Highlights
- Persona 6 could take the Detective Prince trope to new heights via a Detective Prince protagonist, offering a fresh take on the popular character archetype.
- The new protagonist could navigate fame and self-discovery, adding depth to relationships and character development.
- While a Detective Prince protagonist could be exciting, fans are divided on the potential lack of diversity in the game's main characters, as a female protagonist is also a common request.
The Persona franchise is known for bringing together diverse characters with different backgrounds to show how their friendship and teamwork can overcome adversaries. This pattern can be expected to carry over to the highly anticipated Persona 6, which is in active development at Atlus. One character archetype that could also make a comeback in the next game is the Detective Prince.
Detective Prince is the nickname given to Persona 4's Naoto Shirogane, an androgynous young female detective who helps investigate murders in Inaba. This trope carried over to Persona 5 through Goro Akechi, a young detective nicknamed "The Second Coming Detective Prince," who's trying to expose the identities of the Phantom Thieves. Both Naoto and Akechi are playable teammates in their respective games, and they also offer their expertise in investigations. If Persona 6 is looking to bring back the Detective Prince, it could make a big change by turning the protagonist into the famed detective.
Why Persona 1 and 2 Remakes Could Be a Big Deal for Persona 6
The success of Persona 3's remake has paved the way for the first two games in the series to do the same, and Persona 6 can capitalize on this.
How Persona 6 Could Elevate the Detective Prince Archetype
- Persona 4: Naoto Shirogane, the "Detective Prince"
- Persona 5: Goro Akechi, the "Second Coming Detective Prince"
Persona has so far shown two sides of the Detective Prince, with Naoto being good-natured and Akechi being a complex anti-hero. Both characters' stories portrayed how people saw and treated them as popular personalities, as well as their internal struggles in dealing with pressure that comes with the Detective Prince title. For Persona 6, it would be interesting to see a detective character that's a balance of Naoto and Akechi's qualities, which would give them more depth while solving mysteries in the real world and the dungeons.
Having a Detective Prince as the Persona 6 protagonist would give players a front row seat to their popular status. In past Persona games, the silent protagonist always started out as someone who initially kept their heads down for various reasons. Famously, Persona 5's Joker often kept to himself because he has a criminal record. Persona 6 could be the perfect time to introduce a silent protagonist, but one who is very aware of their fame and deals with parasocial fans regularly, while also struggling internally with their identity.
Likewise, this would make relationship-building more interesting, as Persona 6 fans would watch the Detective Prince navigate their fame while also being a selfless leader. Like Naoto in Persona 4, they can learn how to live like a normal high school student through their Social Links and interactions throughout the school year, and their encounters with powerful Shadows. This growth would also help the protagonist and their Persona/s become more powerful, eventually enabling them to defeat the final boss at the end.
This wouldn't be the first time a popular JRPG franchise would turn the detective character into the protagonist. Spike Chunsoft's Danganronpa series also features characters with diverse backgrounds and "Ultimate" talents, such as the Ultimate Detectives Kyoko Kirigiri from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Shuichi Saihara from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. The latter is the Detective protagonist of the franchise, and players experience the pressure of solving the mysteries of the school they're trapped in using Shuichi's crime-solving talents.
A Detective Protagonist Isn't The Only Thing Persona 6 Needs
There are rumors that Persona 6 might feature two male protagonists and one DLC-exclusive female, which could prove problematic for the franchise. Atlus hasn't introduced a female protagonist since Persona 3's FeMC, who is not playable in Persona 3 Reload to the dismay of longtime fans. Many people have requested that Atlus make the next protagonist a young woman, but it's still unknown if the developer will take the suggestion.
Still, if Persona 6 pulls the trigger on a Detective Prince protagonist, Atlus could introduce a compelling enough character that fans may be more forgiving of the fact that there are two male main characters. However, this could eventually be seen as a band-aid solution to the franchise's lack of diversity, and fans would surely still clamor for a female protagonist. Hopefully, players will have both of their requests met with Persona 6, either through a playable Detective Princess or a Detective Prince and separate female main character.
