With the official confirmation thatPersona 6is in development at Atlus, many gamers are likely itching to replay previous games in the series. However, Atlus has not made it easy to revisit the first three games of the franchise, in particular. As of writing, the best ways to play those three titles are through the PSVita and PS3 stores. A jailbroken PS3 will be able to play all five entries in the series, but players should not be forced to do that to their system just to have a convenient way to play old games. After seeing the success of the recently releasedMass Effect: Legendary Edition, Atlus should consider doing a “Legendary Edition” of its own withthe first threePersonatitles.
Remastering these older games in thePersonaseries would be the perfect appetizer for those waiting on the next game, as well as a great entry point for potential new fans. The fact that each game has its own independent story also means that a player can start with the newest game and work backward. This is a great boon that similar re-releases likeMass Effect: Legendary EditionandHalo: The Master Chief Collectiondid not have, as players would be stuck with older graphics and mechanics before working their way up. In short, aPersonaTrilogy would both bring in a new audience and generate the most amount of hype for the upcomingPersona 6, which could still be years away. With how long each game in the series takes to complete, this would give Atlus plenty of time to perfectPersona 6.
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The Season of Remasters
By and large, most remasters of video games are warranted and improve upon any number of aspects of the original such as availability and gameplay. Some others can be seen as unnecessary in both of those regards, such as some ofThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimreleases. The first threePersonagames easily fall into the former category, though, as they are difficult to find and could use some touched-up gameplay and graphics. WhilePersonais no stranger to re-releaseswith some added content, such asPersona 5 RoyalandPersona 4 Golden, Atlus seems to have forgotten about the older titles.
Even if Atlus doesn’t make any significant changes to the gameplay, slaps a new coat of paint on, and releases the remasters for Playstation and PC, it would still be a worthwhile endeavor for the company. Bioware’sMass Effect: Legendary Editionmade a lot ofgameplay and graphical changes toMass Effect 1and very few to the second and third games, yet it was still a very successful release. Due toPersona’s turn-based combat, most gamers would likely be willing to accept minimal changes and a simple HD port. There simply needs to be a feasible way to play these games again.
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Old Games, New Audience
It’s no question thatPersona 5has been Atlus' biggest release yet, with each game focused on the Phantom Thieves growing the fanbase. Atlus seems to want to keepPersonaonly on PlayStation, though, which once again means that the single place to playPersona 5 Royalis on PS4 and PS5. It’s worth noting that the originalPersona 5sequel,Persona 5 Strikers, was released on Playstation, Nintendo Switch, and PC. This leads to an odd phenomenon where Switch players can play a sequel to a game that isn’t available on Switch. Furthermore, the presence ofPersona 5’s Joker inSmash Ultimateseems to be showing a willingness for Atlus tobring thePersonaseries to other genresand platforms.
Now that there is aPersonatitle on a non-PlayStation console, there has never been a better time for Atlus to remaster its old titles and bring them to PC and Switch, if not Xbox as well. This is the greatest chance Atlus has to grow its already loyalPersonafanbase to new heights and bring in new fans. TheMass Effect: Legendary Editiondid this for people whoseonly experience with the series wasMass Effect: Andromeda, and now the future for the sci-fi RPG is brighter than ever. Similarly, going back to old titles will make players appreciate those newest entries even more.
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The Persona Hype Train
With no release date or trailer given forPersona 6, fans likely have at least a year or two to wait until release, barring any major surprises. The series is also celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, withPersona 1releasing on September 20th, 1996. With that date fast approaching, Atlus would be remiss to not mark this date in some way. It could be a trailer, gameplay, or evena song forPersona 6, but on a date that’s celebrating how the series began, it would be much more fitting for a remaster announcement of some kind. Even just a remake for the first game (as it is the one turning 25) would do wonders for the voracious community. However, aMass Effect: Legendary Editionstyle remaster of the first three games would obviously be even better.
Such a remaster would be seen as a good look for Atlus, as celebrating the big 25th anniversary will surely be important to some fans. This is especially true when considering that all Nintendo did forMetroid’s 35th anniversary was send out a tweet. Granted, that series is getting a new game in a few short months, but Nintendo missed the opportunity to take advantage of this anniversary to drum up hype for said release.
Atlus could officially announcePersona 6as a way of looking to the future while simultaneously acknowledging the past with aremaster of the first threePersonagames. This, combined with the fact there is no feasible system to play those older games on, would make a remaster trilogy an easy home run for Atlus; just like how theMass Effect: Legendary Editionwas a home run for Bioware.
Persona 6is in development at Atlus Studios.
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