In an interview in a recently-published issue of the Persona magazine, Persona series director Katsura Hashino discusses Atlus’ thematic approach to Persona 5. Tumblr blog PepsimanGB has translated the interview, and you can find it here.

The interview begins with Hashino being asked what the teaser image for Persona 5 (above) is supposed to signify.

“It’s going to be a while yet before we’re ready to put out the game proper, but I think that image at least reassures people that there is something definitely coming along,” Hashino replies.

He continued: “To answer your question more directly, I feel that in today’s world, there’s no shortage of people that are bored and discontent with their lives. They’re at a dead end, chained down to a world of which they resent being a part. Persona 5, in that sense, is a game about freedom, the kind that those sorts of people haven’t had living in the real world.”

“I want them to be able to attain that sensation by playing through the game. Looking at it from that angle, I’d say that the image depicts the wait that must be endured for that moment of freedom to arrive.”

Regarding what kind of game Persona 5 will be when it is released, Hashino says that people that have played Persona 3 and Persona 4 should “feel right at home” with Persona 5. That having been said, Hashino wishes for the new game to be more “thematically approachable” than its predecessors.

“The characters in this game, through sheer force of will, are out to destroy that which suffocates people in today’s society and, again, keeps them chained down in place,” he shares. “I want players to come away from the game feeling like they have that power to take on the world around them and keep going in life.”

You can read more of Hashino’s thoughts here. Persona 5 is slated for release in winter 2014 on PlayStation 3.