Lots of Persona 5 News

[Wolf Kanno]

Atlus has been pretty busy the last week dropping lots of info about their next installment in the popular cult hit Persona franchise.

First up is a a new version of the familiar opening, now featuring several of the new characters and song lyrics.

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Next up is the sneak peak at the anime tie in series, Persona 5 The Daybreakers which will begin airing in Japan on September 3es. The anime is not a retelling of the plot, but rather an expansion on a sub-story that takes place in the game.

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Now for people more interested on the gameplay side of things, Atlus released a video showing roughly the first fifteen minutes of the game. While it is all in Japanese, it is still a given it will feature tons of SPOILERS! So watch at your own expense.

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Now the cool stuff.

One fan who frequents Nico Nico has gathered and uploaded several videos showing off the gameplay into a playlist which you can watch all of it here:

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Finally, Atlus revealed a new gameplay element called Mementos (not to be confused with Mentos, the Fresh Maker) which is a free roam dungeon you can apparently take on whenever you wish. It even involves Morganna transforming into a bus, making this a catbus if you will.

This dungeon seems to be connected to several side-quests and its design is similar to Tartarus from P3 or the EX Dungeons from the first two games. No word if its optional like the EX Dungeons but Atlus says the dungeon is larger than all of P4 Combined. Whatever that means...

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[Midgar Mist]

Wheres a PS4/X Box One when you need one?

[Fox]

Dunno why they're bothering with all this so called "info". We're all going to buy it just to get our hands on that beautiful User Interface anyway. The rest is just unnecessary fluff.

[Wolf Kanno]

Atlus just revealed seven more Cooperation Characters, which has been confirmed to be the game's new take on the Social Link system. I'm only leaving the link (http://www.siliconera.com/2016/07/20/persona-5-introduces-7-new-cooperation-characters-youll-get-befriend-maybe-even-date/) because I know some people would rather be surprised going in.

[Fynn]

Have they said anything about how this will differ from Social Links?

[Wolf Kanno]

Have they said anything about how this will differ from Social Links?

Not that I'm aware of, though I've been trying to avoid too many spoilers.

[Depression Moon]

The people on the train have no faces.

[Mirage]

Wheres a PS4/X Box One when you need one?

Xbox one wouldn't help you here

[Wolf Kanno]

Some more news concerning the game.

Mementos is the name of the transforming dungeon you can partake of between missions in the Palace. The dungeon is randomly generated and serves as a reflection of the masses. As such, you'll encounter many people facing their Shadows in in this dungeon and it will change based on weather and time. This is an interesting cross between Tartarus from P3 and the TV World from P4, and also you get to travel around in a literal cat-bus, since Morgana has revealed she can turn into a vehicle.

Personas get more XP based on their coop partners. The more XP they get, the more skills they will learn, and more skills can be transferred randomely by inheritance when fused. This is mostly normal for the series, but the whole "coop partner" aspect makes me wonder if we'll see a return to Pre-P3 Persona rules and the whole cast may be able to change their personas. Another possibility is that we may get the sub-persona system from Persona Q. The other interesting piece of dialogue here is that the game seems to retain the older system of skill acquisition in fusion as opposed to the newer systems from Devil Survivor and SMTIV which allowed you to pick skills. Instead we're back to randomization, which I'm grateful for.

Guillotine (Fusions) is bringing back several elements from the early Persona games and SMTII and III. In addition to standard fusion we all know and love, there are three new aspects to consider:

Hanging - This is basically the SMT series Sacrificial Summon system. You have the ability to sacrifice a third persona in a standard two fusion summon to transfer the sacrifices XP to the new fused persona. This will make acquiring additional Personas more useful since you can sacrifice extras to build up your core team. You get more XP is the sacrifice is the same arcana as the resulting fusion.

Electric Chair - This takes some cues from the first two persona games. In the older games, Persona has level limits and when they maxed out and started to get useless, you could return them to the collective consciousness to gain items. Electric Chair is pretty much this in a nutshell, sacrificing a Persona to gain a new and powerful item.

