Persona 5 (and more!) announced!

[Zevox]

So, as some fans may already know, Atlus has had a teaser website with a countdown clock up for a month or two now. Well, today was finally the day that countdown ended, and what came from it was actually the announcement of four Persona games.

The big one, of course, is Persona 5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mZssK05WYo). (yesyesyesyesyes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpgy21r_dRE) :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin:) The video for it is just a teaser that shows very little, but does hint at a major thematic element - slavery. Will be very interesting to see if that's strictly metaphoric, or if literal slavery is involved. The important actual news is that it will be on the PS3, and will release winter 2014 in Japan. No international release date yet, but we'll just have to be patient on that.

Second is a surprise one called Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etfqRXPXbQQ), which will be on the 3DS. It looks like an RPG bringing together the casts of Persona 3 and 4, but with a rather chibi art style (which I do have to say I find off-putting personally). The thing is though, it might not actually be in continuity with the existing stories, because a couple of characters that are supposed to be dead are casually shown in the trailer as playable. I've seen speculation that it may basically be a Persona version of Etrian Odyssey, but the trailer doesn't reveal enough to be sure. This one'll release in Japan on June 5th, also no international release announced at this time.

Third is the announcement of a console release for the expanded version of Persona 4 Arena (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqmnp2wZRU4) - apparently under the title "Persona 4 Arena: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold." Yeah, I guess you can trust the guys who make the Guilty Gear series to pick the weirdest damn subtitles ever (XX Accent Core+ R, anyone? Or Xrd -SIGN-?). The trailer shows a little of the new character, Sho Minazuki, a red-haired man who wields two swords - and teases the return of a certain character from Persona 4 (but boy is that spoilers, so I will say no more), which would be very interesting if he'll be playable. Anyway, it will be released sometime in 2014 on the PS3 - again, in Japan, though we can probably safely assume an international release as well. It is important to note the lack of a 360 icon at the end of that trailer though. There was a 360 version of the original P4A, but since then it looks like Arc System Works is abandoning Microsoft systems and going Sony-exclusive, as the new BlazBlue will be PS3 only, and so far it sounds like the new Guilty Gear will be PS4 only, so don't expect a 360 release for this.

Lastly, um... well, the PS Vita gets a game... but I don't know how many of us will be interested in it. It's this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5BIRWiifo8#t=107). Yeah.

Well, anyway, Persona 5 is coming :smallbiggrin: ! Probably going to be until mid-2015 before we see it here in the west, but still, can't help but be excited as hell for that. And P4AU as well, of course, which hopefully we'll see sooner, and I'm really hoping will have an all-new story mode picking up where P4A left off. As for Persona Q, I'll take a wait-and-see approach to that one. I just don't know if I'm interested just from the trailer.

[Tebryn]

If only it were coming out for PC. One day Atlus. One day.

[tyckspoon]

Huh. I never thought about it before, but I'd buy an Ouendan/EBA-type Persona rhythm game.. beat down people's Shadows and resolve their personal issues with the power of MUSIC! The dance competition thing just looks weird, tho. Like Atlus, could you maybe try not to sell out quite so hard? :smallconfused:


Definitely going to be acquiring Persona 5, although the trailer just makes me think of Cartoon Network's ad bumps/interstitial fillers. Hopefully I can acquire a reasonably inexpensive PS3 by the time they get around to releasing it.

[Airk]

This is basically still no news about P5, because we already knew it was going to be PS3, since it has been in development for WAY too long for it to be a next gen title.

Dungeon crawler looks amusing, but seems unlikely to be canon.

Rhythm game looks amusing, but is for Vita. -_-

[Zevox]

If only it were coming out for PC. One day Atlus. One day.
Pretty unlikely, given the main audience for JRPGs is in Japan, and PC gaming is very unpopular there. That why you rarely see any Japanese game ported to PC, actually - even for those with large international followings, consoles make much more sense as the platform of choice, as they're pretty prominent both in their home nation and abroad.


Huh. I never thought about it before, but I'd buy an Ouendan/EBA-type Persona rhythm game.. beat down people's Shadows and resolve their personal issues with the power of MUSIC! The dance competition thing just looks weird, tho. Like Atlus, could you maybe try not to sell out quite so hard? :smallconfused:
Well, I'll give the dancing game this much: Persona does have extremely good music, so I can see some merit to a game with an emphasis on that. Still, I can only shake my head at seeing that trailer prominently featuring Rise dancing around in hideous outfits. Not to mention the bad engrish...


This is basically still no news about P5, because we already knew it was going to be PS3, since it has been in development for WAY too long for it to be a next gen title.
There was always the possibility of it being a handheld title. They've recently done handheld ports of every title in the series, and handhelds are the most popular gaming devices in Japan, so it would make sense. Or there was the off chance of Sony paying them to port it to PS4, to help sell systems.

