Although Atlus is in the middle of celebrating the Persona franchise's anniversary, there's no doubt that Persona 5 in particular has a huge influence. The original Persona 5, as well as the extended Persona 5 Royal and spin-off Persona 5 Strikers, have stolen the hearts of longtime players and new fans. Atlus has confirmed that it's working on Persona 6, but even so Persona 5's lasting appeal might inspire it to make more games that involve the Phantom Thieves.
If that's the case, Atlus should look into making an MMORPG set in the Persona world that specifically borrows the lore and sensibilities of Persona 5. An MMO would be a big step in a new direction for the franchise, but considering how many more fans it has now compared to a few years ago, an MMO might just succeed. Persona 5 provides Atlus with a lot of elements that could make great MMO components, from its dungeon concepts to social sim elements. It would be an unorthodox move for Persona, but there's a lot of potential there.
Capitalizing on Persona's Growth
It seems like quite a few single player JRPG franchises decide to try out the MMO model. For instance, Dragon Quest 10 may have premiered on the Wii, but the MMORPG has since branched out to a number of other consoles including the Nintendo Switch. Square Enix has also found success with Final Fantasy 14, which has seen a huge uptick in players in the last few years. Considering how well these MMOs have done for themselves, Persona could try following in their footsteps.
The timing couldn't be better for a multiplayer Persona experiment. Persona 5 is a bestseller for the franchise, and that hype has translated into interest in other Persona products considering how well Persona 4 Golden's PC version and Persona 5 Strikers have sold. The MMO market is hard to break into, even for big developers, but Atlus should feel inspired to take risks. It might be able to attract both general MMO lovers and Persona fans by assembling a game that offers a new look at the Phantom Thieves' adventures and the Metaverse.
Persona 5's Challenges and Customization
The supernatural elements of Persona, particularly the concepts Persona 5 introduced, offer wonderful opportunities for game design. A Persona MMO has two choices for offering each player their Personas, for instance. On the one hand, it could allow players to customize a Persona they play with and upgrade throughout the game, replacing classes. On the other hand, players could potentially carry multiple Personas like Joker and other Persona protagonists, offering flexibility in their builds. Either way, Atlus would end up with a very creative substitute for traditional MMORPG classes.
Persona 5's specific challenges offer excellent dungeons and raid opportunities, too. Persona 5 Strikers could supply Jails as the game's main dungeons, since Jails remain even without their Monarch and give players lots of room to run around. Persona 5's Palaces, by contrast, could serve as temporary dungeons that only appear during in-game events, owing to the way they collapse once the Palace ruler's Treasure is stolen. Uniting Palaces and Jails through a Mementos-like overworld filled with Shadows would provide players a perfect area to grind for XP and resources.
The Human Side of Persona 5
What Persona players do in the real world is just as important as what they do in the Shadow world, and an MMO could reflect that. A Persona 5-inspired MMO would likely have a combat-free overworld where players explore Tokyo freely. While roaming Tokyo, players might meet NPCs like the Phantom Thieves and Joker's other Confidants, all of whom might serve as quest givers and central characters in the plot. Over time, the MMO could feature characters from Persona 3 and 4 during special events; considering crossover spin-offs like Persona 4 Arena Ultimax exist, it wouldn't be out of the question.
While players could meet NPCs like these, it might be hard to integrate Confidant mechanics since Persona's social sim system is balanced around the player's limited time. However, Atlus could add a twist on the system by making players the Confidants for one another. As part of character creation, players might set a list of perks that they provide to others. The more players work together as a party, the further they progress through each other's Confidant ranks, encouraging cooperation while offering a new take on a familiar system.
Betting on Persona's Future
It doesn't seem likely that Atlus will jump on the MMO train in the near future. Atlus' products are rooted in tradition, and the company is generally slow to change its practices. Persona games coming to platforms other than the PlayStation in recent years inspires hope that Atlus is more willing to take risks than it once was, but a Persona 5 MMORPG would be a pretty big leap forward. Atlus may also be wary about maintaining a live-service Persona product rather than sticking to standalone games.
Nevertheless, Atlus ought to consider the potential in a Persona 5-inspired MMO, especially in the wake of the franchise's growth. As long as the game leans into Persona's unique design elements concepts and the lore of Persona 5, it could manage to break into the MMO market with surprising success. Atlus clearly sees Persona 6 as the future of the franchise, but a standalone Persona game shouldn't be the only big project the franchise has ahead of it. It would be great to see Atlus gamble on the community's love of the Phantom Thieves with a project that uses Persona 5 in new ways, preserving their legacy for years to come.
Persona 5 is available now on PS3 and PS4.