Solitary Sending - This one is completely new but very interesting. Solitary Sending requires leaving a Persona in the Velvet Room to gain additional training. What makes this different from say the Day Care mechanic from the Pokemon games is that training here is all about removing a Persona's elemental weakness. The issue here is that you're sacrificing time to do this. So in theory of how it works, you could send a Jack Frost away for thirty in-game days to remove his weakness to fire, but obviously, you run the risk of him being too weak by the time he's returned. Raising your Coop levels will shorten the amount of time needed to get results.

[Vyk]

Didn't realize they had taken so many cues from the old games. I'd be more interested if they had tried to design a new thing with those ideals in mind, which sounds like something you'd want as well. But re-introducing them in a familiar P3/P4 atmosphere like they are doing will help to not alienate their current fans and ween those fans back into the old ways. So perhaps Persona 6 will go even farther down that path. Or this will be a decisive game and the fandom will decide that the P3/P4 style is all that matters. I'm sure they'll always find interesting ways to spin so that it doesn't stagnate too much. They're surely not making a stagnant looking game here

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm kind of happy they are bringing back some elements from the older games. I missed demon negotiations and the old fusion systems were actually really cleverly done in the older SMT titles. Persona 1 and 2 may have some problems but they also had some really clever ideas as well. The funny thing is that P3/P4 are the titles that borrowed more from older SMT games whereas their predecessors had more original and interesting game mechanics; so for me, it's really cool to see them hearkening back to their roots.

Hell my main happy point was that they didn't retain the "choose your new mons skill after fusion" rule that was in SMTIV and the Devil Survivor games. It sounds good on paper but it seriously wrecked the game balance and trivialized many of the monsters by end game.

At this point in time, P5 feels like the love child between P2 and P3 and the child grew up watching too much Lupin III, which sounds absolutely fantastic to me, but whether the fanbase will accept it is still up in the air.

[Wolf Kanno]

Figured I would update this. Atlus just announced the first wave of DLC for P5 (http://www.siliconera.com/2016/09/26/persona-5-steals-costumes-bgm-sets-past-persona-titles-latest-batch-dlc/) now that it has been released in Japan.

The DLC includes:

Six different Costume Packs, letting you dress the characters in their casual clothes and the school uniforms from previous Persona/SMT Tiles

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Casual Clothes

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Shin Megami Tensei If... For those wondering, Morgana is dressed as Hee-ho-kun, a Jack Frost that can be encounter in SMT If... who dresses like a Japanese student from the pre-war era Japan. He makes a cameo in Persona 1 during the Snow Queen quest.

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Megami Ibunroku Persona (Persona 1) Again, for reference sake, Morganna's outfit is Trish the Fairy, a character encountered in dungeons who would restore the party for obscene amounts of money.

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Persona 2:Innocent Sin & Eternal Punishment Last time I promise, Morgana is again dressed as Trish, but based off her new design from P2.

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Persona 3 (Morgana = Aigis)

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Persona 4 (Morgana = Teddie)
*************************************************************************************

Six additional Personas from Persona 3 and 4, including new Thief Variants of all of them making it twelve Personas over all.

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Orpheus and Orpheus Thief God (Persona 3)

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Thanatos and Thanatos Thief God (Persona 3)

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Izanagi and Izanagi Thief God (Persona 4)

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Magatsu-Izanagi and Thief God Magatsu-Izanagi (Persona 4)

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Kaguya and Kaguya Thief God (Persona 4: Golden)
*********************************************************************

A new Decal for the Phantom Thieves Cat Bus
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There are also five Avatar/Wallpaper sets showcasing four of the characters and one for Igor and the twin Velvet Room girls.

[Skyblade]

I approve of that DLC. :D

EDIT: Something that Wolf missed. THE COSTUME DLC PACKS APPARENTLY COME WITH THE BATTLE THEMES FROM THE PAST GAMES!

[Wolf Kanno]

BABY BABY BABY~!

[Formalhaut]

I approve of that DLC. :D

EDIT: Something that Wolf missed. THE COSTUME DLC PACKS APPARENTLY COME WITH THE BATTLE THEMES FROM THE PAST GAMES!

Oh wow, seriously? That's amazing.

