Persona 5 details story, dungeons, Velvet Room inhabitants, and more

Plus, lots of new screenshots.

Atlus has new Persona 5 information and screenshots introducing its story, omnibus format, Palace dungeons, high school life, Velvet Room inhabitants, and more.

Get the information below.

■ Introduction
Phantom Thieves who steal the rotten hearts of bad guys!?
A group of Phantom Thieves shrouded in mystery make noise in the big city!
Now, the group that calls themselves the “Phantom Thieves of Hearts” are causing a commotion in the big city of Tokyo. These Phantom Thieves “steal” the distorted desires harbored within the “hearts” of evil adults.

The notices from the Phantom Thieves sent to these adults seem to ask that they “completely confess their sins and reform.”
Teachers who abuse students with reckless language, fraudulent loan sharks, artists that plagiarize… these are the kinds of rotten adults targeted by the Phantom Thieves.
How will the Phantom Thieves reform these evil adults? An entertaining and thrilling story of world reformation begins.
■ Story
“When I protected the woman from the man harassing her, he got hurt and pressed charges against me.”
Whether it was for a small sense of justice, or possibly a different reason, the truth was distorted at the self-protection and convenience of rotten adults, and it is stated that the protagonist has a “personal history” for these types of vigilant actions. One day, while serving out his probation sentence in a worn-out café in Tokyo, he has a strange and vivid dream.
Dressed in a prison uniform, he awakens to find himself apprehended in a location that seems to be reminiscent of a prison with a blue hue. On the other side of the prison bars are twin guards, and enshrined in the back, an old man with a strange face, always hanging his head in thought. When the protagonist went to sleep, he called—or invited—him to the mysterious blue prison known as the “Velvet Room.” It is a place that lies between dream and reality, and spirit and substance. It is a room that only someone bound by some sort of contract may enter.
Although the Velvet Room accommodates the hero in the form of a prison, the old man says, “the state of this room is the state of the mind of the contractor himself,” and that the young man is a “prisoner of fate.”
Ruin awaits this one in the near future. And nothing can be done but “rehabilitate” against it. “The path to freedom that comes from rehabilitation”… that is the only way to avoid ruin.
The old man, Igor, asks the protagonist, “Are you prepared for this challenge? The challenge of taking on a distorted world?”
—The twin guards of the Velvet Room. They claim they exist to “help the captive protagonist reach his goal of rehabilitation.”
—Igor, an old man who imposes the path of “rehabilitation” on the protagonist.
—From time to time in the story, you’ll be visiting the Velvet Room. You can also interact with its mysterious inhabitants.
■ The Start of the Phantom Thieves
The “rehabilitation to freedom” imposed by Igor on the protagonist was to become an excellent thief. And from there begins the world reforming Phantom Thieves who steal the hearts of evil adults.
—The objective: to steal the distorted desires of adults and reform each target.
—Before long the crimes of the Phantom Thieves are noticed by the police and governments around the world, developing into a major incident.
—It is said that people are going mad. Could this be related to what the Phantom Thieves are after!?
■ The Palace
The protagonist and friends use a mysterious smartphone application given to them by Igor called “Isekai Navi” (Other World Navi), and infiltrate the other world of the heart, known as “Palace,” and reform evil adults.
The other world of the heart, “Palace,” is another reality seen in evil persons with warped hearts. Within the various extreme interiors of this other world, including old castles, art museums, and pyramids, the protagonist and friends aim at its hidden desires known as “treasures.”
—The Phantom Thieves’ objective is to steal the distorted desires that take form as “treasures” in the depths of each Palace. Various obstacles will stand in their way.
—In the art museum-style Palace, there will be many paths, some which may lead to dead ends. You’ll have to navigate through the paintings to solve the puzzle and make your way through.
—See through suspicious areas with the eyes of a truth-distinguishing Phantom Thief and deceive the eyes of the enemy in disguise. From pathways and more, many gimmicks await in the dungeons.
—Through stealth actions, you can hide and initiate surprise attacks, as well as sneak your way through. In the “Bank” themed Palace, you’ll have the opportunity to try to sneak your way in without getting caught or enter the bank the hard way. This is just one of many dungeon gimmicks in Persona 5.
