The next entry in thePersonaseries is likely a few years away at least, but the wait shouldn’t be as long as it was betweenPersona 4andPersona 5. A variety of factors contributed to the many quiet delays ofPersona 5, but now the franchise has seen incredible success from bothPersona 5andPersona 4 Golden’s re-release on Steam. For as much as the sales figures means there’s now a vested interest in morePersonatitles from new fans,Golden’s sales show that old entries can succeed just as well.
OncePersona 4 Goldensaw a surprising amount of success on PC, Sega had mentioned that it would like to “aggressively promote the porting of previously launched titles” to PC and other new platforms. Obviously this bodes well for aPersona 3port, but aPersona 3remake has been requested by fans ever since early 2020. What’s interesting about a potentialPersona 3 Remakeis that it could function as a perfect segue intoPersona 6, which could be vastly different now that formerPersonagame director Katsura Hashino has moved on from P-Studio.
Emphasizing What Persona Does Best
Persona 3, first releasing back in 2006 for the PS2, was incredibly formative for thePersonafranchise as its currently known. The first two games were more akin tothemes ofShin Megami Tensei, the franchisePersonaoriginated from. Any of the social simulator aspects or the whole leading a double life dynamic hadn’t been implemented yet, as most of those aspects came with the total overhaul inPersona 3. Managing social links, training the protagonist’s various social stats, exploring school and real-world locations, all of these things came alongside many of the expected JRPG mechanics that were the focus of the first two games.
Not only that, but the systems all functioned remarkably well for its first outing, and would help set the stage for every mainlinePersonagame after it.Persona 5epitomizes those systems in both presentation and function, but most of which were first implemented in the third game. A remake ofPersona 3, with all of the modern sensibilities and visual innovations inPersona 5, would be fantastic for two big reasons. Fans ofPersona 3would get their wish of aPersona 3remake with all of the flair and improvements fromPersona 5, plus it would be aperfect transition into whatever new directionPersona 6may take.
The Perfect Segue Into Persona 6
Granted this is not confirmed by any means, butPersona 6could potentially change drastically fromPersona 5. ThePersonafranchise is now under a new creative lead of some kind, whether it’sPersona 5 Royaldirector Daiki Ito or someone else. Ito has mentioned in an interview with 4Gamer that the existingPersonadevelopment team is still interested in doing something new with the series, whilst still capturing the same emotional cues fromPersona 5. Daisuke Kanada, game director onPersona 5 Scramble, had theorizedwhat a newPersonagame would be like without the calendarsystem interweaving throughout the narrative.
It’s clear there’s a desire to bring thePersonaseries forward in pivotal ways, in whatever ways that may take shape. Just like Kanada had mentioned,Persona 6could theoretically eschew the calendar system entirely in favor of a less strict model of time progression. Social links could be expanded beyond the usual 10 ranks into somethinga bit more interactive/reactive like inPersona 3. Even the JRPG mechanics of acquiring and fusing Personas could change drastically in its current form, whether that’s a complete and total change to the battle mechanics or just more improvements to the same turn-based formula.
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Bringing the Persona Franchise Into the Next Generation
If any of that comes true, then aPersona 3remake would be the perfect transition into those major changes. Give players a chance to play the definitive edition of where the current framework ofPersonabegan. All of the social simulator changes/implementations, alongside some of the best and most nuanced character writings in the entire series thus far, would be a perfect representation of the series' roots. Sure, it’s not entirely accuratebased on whatPersona 1and2were like as JRPGs, butPersona 3is really where the popularity of the series took off worldwide.
While it’s incredibly unlikely, consideringPersona 3/Persona 3: FESis more likely to get a PC portthan a full-on remake, in an ideal world aPersona 3remake would be a double-win. Players would have a chance to celebrate the iteration ofPersona 3that’s helped fuel the series' success, whilst also givingPersona 6a chance to experiment with the formula afterwards. Any opportunity to flex the current formula ofPersonagames to its fullest potential would suitPersona 3perfectly, and also give a chance forPersona 6to innovate and expand from what the series already does so well.