We also got a release window (for Japan, at least), and a teaser that hints at the themes. That's big news as far as I'm concerned.

[Domochevsky]

...
Not to mention the bad engrish
...


I found the engrish quite enjoyable, actually. It added to the cheesy experience that is a P4 rythm game. :smallwink:

(Kanamine, hm? The... rival of Rise, mentioned in her SLink path, but never seen? Curious pull. But makes sense for this. MC being in there is probably just because he's so boss. I wonder if some other characters will be in there as well, as unlockable characters.)

[Tebryn]

Pretty unlikely, given the main audience for JRPGs is in Japan, and PC gaming is very unpopular there. That why you rarely see any Japanese game ported to PC, actually - even for those with large international followings, consoles make much more sense as the platform of choice, as they're pretty prominent both in their home nation and abroad.


More than well aware. Marvelous AQL seems to be pushing into the PC market so it gives me a little hope that this will change. I'm not holding my breath for NIS or Atlus to start doing PC releases though.

[Mewtarthio]

I'm mostly annoyed that it's a PS3 release, seeing as the PS4 isn't backwards compatible. Dammit, Sony, I've already repented of my X360, why must you continue to punish me?!

[Airk]

I'm mostly annoyed that it's a PS3 release, seeing as the PS4 isn't backwards compatible. Dammit, Sony, I've already repented of my X360, why must you continue to punish me?!

I will never understand people like you. Why did you even BUY a PS4 at this point? It's basically a waste of money until there are actual games. Launch lineups are virtually NEVER enough to justify a purchase. And many, many of the best games for the 'previous' console generation come out after the launch of the next one. Hell, look at the release timeframe for Persona 4, for crying out loud.

There was never any real possibility of this being a PS4 release, and people who are buying PS4s right now are basically deluding themselves. Will the console be useful eventually? Almost certainly. In the next 12 months? Unlikely, especially if you're picky. It's ALWAYS a good idea to wait for at least one price drop before picking up a system.

[Mewtarthio]

You misunderstand. I don't have a PS4. I'm lamenting because I don't have a PS3, either, and will therefore be unable to play both Persona 5 and other upcoming games unless I spend money on two consoles. I'd love to anticipate P5, but I'm not sure I'm hundreds of dollars worth of excited, you know? :smallfrown:

[A Rainy Knight]

Second is a surprise one called Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etfqRXPXbQQ), which will be on the 3DS. It looks like an RPG bringing together the casts of Persona 3 and 4, but with a rather chibi art style (which I do have to say I find off-putting personally). The thing is though, it might not actually be in continuity with the existing stories, because a couple of characters that are supposed to be dead are casually shown in the trailer as playable. I've seen speculation that it may basically be a Persona version of Etrian Odyssey, but the trailer doesn't reveal enough to be sure. This one'll release in Japan on June 5th, also no international release announced at this time.

The official site states that it's going to integrate Etrian Odyssey gameplay. Also, the name appears to be a reference to how Etrian Odyssey is commonly abbreviated "SQ" in Japan, from its Japanese title Sekaiju no Meikyuu.

Also, if you look closely in the trailer, you can see Etrian Odyssey's signature five-character, two-row party composition.

Continuity-wise, the trailer mentions that it involves two teams of Persona-users from different times being called to a parallel universe.

[Togath]

You misunderstand. I don't have a PS4. I'm lamenting because I don't have a PS3, either, and will therefore be unable to play both Persona 5 and other upcoming games unless I spend money on two consoles. I'd love to anticipate P5, but I'm not sure I'm hundreds of dollars worth of excited, you know? :smallfrown:

Aren't PS3s in the 60-90$ range now?

[Sanguine]

Aren't PS3s in the 60-90$ range now?

As far as I've seen they are still in the 150-200$ range.

[Hiro Protagonest]

You misunderstand. I don't have a PS4. I'm lamenting because I don't have a PS3, either, and will therefore be unable to play both Persona 5 and other upcoming games unless I spend money on two consoles. I'd love to anticipate P5, but I'm not sure I'm hundreds of dollars worth of excited, you know? :smallfrown:

It actually works for me, because this is the time when I'm going to get a PS3 for all the PS2 and PS3 games I want.

[Infernally Clay]

Right now I'm more excited for Persona Q than Persona 5. An Etrian Odyssey style dungeon crawler with Persona 3 and 4 mechanics should be really interesting, plus it'll scratch the itch neither Persona 3 nor 4 could - y'know, the "I wanna play a challenging game!" itch.

Of course, there's no real point in me getting excited about Persona Q... The 3DS is region locked and we're still waiting for Shin Megami Tensei 4, so I won't be playing Persona Q any time soon in the next couple of years.

[Togath]

As far as I've seen they are still in the 150-200$ range.

Yowza :smalleek:
Not much of a price drop over the last few years then..

