Persona 6 has a serious decision to make about the nature of its side quests after Persona 5‘s approach changed the game. Of course, Persona 6 will need to give players goals to achieve outside of the main story. After all, RPGs typically thrive when players have a lot of content to interact with, and that requires the opportunity to branch out. However, Persona 5 handled its side quests quite a bit differently from the last few games in the series. As a result, Persona 6 may have a significant choice when it comes to its side quest design.
The opportunities for Persona 6 to innovate are nearly endless, with Persona being one of Atlus’ most successful IPs. The Persona formula has been firmly established since Persona 3, with a few extra quirks depending on the game. Essentially, the protagonist and their allies live a normal student’s life, mostly played out through classes and Social Links. Secretly, they also take on their true mission of using their Personas to fight against the Shadows in the game’s dungeon of choice. Persona 6 is almost certainly going to revive this dynamic once more. What will be interesting is seeing what else it can add.
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Persona 6 May Not Be Able to Get Away with the Same Twist Persona 5 Pulled
One of the biggest twists in Persona 5 is one that Persona 6 would almost certainly not be able to pull off again to the same effect.
Persona 6’s Side Quests Can Draw Inspiration From the Past in Different Ways
Persona 3 and 4’s Side Quests Were Mostly Low-Stakes
In terms of side content, Elizabeth’s requests in Persona 3 Reload make up the bulk of what’s on offer. Most of her requests involve finding something for her, fusing a Persona, or taking her somewhere. Persona 4‘s side quests also tend to lean in a similar direction, as many of the requests players receive usually involve finding items in the TV world for the requester, answering questions, or various tasks that take place around Inaba. There are some more tense missions in the form of Persona 3 Reload‘s missing person missions in Tartarus, but aside from those, the side quests cover fairly tame tasks.
A couple of Persona 3 Reload‘s missing person quests involve Social Link characters, and players need to save them or lose their Links.
Persona 5’s Mementos Quests Featured Fights Against Abhorrent Villains
The developers took a completely different approach with Persona 5‘s Mementos requests. In these side quests, the Phantom Thieves are given additional targets who need their hearts changed. Much like the main targets, these people are incredibly cruel individuals who cause a lot of pain and suffering. Their ranks include abusive parents, animal abusers, violent bullies, and more. The need to solve these missions is a lot more urgent than in previous Persona games due to the consequences of letting the targets continue their misdeeds. These sidequests tie into the Phentom Thieves’ goals, and further show how important their work is in Tokyo.
Persona 6 Has Many Options Open For Side Quests
This leaves Persona 6 with two very different paths to take. If Persona 6 leans toward Persona 3, then most of the sidequests will be more relaxed and leisurely compared to the main plot. However, Persona 5‘s approach would add a lot of drama to Persona 6‘s side missions, while introducing a lot of new threats and villains. Ultimately, it depends on what angle Persona 6 wants to take. To give the heroes more leisure time, the Persona 3 and 4 approach would work. But to keep the tension on and provide more heroic moments, Persona 5‘s approach would be the way to go.
Persona 6‘s side quest will be an important part of the overall package. After all, while ensuring that the protagonists of Persona 6 have a thrilling adventure is paramount, side content also needs to be taken into consideration. While Social Links do plenty to grow the game’s runtime, it’s good to have some extra miscellaneous goals to fulfill as well. Past Persona titles have presented radically different approaches to side quests. Ultimately, Persona 6 will have to find its own balance when it comes to its extra content.
