Many questions about Persona 6 boil down to what the game decides to keep from its predecessors and what it chooses to set aside. If Atlus so chooses, Persona 6 could be totally different from previous Persona games, potentially revolutionizing the whole franchise by splicing it with new genres or different storytelling conventions. Drastic changes seem particularly likely in Persona 6 because Atlus so fervently wants the game to surpass Persona 5, which made a name for itself by introducing a bunch of its own new ideas to Persona. If it wants to become the next Persona title to redefine the JRPG genre, then Persona 6 really needs to be willing to take risks and try new things.
However, there's a design philosophy from a previous game that Persona 6 should make use of, even if it doesn't directly imitate that game. Persona 5 Royal was an expanded version of Persona 5 in a lot of ways, particularly in the realm of combat. Atlus revamped Persona 5's core combat in a ton of ways that granted players more freedom and generally made combat more satisfying to play and rewarding to master. Persona 6 should look closely at Persona 5 Royal's liberated, player-supportive combat and create a similar combat system that gives fans tons of options on how to take down Shadows.
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How Persona 5 Royal Loosened Up Combat
Although Persona 5's combat was great fun, on the whole, it had some restrictions that vastly limited a player's options, only opening up those options after a ton of work from the player. For instance, in the original Persona 5, Baton Pass is a Confidant perk for each of the Phantom Thieves. That means players can only pass a One More to a party member if they've unlocked that Phantom Thief's Baton Pass. For Phantom Thieves like Haru that are hard to befriend, this design was very restrictive, nullifying a lot of strategies until players invested time in a Confidant. In Persona 5 Royal, players can Baton Pass to anyone freely and can even restore HP and SP through Baton Passes, rewarding players for thinking tactically and letting them approach combat however they like.
The Baton Pass changes are some of the most foundational adjustments to Persona 5's combat, but there are other ways that Royal opened up combat and provided more options. For example, in Persona 5, each Phantom Thief only has a certain number of bullets in their guns for each foray into a Palace or Mementos. That made ammo precious and discouraged players from using guns very often. In Persona 5 Royal, Phantom Thieves all get one clip of ammo for every battle, which much better encourages fans to invest in gun upgrades and use guns in combat regularly.
Persona 5 Royal also introduced totally new combat mechanics that added to the excitement. Shortly into Persona 5, the player unlocks Showtimes, which are very powerful attacks triggered when Joker is in danger or when a Showtime might finish an enemy off. Showtimes are a great new weapon in the Persona fan's arsenal, letting them obliterate the toughest of enemies while also showing off the unique personalities of the Phantom Thieves. All of these Persona 5 Royal changes add up to a combat system that gives players some very rewarding freedom.
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How Persona 6 Can Imitate Persona 5 Royal's Combat
Persona 6 would be wise to take note of all of these changes and build on them. For instance, Baton Passes are a new mechanic to the Persona series introduced by Persona 5 which Persona 5 Royal perfected by making it easier to use and more impactful for the characters performing the Baton Pass. If Persona 6 keeps Baton Passes, then it should not only keep the automatically available version of the mechanic from Royal, but it should build on it. For example, Persona 6 might give each party member unique perks that activate when someone Baton Passes to them, adding a new layer of strategy to combat.
Persona 6 should also think carefully about how it manages any secondary ammo system like Persona 5's guns. The Phantom Thieves' wide arsenal of guns is another unique trait of Persona 5, which makes the Gun damage type a little more accessible. Persona 6 could consider keeping this system in place or pushing its limits further. If guns stay in Persona 6, then it should vastly expand Gun customization, allowing players to apply more debuffs and status effects with guns than before. That'd let Persona 6 players specialize each team member's playstyle far more than before.
Beyond established ideas like these, Persona 6 should try to introduce new ideas similar to Showtimes, even if it doesn't replicate Showtimes exactly. Persona 5 Royal's Showtimes empower players and celebrate the game's main characters, but Showtime doesn't have to be the only ability of its kind. It's great to see similar but more complicated team attacks make their way into Persona 6, encouraging players to combine the powers of two team members for rare but impactful attacks.
Persona 6 Will Benefit From Experimentation
All of these suggestions are based on the assumption that Persona 6 will stick to the turn-based JRPG style and carry over many old Persona conventions as well as new ideas from Persona 5. After the success of Persona 5 Strikers, there's always the possibility that Persona 6 will opt for a more action-oriented angle, focusing on real-time combat rather than Persona's traditional style. Persona 6 probably won't break convention quite that much, but whether it does or doesn't, it has to give players options. Persona fans don't want to be boxed in during combat; on the contrary, Persona combat shines brightest when it rewards players for using team members and the protagonist's Personas creatively.
Hopefully, Persona 6 doesn't throw away more Persona traditions than it keeps. Part of why Persona has grown so much in recent history is that Atlus knows how to build on what it's already made out of the Persona series, rather than starting over every time the franchise gets a new game. Even so, Persona has to get out of its comfort zone if Persona 6 wants to top its predecessor. Combat would be a great place for Persona 6 to start innovating. Giving players new strategies and techniques to utilize in combat could redefine the Persona series once more.
Persona 6 is in development.