The last few years have been a significant period of change for the Persona franchise. Although it still clung to plenty of traditions, like familiar enemy designs and turn-based combat, Persona 5 set out to reinvent the IP in a range of important ways. Mechanically, the game changed drastically, expanding the utility fans could get from the social sim elements and creating highly detailed dungeons that sloughed off the randomness found in many previous games. Persona 5 also changed its themes quite a bit, putting a renewed emphasis on human antagonists and framing its protagonists as superhero-like vigilantes fighting crime, rather than just Persona-wielding teenagers battling monsters.
Persona 5 was a huge success thanks in part to these innovations, and so Persona 6 seems like it'll probably try to keep things fresh too. While a few mechanical changes are likely, Persona 6 may benefit the most from trying to seize on a unique theme in the same way as its predecessor. Persona 5's picaresque design, with each playable character summoning a historic or literary rebel as their Persona, gives the game an entirely different attitude. In order to stand out from both Persona 5 and the previous games, Persona 6 should look into untapped themes to influence its Persona design, as well as the overarching story.
A Brief History of Persona Design
Lots of possible Persona designs remain untapped because the franchise has focused on one niche for a long time: mythology. Ever since Revelations: Persona, Atlus has frequently chosen mythological figures -- especially Greco-Roman ones -- to be the Personas of playable characters. Persona 2: Innocent Sin is a great example of this; many of its protagonists can evolve their Personas into Greco-Roman gods like Artemis, Venus, and Hades. Persona 3 leaned on Greco-Roman culture similarly; Orpheus was the P3 protagonist's starting Persona, and other figures like Cerberus made appearances as Personas too.
Persona 4 took the series in something of a different direction. Instead of focusing on European mythological figures, it borrowed heavily from Japanese mythos in its Persona design. The Persona 4 protagonist's starting Persona is Izanagi, one of the traditional Japanese creator gods; the game features plenty of other figures from Shinto mythology, Japanese Buddhism, and other Japanese mythology as Personas, including Amaterasu and Susano-o. Notably, this design permeated the entire game, rather than just the Persona design. In order to get the true ending of Persona 4, players must defeat a number of beings based on Japanese gods.
While Persona 4 took a step away from franchise convention, Persona 5 made a leap forward in terms of Persona design. While party members could often evolve their Personas into mythological tricksters, their Personas were all honorable thieves, rebels, and deceivers pulled from the pages of history, literature, and cultural legend, including Arsene Lupin and Robin Hood. Not only did this make the game's Personas feel highly distinct from the games that came before, but it also inspired excellent heist-based dungeon designs that played into the picaresque "gentleman thief" concept well. The unique identity established by these Personas should give Atlus more than enough motivation to take another cultural leap with Persona 6's party.
Possible Angles for Persona 6's Personas
Because Atlus has been focused on mythology for so long, there are fortunately lots of historic characters that remain untapped ahead of Persona 6. For instance, fairy tales seem like a great niche to tap into thanks to their magical nature and their emphasis on teaching lessons. As Persona 6 protagonists learn an important lesson about their life, their goals, or the mistakes they've made, they might awaken to a Persona based on an appropriate fairy tale figure. Atlus could naturally borrow from famous European fairy tales written by Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, but ideally Persona 6 would use fairy tales from around the world to inspire both Personas and mystical, otherwordly dungeons that challenge the protagonists' perception of reality.
Another broad category that could work for Persona 6 is literary adventurers and explorers, such as the protagonists from the works of Jules Verne. It's possible that Persona 6 will focus on travel, thanks to a previous version of Persona 5 that was all about a road trip. If Persona 5 Strikers didn't use up all of Atlus' travel ideas, then Persona 6 could see characters awaken to fictional characters from fiction, poetry, and theater that represent their sense of adventure and a willingness to discover new things. Theming Personas around adventure would be also be a great reason to base dungeons on legendary locations like Atlantis.
After Persona 5 did it so successfully, it's possible that Persona 6 will put an emphasis on justice in the human world. If that concept returns, then Persona 6 could consider focusing on a different category of literary hero. For instance, instead of sneaky gentleman thieves, Persona 6's protagonists might summon the noblest warriors from across literature and culture to battle in the Shadow world. King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table would be an excellent source of Personas, but as with any other possible theme, Persona 6 would ideally channel chivalrous protectors of the weak from around the world.
A New Look for Persona 6
As strong as its mechanical innovations were, Persona 5's willingness to try on an entirely new theme may be its best contribution for Persona 6. Now that Atlus has proven that it doesn't have to stick to mythology, the floodgates have been opened for all kinds of Persona design innovations. As exciting as Persona 5's designs were, they really only scratched the surface of what real-world culture has to offer, so Persona 6 is at liberty to experiment.
Persona 6 will probably remain a mystery for a long time, but for the time being, fans at least have good reason to believe that Atlus will keep trying new things in the next game. Persona 5's innovations speak for themselves, and Persona 5 Strikers was a highly unique spinoff in a franchise that's already full of side games. The upcoming Persona ports to various platforms are also a great sign after years of sticking to the PlayStation. Even if Persona 6's characters don't see the light of day for a few years, hopefully Atlus' recent attitude suggests another new frontier of Persona design lies ahead.
Persona 6 is in development.