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Details on Sakurai's meeting with Atlus - Sakurai shares his love of the Persona series, talks Persona 5 influences, and more

by rawmeatcowboy
27 December 2018
GN Version 5.0

Earlier today, we shared a video of Masahiro Sakurai visiting Atlas' offices to talk about Joker's inclusion in Smash Bros. Ultimate, and the Persona series in general. Here are some details from that meeting.

- Sakurai says he played the first Persona game on PlayStation, and has played all the subsequent installments as well
- Sakurai says the radical change in Persona 5 with its red and black aesthetic gave off a weird feeling at first
- this vibe also helped him immediately realize how amazing and cool it is
- the menus using characters’ 3D models moving around, and turning into 2D illustrations, was a great idea as well
- Sakurai said it's impressive to see how the Persona series has evolved from Persona 3 to Persona 5
- Persona 5‘s UI will definitely stay a reference for many years to come
- Sakurai liked everyone in Persona 5 and especially liked how each one of them felt alive
- Sakurai managed to max all confidant relationships on his playthrough of Persona 5 except for one, Yusuke
- Sakurai noted how he’s the kind of player who doesn’t like to use walkthroughs in order to avoid spoilers
- Sakurai was surprised with where the game ended, as he originally thought the ending was coming sooner
- Sakurai really liked Persona 5‘s battle system and its use of weaknesses
- Sakurai bought the game’s original soundtrack CD and regularly listens to it
- Sakurai joked that he'd like Atlus to make their games clearable in half the amount of time, as he's a busy guy
- he's currently playing Persona Q2 New Cinema Labyrinth, but doesn't expect to finish it anytime soon
- Sakurai drew Kirby donning Morgana’s mask for Atlus
- a T-shirt featuring an illustration by Persona character designer Hashino Soejima was also gifted by Morgana to Sakurai

[Link]