20 Persona 5 Fast Facts We Learned at E3 2016

We didn’t get to play Persona 5 at E3. However, we did get some hands-off time with the game, and we saw some really cool gameplay footage showing off a ton of interesting details about the game.

You can send text messages

• Sending text messages looks like it’s going to be one of your modes of communication. We didn’t get a good look at it, but it seems like you’ll be able to choose your responses and messages from a variety of options like in Catherine.

You can buy health items in school

• This was a feature from Persona 3 that didn’t make it into Persona 4, but Persona 5 will allow you to buy health items and snacks in the school again.

Loading screen changes based on your method of travel

• In the extended trailer, the protagonist could travel by subway or just walk to his destination. If you chose the subway, the loading screen actually reflects the silhouettes of commuting passengers. According to an Atlus rep, the loading screens are different, depending on your mode of travel.

Part-time jobs

• Part-time jobs make a return in Persona 5. From what we saw, you’ll be able to work in a flower shop. The cool thing is, you actually get to see character model animations of the protagonist working hard at his job. Of course, part-time jobs will also help to increase character attributes…

Character attributes

• Speaking of attributes, there will be five attributes you can level up in Persona 5. They are Knowledge, Guts, Charm, Kindness, and Proficiency. It’s worth noting that the footage we saw was in Japanese, so it’s entirely possible that these are just direct translations, and the actual attribute names will be different in the localized version.

School rooftop hideout

• We also got a look at the Phantom Thieves’ hideout. It’s on the rooftop of the school, and it’s where you gather with your friends and plan your next heist.

You get to the dungeons through a phone app

• The dungeons are unique to the individuals that they’re related to, much like in Persona 4. In order to enter a dungeon, you have to access it through an app on your phone.

Chance Moves

• They’re called Chance Moves in the Japanese version of Persona 5, but they’re essentially the same as preemptive strikes from the previous two games. You’re also encouraged to be sneaky when moving around in the dungeons because the enemies will patrol areas, and you can use stealth to land Chance Moves. If you get one, the protagonist will be shown attacking the enemy from behind in a cool animation. Everything looks slick in this game.

Mystery gauge

• There’s a mystery blue gauge in the top left corner of the screen (when in dungeons) that the Atlus rep directed our attention to. He wouldn’t tell us what it was for, but it was difficult to tell how exactly the gauge could be built up, or what exactly it did. So we don’t know what it does, but it’s probably gonna be important.

All-out attacks have finishing screens

• All-out attacks are back in Persona 5, and you can execute them after hitting an enemy’s weakness. Here’s a tiny change: it would appear that any one of your characters will have the chance to land a killing blow in the all-out attack, and this will reward that particular character with a personalized finishing screen.