Persona 6has been the subject of various leaks and rumors, despite the fact that Atlus has said next to nothing about the game. For instance, some leakers claimPersona 6takes place at an art school. While that could be an interesting change of pace forPersona’s typical high school themes, the broader setting that it takes place in matters a lot as well. It’s not clear ifPersona 6will take place in a fictional city or town, like those featured inPersona 3and4, or a fictionalized version of a real place in Japan likePersona 5’s depiction of Tokyo.
ThePersona 5suite of gameshave worked hard to ingrain real locations in Japan in thePersonauniverse.P5itself started with Tokyo, turning various real districts and neighborhoods into hubs for shops and Confidant hangouts, andPersona 5 Strikersfollowed that up with a cross-country road trip that put the spotlight on a variety of other Japanese cities. To establish a distinct identity,Persona 6might shift back to a fictional setting, but if so, it needs to build on top ofPersona 5’s sense of scale, reinforced through the use of perspective, to deliver a big, detailed city that feels truly immersive to explore.
Persona 5’s Tokyo Can Translate to a Big Fictional City in Persona 6
InPersona 3and4, the respective settings of Tatsumi Port Island and Inaba have a lot in common. Players can visit a couple different landmarks in each game, likethe Iwatodai Strip Malland the Junes Department store, but in both cases, players can’t go out onto the street and explore the area around that location; each location in town consists of just two or three “rooms”, some of which only have two or three shops or activities at best. Likewise, both games use a fixed camera perspective when visiting locations like this, which makes them feel more intimate but also more restricted.Persona 3 Reloadhung onto these fixed angles when going about town. Between the lack of camera control and the actual small size of each neighborhood or landmark in town, both Port Island and Inaba can feel rather small, since it doesn’t take long for the player to see everything they have to offer.
Players get more control over the camera when exploring dungeons or walking around their school inP3andP4, contrasting the occasional fixed camera angles.
How Persona 5 Makes Tokyo Feel Properly Huge
Persona 5does things differently. Fitting to its use of the sprawling metropolitan area of Tokyo, it goes all in on making its setting feel big in a ton of ways:
All of these tricks can be repeated inPersona 6, and would go a long way to provide a realistic scale to a fictional setting, whether it’s another big city or a small town like Inaba. The more neighborhoods it features with their own unique amenities not found anywhere else, the more believable the setting becomes; even a sleepy rural town has plenty of hidden gems and local hotspots that make each of its regions feel different. Furthermore, unlocking the camera in each of these places would go a long way to making the setting feel big, even if the city itself is small, since players can get a better sense of how the city spreads and changes in all directions.
Persona 6needs to build on top ofPersona 5’s sense of scale, reinforced through the use of perspective, to deliver a setting that feels truly immersive to explore.
Persona 6 is Already Primed for a Big Setting
Luckily, a setting like this seems all the more likelythanks toMetaphor: ReFantazio, Atlus' latest hit.Metaphordoes an excellent job of fleshing out big cities with highly distinct neighborhoods and hidden amenities, and coming across small towns during trips in the gauntlet runner provides a great sense of scale for each kingdom, even if they can’t be physically explored. Between the precedent set byPersona 5andMetaphor: ReFantazio, there’s cause for optimism that Atlus will deliver a highly detailed, immersive setting, even if it isn’t a real place like Tokyo.
Persona 5 Royal
WHERE TO PLAY
Don the mask and join the Phantom Thieves of Hearts as they stage grand heists, infiltrate the minds of the corrupt, and make them change their ways! Prepare for the award-winning RPG experience in this definitive edition of Persona 5 Royal, featuring a treasure trove of downloadable content included!Forced to transfer to a high school in Tokyo, the protagonist has a strange dream. “You truly are a prisoner of fate. In the near future, ruin awaits you.” With the goal of “rehabilitation” looming overhead, he must save others from distorted desires by donning the mask of a Phantom Thief.Explore Tokyo, unlock Personas, customize your own personal Thieves Den, experience alternate endings, and more. Become the ultimate Phantom Thief and defy conventions, discover the power within, and fight for justice in the definitive version of Persona 5 Royal.
