Whenever the Persona games come up in a conversation, there will always be endless praise for the series’ aesthetics. From the UI to the character designs, there is so much about this game to admire that even now, we see renditions of the same art style.
But one thing that I think doesn’t get enough praise is the gameplay of the Persona series, the vessel to which this amazing-looking game is delivered. But then that got me wondering, why aren’t there any other games that use this gameplay loop? And the more I thought about it, the more I think games would benefit from Persona’s main gameplay elements.
Main Elements
Persona is, of course, a JRPG with common JRPG elements such as turn-based combat, grinding, and its very own version of a dungeon crawl. The turn-based combat itself is much like Pokémon, where you catch, train, and battle your personas to the best of your wits.
Different factors come into play during combat, including your persona’s stats, attributes, and the skills you equip your team with. There’s also the question of your turn order, which is an integral part of any turn-based game, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about today.
As fun as the turn-based combat and dungeon crawl elements of Persona are, they aren’t what the game is all about. Underneath all these complicated game mechanics, there still lies the core of a Roleplaying Game where you have to interact with characters, otherwise known in the game as confidants, in the ways that you want to.
Not only do you have to build your skills, connections, and equipment in-game to even survive the story’s progression, but you’re only given a limited time to do so. It’s these exact role-playing mechanics that work so well together to make Persona enjoyable, and I hope other games take note of them.
Confidants
In Persona, confidants are people inside and outside of your party that you can choose to grow closer to. Every time you level up a confidant’s trust level, they reveal a little more about themselves. A few character backstory moments that just give them more depth and strengthen the bond you and your character feel towards those characters.
Not only do you unlock more backstory about these characters, but you also unlock important buffs and gameplay changes that get more intriguing as you level up. It’s this type of backstory and buff system that Persona emphasizes to make every character in the franchise memorable and interesting.
While Persona is the best at conveying this mechanic, there are definitely other developers who have tried their hand at it. The first game that comes to mind is the Mass Effect franchise, specifically my favorite, Mass Effect 2. In ME2, the game emphasizes and builds up to a suicide mission finale.
During the buildup and in between missions, you have the option of taking some extra time to grow closer to some of your squadmates and increase their chances of surviving the mission at the end.
Just like Persona, the game rewards you for interacting with people in your squad by giving you various buffs and some backstory to flesh out your characters. Does that mean Mass Effect is secretly a Persona game?! Not exactly, because it’s missing maybe the one crucial game mechanic that I think should always go with the Confidant system.
Countdown
In Mass Effect, the countdown to the finale mission doesn’t seem as hectic because there was no set deadline, and the same cannot be said for Persona. Persona relies on a calendar system where some set events happen within the coming days, building up to the finale. Each choice you make every day, at every hour, matters.
The game gives you a lot of choices, and being able to max out every aspect of the game requires an insane amount of min/maxing, but that’s the fun of it. You’re supposed to have a timer because who you spend your time with at the end of the day matters, and it should say more about you.
One game that comes to mind immediately when I think of countdown timers is the Dead Rising series. Admittedly, a part of me hated the timer and just wanted to slash up an infinite number of zombies during every playthrough, but from experience, I know that gets old quickly.
As it turns out, having limitless freedom to do what you want isn’t as exciting as making decisions that build towards a better ending. Now imagine a Dead Rising game with confidants that could help you escape the mall. In fact, imagine how much better a lot of games could be if they used these systems.
I firmly believe that we’ve had enough Stardew Valley clones and need more games to be Persona Clones. Games like Dead Space, the upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, and even a licensed Marvel or DC Superheroes could take the Persona gameplay loop and drain my bank account right now. That, or Atlus can just release Persona 6. Make something new, please!
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