The Next Level: Unveiling Persona 6's Powerhouse Playable Party

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD for Persona 5 Royal. Proceed at your own risk.

Highlights

Party members such as Goro Akechi and Sumire Yoshizawa in Persona 5 Royal have restricted playability, which results in a noticeable drawback in terms of damage types. This limited availability of these characters deprives players of the opportunity to fully appreciate their distinctive abilities and the ability to perform Showtimes with Joker, ultimately making them seem less substantial in comparison to other party members.

If Persona 6 limits players' access to certain party members, it should prioritize mechanical satisfaction over dramatic impact. This will ensure that fans can consistently experience gameplay with all characters.

In previous Persona games, the roles and prominence of party members constantly change. Persona 5 Royal is a prime example of this. Not only do certain members briefly leave the Phantom Thieves line-up, but two characters, Goro Akechi and Sumire Yoshizawa, are only playable in a small portion of the game's story. Their distribution of playtime is unconventional and, while it adds creativity to the narrative, it disrupts the overall composition of the party.

Persona 5 Royal's unique utilization of its party may be understood considering its status as an expanded version of the game that had already proven its creativity. However, there are still drawbacks. If Atlus intends to employ a similar creative approach with party members in Persona 6, it must take into account the pitfalls of scattering the player's teammates. Certain segments of Persona 5 Royal provide distinct gameplay experiences due to the composition of the party, for better or worse. Thus, Persona 6 must strike the right balance between creativity and effective allocation.

Some Persona 5 Royal Party Members Get the Short End of the Stick

In Persona 5 Royal, Goro Akechi and Sumire Yoshizawa stand out as two captivating party members. Akechi is particularly intriguing as his abilities undergo a complete transformation between dungeons. In Sae's Palace, he harnesses a Persona specializing in Bless and Curse skills. However, in Maruki's Palace, he switches to a different Persona that expands his repertoire to include a broader range of damaging techniques and status-inflicting abilities, sacrificing the Bless skill in the process. On the other hand, Yoshizawa brings formidable DPS capabilities to the team and complements the party's damage diversity by focusing on Bless skills. It is important to note that she can only be utilized in the final Palace of P5R.

While Yoshizawa and Akechi may feel special in their own circumstances, this also puts the Phantom Thieves in a noticeable disadvantage when it comes to damage types in certain parts of the game. In Persona 3 and Persona 4, the player's teammates offer access to every damage type by the mid-to-late game. However, in Persona 5, players go through most of the game without a teammate who deals Bless or Curse damage, placing pressure on Joker to fill that role. This requires the player character to search for specific damage types when fusing Personas, rather than simply relying on a party member in a certain area of a dungeon.

The restriction of these party members goes beyond just the damage types they provide. Atlus always strives to give Persona party members unique playstyles, and this includes Yoshizawa and Akechi. However, due to their limited playtime and the significant changes in Akechi's skills between Palaces, players do not have much time to fully enjoy their abilities, including their Showtimes with Joker. Furthermore, both Yoshizawa and Akechi have limited skill progression, which can make them feel less developed compared to other party members. Additionally, some of their progression is almost irrelevant; Yoshizawa and Akechi only unlock their final Personas right before the final boss battle in Persona 5 Royal, leaving players with very little chance to appreciate their distinctive skills.

The limited availability of Akechi and Yoshizawa in the party created a sense of uniqueness, but it also highlighted the mechanical drawbacks. If Persona 6 restricts players' access to certain party members, it would be beneficial to prioritize mechanical satisfaction rather than emphasizing dramatic impact, especially considering the diverse range of damage types in Persona 5 Royal. One possible approach could be having a party member absent only during a portion of a dungeon or making them exclusive to specific areas or types of dungeons. The beloved characters in Persona are a major factor that contributes to the franchise's popularity, thus granting fans more consistent playtime with all of them would be ideal.

You can currently play Persona 5 Royal on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.