Atlus has been nigh-unstoppable in recent years, and Persona 6 is expected to continue this legacy of greatness. Character-driven narrative design, unique world-building, and clever, nuanced social sim mechanics have helped to make IP like Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, and now Metaphor Refantazio more relevant and polished than ever, which should give JRPG fans hope for the future.
The so-called “Persona style” of game design revolves around several load-bearing pillars: social simulation/time management, turn-based combat encounters, and build crafting, to name a few. Metaphor Refantazio made key changes to this formula, resulting in a more synergetic progression system and more streamlined combat overall, but it also added an interesting new ingredient to the formula: real-time combat. It’s not exactly Devil May Cry—Metaphor‘s hack-and-slash combat boils down to a few simple moves and a dodge—but it’s effective at injecting some frenetic energy into enemy encounters, materially rewarding players who manage to stun enemies ahead of longer, turn-based fights. That said, the upcoming RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is an action-RPG through-and-through, and it, along with Metaphor, might hint at Atlus’ plans for Persona 6 and beyond.
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Metaphor: ReFantazio’s Dragon Trials are a Must-Have Feature for Persona 6
Metaphor: Refantazio excels in a number of areas, late-game content being one of them, and Persona 6 could stand to take some notes.
Persona 6 Should Include Action-RPG Elements
Metaphor Refantazio and RAIDOU Remastered Show How Real-Time Combat Benefits Atlus Games
RAIDOU Remastered doesn’t have a whole lot in common with the likes of Persona, but it certainly retains many other core aspects of Atlus RPGs, those being a low-fantasy setting, an emphasis on otherworldly creatures, and extensive dialog sequences. Within this framework, real-time action-RPG combat helps to elevate the intensity of the narrative and the fantasy of being a detective-slash-devil-summoner. In other words, the relationship between the player and the game world is altered via the real-time combat focus, rooting them more firmly in the present moment.
More significant than RAIDOU Remastered is Metaphor Refantazio, whose aforementioned action-RPG elements, while much less pervasive than the former, are still transformative. Navigating dungeons—an activity SMT and Persona fans are intimately familiar with—is far more dynamic and engaging in Metaphor due to these simple hack-and-slash mechanics. No longer is exploration an matter of simply avoiding conflict and engaging when appropriate, but a test of skill, shaping the broader combat journey.
How Persona 6 Can Double-Down On Action-RPG Gameplay
It’s rather unlikely that Persona 6 will follow the RAIDOU route, fully embracing action-RPG combat, and this is a good thing: turn-based combat is a crucial part of the Persona series. But this doesn’t mean that the game can’t take some notes from this ostensible trend toward action-RPG conventions, serving players smaller doses of real-time, reaction-based combat in addition to the main course of turn-based battles.
Following Metaphor Refantazio‘s footsteps might be the safest bet in this regard. Metaphor‘s real-time combat is simple, easy, and rewarding, smoothing its integration into the broader gameplay loop. It’s an understated and elegant way to infuse the combat sandbox with a bit more energy, but it can also get old after so many hours of basic hacking-and-slashing. Thus, perhaps Persona 6 could borrow the broad-strokes approach of Metaphor‘s real-time combat while fleshing it out a bit. Additions as simple as an alternative or heavy attack, or perhaps more dedicated progression options for real-time gameplay, would go a long way toward improving Metaphor‘s action-RPG stylings without losing their simplicity. Such an approach could make Persona 6 more mechanically complex and robust, while maintaining Atlus’ burgeoning action-RPG momentum.
Persona 3 Reload
9/10
- Released
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February 2, 2024
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
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P-Studio
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4