My wishlist for Persona 6:
With all that being said, I still have faith in the Persona writers to be able to create a character as good as the ones in Persona 3. Why? Akechi. Akechi has a full social link, and yet he is still magnificently written and changes throughout the story. It may be a little different since most of the social link is before he joins the party, but still. You get more insight into his character, and yet you aren’t technically missing anything in the main plot if you skip his social link.
In my opinion, Persona 6 should have linked episodes instead of traditional social links. This will allow ATLUS to write more dynamic characters and have a story that can really affect everyone, instead of just a select few.
If they must include a social link for each party member, they have to do it like they did for Yukari, Mitsuru, or Yosuke. Those stories were very personal between them and the MC. It dealt with issues that were presented in the plot, but completely necessary to finish. These social links support their development within the story while also being fulfilling on their own.
2. Social links should affect the plot
Social links should affect the plot… or at least the dialogue. I also think social links should work both ways. You should be able to beef with other characters. I don’t like Haru, so she should be able to feel my disdain.
This would create a lot more intra-party drama and make the characters feel more real, while also making the social links feel more worthwhile. In Persona 3, if you date Yukari, I feel like Junpei would definitely have something to say about it. In Persona 4, if you date anyone other than Rise, she should act differently. She definitely seems like the type to get jealous. In Persona 5, if you date Ann, Morgana should back off out of his respect for you.
I don’t really know how much this could affect big plot points, but it should definitely affect dialogue. It could even affect gameplay as well. Maybe if you’re beefing with one of the party members they won’t listen to your commands in battle. If you’re just neutral, you have to use the tactics menu. If you are good friends, you get direct commands.
That doesn’t have to be the exact implementation, but I think it would be cool. It would make the characters feel a lot more alive, and like your relationships with them really matter.
3. More intra-party dynamics
I want each character to have a unique relationship with each other. Persona 3 did a pretty good job of this. Each character interacted with one another in a different way and were able to have unique relationships.
There was some of that in Persona 4 as well. Yukiko and Chie were best friends. Yosuke and Chie gave each other crap all the time. Kanji obviously likes Naoto. Yosuke is always at odds with Teddy. Chie obviously hates Teddy’s guts.
Persona 5 struggles in this department. Morgana hates Ryuji with every ounce of his being (and vice versa) and simps for Ann. Ryuji and Ann have a real brother-sister relationship going on. That’s about it.
Think of some of these duos, and whether you can even imagine what a conversation between them would look like. Chie and Naoto. Kanji and Teddy. Ryuji and Haru (or really anyone with Haru). Makoto and Futaba. There’s just no connection here.
Characters should have individual relationships with each other. Maybe it doesn’t have to be with everyone, but there should be more than there already is.
4. Let Characters Die
Once again, something that Persona 3 was able to do effectively. Shinjiro, Chidori, and the MC’s death are so impactful, and the game wouldn’t be the same without them. Heck, even Mitsuru’s dad’s death was good. Since then? Saki is the only non-villain death with any sort of impact, and that was really only impactful for Yosuke. Akechi’s death was good, but he’s a villain. Villains die all the time.
The Nanako fake-out death was really cheap. What would have been a fantastic emotional moment ended up with me rolling my eyes. Obviously it would have been really sad if she died, and I’m glad she’s alive, but her death would have really raised the stakes. In a MURDER MYSTERY STORY, someone who matters should die.
I never believed the Ryuji fake-out death for a second, but honestly Persona 5 didn’t really need someone to die. Some stories don’t need one of the main characters to die.
Persona 6 shouldn’t be scared to kill someone off. Persona 5 didn’t really need a death, but Persona 4 definitely did.
5. Make combat balanced
There are hard fights in all of the Persona games, but none of them are consistent. They are mainly hard at the beginning, and eventually get easy as you get overpowered personas.
This is a big problem in turn-based combat. Pokemon is the same way (most of the time). Oftentimes, the hardest gyms are some of the earliest because you don’t have every tool at your disposal. Once you get all the cracked moves/skills and overpowered pokemon/personas, the game becomes trivial. ATLUS needs to figure out how to properly balance the game.
Conclusion
Most of what Persona 6 needs is a re-evaluation of the Social Link System. It needs compliment character development in the plot, not replace it. It needs to affect the plot (even if only in dialogue) and gameplay. There needs to be stakes. Characters shouldn’t be safe. There needs to be the possibility of death. Combat needs to be balanced all throughout.
Will ATLUS make all of these changes? No. Will the make any of them? Maybe. Hopefully.
JacobErwin.com 