Persona 6 Should Echo Metaphor: ReFantazio’s Versatility

Persona 6 Should Echo Metaphor: ReFantazio's Versatility



Key Takeaways

  • Persona 6 needs to adopt Metaphor: ReFantazio’s versatile Archetype system for party customization.
  • Persona series’ fixed character roles contrast with Metaphor’s flexible character classes.
  • Implementing ReFantazio’s system in Persona 6 would provide more challenging combat scenarios.



At this point, Persona 6 is still a myth, with its existence only backed by hearsay claiming “confirmation” of the game’s development. However, now that Metaphor: ReFantazio has had some time to make an impression, all eyes are on a potential Persona 6 to pick up the mantle that Metaphor has laid down for it, especially given Metaphor‘s innovative approach to Atlus’ well-oiled formula.

Should Persona 6 turn out to be a reality (and it likely will), one of Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s most notable mechanics deserves to find its way over to the Persona series. Specifically, the versatility offered by Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s Archetype system, which would inevitably tear down the limiting walls of Persona‘s traditional RPG class system.

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By and large, the Persona series has followed the path of typical RPGs by featuring playable characters with specific roles, rather than allowing players to customize those roles according to their playstyle or needs. In Persona 5, Joker can switch between multiple Personas and therefore fill a wide variety of roles, much like Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s protagonist can as a Seeker. Aside from that, Persona‘s playable characters are fixed to a certain role — whether it be healing, support, defense, or damage — and the only customization power players have over combat comes down to which members they have in their party.


Persona 5 did open things up a bit for the series in terms of increasing the versatility of its party members, though not considerably. Joker can, of course, play multiple roles in combat, but other party members have a somewhat versatile selection of skills to choose from as well. Persona 5‘s Ann, for instance, primarily focuses on dealing fire damage, but she also has access to a few support skills, like Tarunda, which lowers an enemy’s attack. Haru, on the other hand, specializes in psychic and gun attacks, but she can also use support skills that can buff defense.

As far as healers go, while Morgana is technically the main healer, Makoto also has access to healing spells, in addition to her damage-dealing nuclear skills.

Metaphor: ReFantazio’s Playable Characters Can Be Anything

Despite being an Atlus game with a Persona skin, Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s playable characters can be anything, unlike the Persona games before it. With Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s Archetype system, each party member can learn any Archetype that has been unlocked through establishing and growing bonds with the game’s key characters. This ultimately means that players can have any arrangement of characters that they want and any combination of classes that they think they need in order to overcome specific obstacles. It’s much different than anything the Persona series has ever done, but it is a welcome change and a system that Persona 6 would be remiss not to consider implementing.


Persona 6 Needs the Same Versatility That Metaphor: ReFantazio’s Archetype System Provides

Arguably, Persona 6 needs to go beyond what Persona 5 accomplished by implementing a system similar to Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s Archetype system. This would make it easier for players to experiment with different party setups, and it would also make a case for more demanding combat scenarios, which Metaphor: ReFantazio already famously exhibits. After all, Persona 6 making its characters more versatile would also increase the need for its combat to be more challenging than previous Persona games in order to level the playing field.

While
Persona
doesn’t necessarily need to be more difficult than it has been,
Metaphor: ReFantazio
is a refreshing change of pace in this area, as players can’t simply overpower their enemies once they get strong enough and instead need to think strategically ahead of almost every battle.


Nothing has been confirmed about Persona 6‘s combat system, as the game itself has yet to even be confirmed. However, after Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s Archetype system started a whole new ballgame for Atlus, it would feel like a massive leap backwards not to feature the same degree of versatility in Persona 6.

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