The trailer for Persona 5, the next game in the long-running Japanese role-playing game franchise feels as snappy and downright cool as the intro to Cowboy Bebop.
The Persona series of role-playing games are an offshoot of the Megami Tensei RPG series. Both series are developed by Atlus, a subsidiary of Sega. There are two dozen games between the two franchises, and several feature films and television series adaptations of the Megami Tensei universe.
This is a franchise known for mixing style with substance, and the new trailer for Persona 5 is very slick. The new game engine for Persona 5 looks fantastic, as well.
The realm of the spirit intersects with everyday reality in the Megami Tensei universe, mixing gunplay, swords, and sorcery into its combat systems. The Persona series is named after characters’ ability to summon an “inner-self” called a Persona, a sort of spiritual projection which reflects the character’s psyche and is used in the game’s combat system.
The role-playing part of Persona games involves spending time with other characters in social activities in the mundane world, which includes dating simulations in later releases in the series.
The Persona series had only a cult following in the West for years, owing to a lack of localization support, but the successes of Persona 3 and Persona 4 have opened up the doorway for Persona 5 to be a significant release. Katsura Hashino, the producer and director of Persona 5 recently discussed the game with Japanese video game magazine Weekly Famitsu.
Persona 5 will be released in Japan and North America for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in 2015.
Screengrab via altustube/YouTube