is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by P-Studio. The game is the sixth installment in the Persona series, itself a spin-off from the Megami Tensei franchise. Published by Atlus in Japan and North America, and Deep Silver in PAL territories, it was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan on September 15, 2016 and worldwide on April 4, 2017. An enhanced version featuring new content, was released by Atlus for PlayStation 4 in Japan on October 31, 2019, while parent company Sega published the game worldwide on March 31, 2020. Royal was released on the PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Windows on October 21, 2022.
As with previous games in the series, the party battles enemies known as Shadows using physical manifestations of their psyche known as Personas. The game incorporates role-playing and dungeon crawling elements alongside social simulation scenarios. Set in modern-day Tokyo, the story follows a player-named high school student, referred to by his codename Joker. After being framed for assault and put on probation, the protagonist relocates to the fictional neighborhood Yongen-Jaya and transfers to a new school. Over the course of a school year, he and other acquainted students awaken to a special power, becoming a group of secret vigilantes referred to as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. The group explores a supernatural realm born from humanity's subconscious desires nicknamed the Metaverse, in order to steal malevolent intent from the hearts of adults. Its themes revolve around attaining freedom from the limitations of modern society; the story was strongly inspired by picaresque fiction, and the party's Personas were based on literary outlaws and rebels.
First announced in 2013, Persona 5 was developed by P-Studio, an internal development division within Atlus, at the time led by game director and producer Katsura Hashino. Along with Hashino, returning staff from earlier Persona games included character designer Shigenori Soejima and music composer Shoji Meguro. Work on the game began during Persona 4s development and commenced into full production after the release of Catherine in 2011. Initially slated for a late 2014 release date, Persona 5 saw several delays due to being unfinished.
Persona 5 received critical acclaim, with praise directed towards its visual presentation, gameplay, story, characters, and music. The release of Royal saw additional acclaim for its new content and expansion on the original game. Including Royal, Persona 5 is the best-selling title in the Megami Tensei franchise, with over copies sold by June 2026. Since its release, critics have regarded Persona 5 as one of the greatest video games of all time. As with prior series entries, related media based on the game have been produced, including four spin-off games, manga and anime adaptations, and the cast's appearances in other games—most notably Joker's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018). A sequel, Persona 5 Strikers, was released on February 20, 2020, developed by Koei Tecmo's Omega Force studio in collaboration with Atlus.
Gameplay
Persona 5 is a role-playing video game where the player takes on the role of a male high school student, codenamed Joker, who lives out a single year while attending school in modern-day Tokyo. The game is governed by a day-night cycle and weather systems that determine general behavior, similar to a social simulation game. The year is punctuated by scripted and random events as Joker attends school, and outside of school he can have part-time jobs, pursue leisure activities, or create items for use in dungeons or in battle. Joker's activities in the real world affect his social statistics; increasing these values grants additional activities and options. When in the real world, Joker can develop character relationships known as "Confidants"; an evolution of the "Social Link" system from Persona 3 and Persona 4. With this system, he can converse with and improve his relationship with other characters he meets, with some leading to possible romances. Improving Confidant ranks with party members unlocks various abilities for use in combat. Improving ranks with non-party Confidants grants other bonuses, such as access to new equipment or boosting experience point gains.
Alongside the normal school life is dungeon crawling gameplay of two different types within a realm called the Metaverse: story-specific dungeons called Palaces and a randomly generated dungeon called Mementos. Both are populated by Shadows, physical manifestations of suppressed psyches modeled after mythological and religious figures. Within the dungeons of Mementos, the party can fulfill quests received from Confidants and other non-player characters. While navigating, the party can use stealth to avoid enemy Shadows, and some areas hold puzzles that can be solved using Joker's "Third Eye" ability, which highlights interactable objects and enemy strength. Throughout Palaces are locations known as "Safe Rooms", where the player can save their game and fast travel to other safe rooms within the Palace.
As with previous entries in the series, the game uses a turn-based combat system. Battles can be initiated when the party runs into an enemy, or they can launch an ambush and gain an advantage in battle. In battle, the party has weapons and can summon Personas: manifestations of the main characters' inner psyche that are used mainly for special attacks. If a character strikes an enemy's weakness, they knock the enemy down and are awarded an additional turn. If all enemies are knocked down, a "Hold Up" is triggered, during which the party can launch a devastating "All-Out Attack", demand money or items, or convince a selected Shadow to become one of Joker's Personas. Party members are knocked out when they lose all of their health points, and the game ends if Joker is knocked out.
New Personas can be gained from battle through successful negotiation, and different Persona types are represented through different arcana linked to Confidant links. Personas can be combined, or "fused" within the Velvet Room, a realm Joker visits throughout the story. In the Velvet Room, Personas can be fused through the "Guillotine" fusion process, with the resultant Persona inheriting skills and stats from its parents. More skills are passed on depending on how many skills a Persona has, and the strength of the resulting Persona depends on how advanced its associated Confidant link is. Personas can be sacrificed by "Hanging" to grant experience points to another Persona or by being sent to the "Electric Chair" to create a high-end item. A Persona can also be sent into "Solitary Confinement" for multiple days to undergo intensive training and gain additional skills quicker than normal.
Minor online social elements are incorporated through the "Thieves Guild" feature, where players can see what activities other players did during any given day or aid other players in the Metaverse.
Synopsis Setting and characters
Persona 5 takes place within the Persona universe, revolving around a group of high school students who harness Personas, physical manifestations of their inner psyche. The story begins on April 9 "20XX (2016)" and spans roughly a year. It is set in modern-day Tokyo and features several real-world locations, including Akihabara, Shinjuku, and Shibuya. A major setting throughout the game is Shujin Academy, a high school that the protagonist attends. The second major location is the "Metaverse", a supernatural realm consisting of the physical manifestations of humanity's subconscious desires. In the Metaverse, people with corrupted desires form their own unique "Palace," which is modeled after their distorted perception of a place in the real world, along with a Shadow version of themselves (their true self) possessing a "Treasure" symbolic of their desires. Returning from earlier entries is the Velvet Room, a place that exists for the growth of Persona users and shifts appearance depending on the current guest; in Persona 5, it takes the form of a prison.
The player character is a silent protagonist, a commonplace feature in the Persona series, codenamed Joker. He becomes the leader of a vigilante group known as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, who change the hearts of criminals and other malevolent people through the Metaverse. He is joined by school delinquent Ryuji Sakamoto, fashion model Ann Takamaki, and Morgana, a mysterious cat-like creature. As the game progresses, the group recruits more members, including art prodigy Yusuke Kitagawa, student council president Makoto Niijima, hikikomori computer hacker Futaba Sakura, and cultured corporate heiress Haru Okumura. Also interacting with Joker are high school detective Goro Akechi, public prosecutor and Makoto's older sister Sae Niijima, and Igor and his two assistants Caroline and Justine, who are residents of the Velvet Room.
Plot Much of the story is told through flashbacks while Sae Niijima interrogates the protagonist. After preventing an assault, he is framed for assaulting the man responsible and put on probation for a year, resulting in expulsion from his school. He is sent to Tokyo to stay with family friend Sojiro Sakura and attend Shujin Academy during his year-long probation. After his arrival, he is drawn into the Velvet Room, where Igor, alongside his assistants, Caroline and Justine, warns him that he must be rehabilitated to avoid future ruin and grants him access to a supernatural mobile app. This leads him into the Metaverse, and the Palace of the school's abusive and lustful gym teacher and volleyball coach Suguru Kamoshida, along with a fellow student, Ryuji Sakamoto, who had been labeled as a troublemaker due to having been provoked by Kamoshida into assaulting him.
After the protagonist and Ryuji are captured by the corrupt manifestation of Kamoshida, also known as his Shadow Self, he awakens to his Persona, Arsène, to save Ryuji from being executed. The two escape to the lower levels of the Palace, where they meet Morgana, a mysterious, small cat-like creature who knows much about the Palaces. Morgana informs the protagonist of the ability to change wicked people's hearts by stealing their "Treasure," the emotional root of their behavior and desires, from the Palaces ruled by their Shadow selves. Not long after, upon discovering the truth about Kamoshida's abuse towards other students in the Palace dungeons, Ryuji awakens to his Persona and resolves to stop Kamoshida. The protagonist later confronts other fellow student Ann Takamaki, who was forced into a relationship with Kamoshida in exchange for her friend Shiho Suzui being on the volleyball team. When Ann doesn't come to Kamoshida's house one afternoon, he takes it out on Shiho in an implied sexual assault, causing her to attempt suicide. After which, the group finally decides to steal Kamoshida's heart and force him to confess his crimes, with Ann awakening to her Persona after accidentally stumbling into the Metaverse.