■ Student by Day, Thief by Night
Before the protagonist and friends are Phantom Thieves, they’re high school students who attend class and after-school activities, use free time for dates and part-time jobs, study, and play games. Players can fully enjoy a year as a high school student, including events for each season like swimming, culture festivals, and social studies field trips.
—The protagonist’s room is in the attic of a cafe at which he lodges. He can also invite friends over and perform other activities, such as playing games.
—Similar to previous Persona games, taking class seriously will increase your knowledge. Something good might also come out of scoring well on tests.
—Throughout the game’s story, there will be tons of things to do, from an overseas field trip, culture festivals and more!
—Players can freely decide what to do after school. From hanging with the girls in Shibuya, watching a movie in Akihabara and more, the world is your oyster!
—Something similar to the favorability system we’ve seen before in Persona 3 and Persona 4 is alive and well in Persona 5. You can also become lovers.
—There are multiple opportunities in terms of self-improvement, including various types of part-time jobs. You can even provide help with a school election speech.
■ Omnibus Format Episodes
The episodes of Persona 5 play out in an omnibus format. Each story is independent, and before long every incident will connect and tie together to the truth. What kind of ending awaits this story depends on the player. Something big lurks behind the shadows, and it’s up to the cast to find out.
■ New Characters: Phantom Thieves
(These are the same descriptions we translated in mid-May.)
Makoto Niijima (voiced by Rina Sato)
A third-year high school student who attends the same Syujin High School as the protagonist. She is a student council president with a sharp mind and irreproachable conduct. She is level and calm with a strong sense of responsibility and ability to take action, but is a natural-born honors student who is overly serious and refuses to compromise. However, she has her own troubles as well, which will eventually trigger the awakening of her Persona, and thereby cause an incident…
Joanna
Makoto Niijima’s starting Persona, Joanna. A unique Persona in the form of a large bike. The front of the bike looks similar to a woman’s head. It has the same name as “Pope Joan,” who legends say was the first female Pope during the Middle Ages.
Futaba Sakura (voiced by Aoi Yuki)
A girl with superhuman computational abilities and ingenious programming capabilities, but in addition to being naturally extremely bad at communication, she became a shut-in after a certain incident. She is the age of a first-year high school student, but no longer attends school following her middle school graduation. Through what opportunity will this shut-in girl meet with the protagonist and friends?
Necromicon
Futaba Sakuraba’s starting Persona, Necronomicon. A Persona that bears the name of the grimoire engraved with a multitude of information and techniques. It has an appearance that would be broadly defined as an unidentified flying object, and seems to be a symbol of Futaba’s unknown power.
Haru Okumura (voiced by Haruka Tomatsu)
A third-year high school student who attends Syujin High School. The daughter of the president of a major restaurant company. She grew up in a wealthy family, and is elegant and naive, but on the other hand often observes others. Although usually good at communication thanks to her gentle appearance and people handling skills, she finds no value in human relations, perhaps as a result of the environment in which she was raised, and avoids close relationships with others. What kind of incident would trigger the awakening of her Persona ability?
Milady
Haru Okumura’s starting Persona, Milady. A lady Persona who wears a beautiful dress embroidered with lilies. But beneath her elegant skirt hides a powerful weapon. She has the same name as the woman who appears in the Three Musketeers.
■ New Characters: Velvet Room
Igor (voiced by Masane Tsukayama)
On the other side of the prison bars is an old man with a strange face always hanging his head in thought. He imposes “rehabilitation to freedom” on the protagonist, and gives him the “Isekai Navi.” He’ll see for himself whether the protagonist can use his abilities to be released from jail.
Caroline and Justine (voiced by Aki Toyosaki)
Twin prison guards that accompany Igor. They both look the same, and each wears a solemn eye patch on one eye. These two call themselves the guards of the Velvet Room, and generally receive the imprisoned protagonist with a sharp attitude and tone. Also, the twins vary greatly in personality and sometimes argue over treatment of the protagonist.