The dancing/rhythm game spin-off of the massively successful JPRG Persona 5 – titled Persona 5: Dancing Star Night – has been confirmed to not have a standard campaign mode, unlike its predecessor Persona 4: Dancing All Night.
The first dancing spin-off for the Persona series was Persona 4: Dancing All Night, which actually provided a canon plot connected to the original Persona 4, and gave context to the sudden shift in gameplay style, and why the crew from Yasogami High School was suddenly dancing in order to defeat the shadows. It seems that Persona 5: Dancing Star Night does not follow this example, and instead has a much looser framework for its musical toe-tapping escapades different from a standard campaign.
According to an article from Siliconera, the basic framework of Dancing Star Night is more based on unlocking items and interactions with other characters through dancing. Players will also use “Commus” – comparable to the main series’ social links or confidants – which allow them to unlock accessories, new clothes, and visual novel segments with different characters as you beat levels and fulfill different objectives when replaying certain levels. It’s an approach that moves away from the traditional narrative of Persona 4: Dancing All Night, but still maintains the solid structure and Persona-esque styling without sacrificing coherence or content. For the most part Persona 5’s Phantom Thieves are just dancing around in the new “party” version of the velvet room and having a good time, without a care in the world.
The gameplay of each of the Persona Dancing games is essentially the same on the base level, albeit with different skins for each title and soundtracks based on the games they represent. Using a six button system where the player character must pick a song and play it out, they then start dancing to realistically choreographed dance routines in a location relevant to the story of their respective game.
Persona 5: Dancing Star Night was recently released for the PS Vita in Japan. No Western release date has yet been confirmed for it or Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night, though considering the popularity and past localization of other Persona titles including spin-offs, it is likely only a matter of time.
This post was originally written by Greyson Ditzler.
