It’s been a long ride – 6 years, in fact – but the development of “Persona 5” is finally over, and the game is headed for an official release. And to celebrate, the studio behind the game has released a length, 18-minute video showing the initial moments of the game. Players immediately swarmed to watch the footage and subsequently shared their impressions online, and so far we’ve been seeing almost nothing but positive responses to the game. Once “Persona 5” hits the shelves, it will be a massive hit.
There are about two months to go until the actual initial release, which gives fans some more time to discuss what they’ve seen in the trailer, and their expectations for the game. Needless to say, there is no shortage of opinions on discussion boards, and there are also various suggestions for what the developers can also do to polish the product to perfection.
“Style” seems to be the main keyword in those discussions, and many players seem impressed with the overall presentation of the game. The “Persona” franchise has been known for its attention to detail, as well as its particular style and aesthetics, but this game seems to raise the bar even higher. Players who enjoy games for their pure aesthetic value should be absolutely delighted at the sight of what “Persona 5” has to offer, and it’s obvious that a lot of work has gone into crafting every detail of this release.
It’s important to note that while Japanese players will get to enjoy the game in September, Western audiences will have to wait until February 13, 2017 to get their hands on the game. According to the developers, the reason for this is the messy nature of localization behind the scenes, and the alternative was to delay the game for everyone. Since there would be no reason for players in Japan to suffer from this delay as well, perhaps this is for the best of the community as a whole.
Plus, this way players in Western countries will get to see what the game has to offer before it arrives to them. It won’t be long before Japanese reviews and comments start appearing on discussion forums, and if there are any issues with the game, players will quickly point them out. In this context, Western gamers are perhaps a little lucky in the sense that that they won’t have to gamble when buying the game.
The franchise is quite old at this point, and some players have been worried that they have no experience with the previous games, and therefore shouldn’t jump straight into “Persona 5”. However, in this particular franchise, this is not such an issue, as the games are largely unrelated to each other. Sure, various characters appear in more than one title, but there is no strong plot connection, and therefore no prerequisites to play “Persona 5” directly. Of course, getting introduced to the gameplay style of the franchise is a different story and could always be useful.
Although, those who’re curious to see what the franchise had to offer before “Persona 5” should definitely give a try to the previous games. Now is the best time to do that – there are still a few months before the next installment hits the shelves, and “Persona” through “Persona 4” can be bought quite cheaply nowadays too. If nothing else, they are amazing games on their own and worth experiencing for players who’ve never gone through them before.