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Persona 5 Director Katsura Hashino Talks Story, Themes

Persona 5 director Katsura Hashino wrote about the upcoming game's story and themes on Atlus' official website and in an interview with Famitsu. The website unveiled the first full trailer for the game earlier today.

The characters in the game will take on the roles of "phantom thieves," and Hashino states that he was worried that fans would react negatively to the idea, and compare it to Lupin III. However, he tells Famitsu that the development team started with the question, "If there was a classic thief like Arsène Lupin in the present day, how would that fascinate people and change society?"

He goes on to say that, while many novels and films portray phantom thieves, he believes a game is the best medium for the subject, because it best allows players to empathize with the thieves and share their goals.

The story, he says, will combine a young adult fiction in a school setting with a picaresque novel. While the last game had characters chasing down an indisputable villain for the sake of justice, this game will feature a group of high school students who are themselves being chased because of their own ideal of justice.

On the theme of the story, Hashino says, "I think that, these days, it's not uncommon for people to not know what their future holds, or to have various worries, big and small. We may not be able to achieve happiness by just accepting the existing rules and values, but there are those lack the determination to topple the status-quo. That downside to modern society is one of the backbones of this game. In [a society] like that, these mischievous high school students are fighting back against the forces that hold them down."

The game is scheduled to ship in Japan and North America sometime this year. The first copies of the Persona 4: Dancing All Night game will come bundled with a Blu-ray containing footage from Persona 5.

Source: Siliconera, (Link 2)

Update: Hashino's name fixed. Thanks, Aly-san.