Persona 5 Launch Trailer Treads Old Ground, Still Manages to Excite
Atlus have released the launch trailer for Persona 5, their long-awaited JRPG. Although the video retreads a lot of old ground, using footage we’ve already seen several times, it still managed to excite us. There’s nothing quite like its mix of highschool drama and battling supernatural entities. Take a look for yourself below.
The video is made up of bits of gameplay mixed in with bits of cutscenes – and there are a lot of beautifully animated cutscenes in this game. The English voiceover isn’t terrible, but you’ll probably find it lacking compared to the original. Thankfully, you can download the Persona 5 Japanese voiceover DLC and listen to the original dialogue with subtitles.
Other than that, the game looks and sounds amazing, if the footage is to be trusted. In case you’re unfamiliar with the formula, here’s a brief breakdown. You play as a highschool student, an outcast who builds up a circle of friends from those on the fringes of highshool society. Together, you fight Shadows, creatures born of humankind’s malice, and try to save humanity from itself.
By day, you attend classes, hang out with friends, help your landlord around the cafe, take on a part-time job, indulge in hobies, train and more. You live the quiet life of a highschool student. By night, you don a Persona (your dreamworld manifestation) and go on to clear dungeons and fight demons, making the world a better place, one terrible otherworldy monster at a time. If you’ve ever played a JRPG, you know what kind of turn-based combat to expect.
The game is already out on Playstation 3 and Playstation 4, and the reviews are nothing short of glowing. If you have any interest in the genre, or the series, you should take the trailer’s advice – shut up, the Metaverse awaits.
