When you see a trailer to the next installment of a beloved franchise, you always have to go in with the expectation that whoever is making that trailer has no idea what they’re doing. That right there is a really depressing sentiment, but I feel that it has become justified. These days, trailers really, really don’t get it. They either show way too much and ruin the plot, or they show next to nothing at all and end up failing to do the only thing a trailer should be doing in the first place. It’s about the excitement, it’s about building hype and keeping just enough mystery to leave you wanting more. A trailer should bring up just as many questions as answers, but not so many questions that you feel like you just stared at a big question mark for the past two minutes by the end. If you need an example of a good trailer, check out this Persona 5 one.

This trailer might as well be hitting all the checks to my personal list of things a game trailer should be doing. It answers so much, leaves many questions behind, is fun and exciting, and *gasps* – has actual gameplay in it. Imagine that, a trailer for a hotly anticipated game that isn’t just a long CGI cutscene, and wait, there’s more. It also comes sporting some amazingly kickass music and a cool visual style. Style is the operative word here because this trailer does what most don’t and skillfully establishes this game’s style and texture. By the end of it, you get the sense that it “feels” like Persona 5 when just 5 minutes prior, you had no inclination of what Persona 5 was supposed to feel like. The expertly done animation and the well directed showcasing of the three main characters combined with the amazing music made for a great trailer experience with oh so much rewatch value.

Perhaps the best part of all is how starkly different the game’s tone is from the likes of Persona 4. While that game was more about lighthearted small-town antics with a style that consisted of dull pleasant colours (used to emphasize the low energy of the setting), this world is filled with sharply coloured objects and jagged edges. Whether it’s actually the case or not, you definitely get the sense that the stakes are somehow higher. Also, there seems to be a theme of being a criminal or a delinquent that permeates everything we’ve seen of this game so far. Fans of the series will be interested to find out how the sentiment of “breaking the rules” will relate to the teenage experience, and just about everybody, long time fan or not, will look forward to being a rogue that fights monsters with knives and guns along with a party consisting of your band of thieves.

Will Persona 5 actually live up to the hype and be a fun and unique experience, or will it suffer the fate of being a derivative and rehashed game that will leave us all disappointed? I can’t tell you, but there are two things I can say for sure:

1) Everything I’ve seen so far says I should keep my expectations high

2) That trailer was amazing, and it had exactly what people wanted to see from one

I can safely say with certainty, that my body is absolutely ready for the next installment of the Persona series.

Quote of the Day:

“Shut up and take my money!”

– Philip J. Fry, Futurama