Each newPersonagame has a lot of similarities with the last, but they always seem to improve on what came before. An art aesthetic oozing with style, a turn-based combat system at the center of battles, andPersona’s emphasis on Japanese cultureare pillars of the franchise. So, too, are protagonists who are still completing their studies. Be it Gekkoukan, Yasogami, or Shujin Academy, the school that the characters attend are always a big part of the landscape.
Naturally, in-between entering the TV world or changing someone’s heart, there are classroom activities that need to be completed, andPersonauses this opportunity to ask the player questions in class to help boost their social stats. However, this is an area of the series thatPersona 6could look at improving, as there are a few issues with the mechanic that stop the school experience inPersonafrom getting an A+.
RELATED:One Persona 3 Reload Change Could Lead to a Fully Voiced Persona 6 Protagonist
Persona’s Classroom Questions Require Improvement
Personais a franchise that’s steeped in history, but many of its customs and conventions have held it back from being better. The combat isn’t as fluid as it could be, for example, and the classroom questions also feel like a product of a different time. Having things to do during lesson time is great, and does well to add to the role-playing element of the series, but when it only extends to a simple question to slightly improve a specific skill, it can feel half-baked. Questions answered in class could be used for so much more, especially as it becomes irrelevant once thePersonaprotagonist’s Social Statsare maxed out.
In that instance there is no incentive to keep getting answers correct.Persona 6should look to fix this mechanicby broadening the benefit of acing the classroom tests. Be it an added monetary reward for players to use on items in the shop, or to fill out the social stats that are not yet completed, in order for the classroom to be justified late in the game it needs to have more of a universal impact that helps players regardless of how their character is shaping up. It would be a small, but hugely welcome change, and a needed improvement to a format that has worked well for decades.
Progression is Essential in Persona
Taking the classroom questions from previous games and implementing them intoPersona 6would not just be a welcome inclusion, it would be an expected one. However, asPersona 5merely copied how it was handled inPersona 4, it has to show some signs of improvement that can benefit the progression loop. More thorough, insightful, and interesting questions handled in a less rigid way would help to contribute toPersona 6dismantling the franchise’s traditions, and provide an education that’s far more substantial and compelling.
Having that education feed into other aspects of the game would create a more enjoyable and replayable experience for players, both structurally and narratively. Most of the story doesn’t rely too heavily on the student life of the characters – it’s merely window-dressing a lot of the time – but that’s not to say it can’t be leaned on even more forthePersona 6protagonist. Having new dialogue options between characters if they get the answers right or wrong, or simply feeding the lost XP into another social stat would be far less wasteful, further future-proofingPersonafor years to come.
Persona 6is currently in development.
MORE:Persona 5 The Animation Offers An Important Lesson For Persona 6’s Protagonist
