The Persona franchise has been fairly quiet in 2022, despite the ongoing anniversary year, but that could change if Atlus reveals Persona 6 and its party of player characters this year. As exciting as the ports of known Persona games are, fans are looking to the future and eager to see how Atlus intends on following Persona 5's massive success. Persona 6 could go in a lot of creative directions to set itself apart, whether it takes place outside of Japan or moves away from the traditional high school inspiration, but a wholly new style of non-human party member could be what Persona 6 needs.
Persona has a rich tradition of non-human party members, like Morgana in Persona 5. Even though the focus is always on normal human teens getting supernatural powers, Atlus seems to like mixing up the party dynamic with a strange companion type. Over the last few generations of games, Persona has emphasized to types of non-human characters: animal companions and AI. Both of these categories still have some mileage in the series, but ideally Persona 6 will differentiate itself by trying something new. In order to be a worthy heir to Persona 5, Persona 6's party needs to be as unique as possible.
Persona's History of Non-Human Party Members
Persona has gone through a couple different takes on animal party members. Persona 3 famously featured Koromaru, a highly intelligent dog who can summon a Persona just as skillfully as his human friends. Morgana is the other leading member of this category, albeit a more experimental one, since he's slightly humanoid in the Shadow world but fully feline in the human world. Teddie from Persona 4 is a more tangential member of this party, but his teddy bear motif makes him a clear cousin to these other animal characters.
Persona has also explored AI relationships with the world of the collective unconscious. Persona 3 introduced fans to Aigis, one of a series of androids created to specifically to use Personas and fight Shadows. While it isn't a mainline game, Persona 5 Strikers touches on this as well; not only is the AI Sophia a capable member of the Phantom Thieves, but the entire game revolves around a hyperintelligent smartphone app that can access the world of Shadows. Between these characters, the Persona franchise has gone a long way to explore how artificial life forms factor into the collective unconscious and the Sea of Souls.
Since it's familiar with these archetypes, it wouldn't be surprising if Atlus put either an animal character or an AI in Persona 6's party. Atlus could still take either category in a new direction, but in order to avoid comparisons to the first two games, Persona 6 might be better off trying something a little more new. Although the last three core Persona games have all been successes, repeating one of these character types could feel a little stale Innovation is a big reason Persona 5 was such a success, so Persona 6 should try to strike gold in the same way with its own experiments.
Possible Directions for a Non-Human Persona User
Perhaps the simplest non-human character type Persona 6 could try is a Shadow party member. This wouldn't be entirely new, since Teddie from Persona 4 was also a Shadow, but because his true nature is a secret for most of the game, he's more identifiable as an animal party member. A self-aware Shadow that strikes an uneasy alliance with Persona 6's party for their own reasons could add some refreshing party dynamics, encourage Atlus to reimagine a cultural figure, and inspire some offbeat combat skills.
Alternatively, Persona 6 could send a Velvet Room denizen to travel with the party. Usually the Velvet Room doesn't interfere with human affairs so directly, but breaking that convention could open doors for Persona 6's story. Velvet Room members have a long history of interacting closely with Persona protagonists, but a character that plays an even more central part than Persona 4 Golden's Marie or Persona 5's Caroline and Justine still has potential. Aside from the story value, this kind of character could have groundbreaking mechanics through their Confidant perks, possibly giving the protagonist access to basic Persona fusion when they're outside of the Velvet Room.
Either of these options would tap into Persona lore nicely, but Atlus could always consider more outlandish options. Considering just how supernatural Persona already is, for instance, Atlus could try putting a playable ghost in the party; a spectral human with unfinished business sounds perfectly capable of awakening to a Persona. A ghost could interact with elemental damage in Persona uniquely, bringing an odd set of resistances and weaknesses, all while contributing new lore to the supernatural side of Persona, plus a moving Confidant arc about the character's afterlife and what they left behind when they died.
Persona 6's Theme Could Be Crucial
Any of these options seem viable, but ultimately, any given non-human companion will probably be led by the theme of the game. Just about every Persona game from recent generations has a clear theme, from Persona 3's musings on death to Persona 5's narrative about rebellion. Morgana's role as an embodiment of humanity's hope is one example of this. If Persona 6 is about travel like Persona 5 nearly was, then it could make sense to introduce a Velvet Room member or a Shadow who wants to explore the entire human world, building on ideas Atlus has used before without completely copying them.
Ultimately, Atlus is probably going to default to one of its traditions for Persona 6's party. While the animal and AI motifs have been used several times by now, Atlus could still find ways to make either idea a little more new, although there would always be hallmarks of the past in place. Adding a new kind of non-human character is certainly a little risky, since long-time Persona fans may prefer the series' conventions, but now that Persona 5 got the ball rolling on innovation, Atlus has to make use of the momentum. Rethinking what kind of characters appear in the playable party could be a great way to refresh the Persona formula without making Persona 6 deviate too far from the traditions that fans love.
Persona 6 is in development.