'Persona 5' release date: Game to feature different take on story

Atlus

"Persona 5" was initially set to release in late 2015, but as previously reported, this has since been pushed back and the game will now release in 2016.

As a consolation for players eagerly waiting for the game's release, developer Atlus released new information regarding the game's plot and characters.

As detailed in a report from Gamespot, one of the main changes in "Persona 5" will be its plot structure. Whereas previous titles in the franchise focused on the protagonists hunting down the main enemy in order to solve a series of murders and mysteries, "Persona 5" would do things the other way around.

"This time, it's about a group of high school students that are being 'chased' by unexpected occurrences due to the justice they believe in," explained director Katsura Hashino. "We're writing the story to convey a thrilling everyday life in the shoes of these characters, that are as large as life, in this juvenile school setting."

It is also important to note that the characters in "Persona 5" are no longer high school detectives such as the characters in "Persona 3" and "Persona 4." As pointed out in a previous report, the main characters this time around are students during the day and thieves at night, using their Personas to achieve supernatural feats.

This would explain why their Personas are based on literary and historical thieves such as Arsene Lupin, Ishikawa Goemon, Zorro, the pirate Blackbeard and Carmen Sandiego. According to Gamespot's report, the main protagonists are not stealing for self-gain but are targeting corrupt officials.

In doing so they might be chased by the officials' personal armies or a hired investigator. This is heavily speculated by fans to be the manner in which the story focuses on a group of students being chased due to the "justive they believe in."

"Persona 5" will release for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in 2016.