Many people experience what it's like being a troubled teenager. However, Persona 5 takes this experience to a whole other level. It is one thing to adjust to a new high school. It is another thing to adjust to a new high school in a dangerous world. Especially a world that resembles a prison with slavery, injustice, and suppression.
The only way for the new high school protagonist student to achieve freedom and justice is for the Phantom Thieves of Hearts to use a unique iPhone application. They go on adventures where they face corrupt adults who use their powers to enter into the hearts of others. Needless to say, the plotline of this game is very intriguing for players. However, there are many hidden plotlines that a lot of players likely miss.
10 Life Or Death
The protagonist is brought into an interrogation room where the police beat and drug him, and then he is forced into a fake confession. Sae Niijima, the prosecutor, asks him to recite everything that happened that year. Players likely miss the fact that much of this game is the protagonist testifying these events. His testifying can lead to plotlines that heal this helpless scenario or become the cause of his death. That is, players face options that determine the rest of the game's plot without realizing it.
9 Akechi
One of the bad endings is after Sae Niijima leaves the interrogation room after talking to the protagonist. She runs into Akechi in the hall and begins to question why he is there. Akechi eventually convinces Sae Niijima to leave by claiming that he is helping with the interrogation process. However, he does much more than interrogate the protagonist. First, he shoots one of the guards. Then he shoots the protagonist in the head and covers it up by making it look like a suicide. The protagonist then finds himself entering the Velvet Room and Igor is scolding him along with Justine and Caroline. This player should trust Sae Niijima over Akechi from the beginning.
8 Too Drugged
The police arrest the protagonist at a cafè, and the reason for his arrest depends on the Palace. The protagonist is in the interrogation room with Sae Niijima. She runs out of time during the interrogation. She then realizes that the protagonist is too drugged to recite all the events of the year. Akechi enters as an unknown figure and shoots the protagonist.
7 The Velvet Room
The protagonist dreams that he is in the Velvet Room which is located between the conscious and subconscious. There, he is greeted by Igor who is the prison master and an important figure in the game because he represents the protagonist's journey.
The protagonist is also greeted by Caroline and Justine, the two wardens, who congratulate him for making it that far and entering the present. The presence of Igor, Caroline, and Justine, indicate that the protagonist is on a journey. His journey is in both the Velvet Room and in real life when he wakes up. At this point in the plot, players are likely asking, "what even is real life in this game?"
6 Ann
The protagonist's persona Arsène and his friend Ryuji's persona Captain Kidd are adjusting to being students at the same time as learning about the Metaverse and how to shut down Palaces. The two friends eventually meet Ann who is simply placed in the Metaverse. She realizes that the volleyball coach, Kamoshida, sexually, and physically abuses students. Also, she recently witnessed her friend commit suicide because of Kamoshida and this event awakens her persona, Carmen. Ann's story is an important plotline that players likely miss.
5 The Phantom Thieves As Criminals
The crew discovers Madarame's Palace which contains his students' artwork. Madarame threatens to call the police on Ann and Morgana after Ann reveals to Yusuke Madarame's truth. The shadows of Madarame reveal that he is involved in Yusuke's mother's death which awakens his persona, Goemon. Yusuke decides to join the Thieves. Then, Goro Akechi condemns on TV that friends are criminals who damage people's hearts. This false plotline by Akechi must infuriate all players to catch on to it.
4 Makoto
Principal Kobayakawa pressures Makoto Niijima who figures out who the Thieves are. She concludes that they must be the protagonist, Yusuke, Ann, and Ryuji. She wants them to help her find an evil ring. Unfortunately, the principle has bad intentions that Makoto is unaware of. The group eventually finds Kaneshiro's Palace and Makoto's problem solving allows her to meet Johanna, her persona. Kobayakawa's bad intentions work in Makoto's favor.
3 Futaba Sakura
Sojior's adopted daughter, Futaba, chooses to isolate herself. She drops out of school and barely leaves her house because she witnesses her mother's death. She experiences a lot of trauma from it.
On top of her sad story, people blame her for her own mother's death. Futaba longs to be free from her suicidal thoughts about her mother. Players who miss this plotline might be lucky.
2 Too Much Fame
The Phantom Thieves are maybe a little too proud of their accomplishments. They hop from beach to beach towards the end of their summer vacation. They even ask people online where they should travel to next. Morgana begins to believe that his role in the crew is diminishing. He begins to spiral into a depression to the point of concern. Luckily, the group snaps back into it when they find out that Principal Kobayakawa is dead. Morgana's dark plotline does not continue.
1 The Malicious Protagonist
The entire world changes when the protagonist makes a deal with the god Yaldabaoth. Yikes! The people around the Phantom Thieves are not happy even though the group is famous. They do not have free will and they essentially abandon their thoughts. Yaldabaoth controls the protagonist. So, players have to understand that god takes away all of his power.