Update (2019-11-06): Post updated with Famitsu leak details via sokuho@hokanko.
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As announced previously, this week’s issue of Weekly Famitsu magazine #1614 (November 21, 2019 issue) releasing on November 7, 2019 includes a feature on Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers with new information.
Details from Famitsu’s Persona 5 Scramble feature have been leaked. The feature includes an interview with Atlus producer Daisuke Kaneda and Koei Tecmo (Omega Force) producer Kenichi Ogasawara.
Planning & Development
- The proposal for the game came from Koei Tecmo. [It’s worth noting that in November 2015, Persona was ranked 10th for series the Famitsu readership wanted to see a “musou” spin-off of the most, And Atlus expressed interest in exploring this.]
- The game’s engine is made by Koei Tecmo, and works differently than the one from Persona 5.
- Atlus proposed that the development team actually travel around the country in RVs.
- There were more difficulties than imagined with that, but new discoveries were also made.
- Development for the game is 90% complete.
Story & Characters
- The original story draft comes from Koei Tecmo, but its supervision and creation were compiled by the Persona Team more and more over time. Both companies were very particular about the scenario, and when they were finished, the original plan looked like burned ashes (laughs).
- Some special characters like Alice Hiiragi may appear in various parts of Japan.
- Sophia, the new character voiced by Misaki Kuno, is an AI in the real world and resides in the protagonist’s smartphone.
Gameplay
- The developers thought that the “command selection” aspect of the game [where time freezes to select a persona skill] would ruin the pacing, but when it was finished, it felt really comfortable and a new Phantom Thief-like action was created.
- The musou genre is about the exhilirating feeling of smashing enemies, but P5S has a system which allows you to observe the weaknesses and resistances of the enemy, so you go around while taking into account your equipment and personas.
- There is no point to elements that can be cleared without engaging with any of the game’s systems. The developers want players to make use of this combination. There is also the ability to change the level of difficulty, if you so choose.
Music
- The one in charge of the background music is the one who handled the music for Persona Q and other games, Atsushi Kitajoh, in addition to Gota Masuoka, who has made music for the Warriors games, and MASA (Koei Tecmo composer). Many new songs and arrangements have been created.
Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers will be released for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch on February 20, 2020 in Japan.