It's April 4th: one of the most important days of the year. Why? Because Persona 5 launches today in North America and Europe. And to celebrate its western launch, developer and publisher Atlus (Deep Silver is publishing the game in Europe) has released a new launch trailer.

Never heard of Persona 5? No problem: here's an overview via Atlus:

Persona 5 is a game about the internal and external conflicts of a group of troubled youth who live dual lives. They have the typically ordinary day-to-day of a Tokyo high-schooler – attending class, after school activities and part-time jobs. But they also undertake fantastical adventures by using otherworldly powers to enter the hearts of people. Their power comes from the Persona, the Jungian concept of the “self;” the game’s heroes realize that society forces people to wear masks to protect their inner vulnerabilities, and by literally ripping off their protective mask and confronting their inner selves do the heroes awaken their inner power, and use it to strive to help those in need. Ultimately, the group of Phantom Thieves seeks to change their day-to-day world to match their perception and see through the masks modern-day society wears.

In addition to releasing the game and launch trailer, Atlus also talked about the monster undertaking of localizing the game for the west over on the PlayStation Blog. Yu Namba, Senior Project Manager at Atlus USA, specifically says the following:

P5 was a monster in terms of localization scope. it boasted the most number of translators and editors on a team, and everyone spent countless nights making the English version of P5 a reality. We set the general direction of the localization and settled on key terms and ideas atOooo the beginning of the project, so everyone had a clear guideline when working on their assigned tasks. Whenever a big issue arose, it was brought to my attention, and I gave the team my feedback. As project lead I had to make the final call, but I made sure that I looked at the issues from different perspectives.

When localizing a Japanese game, there’s always something that simply won’t make sense to the Western audience if translated word for word. Similarly, there may be lines that are too long to fit in the text window or the time allotted in a scene. What to keep, what to cut out, what to change, what are the consequences—it’s always a tough call, and the approach is different for each person. But the process becomes a bit easier to handle when the entire team is on the same page. I’m really fortunate to be at Atlus, where everyone in the company shares the same vision.

Persona 5, as a game, is the pinnacle of the series. From battle system and social sim to playability and UI, it has remained true to its origin but every aspect of the game is at its best. The same can be said for localization: it’s the best English rendition in the history of Atlus USA thus far. I’m sure everyone who already purchased the game will enjoy it, and I really hope that people who haven’t heard of the series before will give it a try. This game will take your heart.

Persona 5 is available on PS4 and PS3 for $59.99 USD. Below, you can check out the new launch trailer: