Following the second Persona 5 feature from the PlayStation Blog about the game’s daily life activities, the third feature has been released consisting of the Phantom Thieves, their personas and combat.

The Other Self Called “Persona”

The “Persona” is the mask that covers one heart, used to face the trials of the outside world. A “different personality” lying dormant within oneself, appearing as a figure from mythology such as a god or a demon.

In the Phantom Thieves, friends of the hero, after encountering him through a variety of events, will have to face their own “true intentions” without averting their eyes. If they can admit who they are, their personality will manifest into that of their “Persona,” a presence with significant power.

Additionally, there is one “persona” for one person, with the exception of the hero due to his “Wild Card” ability, allowing him to manipulate more than one persona.

Distinctive Battle System

When encountering shadows in the other world known as the “Palace,” players will rush into battle. Just as the previous Persona games, there are melee attacks and “persona” skills. Each command is associated with a specific button, speeding up the tempo of battles and making it feel more action oriented.

Enemy Weaknesses

Shadows, with some exceptions such as bosses, will have exploitable weaknesses and resistances to certain elements. When these attacks are carried out to take advantage of these weaknesses, a shadow will get knocked down and a “1MORE” will be initiated, where it is possible to take a second action.

Shadow Conversation

When a “Hold Up!” occurs after exploiting enemy weaknesses, it is possible to engage in a conversation with enemy shadows. They each have their own personality, so different responses will work with different shadows.

If a conversation goes well, a “shadow” can be obtained as a “persona,” or the player can get other rewards such as items. If a conversation does not go well, the shadow will get angered, which may cause them to launch a surprise attack.

Persona Fusion

New personas can be obtained at a location called the “Velvet Room,” where a man called Igor will aid the player by fusing strong personas. Various execution methods are used to power up or create new personas, such as guillotines to fuse, hanging to sacrifice one persona to strengthen another, or the electric chair to transform a persona into an item.

The fourth PlayStation Blog feature article on Persona 5 will be about gameplay impressions from the PlayStation 4 version of Persona 5.

Persona 5 is slated to be released for the PS3 and PS4 in Japan on September 15, 2016. It will release in North America and Europe on February 14, 2017, and in traditional Chinese in 2017.

— PS Blog Japan