Summary
Persona 6has quite the shoes to fill once it finally releases. While thePersonafranchise has always been excellent,Persona 5brought the franchise into the mainstream; what was once a niche series has become a genre-defining phenomenon. In raising the bar for the series,Persona 5 Royalintroduced numerous changes to thePersonaformula which could make its success hard to repeat. While many of these changes are related to aesthetic, story, and themes, there are some gameplay elements inP5Rthat would be missed if absent. One such element thatPersona 6will have to navigate isP5R’s firearms.
Personagames have always been set in Japan, where firearm access is notably restricted. In spite of this,Persona 5 Royalarmed each of its characters with different guns. The game neatly navigated this by making them models, but because of their realistic appearance, they are perceived as real in the Metaverse where the game’s dungeons are set, letting them function.Persona 5’s Phantom Thieves are in essence vigilante criminals, and as so their use of firearms makes sense.Persona 5’s themewas flashier and more pervasive than previous entries and the inclusion of guns fit the title’s edgy aesthetic while introducing new gameplay elements.
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Guns Changed Persona 5 Royal’s Gameplay
Persona 5 Royal’s guns are central to combat. ThePersonafranchise runs on an elemental damage system; while it may not be one of themost powerful elements inPersona, gun is an element in the series latest entry, and it’s an important part of gameplay. InPersona 5 Royal, each of the Phantom Thieves is given limited ammunition for each fight. Some enemies have a weakness to guns, so players must conserve ammo while trying to deal out the maximum amount of damage. The base game ofPersona 5only refilled bullets when one entered a Palace and made strategies around ammo usage even more difficult.
Persona 6is still a mystery to fans. While the game hasn’t been announced yet, it is hotly anticipated andPersona 6leakshave suggested that it is far along in development and on track for launch in the next two to three years. HowPersona 6will handle its theme and aesthetic remain an unknown.Persona 5leaned all the way into its gentleman thief theme with codenames, disguises and Palaces structured after heists. These inclusions made this latest entry an outlier. PreviousPersonatitles were more grounded and mellow in their presentation.
Persona 6 May Struggle To Include Guns
WhetherPersona 6will opt for an over the top theme likePersona 5or return to series roots with something more subdued remains a mystery, and the game’s ability to include firearms hangs in the balance. While Atlus has proven withPersona 3’s Evokersthat it is not afraid of stirring controversies with its depictions of guns, including them in a game with a more subdued theme could feel out place. IfP6opts to channel an aesthetic similar toPersona 5 Royal, guns could work again, but the game might struggle to stand out as unique. How guns will fit intoPersona 6will be determined by how Atlus chooses to approach the game’s theme and visual language.
Persona 6could navigate its gun dilemma in a few different ways. The first is excluding them as previous entries beforeP5did. The game could also simply include them and find a way to justify it. The most interesting approach, however, could be to come up with some new element to replace it.Persona 5’s use of guns as an elemental type could be used as a starting point for game exclusive elements, each with unique mechanics. While there won’t be an answer to howPersona 6will handle fire arms for a while, the upcomingPersona 3 Reloadcould provide insight into how the studio might approach guns in newPersonatitles.
Persona 6is rumored to be in development.
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