Persona 6 Should Learn From Persona 3 Reload

Persona 6 will inevitably come out at some point (hopefully sooner than later). When it does, Atlus will have a massive legacy to live up to considering the progress shown in Persona 5 Royal and Persona 3 Reload. That said, there are some lessons it can learn from the recent Persona 3 remake’s mistakes and victories that will set it up for the best possible success.

One way it can succeed is by exploring a darker storyline. The story of Persona 3 Reload still remains my favorite in the series. Sure, it has its fair share of gameplay issues, especially in the repetitive Tartarus, but its plot is the best. It’s dark, sinister, and depressing at times. This grim tone works well for the game, and it could for the sixth entry in the series as well.

I don’t expect the new game’s story to be too dark, but it should strike the right balance between the lighthearted moments of games like Persona 4 and the darker parts of this remake, with a slight edge given to the darker side.

A complicated cast of characters could also help a new entry in the series succeed. I still stand by my assertion that Persona 3 Reload has the best overall cast of characters. I appreciate and enjoy each and everyone of them, which I can’t say about the fourth and fifth entries. It benefits from how complex the cast is, and how much certain members don’t really like each other. Persona 6 could use another cast that cares enough about one another, but doesn’t overdose on feel-good familial vibes all the time.

This goes for the villains as well. Strega and that one twist villain are the best villains in the series by a long shot. They provide the ultimate foil to the core cast, while feeling menacing and complex as well. I care about the villains just as much as the core cast, which I can’t say for any villain in Persona 4 or the various targets in Persona 5.

I’ll be the first to admit I am saddened by Persona 3 Reload’s canonization of that certain character death. However, I respect it. That installment featured storyline twists and deaths that mattered. That decision makes the plot more emotional and the payoff worth it. The next game in the series should follow this trend by allowing party members to die again. I think it would be cool to see your first party member be the one to perish or even make the player choose between the earliest two party members to save later in the story.

More importantly, I want to see more of the aftermath of these decisions and twists. Don’t just have the team nearly instantly recover from the death, but have them go through a month or so in-game where they all struggle mentally. Maybe even have the party members’ social links be quite literally closed off for that time period, so the player has to pursue other relationships in the meantime.

Finally, the biggest mistake Atlus made with Persona 3 Reload is not including the female protagonist option. This could have been the ultimate version of one of my favorite games of all time, but the company chose not to include it. Persona 6 needs to be the time where a female main character finally comes to the forefront. This could be either with just a single main character who’s a girl or the option to play as a boy or girl.

So much potential would open up, such as romance options, story beats, and perspective. The next game in the series has taken so long to come out that having both a female and male main character would help make up for that. Here’s hoping that is finally an option again for the next core game in this phenomenal Atlus series.

Persona 3 Reload is available right now for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.