Atlus and Koei Tecmo held the first live stream for PS4, Switch action RPGPersona 5 Scramble. We got to see live gameplay for the first time, along with explanations of the battle system.It looks extremely promising,and it doesn’t seem like the usual licensedMusougame at all.
We also learned new details regardingPersona 5 Scramble’s story and characters.
First off, Atlus Producer Kaneda didn’t confirm if confidant characters fromPersona 5will make a comeback inPersona 5 Scramble, saying it’s still a “secret”. In my opinion, the confidant characters fromPersona 5will definitely make an appearance inPersona 5 Scramble, or else the subject wouldn’t have been brought up in the first place.
Producer Kaneda also mentioned how, as expected,Persona 5 Scramble’s story doesn’t touch upon the possible romance decisions Joker took in the past. We won’t get a definite answerer regarding whether Joker is dating someone or not, and who it is. This happens often with sequels of games with a romance system. Producer Kaneda added that assuming Joker dated someone, since he went back to his hometown, this is the first time in six months he’s meeting his girlfriend face-to-face.
As for how character development goes inPersona 5 Scramble’s story, it’ll focus on how each character is doing now. For example, we’ll see how Haru and Makoto are doing now that they’ve become university students.
Another interesting point brought up was how Japanese games sequels tend to have the characters go through the same worries and emotional problems. As if their character development got reset. Producer Kaneda said they madePersona 5 Scramble’s story in a way so players won’t get this feeling. At the same time, even after what the characters already went through, it’s not like their personalities' strong points and weaknesses completely changed. So we might see them deal with similar problems than inPersona 5but in a different way. The Phantom Thieves' summer road trip will also allow us to see different sides of their personalities.
Producer Kaneda added that seeing all the heavy themes and scenes inPersona 5,Persona 5 Scramblehas a lighter feel to it, with the Phantom Thieves enjoying their summer vacation.Persona 5 Scrambleis like a reward for the Phantom Thieves after everything they accomplished.
Lastly, Producer Kaneda hinted that there are other places to visit in the game besides Shibuya, Sapporo. Sendai, Osaka, and Okinawa.
Next up were the introductions of the new characters, through a new video commented by Morgana:
The video starts by explainingPersona 5 Scramble’s story pitch. The Phantom Thieves planned to leisurely enjoy their summer vacation, but they got transported to another world, similar to Palaces. The shadows in this world obey someone named King, who ordered them to steal the hearts of people all across Japan. Hence why the Phantom Thieves decided to travel and figure out what’s going on.
The first new character introduced is Sophia, the new playable Phantom Thieves member of the game. Sophia is voiced by Misaki Kuno, who most notably voiced Hana inXenoblade 2. Joker first meets Sophia in the other world. Sophia lost her memories, and the only thing she remembers is how humans are her friends, and how she needs to make friends. The Phantom Thieves decide to help her.
When she fights, Sophia transforms. Her hairstyle, and her eyes especially, go through a radical change, and she looks more cartoonish. Her phantom thief code name is Sophie. She fights using a blaster gun, recovery skills, yo-yos, and “Pythos”, the flying rectangular objects behind her. It’s unknown whether Pythos is a persona or something else.
The video also introduces another new character, who was also shown in the first trailer. He’s named Zenkichi Hasegawa, and voiced by Shinichiro Miki, one of the best seiyuu ever. Zenkichi is a police officer investigating how people are getting their hearts stolen all across Japan. At the beginning of the story, he mistakenly believes the Phantom Thieves are the culprits. It’s unknown whether Zenkichi will ultimately turn into an ally or a villain. In my opinion, he’s a good guy.
Atlus stated the Sophie and Zenkichi are the two key characters ofPersona 5 Scramble’s main story.
Atlus also announced that trailers forPersona 5 Scramblewill be pushed out regularly now and are coming soon. The first trailer will release on November 5 and focus on Joker. Videos with Morgana introducing each location in the game will be coming too, and the first one introduces Shibuya:
The video reveals a third new character, Alice Hiiragi, voiced by Ayane Sakura. She’s a singer and fashion artist organizing an event in Shibuya. The video heavily hints that Alice is the mastermind and boss of the Shibuya stage. She was shown in the first trailer too in a shadow-like state.
You can check thevarious commercials for the gameand thefirst trailer here.
Persona 5 Scramblewill release on February 20 in Japan, on PS4 and Switch.Persona 5 Scramblewasn’t announced in the west yet, but it’ll come over. Atlus even organized anEnglish restream with a virtual youtuber.I’m not really into Vtubers though, and I didn’t have the time to check it out myself.
