With how many games there are in the Persona series, and with Persona 6 possibly in development, there are many different party members that players will find themselves joining up with. Starting in Persona 3, however, each main game in the series has seen the appearance of an animal mascot that also joins up with the party.
There isn't much known about Persona 6 and its development compared to the rest of the Persona games, but many would probably be okay with it not having an animal mascot. With how the animal mascots have changed through the games that have had them, one appearing in Persona 6 may not exactly be likable.
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Before discussing how the animal mascots have changed in Persona, its important to take a look at each of them since they started featuring in-game. While they have some connections conceptually and are important for marketing, each of them have stark differences in design.
Koromaru is a Persona user of the Strength arcana that joins the player's party in Persona 3. He is also an albino Shiba Inu, incapable of communicating with humans.
Unlike other mascots such as Teddie and Morgana, Koromaru really is just an ordinary dog outside of his ability to use a Persona. He was originally owned by a monk who died in an accident, but Koromaru remained at the shrine, waiting for his owner to return.
During the Dark Hour where shadows run amok in the real world, Akihiko of S.E.E.S. found Koromaru after the dog had killed a shadow by itself. This led to Koromaru being taken in by the members of S.E.E.S. and given a special evoker collar that lets him summon his Persona without the need for thumbs. Instead of using his teeth or claws like one would expect a dog to do, Koromaru instead wields knives in battle.
While being unable to directly communicate with most of the party, players are able to take Koromaru out for walks. The female protagonist of Persona 3 even has a social link with Koromaru, which can be started after giving him some dog food. Out of all the party members in Persona 3, Koromaru is closest to Shinjiro and Ken. Shinjiro specially makes food for the dog, while Ken took Koromaru in after the events of Persona 3. Aigis is strangely able to directly communicate with Koromaru and translate what he's saying, despite being a humanoid robot.
Despite being an animal mascot, Koromaru isn't really a key part of Persona 3 and is a relatively minor character when it comes to the overall story. He's also one of the later party members to join, so he has much less screen time compared to other party members. He has no secret connection to the game's villains or the universe, basically making Koromaru just a cute dog that kills shadows.
Teddie is a talking bear mascot that players in Persona 4 find after falling into the TV world for the first time. The party soon discovers that Teddie is hollow with nobody inside the suit, and that he is the actual suit. Being from the TV world, Teddie helps the party as their initial navigator before moving on to become a full party member with a Persona of his own.
Among Persona fans, Teddie is rather divisive. While some find him charming with his innocence of the real world and his friendship with Nanako, others find him to be annoying due to the amount of puns he makes, alongside the perverted tendencies he seemingly picked up from Yosuke.
As a Persona user, Teddie is of the Star arcana, with his social link explored naturally as players make their way through Persona 4. Due to him being from the TV world, Teddie is stuck wondering who and what he actually is, with the party being his first and only friends. He later does discover that he is indeed an ordinary shadow from the TV world, but was still somehow able to face his true self and acquire a Persona.
Once Teddie gains his Persona, the emptiness in his body is filled with an actual human body of his own. He alternates between using his human and his mascot body, with his human body serving as his appearance in the real world to try and blend in with his friends.
The latest in animal mascots for the Persona series is Morgana from Persona 5. While appearing as a regular cat while in the real world, he takes the form of a cartoon-like anthropomorphic cat while in the Metaverse. Unlike the other animal mascots, Morgana had his Persona from the very beginning and is the first party member that players use in battle, other than the protagonist in Persona 5.
In a similar situation to Teddie, Morgana has no memories of who or what he is. Morgana mentions he's been searching for answers before Persona 5's story begins, while Teddie only started asking questions after spending time with the Persona 4 party.
By the end of Persona 5, it is revealed that Morgana was one of Igor's creations, similar to the velvet room attendants. He was created to help the player with their journey after the real Igor was imprisoned by Yaldabaoth. Due to his ties with Mementos, however, Morgana initially disappears along with it once the Phantom Thieves steal Mementos' treasure. He does indeed return in his cat form to the relieved reactions of the Phantom Thieves in the end.
By looking at these previous mascots, there is one thing that's clear: With each game the animal mascot has a more and more important role. That's made abundantly clear with how Koromaru was just an ordinary dog, Teddie was a shadow from the TV world, and Morgana was one of Igor's own creations made to help stop the final boss. If this continues, the next animal mascot could turn out to be extremely important, like a secret god that's been guiding the party throughout the entire game.
While there are fans of the animal mascots, the more cartoony ones can especially rub some Persona players the wrong way. This can be attributed to how mascots are mainly there to advertise the game and sell merchandise. As their roles get more and more prominent in the games, players may find them annoying or spotlight hogs compared to other pivotal characters.
All in all, if Persona 6 really needs to have yet another animal mascot, it might just be best to go back to the Koromaru route. After all, its hard to find people would would be unhappy with a cute non-talking dog capable of using sharp weapons.
Persona 6 is rumored to be in development.