Watch them Fight Shadows, Steal Treasure, and More in the New Trailer!
While the Phantom Thieves keep up their guise as normal Japanese high-schoolers during the day, they travel to another world (via smart phone) to unleash their true Personas and raise some hell at night. This world is known as the Metaverse, and it’s essentially the “collective unconscious” of all mankind. In the Metaverse, the most distorted desires of people manifest themselves as Palaces, and it’s up to the Phantom Thieves to infiltrate and defeat the evils within a Palace.
In order to enter a Palace, the team picks a target, figures out certain key bits of information, and plugs it into their Metaverse Navigator app to gain access. Once the thieves are in the Palace, they must fight hordes of Shadows, solve puzzles, defeat the Palace ruler, and steal the target’s deepest darkest desire (which takes the form of Treasure, naturally). When the Treasure is stolen, the target’s heart will be changed and they’ll finally understand the evilness of their core desire. Every target in the game will have a Palace with a different look and theme, so be prepared to see some truly twisted stuff! Unfortunately for the Phantom Thieves, infiltrating a Palace is anything but easy. The team will need to use stealth and plan their moves wisely to ensure a successful heist. Sneaking by and/or ambushing Shadows is essential to reaching the Palace Treasure, so be sure to always make the first move. If the Thieves get caught too many times, they’ll be kicked out of the Metaverse and can only return the next day (always keep an eye on the security meter)!
So what do you do once you’ve challenged a Shadow to a fight? The easy answer is to send them to Shadow hell with a variety of attacks, but sometimes a more “diplomatic” solution would be more beneficial in the long run. You can Hold Up Shadows to negotiate with them to yield money, items, and even a chance to avoid a battle entirely. Oh, and this time around the protagonist can even convince them to join the Phantom Thieves to be utilized as a Persona! Of course if you’re more of a shoot first ask questions later type of person, feel free to destroy all the Shadows. We’ve even included the Baton Pass feature that lets an attacking party member switch turns with another character to maximize attacking weaknesses!
The details of the two limited PS4 editions of the games are below:
SteelBook Launch Edition – PlayStation 4 only ($59.99/CA$79.99)
Available only to PS4 pre-orders and a limited number of day-one purchases, while supplies last.
SteelBook: The PS4 version will come specially packaged in a SteelBook collectible case, emblazoned with Persona 5 designs.
“Take Your Heart” Premium Edition – PlayStation 4 only ($89.99/CA$109.99)
Exclusive to the PS4 version of the game, the premium edition includes the following:
Soundtrack CD: A selection of music from Persona 5 by legendary series composer Shoji Meguro in a CD wallet featuring P5 artwork.
4″ Morgana plush: Morgana the cat is not just the mascot of the Phantom Thieves, but is also a member-and also not just a cat! The premium edition includes an exclusive 4″ plush of Morgana.
64-page hardcover art book: This art book is full of concept sketches, character art, and more by character designer Shigenori Soejima.
SteelBook: As strong as a vault, the game disc for the PS4 will come specially packaged in a SteelBook collectible case, emblazoned with Persona 5 designs.
School bag: Designed after the traditional school bags in Japan, the exclusive replica bag comes complete with the Shujin Academy crest.
Collectible outer box: Easily the largest premium edition in ATLUS’ history, the entirety of the “Take Your Heart” Premium Edition comes in a colossal collectible box.
Persona 5 is a game about the internal and external conflicts of a group of troubled youth who live dual lives. They have the typically ordinary day-to-day of a Tokyo high-schooler – attending class, after school activities and part-time jobs. But they also undertake fantastical adventures by using otherworldly powers to enter the hearts of people. Their power comes from the Persona, the Jungian concept of the “self;” the game’s heroes realize that society forces people to wear masks to protect their inner vulnerabilities, and by literally ripping off their protective mask and confronting their inner selves do the heroes awaken their inner power, and use it to strive to help those in need. Ultimately, the group of Phantom Thieves seeks to change their day-to-day world to match their perception and see through the masks modern-day society wears.
Persona 5 will release on April 4 in the Americas and Europe, for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. Pre-orders are now available at participating retailers for either version of the game. The game is rated M by the ESRB.