I do like the standard battle theme in Persona 5 (I've spent some time listening to the tracks), but the choice and variation is good.

[Vyk]

Japan sure loves their cosmetic DLC. At least it's not integral and I don't feel like I'm missing out for opting out

[Formalhaut]

Japan sure loves their cosmetic DLC. At least it's not integral and I don't feel like I'm missing out for opting out

Apparently using the costume changes also changes the music to the battle theme of that game. Or so I hear, it is just something someone said online.

Regardless, it isn't integral. There are Persona DLC though, but again, they're hardly 'needed'.

[Aulayna]

I actually like some of those.

[Wolf Kanno]

More DLC news, in celebration of the game already selling over half a million units in it's opening week, Atlus plans on releasing two more DLC costume sets earlier than they had planned and making it free for a limited time to the Japanese fanbase. One set is a typical swimsuit set that's popular in JRPGs, the other is a costume set based on PS3 cult classic Catherine. The Catherine set also comes with BGM set like the previous DLC.

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Swimsuit set as seen in some of the game's previews.

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Catherine set

[Formalhaut]

I'll pass on the obligatory swimsuit fanservice. But the BGM differences in the video game costumes might just make them worthwhile if I start getting tired of the P5 battle music.

[Skyblade]

Oh, great. New massive dilemma.

The Anime is on Crunchyroll (http://www.crunchyroll.com/persona5-the-animation-the-day-breakers-/episode-0-persona-5-the-animation-the-day-breakers-719079). At least, Episode 1.

Can I resist spoilers for 4 more months? Or do I watch?

[Fynn]

It's not spoilers. It's just a 1-episode presentation of the general premise of the game and stuff. It's pretty cool.

[Wolf Kanno]

Yeah Daybreakers is awesome, and I feel I'm going to really love how the MC of this game is portrayed.

[Skyblade]

Thanks for the info.

Well, that was hype.

*Checks calendar*

DANG IT.

[Slothy]

Just take my money already Atlus.

[Wolf Kanno]

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So December will mark the 20th anniversary of the Persona series and Atlus is apparently got an event all planned out and even has some special DLC ready for Persona 5 just for the event such as themes for the PS3 & PS4, another car decal for the catbus, and Maid and Butler costumes for the P5 cast.

The above image was drawn by current character designer Shigenori Soejima just for the event. What I'm curious about is whether Atlus might give players a DLC mission like "that one" from SMTIV: Apocalypse in Persona 5...

[Formalhaut]

70739


So December will mark the 20th anniversary of the Persona series and Atlus is apparently got an event all planned out and even has some special DLC ready for Persona 5 just for the event such as themes for the PS3 & PS4, another car decal for the catbus, and Maid and Butler costumes for the P5 cast.

The above image was drawn by current character designer Shigenori Soejima just for the event. What I'm curious about is whether Atlus might give players a DLC mission like "that one" from SMTIV: Apocalypse in Persona 5...

A shame Fem!P3 isn't up there in that image.

I'm curious about the DLC you're referring to though. Wonder what it is. I need to get Apocalypse after I've finished SMT: IV.

[Wolf Kanno]

70739


So December will mark the 20th anniversary of the Persona series and Atlus is apparently got an event all planned out and even has some special DLC ready for Persona 5 just for the event such as themes for the PS3 & PS4, another car decal for the catbus, and Maid and Butler costumes for the P5 cast.

The above image was drawn by current character designer Shigenori Soejima just for the event. What I'm curious about is whether Atlus might give players a DLC mission like "that one" from SMTIV: Apocalypse in Persona 5...

A shame Fem!P3 isn't up there in that image.

I'm curious about the DLC you're referring to though. Wonder what it is. I need to get Apocalypse after I've finished SMT: IV.

There is a DLC quest in Apocalypse that allows you to play as the four main characters from the previous Shin Megami Tensei titles.

[Skyblade]

70739


So December will mark the 20th anniversary of the Persona series and Atlus is apparently got an event all planned out and even has some special DLC ready for Persona 5 just for the event such as themes for the PS3 & PS4, another car decal for the catbus, and Maid and Butler costumes for the P5 cast.

