Koei Tecmo co-founder Kou Shibusawa appears in a short promotional video about Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers, the Japanese title for the game released internationally as Persona 5 Strikers. In the feature, Morgana visits Koei Tecmo, interviews Shibusawa, and introduces gameplay footage. Contemporaneous coverage says the conversation touched on his Persona fandom and his enthusiasm for combining Persona with Koei Tecmo’s Musou-style action; the details below are attributed to that coverage rather than presented as a verified transcript.
What is the Kou Shibusawa feature?
It is a promotional video interview, not a conventional print interview. Gematsu described the video as Morgana infiltrating Koei Tecmo Games to speak with Shibusawa, alongside footage from Persona 5 Scramble. Siliconera’s contemporaneous account likewise covered the conversation and gameplay shown in the feature.
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| 1 |
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Persona 5 The Royal - Nintendo Switch | $39.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Persona 5 - PlayStation Hits - PlayStation 4 Standard Edition | $10.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Persona 5 Strikers - PlayStation 4 | $16.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Persona 3 Reload: Standard Edition - PlayStation 5 | $14.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Shibusawa is identified in Gematsu’s coverage as Yoichi Erikawa, a Koei Tecmo co-founder and the company’s general producer. His appearance presents him as a senior company figure and a Persona fan; it does not establish that he personally directed or developed the game.
What did Shibusawa reportedly say about Persona?
Siliconera reported that Shibusawa had played about 100 hours of Persona 5 and about 200 hours of Persona 4 Golden, which it described as his most-played Persona title. The same account said his favorite Persona 5 character was Ann Takamaki, and that Ryuji Sakamoto was his favorite male character.
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Siliconera also summarized his appreciation for the series’ role-playing structure, balance, stories, and style. It reported that he was excited by the prospect of bringing Persona together with the Musou engine and felt the combination was a good fit before development began. These are secondary-source paraphrases of the video conversation; no checked transcript establishes Shibusawa’s exact wording, so they should not be treated as direct quotations.
How was Persona 5 Scramble made?
Koei Tecmo’s April 26, 2019 announcement described the project as a collaboration between Atlus’s Persona team and Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force. Omega Force was developing the game for Atlus, and the announcement called it the Persona series’ first action RPG. That division of credited work is useful context for Shibusawa’s comments: his enthusiasm for the concept is not the same as a personal development credit.
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- The 5th numbered game in the series, created by renowned developers! The core development team of the recent Persona titles unites again for this upcoming game.
- A deep and engaging storyline - The thrilling story of a team of defiant teenagers, growing through every trial they face, begins now. Each case will take you one step closer to the truth veiled in darkness...What awaits our heroes: glory or ruin?
- Unique and interesting dungeons with various tricks and traps await - Overcome various obstacles with graceful Phantom Thief action. The simple-to-learn, but hard-to-master controls will be enjoyed by newcomers and veteran Persona players alike.
- Language - A stable of talented voice actors have provided English voice-overs while ATLUS’ celebrated localization team offers an English script that provides a faithful and engaging play experience.
Where does the game fit in the Persona 5 story?
Publisher Sega describes the story as taking place about six months after Persona 5. During summer vacation, the Phantom Thieves reunite and travel around Japan to investigate new incidents and Jails, a new kind of cognitive world. Nintendo’s contemporaneous description also places the story about half a year after Persona 5.
The game’s international name is Persona 5 Strikers; Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers is the Japanese title. Sega lists releases for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. Its product information gives February 20, 2020 as the Japanese PS4 and Switch release date, and February 23, 2021 for Steam. The title and date depend on region and platform, so check the edition offered for your system.
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- A summer vacation with close friends takes a sudden turn as a distorted reality emerges; reveal the truth and redeem the hearts of those imprisoned at the center of the crisis
- Join the Phantom Thieves and strike back against the corruption overtaking cities across Japan
- Jump into the stylish world of Persona in an all-new story
- Dynamically control your team during explosive action combat
- Battle across Japan in an epic road trip
What did the collaboration achieve?
The creative premise was to bring Persona’s characters and story-driven RPG identity into an action RPG built with Omega Force. Shibusawa’s reported reaction was that Persona and the Musou engine seemed well matched. That is his perspective on the idea, not evidence of a universal player or critical response.
Sega announced on November 10, 2023 that Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers had surpassed two million cumulative copies worldwide. This is a dated milestone reported by the publisher, not a current lifetime sales total.
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- Experience the pivotal game of the Persona series faithfully remade with cutting-edge graphics, modernized quality-of-life features, and signature stylish UI.
- Fully immerse yourself in an emotional, gripping journey with new scenes and character interactions, additional voiceover, and a reloaded soundtrack.
- Choose how to meaningfully spend each day through various activities from exploring the Port Island to forging genuine bonds with beloved characters.
- Build and command your optimal team to take down otherworldly Shadows and climb closer to the truth.
Sources
- Gematsu: “Koei Tecmo’s Kou Shibusawa Talks Persona, Shows Off Persona 5 Scramble Gameplay”
- Siliconera: “Morgana Infiltrates Koei Tecmo Games”
- Koei Tecmo announcement, April 26, 2019
- Sega: Persona 5 Strikers product page
- Sega announcement, November 10, 2023
- Nintendo: story and gameplay details
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