With the English version of "Persona 5" still unreleased, upcoming game's director, Katsura Hashino has already revealed some ideas scrapped from the final build on the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4. The contents cut include the main character arcs, locations, and even Personas.
Director Hashino and Character Designer, Shigenori Soejima made the revelation in the fifth episode of Persona Stalker Club. They first talked about cutting Hifumi Togo from being the main character arc. Togo is a fellow student who is popular for her beauty and athleticism.
Although Togo forms a part of the game's Social Link and Confidant system, she was originally schemed to be one of the main characters in "Persona 5," but was cut. According to Hashino, her inclusion made the game too long. As it is, 80 hours of gameplay subsists in the Japanese version of the game.
Persona 5’s Hifumi Togo Was Planned to Be a Main Character & Other Scrapped Concepts - https://t.co/wW3OOlqUYe pic.twitter.com/Uhuqcj05FF
— Persona Central (@Persona_Central) October 31, 2016
"Persona 5" also went through a few plot changes. The protagonist was originally planned to live in the same apartment with Sae Niijima. Instead, he is going to hang out in a coffee shop owned by his friend's parents. As for the reason behind the plot adjustment, no information was released by the developers. It could possibly have made a big difference as far as the story is concerned.
As for Personas, dozens of them were rendered unfit for release. A previously proposed winged German demon named Mephistopheles was originally going to take the place of French thief, Arsène. It would have had ties to the protagonist, but the idea of demons just do not fit well with the concept of "Persona 5."
Many spoilers as to the trophies, character cameos, and even the endings of "Persona 5" have been around the internet for a while. However, the game has been in the stage of development for almost a decade, so many changes are anticipated. The English version of "Persona 5" will be released for the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4 on Feb. 14.
Do you think these ideas should not have been scrapped? Share your thoughts and expectations of "Persona 5" with us!