The above image was drawn by current character designer Shigenori Soejima just for the event. What I'm curious about is whether Atlus might give players a DLC mission like "that one" from SMTIV: Apocalypse in Persona 5...

A shame Fem!P3 isn't up there in that image.

I'm curious about the DLC you're referring to though. Wonder what it is. I need to get Apocalypse after I've finished SMT: IV.

There is a DLC quest in Apocalypse that allows you to play as the four main characters from the previous Shin Megami Tensei titles.

That would be hype as heck. But... How exactly do you get Minato back?

[Wolf Kanno]

70739


So December will mark the 20th anniversary of the Persona series and Atlus is apparently got an event all planned out and even has some special DLC ready for Persona 5 just for the event such as themes for the PS3 & PS4, another car decal for the catbus, and Maid and Butler costumes for the P5 cast.

The above image was drawn by current character designer Shigenori Soejima just for the event. What I'm curious about is whether Atlus might give players a DLC mission like "that one" from SMTIV: Apocalypse in Persona 5...

A shame Fem!P3 isn't up there in that image.

I'm curious about the DLC you're referring to though. Wonder what it is. I need to get Apocalypse after I've finished SMT: IV.

There is a DLC quest in Apocalypse that allows you to play as the four main characters from the previous Shin Megami Tensei titles.

That would be hype as heck. But... How exactly do you get Minato back?

Same way they did it in Apocalypse and PQ I would guess. Just have the mission involve a time anomaly that picks up all of the characters at a certain point in their story. I mean in the case of SMTIV:A, the MC of SMT1 and 2 can't necessarily meet because one of them is dead already in the others timeline. Though the cool thing about Apocalypse is that the four main heroes are actually from bad timelines where they made a bad choice in their respective stories. You could easily do something similar in Persona with Boy with the Earring being grabbed in the timeline where he kills Maki's mother, Tatsuya could come from his doomed timeline from Innocent Sin, Minato could come from the timeline where he took Ryoji up on his offer, Yuu from a timeline where he either decided to blame the delivery man from the crime or from the Jester Ending from Golden. Maya is the only one where I can't quite figure out a major choice she had to deal with that has a dramatic effect on the ending, except maybe one from IS where she allowed her Shadow to kill Tatsuya and the others for revenge.

[Vermachtnis]

I want the Catherine costumes.

[Wolf Kanno]

The director of Persona 4 Arena and P4 Arena Ultimax recently said (http://www.siliconera.com/2016/10/17/persona-4-arena-director-says-definitely-wants-make-persona-5-arena/) he would love to make a Persona 5 Arena game and wishes for fans to request it.

[Wolf Kanno]

First English trailer for the game has been released.

DE2oN_Y-WLA

[Fynn]

It's weird that they changed Igor's voice. I mean, I get that they changed the Japanese VA because the old one died, but I expected the English Igor to stay the same.

[Wolf Kanno]

It's weird that they changed Igor's voice. I mean, I get that they changed the Japanese VA because the old one died, but I expected the English Igor to stay the same.

There is apparently a story reason for the VA change within the game.

[Fynn]

He does say "my Velvet Room", so maybe you're on to something

[Fynn]

Hey look! This game ALSO (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/11/16/persona-5-launching-april-4-2017-will-feature-dual-audio-on-ps4-and-ps3/)got delayed!

Also, I am hearing rumors that two male co-ops may actually be romanceable - or at least have strong romantic undertones. So brace yourselves, we may actually finally get a gay option or two in a Persona game.

[Wolf Kanno]

Atlus also announced that with the delay, they are offering some free stuff as an apology for the delay.

There is an Avatar/Theme set of the blond kid available until November 17th (today) for the PS4. Also, Atlus has announced that when the game releases, they will also release a special patch for the game that allows for the original Japanese audio for the game, this too will also be free.

[Slothy]

He does say "my Velvet Room", so maybe you're on to something

That was menacing as fuck and if there's a reason he's sounding menacing as fuck and the new VA is part of it I think I'll be okay with it.

[Vermachtnis]

Speaking of VAs. The protagonist is the Smash Announcer. That's awesome.