[Zevox]

You misunderstand. I don't have a PS4. I'm lamenting because I don't have a PS3, either, and will therefore be unable to play both Persona 5 and other upcoming games unless I spend money on two consoles. I'd love to anticipate P5, but I'm not sure I'm hundreds of dollars worth of excited, you know? :smallfrown:
I just got my PS3 a year ago, and am definitely finding it has plenty of exclusives that make it well worth it even though I've had a 360 far longer. Valkyria Chronicles, Tales of Graces and Xillia, Ni no Kuni, the Sly Cooper series, God of War 3, and three Disgaea games, just to name the ones I already have. I still need to try out Infamous, Uncharted, the Atelier series, and others. Add onto that Persona 5, the expanded Persona 4 Arena, Tales of Xillia 2, and BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma all as still-upcoming exclusives, and yeah, I'm very happy I have one now.


It actually works for me, because this is the time when I'm going to get a PS3 for all the PS2 and PS3 games I want.
Ah, that may be an issue. Only early PS3 models are backwards-compatible with PS2 games. Later ones removed that feature in order to make the system cheaper. About the only way you'll find a PS3 with that backwards compatibility now is to look through eBay or the like for an old used one, and I'd guess those will probably be pricier because of that.

Granted, some PS2 games are available on the PS3 via HD Collections, but that's going to be only select series.

[ScrambledBrains]

As a fan of the series, can I just say...

*Deep Breath*

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

[Mewtarthio]

I've just started playing P3P, and wow the mood is completely different from P4G. If it weren't for the mechanics, I'd be surprised to hear they're from the same series.

I wonder where P5's going to fall on that spectrum. The teaser looks pretty dark to me...

[Zevox]

I've just started playing P3P, and wow the mood is completely different from P4G. If it weren't for the mechanics, I'd be surprised to hear they're from the same series.

I wonder where P5's going to fall on that spectrum. The teaser looks pretty dark to me...
Hm, I don't know that I'd say that the mood of P3 is completely different from P4. P4 is somewhat lighter-hearted a lot of the time, but you're still dealing with a serial murder mystery, so it's certainly pretty dark. Not to mention some of the happenings at the end there.
P3 kills a lot of characters, but none of them are grade-school children you've spent the whole game getting attached to.

That said, P3's main theme is death, so it makes sense that it is somewhat darker in tone and atmosphere more often than P4, whose main theme is hidden truths.

I think it's safe to say that P5 will be fairly dark as well, given the hint at the theme is slavery, but I think it's too soon to say whether it'll be closer to P3 or P4 levels of dark.

[Mewtarthio]

It's not just about the darkness. Persona 4 felt, to me, like the story of a bunch of high school students fighting monsters. Persona 3, meanwhile, is the story of a bunch of monster fighters who go to high school. Does that make any sense?

[Zevox]

Hm, I can't say I felt that way myself. Speculating though: perhaps because of the more imminent potential threat to the real world? I mean, P4 serial murderer is an issue of course, but in P3 the dark hour and the giant shadows could mean god-knows-what for the world at large, making it seem to have a bigger scale in the immediate sense than P4's murder mystery.

Edit: Oh, and they seed the matter of apathy syndrome early in P3 as well.

[Starwulf]

Oooohhh Persona 5. I just got Persona 4 Golden a few weeks ago(haven't played it yet, still playing through Disgaea 3), I've heard wonderful things about it, so if P5 continues to improve, I imagine it's going to be an absolutely fantastic game(Persona 3 for the vita is the only one I've played, but it was an absolute freaking blast, I easily put 150-200 hours into that sucker, and I didn't even do all the optional stuff!)

[Zevox]

Oooohhh Persona 5. I just got Persona 4 Golden a few weeks ago(haven't played it yet, still playing through Disgaea 3), I've heard wonderful things about it, so if P5 continues to improve, I imagine it's going to be an absolutely fantastic game(Persona 3 for the vita is the only one I've played, but it was an absolute freaking blast, I easily put 150-200 hours into that sucker, and I didn't even do all the optional stuff!)
Heh, yeah, Persona 3 holds the record for the game I put the most time into one run of. Somewhere just north of 170 hours for my first time through. I've only actually to finish it in under 100 hours once.

Of course, I do kinda wonder how much of that was re-selecting fusions until I got the skill inheritance I wanted. Guess I'll find out when I play either P4G or P5 (depending on whether I get enough reasons to buy a Vita before P5 comes out).

[Starwulf]

Heh, yeah, Persona 3 holds the record for the game I put the most time into one run of. Somewhere just north of 170 hours for my first time through. I've only actually to finish it in under 100 hours once.

Of course, I do kinda wonder how much of that was re-selecting fusions until I got the skill inheritance I wanted. Guess I'll find out when I play either P4G or P5 (depending on whether I get enough reasons to buy a Vita before P5 comes out).

