Persona 5andPersona 5 Royalmark the franchise’s departure from beloved cult hits to an international mega-franchise. The titles have outsold every preceding installment of Atlus' series, garnered critical acclaim, and made a splash well outside the series' usual JRPG and dating-sim niche.
Like any popular story-driven game, a large part ofPersona 5’s success can be attributed to the strength of its characters. The Phantom Thieves are a stellar cast whose broad range of personalities practically guarantee that at least one character will resonate with gamers. Even better, they form an appealing ensemble that is greater than the additive sum of its parts. Unique dynamics between each pair of characters—Yusuke and Futaba’s mutual sniping, Morgana’s unrequited affection toward Ann, the group’s collective deference towards Makoto—force magnify existing personalities and make the group feel believable.
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And Joker, as befitting of the Wild Card holder, is wonderfully realized through an array of dialogue options that run the gamut from effortlessly smooth, to sarcastic and snarky, to endearing and heartfelt.His inclusion inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s rostercaught many gamers off guard, but—barring a few inevitable haters—he has proven himself a crowd-pleasing addition who stands shoulder to shoulder among dozens of far older gaming greats. Just as Cloud Strife became the poster boy forFinal Fantasyas a whole, Joker seems destined to fulfill a similar role forPersona.
The Perils of Popularity
This poses Atlus with an obvious, but difficult question: what’s next for the Phantom Thieves? If history is any indication, they will be relegated to cameo appearances in fighting games, Atlus spin-offs, and receive oblique references in futurePersonatitles that have traded them out for a fresh cast of characters. While there isa strong argument to be made that Atlus make a break with traditionand feature the cast as stars of future games,Persona 5’s own narrative is, in part, a cautionary tale against fame.
Over the course ofPersona 5, the Thieves take on targets with ever-escalating profiles, becoming anonymous celebrities themselves in the process. Each character—and Ryuji in particular—is hit with the temptation to unmask and benefit from this burgeoning fame. The game makes a point of tracking their notoriety with a popularity poll in the corner of loading screens, consistently reminding the player of what a big deal they have become. Unsurprisingly, this fame proves to be fickle late in the game, and one gets the sense that pursuing the approval of the masses, rather than enacting justice for its own sake, is a play doomed to failure.
Given the temptation to capitalize on the Phantom Thieves' popularity, Atlus could easily fail to heed its own message. ThePersonaseries could become thePersona 5series, which, despite the title’s numerous virtues, would be a terrible shame.
LikeFinal Fantasy, the reoccurring challenge of a fresh start, and the need to reinvent itself with each new installment, is what drives the series' innovation.Persona’s fandom has been steadily growing in the west with each new entry, particularly in the series' Katsura Hashino era. If Atlus settled for makingPersona 3sequels, the Phantom Thieves would never arrive on the scene. But that does not mean Atlus should follow their long-established playbook.
Sequels & Spinoffs
The Phantom Thieves' story has already received one direct follow-up in Japan, in the form ofPersona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers. Western audiences have been clamoring for localization since it’s release—andwhile there have been some encouraging signs, the wait for a port has no end in sight.Scrambleis ultimately a spin-off though, featuring only a few hallmarks of the beloved series. APersonagame without the dating-sim and monster collecting elements will ultimately feel like something else, and while that isn’t an inherently bad thing, it will likely leave Phantom Thieves fans longing for something meatier.
One of the reasons the Phantom Thieves resonate so strongly with gamers is that thePersona 5’s themes of criminal rebellion perfectly aligned with the characters' arcs. Anything that doesn’t allow the characters to continue growing, and further refine their identities will end up feeling hollow in comparison. ButAtlus has gotten creative with interconnected franchises before, and the Phantom Thieves present a unique storytelling opportunity, similar to what Square Enix is doing withFinal Fantasy 16andFinal Fantasy 7 Remake.
Persona 6should continue its tradition of referencing prior franchise installments. But rather than being lowkey about it, withinside jokes and blink-and-miss-it callbacks, the Phantom Thieves' actions could feature prominently in the world ofPersona 6as a major historical event. Or, better yet, the Phantom Thieves could be an ongoing force in the world ofPersona.And to flesh those adventures out, Atlus could work on a separatePersona 5franchise. Rather than a straight reprisal ofPersona 5orRoyal, this new series could act as a sort of testing ground to shake up the standardPersonaformula with new features.
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Best of Both Worlds
Having a separatePersonaseries to play with would allow the developers to try out experiments likeHashino’s original, road trip premise forPersona 5. It could also risk fundamental changes to the way scheduling works, or renovate more staid aspects of the series' social link system. At the same time, players who are franchise purists will be able to appreciate everything the serieshas historically offered inPersona 6, featuring a fresh cast of characters.
A directPersona 5sequel would mean thatthe core cast of characters would need to age up. But there is a precedent for direct sequels featuring the same cast of characters in thePersonafranchise.Persona 2: Innocent Sinwas followed byPersona 2: Eternal Punishment, in a two-part storyline similar to Stephen King’sIT. While those two games are almost two halves of a whole, it would be refreshing to see each installment of thePersona 5sequel series stand by itself.
There are plenty of compelling story threads yet to delve into in thePersona 5universe. It would be a delight toshape how Joker evolves in college and young adulthood, or watch Yusuke make a name for himself as a world-class artist, and see Makoto pursue her dream of policework to honor her father’s legacy. Time will tell what fate Atlus decides for the Phantom Thieves, but their future seems promising indeed.
Persona 5andPersona 5 Royalare available now for PlayStation 4.
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