[Mr. Carnelian]

Also, I am hearing rumors that two male co-ops may actually be romanceable - or at least have strong romantic undertones. So brace yourselves, we may actually finally get a gay option or two in a Persona game.

'Bout damn time! So looking forward to this game, more than FFXV, truth be told. Not sure how I feel about the new Igor voice actor, but I'll reserve judgement until I hear some more substantial dialogue in the game itself.

[Fynn]

Also, I am hearing rumors that two male co-ops may actually be romanceable - or at least have strong romantic undertones. So brace yourselves, we may actually finally get a gay option or two in a Persona game.

'Bout damn time! So looking forward to this game, more than FFXV, truth be told. Not sure how I feel about the new Igor voice actor, but I'll reserve judgement until I hear some more substantial dialogue in the game itself.

I spoiler myself, sadly, but yes, there is very much a plot reason for the voice.

Also, turns out that no, no gay option. Just some weird hints and a couple of stereotypes in the city.

Here's hoping for Persona 6 :p

[Mirage]

Don't hold your breath. It's a japanese game about high-schoolers. The developers seem to be stuck in a rut when it comes to social progress.

[Fynn]

Well, FE: Fates actually added gay options, and the demographic is similar. I think it's just a matter of time.


ESPECIALLY SINCE WE ALREADY HAD JUN :stare: Not to mention the Yosuke romance route was so developed before being cut that there's even leftover English dub data. So it's not like they haven't considered the option,

[Vincent, Thunder God]

I'm a bit disappointed that it's been delayed again (it was coming out just a few days after my birthday)! But I'm still really looking forward to it. Dual audio should be interesting (though I generally prefer English voices, as I don't understand Japanese).

EDIT: I can't believe there was a Yosuke romance route that was scrapped! I just looked it up. Was this planned for Golden only, or planned for the original too? It would have been interesting, though I think a Kanji route would have been cooler. I also got some possible vibes from the Naoki Konisihi social link (Saki's brother) at the beginning - that could have been interesting too.

[Fynn]

Nope, original version, not Golden.

[Formalhaut]

Yeah, better wait for Persona 6 to get that levels of progress. It is disappointing though, especially given the entire theme of this game is emancipation and breaking out of society's chains. A gay love interest would be a great way to challenge societal norms.

[Vincent, Thunder God]

Yeah, better wait for Persona 6 to get that levels of progress. It is disappointing though, especially given the entire theme of this game is emancipation and breaking out of society's chains. A gay love interest would be a great way to challenge societal norms.

I also think the fact that they reversed Naoto's transgenderism and Kanji's gayness somewhat diminishes that theme too.

[Fynn]

Idk, I always thought their issues had much more to do with societal expectations towards women and men rather than sexuality and gender identity. Naoto wasn't really a man in a woman's body, but rather a woman who had a hard time getting respect in a man's world, which caused her to somehow lose her identity. Whereas Kanji was struggling with the whole problem of toxic masculinity and the way it enforces certain behaviors on men ("You like cute stufff? What are you, gay?")

I never felt any of those were cop-outs. They might not have completely dealt with LGBT issues, but I still think the problems they presented were still very important and worth talking about. And it fits into the theme of Persona 4 very well. Nothing was reversed, really.

[Slothy]

Gotta agree about Kanji definitely (I'm almost done my first playthrough and just didn't have a ton of time to spend on Naoto's social link so while I agree with your take I'll reserve my judgement of it a little bit). I mean, at first, especially with his shadow you kind of think he might be gay and having trouble accepting it, but it does become pretty clear that it's less he's gay and doesn't want to accept it as he has things he likes and personality traits that make him think he might be but he doesn't want to be seen as less of a man. Though I do his own confusion and questioning of it is kind of justified considering the only girl he showed any interest in at all was a girl pretending to be a guy.

So sure, in the end he's not gay and she's not transgender, but it does deal with some aspects of gender identity that don't get touched on as often as homosexuality in most media, and I'd almost say it does it better than most other media as well.

Hell, I even think it works really well that you're kind of confused and trying to figure them out the whole way along their journey to figure themselves out. You kind of live it with them in a way that most games, movies, TV, etc. don't manage to get me to do very often.