If you enjoy Disgaea series, Disgaea 3 is a fantastic reason, and I've been told(hell, probably by you, LOL), that Persona 4 golden for the Vita is heads and shoulders above the console version, so much extra stuff added and tweaked to make it a far better game. There are several other rpgs I'm looking at for the Vita right now, just don't have the money ^^ also, you can sync it up with the PS3, and I'm pretty sure the PS4 as well.

[Zevox]

If you enjoy Disgaea series, Disgaea 3 is a fantastic reason, and I've been told(hell, probably by you, LOL), that Persona 4 golden for the Vita is heads and shoulders above the console version, so much extra stuff added and tweaked to make it a far better game. There are several other rpgs I'm looking at for the Vita right now, just don't have the money ^^ also, you can sync it up with the PS3, and I'm pretty sure the PS4 as well.
I have Disgaea 3 on PS3 already*. Remakes aren't going to sell me on a system (trust me, if even P4G can't, nothing can). And the Vita is in kind of an awkward spot as far as systems go for me - I'm very happy with my 3DS as my handheld, and am going to want to pick up a Wii U in the not-too-distant future (sometime before Smash Brothers hits for certain), then possibly a PS4, which I expect to be my main system for the new generation. Which puts me in the position of needing quite a bit more motivation to add the Vita to my intended buy list now, given all the money those other systems will eat up and how happy I am with my 3DS for my handheld needs.

*And actually, I have a weird situation with the Disgaea series right now: this year I tried to play both Disgaea 3 and D2, and in both cases I got about halfway through and just suddenly lost all my drive to play them. I was enjoying them and wanted to see more of the humor, how the stories go, was enjoying the gameplay, etc... but hit a point where I would load up a level and suddenly all I could think of was how much I wanted to play something else. I don't understand it. Especially since it repeating with Disgaea D2 seems to make it a pattern.

[Mewtarthio]

Hm, I can't say I felt that way myself. Speculating though: perhaps because of the more imminent potential threat to the real world? I mean, P4 serial murderer is an issue of course, but in P3 the dark hour and the giant shadows could mean god-knows-what for the world at large, making it seem to have a bigger scale in the immediate sense than P4's murder mystery.

That's part of it, but there's more to it than that. The P3 hero's entire life seems to revolve around the supernatural. The P4 hero lives with his perfectly normal uncle and cousin in a perfectly normal town and goes to a perfectly normal school. The P3 hero lives in a special dorm where only monster hunters stay, on an island owned by the shadowy corporation that bankrolls said monster hunters, and goes to a school that transforms into a giant dungeon during the special hidden hour that mundanes don't experience.

And then there's the respective teams. The Investigation Team is casual group of friends who want to solve a mystery. Most of their interpersonal relationships develop outside of the TV World, at silly school functions or local festivals, or even just casually hanging out at the Dojima house. SEES, by contrast, is an organization dedicated solely to hunting shadows. Your teammates mostly relate to each other through their work. If you happen to catch two SEES members chatting together in the dorm, they'll almost always be chatting about the fight against Shadows. I'm only just at the start of summer, so maybe things change later, but seeing as P4's summer vacation was "Let's go to the beach (where nothing supernatural happens and we all have a fun and relaxing time)!" while P3's is shaping up to be "Let's go to the beach (to meet our shadowy financial backer and ask him about the mysterious incident that started all this)!", I kind of doubt it.

The biggest difference, though, is in the major battles. In P3, the Full Moon Shadows are presented as intelligent opponents who keep shifting their strategies to trap SEES or catch them off-guard. The focus is on external conflict. In P4, the main bosses are repressed shames. The real point of the confrontation is for the victims to accept their darker selves so they can grow beyond them. In P4, the real enemy is just the pressures of everyday life.*

*Yes, I'm well aware that all Shadows, even the P3 ones, are born from humans and represent Jungian archetypes, so that in a certain sense the real enemy is always emotional stress. I'm talking about the literal presentation of the conflict, not its symbolic or metaphysical significance.

[Airk]

That was a very good description of the differences between the two games; For what it's worth, I have always had the -feeling- you have about the differences, but I've never explained it so well.

It's all clearly deliberate, of course - just look at the game's color schemes.

I am also in the weird minority that prefers P3 because of the mood, even though as a GAME it was less good.

[Zevox]

[P3 v P4 compare/contrast]
Huh. Yeah, okay, that all does make a lot of sense.

[Legato Endless]

Comparison et all

No, that makes perfect sense. Both games are fantastic, but there's definitely a stark contrast in ambiance. Persona 4 as Megaten games is extremely optimistic. Still dark compared to the usual fare in rpgs, but definitely far less dour than it's predecessor. The fact that the principle color ascetic revolves around yellow is all the indicator I needed at the start to realize things were going to be different.