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[Seomel]

No

Yes

 

[Fbh]

There can always be time for a change. We just had P3 Remake and are getting P4 Remake so it's not like there is a big freak in high school gameplay.

As far as College Experience for Japanese students that heavily depends on major, University and the student themselves. That contrast would have been interesting to explore.

Going back to high school is just lack of creativity. And considering that the audience is aging it's also a commercial miss, IMO.

Personally I think something like a "Salaryman Persona" would be awesome. Could be some young graduate joining the workforce.
Like Zoom 100 before the zombies:

It would offer a nice change of setting, some new themes they could tackle and it would still work well with the calendar system since you still have to go to work, have deadlines, meetings, office flings, other activities you can do after work or on weekends, etc.

But to be honest I don't think Persona will ever leave High School. The Japanaese audience (and weebs) absolutely adore the Highschool setting and seemingly can't get enough of it. Expecting Persona to leave highschool behind is like expecting The Elder Scrolls to leave medieval fantasy behind. The best we can hope is that someday they make a new franchise or spinoff like Metaphor that changes things up.

You can have both. In MHStories 3 there is character creation but character is fully voiced with proper personality.

Yeah I know.
I'm just saying that I understand why you'd insist on a specific design if your character actually has a personality and dialogue and backstory, etc. I get why FFXVI or Xenoblade go with a specific MC design.

But a game like Persona or Dragon Quest? If the whole point of having a mute main character is for them to serve as a blank slate avatar for the player, then it doesn't make sense to me why you wouldn't let the player create their own character. Maybe back in the day it was more of a technical limitation, but these days that's hardly the case.

 

[Danjin44]

But a game like Persona or Dragon Quest? If the whole point of having a mute main character is for them to serve as a blank slate avatar for the player, then it doesn't make sense to me why you wouldn't let the player create their own character. Maybe back in the day it was more of a technical limitation, but these days that's hardly the case.

With Persona mostly because of anime cutscenes, can't put anime cutscenes in a game with fully customizable MC.

 

[Fbh]

With Persona mostly because of anime cutscenes, can't put anime cutscenes in a game with fully customizable MC.

Personally I'd be willing to sacrifice anime cutscenes for that.
Besides, how many are there? Persona 5 is a 100 hours game and has maybe 30 mins of anime cutscenes. Also modern graphics do a good enough job of capturing the anime look, you can still make really good in engine cutscenes (look at Xenoblade 2-3 for example).

They can still have a default look that they can use for anime adaptations and stuff like that. Just like the default Sheppard in ME.

 

[Zamana]

Similar to Metaphor huh I guess they are going for user gender-neutral MC. I'll be there if 1) fast combat 2) cool moveset 3) fluid UI and of course I believe P6 will have all of this. Persona 5 was cool, Metaphor I really connected. Looking forward to this.

 

[Danjin44]

Personally I'd be willing to sacrifice anime cutscenes for that.
Besides, how many are there? Persona 5 is a 100 hours game and has maybe 30 mins of anime cutscenes. Also modern graphics do a good enough job of capturing the anime look, you can still make really good in engine cutscenes (look at Xenoblade 2-3 for example).

True Shin Megami Tensei V has no anime cutscenes, all them is in engine which Persona can go same direction.

 

[March Climber]

Persona will always be a high school game

What other setting would you expect a Persona game to take place in?

That is just what Persona is.

What about university/college? You still get the school setting but also get to explore even more adult themes.

win/win?

 

[Killer8]

Atlus will also be like "why aren't our games meeting sales expectations?"

 

[Magister]

But to be honest I don't think Persona will ever leave High School. The Japanaese audience (and weebs) absolutely adore the Highschool setting and seemingly can't get enough of it. Expecting Persona to leave highschool behind is like expecting The Elder Scrolls to leave medieval fantasy behind. The best we can hope is that someday they make a new franchise or spinoff like Metaphor that changes things up.

But it actually did once. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment had all adult cast and no high school.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Personally I think something like a "Salaryman Persona" would be awesome. Could be some young graduate joining the workforce.
Like Zoom 100 before the zombies:

It would offer a nice change of setting, some new themes they could tackle and it would still work well with the calendar system since you still have to go to work, have deadlines, meetings, office flings, other activities you can do after work on on weekends, etc.

But to be honest I don't think Persona will ever leave High School. The Japanaese audience (and weebs) absolutely adore the Highschool setting and seemingly can't get enough of it. Expecting Person to leave highschool behind is like expecting The Elder Scrolls to leave medieval fantasy behind. The best we can hope is that someday they make a new franchise or spinoff like Metaphor that changes things up.



Yeah I know.
I'm just saying that I understand why you'd insist on a specific design if your character actually has a personality and dialogue and backstory, etc. I get why FFXVI or Xenoblade go with a specific MC design.

But a game like Persona or Dragon Quest? If the whole point of having a mute main character is for them to serve as a blank slate avatar for the player, then it doesn't make sense to me why you wouldn't let the player create their own character. Maybe back in the day it was more of a technical limitation, but these days that's hardly the case.

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

P2: Eternal Punishment managed to work with a mostly adult/non-student cast. I really don't see any reason why they "have" to stick to a high school setting. More like, they settled into a formula that worked and made them a lot of money, now they are afraid to change it.

Honestly I think another Persona game with a darker + more violent tone like P2:EP could be really damn cool and successful.


Could be like another Expedition 33 scenario. After decades of some people insisting that shounen anime tropes/cliches + "relatable" teen protagonist are indispensable parts of the JRPG genre and you're crazy for even questioning it, finally someone makes "Final Fantasy X, but for grown ups" and it sells a shitload + sweeps practically every GotY award.

 

[Griffon]

A blonde dude with a bowl cut.
Medieval-maxxing is not a bad sign.

As for his androgynous appearance, it's because J-RPGs are also played by girls, and they need their pretty boy-band/kpop singer as a protag or else they wont buy. It's been a thing for over 20 years now. Square Enix has been doing that since forever.

 

[Odinnii]

What about university/college? You still get the school setting but also get to explore even more adult themes.

win/win?

From Kazuhisa Wada

"Persona is a coming-of-age story. The setting that best encapsulates this theme features students who are on the cusp of adulthood. Another part of it is that being a student is something most people have experienced, so it's easier to resonate with.

As for gender, mental age plays a role. For the same high school age, it's said that girls tend to have a higher mental age compared to boys. Because we're depicting growth, we feel that male students as the main character represent that the most. That said, I don't think adults or women are necessarily off-limits either."

Personally I just see Persona as a high school game. It's what the series was always about.