Female Protagonist May Star in New Persona 5: The Royal

JRPG producer Atlus have announced the existence of “Persona 5: The Royal“, hinting that the game may include an optional female protagonist in the same vein as Persona 3 Portable.

Atlus revealed that the “Persona 5 R” project, which was teased at the end of 2018, will be named “Persona 5: The Royal” and will appear on PS4.

The teaser-trailer shows a red-haired female character in the Shujin Academy uniform (the same one worn by the original game’s MC) watching a Phantom Thieves video on a Tokyo billboard. In the trailer, teenage detective Goro Akechi briefly discusses the Phantom Thieves with the new female character:

Akechi: “What do you think of the Phantom Thieves?”

New female character: “I think helping people is a wonderful thing, but if I had to say, I don’t like them. I don’t think the Phantom Thieves’ methods will make the world a better place or help anyone. In the end, I feel like you can only solve that yourself.”

Rumors are already abound about the role of the female character. Whilst it is possible that she is simply another party member or NPC like Persona 4: Golden‘s social link and velvet room inhabitant Marie, commentators have noticed a physical similarity between her and the female main character in Persona 3 Portable, and the fact that a trailer is dedicated to revealing her existence suggests that she will be important to the game’s story.

In the true Atlus spirit of using announcements to announce other announcements, the company also reveals that further information will be provided on the 24th of April.