Meguro utilized the Rhodes piano, groovy basslines, and syncopated rhythms to create a "funky" sound that felt sophisticated yet illicit. The goal was to make the player feel cool. When you navigate the menu or sneak up on a shadow, the music ensures that you don't feel like a generic hero; you feel like a stylish criminal. This sonic identity became the signature of the Phantom Thieves.
In a year defined by surprise—election shocks, corporate scandals, social upheavals—the song wasn't just a battle theme. It was a philosophy. The phantom thieves don't win by overpowering their enemies; they win by outsmarting them, by being a step ahead. The music itself is the ambush: jazzy, disarming, then suddenly explosive.
The is Meguro at his peak. Tracks like “Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There” and “Last Surprise” swing with an almost arrogant confidence. The bass guitar is not just supportive; it is confrontational. The brass sections punch through the mix like a heist gone right. Listening to this soundtrack on a high-fidelity system reveals layers of production that modern pop music often lacks—subtle vinyl crackle effects, live drum recordings, and Lyn’s breathtaking vocal range. Persona 5 Original Soundtrack -2017-
But the real magic lives in the game's hub world track, “Beneath the Mask.” A lo-fi, rain-splattered, lonely piano piece with a gentle bossa nova pulse. In 2017, lo-fi hip-hop was just beginning its rise as the soundtrack for anxious study sessions and late-night scrolling. Meguro accidentally predicted a genre wave. The song’s lyrics— I'm a shapeshifter, at Poe's masquerade —captured the exhaustion of wearing a public face. You weren't just playing a thief in Tokyo; you were listening to your own masked life after a long day of pretending.
Because 2017 didn't need another angry record. It had plenty of those. What it needed was a sound that said: You can change the world, but you don't have to lose your cool doing it. The brass stabs in “Rivers in the Desert.” The carnival-organ turned war march in “The Whims of Fate.” The sheer audacity of a final boss theme (“Swear to My Bones”) that is, at its core, a sad, hopeful waltz. Meguro utilized the Rhodes piano, groovy basslines, and
Before 2017, most Japanese RPG soundtracks were orchestral or synth-rock. After , every indie developer wanted a funk bass and a trumpet section. The soundtrack bridged the gap between video game music and legitimate jazz standards.
Ten years from now, musicologists will study the the same way they study Kind of Blue or Thriller —as a moment where popular music permanently pivoted. Put on your headphones, turn up the volume, and let the phantom thieves steal your heart. This sonic identity became the signature of the
Meguro spent roughly six months refining the musical direction, eventually landing on an style inspired by bands like Jamiroquai and United Future Organization. This was a departure from the J-pop and rock vibes of previous Persona entries, chosen to match the "picaresque" theme of the Phantom Thieves.
The Royal soundtrack occasionally disrupts the flow by replacing the original battle theme, “Last Surprise,” with “Take Over” for ambushes. For many purists, “Last Surprise” is the definitive battle theme of the Phantom Thieves. Furthermore, the 2017 soundtrack is the version that accompanied the game’s explosive cultural breakout. It is the raw, pre-Royale heist. Owning the means owning the moment gaming fell in love with acid jazz.
If you search for the on Spotify or Apple Music, you will find the tracks, but you lose the dynamic range. Streaming compresses Meguro’s intricate bass slaps and the resonance of the piano.
The most interesting story behind the Persona 5 soundtrack, however, is the one you never hear in-game. There's a demo version of “Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There” (the main menu theme) that Meguro almost scrapped. It was faster, angrier, with a distorted guitar riff that sounded more like punk rock than acid jazz. The team rejected it. Too confrontational, they said. Rebellion in Persona 5 is stylish, not desperate.