This September marks the 25th anniversary of thePersonafranchise. This high school spin-off of the older, darkerShin Megami Tenseifranchise has been keeping players entertained with its interpersonal drama, student life simulation, involved combat mechanics, and even a bit ofPokemon-like monster collecting for many years. The series took off withPersona 3, but publisher and developer Atlus has made a point of showing offPersona 1and2’s three protagonists on the website it has prepared forPersona’s anniversary. However, this website, and an announcement accompanying it, has raised many eyebrows at what lies inPersona’s immediate future.
The website includes seven slots for announcements regarding thePersonaseries’ future. It makes sense that Atlus would want to load up on products and news for this specific sub-series, asPersonahas surpassed its parent franchisein global popularity and sales. The website makes a point of noting howPersonahas sold 15 million units worldwide as of this year. Thus, as part of the anniversary celebrations, Atlus will make sevenPersonaannouncements between September 2021 and Autumn 2022. These could be just about anything; from ports, to merchandise, to anime. However, there’s a few particular things that fans suspect to see.
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Persona 6
The first guess is the most obvious. WithPersona 5having its 5-year anniversary this fall, andPersona 5 RoyalandPersona 5 Strikersout for over a year each in Japan, fans are suspecting that Atlus has moved on to its next majorPersonaproject. Whether it’s the first announcement, the last, or somewhere in between, it is almost certain thatPersona 6will make an appearanceover the course of the next year.
Adding fuel to this theory is the presence of an extra white band in thePersona25th anniversary logo. Colors are assigned to every protagonist and game in the site artwork, but none of those colors are white. This is potentially a clue to the primary color associated withPersona 6, and fans are already settling in for the long wait until they learn what it all means.
Persona 3 Remake
Next up is something fans have been asking for for a while: the definitive version ofPersona 3.A remake ofPersona 3wouldn’t need to change much about the presentation — some new 3D models would be more than enough — but this hypothetical game’s true strengths lie in incorporating the features ofPersona 3’s re-releases.
The female campaign and playable party members fromPersona 3 Portable, the hard mode, and extra “The Answer” epilogue fromPersona 3 FES, would be great to see together, especially if the female protagonist was given an explorable overworld like the original release. The massive amount of new dialogue necessary, alongside PSP memory restrictions, preventing an equivalent female campaign could finally be left behind in this ideal remake.
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Persona 5 Fighting Game
It’s been a while since the first twoPersonafighting games.Persona 4 ArenaandPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxwere both beloved Arc System Works titles released for seventh generation consoles, and fans have been anticipating another forPersona 5. It’s been rumored for a while that Atlus had plans to bring thePersonafighting games back withan installment forPersona 5.
That idea was given some credence when Atlus recently renewed the domains for “PERSONA8.JP,” “PERSONA9.JP,” “PERSONA10.JP,” and “P5U.JP.” The last one reminds many fans ofUltimax, even if that’s not the main title of the sub-series. It’s hard to say if anything more will be heard from this little line of spin-offs, but if there was ever a time for a reveal, it would be now.
Persona Mobile Game
The topic of aPersona 5mobile game is another one mired in rumors, but this time the evidence is more concrete. Back in April, the Chinese game developer Perfect World announced that it was developing a mobile game for a “famous JRPG IP” that has sold “over 10 million units worldwide.” With a trailer apparently taking place in Shibuya and featuring characters seemingly in some sort of heist, it’s a dead ringer forPersona 5. ThisCode Name: Xlooks like a side storyto the mainPersona 5story, possibly featuring a second group of Phantom Thieves. Information has been scarce on it thus far, but the likelihood of its full reveal coming over the next year is very high.
Persona 1+2 Remaster
It did not take fans long to notice thatPersona 1and2were being given equal treatment to their better-known siblings in thePersona25th anniversary promotional materials. Many are now wondering if Atlus has any further plans for the old PlayStation RPGs. It would definitely be nice to have a re-translation of the three old games, and an easier-to-parsecollection of thePersona 2duology. With some modern polish added to thePersonafusion systems, many modern fans would love to see how the series got its start. If nothing else, they would probably enjoy seeing the wild plot pointsPersona 2implements later on, thanks to its conceit of rumors coming to life.
PC and Switch Persona Ports
Last, but most certainly not least, is the prospect of morePersonagames coming to PC and Nintendo Switch.Personahas been a PlayStation-exclusive series for a long time, with a couple spin-offs making their way to 3DS. However, out of the blue last year,Persona 4 Goldencame to Steam, andPersona 5 Strikerswas given a Switch and PC release. While Xbox owners seemingly continue to be left out, PC and Switch users have a chance of seeing more of the iconic series.
Fans let Atlus know loud and clear that they want more of its games on Steam, and the Switch is a fairly safe bet for good-selling ports of the older games. EvenPersona 5 Royalcould theoretically make it onto the Switch if ported and downsized. Even though they would be lesser announcements, seeing ports of thePersonafranchise arrive on other platforms would still be a huge victory in many fans’ books.
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