It’s officially been eight and a half years since the release of Persona 5 — that’s nearly a year longer than the time that passed between when we got Persona 4 and Persona 5. But there’s been a Persona game nearly every year in that time, with a whopping eight games released in the interim. But while playing the latest spinoff, Persona 5: The Phantom X, I had a thought that only kept resurfacing more and more — the series is starting to feel worryingly stagnant. Persona 5 was the series watershed moment, when it finally hit the mainstream, but everything else since has been following in its footsteps. What happens when one of the most innovative RPG franchises of all time, can no longer figure out how to innovate itself?
It’s not a stretch to say Persona 5, especially the updated Royal version, is one of the best RPGs ever made. In 2016 it turned the franchise into a phenomenon, and eclipsed the sales of pretty much everything else Atlus has ever made. Just for perspective, we recently learned that Persona 5 Royal sold 7.25 million units. Compare that to Shin Megami Tensei V at 2.1 million, or Person 4 Golden’s 1 million sales. With the difference between those numbers, it’s easy to see why Persona 5 has gotten so many spinoffs, but that’s also my biggest worry with the franchise right now — nothing has been able to escape the shadow of Persona 5, and I mean that in multiple layers.
Narratively, visually, and mechanically, Persona 5 has influenced everything that’s come since, and it feels like Atlus is struggling to figure out a true way to move past it.
The narrative influence is most obvious, through the flood of Persona 5 spinoffs we’ve gotten, from the musical rhythm game Dancing in Starlight, to the grid-based strategy of Tactica. But all of the spinoffs prominently feature the Phantom Thieves, characters that already had full, robust arcs in the original Persona 5. Even looking at Tactica, it’s hard to imagine how the Phantom Thieves can get any more meaningful development as characters, which is why spinoffs have started to shift them to supporting cast, while a new character takes the spotlight.
But this problem is also present with the newest mobile spinoff: Persona 5: The Phantom X. This is the series’ first attempt to translate its formula to a mobile game format, but it’s largely focused on recreating Persona 5 on a smaller scale — stripping out things like time management for a more streamlined experience. As a result, it also ends up feeling like a greatest hits compilation of Persona 5 with new characters — definitely not bad, but eerily familiar. It doesn’t help that all the Persona 5 spinoffs tackle the same narrative themes of societal control, rebellion against oppression, and the idea of individual freedom. These are all compelling themes to tackle, but so much of the spinoffs feel like they’re simply retreading what the original game did.
Every Persona 5 spinoff feels like it’s still chasing the highs of the original game, in some way.
Then, you look at how much Persona 5 has influenced the visual style of quite literally everything. It’s an iconic style to be sure, but the series’ entire visual identity is now wrapped up in it. One of the major criticisms I have with Persona 3 Reload is how the game has been “Persona 5-ified,” opting for a united visual style instead of leaning into its original grungy aesthetic. Everything looks too shiny and clean — from the city’s environments to the menus themselves — all to make it feel in line stylistically with Persona 5. After playing through Reload once I don’t see a reason to ever revisit the game — if I play Persona 3 again the definitive versions still feel like FES and Portable.
And now, the brief bit of gameplay we saw from the Persona 4 Remake announcement has me feeling the exact same way. Part of what’s been so special about Persona, so far, is that every game does feel incredibly unique — from its narrative themes right down to its aesthetic choices.
Persona 3 Reload squashes the original game’s unique visual identity, to try and give the series a unified style.
That finally brings us to the issue of stagnating mechanics, and particularly Persona’s unique brand of social simulation and time management. Not getting a new main entry in eight years means we haven’t really seen any meaningful enhancements of these systems, even in other Atlus games. My sole problem with Metaphor: ReFantazio was the time management, which feels directly grafted from Persona, just as a system that works. The time management doesn’t mesh as well with Metaphor thematically, and it’s implemented in the exact same way as Persona — but a little bit worse. It’s a system that drags down what’s otherwise a masterpiece of a game.
Therein lies the biggest issue with Persona as it stands, a lack of real innovation. Persona 3 to 4 was a massive jump that redefined the series’ social simulation and gameplay, and the same can be said for what Persona 5 did in terms of thematic storytelling and confidants. But that innovative spark feels like it’s been dimmed in the wake of spinning off the game ad nauseam. It’s created a gnawing worry in my stomach that the path ahead might not really be clear for Persona.
While Metaphor has the time management and stat system of Persona they serve the exact same purpose, and the game fails to evolve them in a truly meaningful way.
Can the eventual Persona 6 really break from the mold that’s been established? Can it manage to feel fresh and innovative again? With every remake, spinoff, and year that passes these questions only grow louder. Even Metaphor, for its grand thematic ambitions that pay off wildly, still gets stuck in the shadow of Persona 5 at times.
The cynical answer is that as long as these games sell, including spinoffs, we’ll likely consider to get variations on the same thing over and over. But Persona has been at its best when it’s breaking new ground, not retreading the same material. In the face of a newly-launched spinoff and another upcoming remake, I sincerely hope Persona, and Atlus, can still find the gusto to veer from the norm and try something wildly new.
