to the protagonists status as a thief.
• Philemon could have more significance in this game than more recent titles. There are, as ever, hints to his presence.
• The protagonists may be a gang of anti-heroes and seen more as people to avoid.
• Like Teddie from P4 a cat character named Morgana appears in the game. I am assuming that like Teddie, she too comes from the other world. Wether or not there is another world is debatable but for now lets just assume its right. Morgana can assume a more humanoid form as well. Get ready for cat girls. 
• Morgana is the name of an enchantress from Arthurian legend which would explain how she is able to switch between being a cat and human. 
• The Velvet room attendants look less like attendants and more like prison guards further hinting at the concept of prison and crime. As well as the cage of the mind.
• Their are some strong hints towards the protagonists transforming into their respective personas. I cannot stress how bad an idea like that is. A persona is a manifestation of your psyche it PSYCHICALLY appears. Just don't do it atlus, don't be those guys. No transforming please. 

Here's what I think. The main characters of the game are probably along the same lines as Robin Hood, take from the rich to give to the poor. But beneath that is another possibility the possibility that the prison is normal life and that the main characters go out of their way to create chaos to be "free". It definitely fits with some aspects of teenage years as most teenagers are rather rebellious and don't bow to social order like most. Either way its an interesting concept and I can't wait to see what the result is.