Thanks To A New Translation, We Now Know What The Persona 5 Chairs Mean

Thanks to a fan using the pseudonym Pepsiman, we have a complete translation of the Japanese Persona magazine article about Persona 5. We don’t have new details, but better clarity on the themes and design of the game.The interview is with Persona series producer Katsura Hashino.

So, the mysterious image of the chairs with balls-and-chains under the legs does not have any esoteric Japanese meanings behind it. Rather, it hints at Persona 5’s new direction. Hashino posits that modern living makes people feel tied down to a world that leaves them bored and discontent, and makes them want to break free from. With Persona 5, they want gamers to experience a freedom they can’t attain in real life. Subsequently, the chairs and balls-and-chains represent what people have to endure to get to that moment of freedom.

The ball and chain represents gamers’ literal immobility from their position in life. Subsequently Persona 5 will be colored with a deep red. Hashino is aware that red is not as pleasant to look at sometimes as blue (the color for Persona 3) or yellow (Persona 4), so they are adjusting accordingly.

Speaking of Persona 3 and 4, Hashino explains that Persona 5 will in one way be an extension of what they achieved in prior games, and a complete break in another way. Persona Team is going about this in such a way that older fans will feel right at home, but it will also be welcoming to newcomers.

Hashino elaborates on two themes from P3 and P4. In the previous games, you experience the feeling of having childhood beliefs your grew up broken apart, giving you the freedom to make decisions and be yourself. Subsequently, there is also the theme of working together to form a community and achieve a feeling of freedom that way.

Persona 5 will explore a wholly different feeling of freedom than either of these. Persona Team is looking at all their work from their prior games and building on top of it, but they’re going farther than that.

Hashino talks about how life in Japan today is such that Japanese can’t idle away their lives anymore. The world won’t allow the Japanese to act this way anymore if they want to make something of their lives, and so they have to be engaged and constantly on their toes. With Persona 5, Hashino hopes players will come out of it with a better understanding of this world they are mired in. I’m sure it’s a sentiment many in the West will find a lot to agree with.

Still, at the end of the day Persona 5 will still be made as a piece of entertainment, and so people can enjoy it just as a game, if that’s what they want. As high as their ambitions are, Hashino hopes players won’t get bogged down by the themes and just enjoy themselves with it.

Persona 5 is a Playstation 3 exclusive coming Winter 2014.