Unveiling the Crucial Lesson Persona 5 The Animation Teaches Persona 6's Protagonist
The protagonist of Persona 6 should draw inspiration from Persona 5 The Animation's Joker, emphasizing the importance of voice acting and its potential impact on character depth and player connection
Using a silent protagonist as a narrative technique has been a common practice in the gaming industry for many years. The purpose of this technique is to allow players to project their own thoughts, emotions, and dialogue onto the main character, resulting in a more immersive experience. These characters serve as blank slates for players to infuse with their own unique personalities, creating a stronger connection with the game's world. While this approach may seem practical on paper, it doesn't always achieve the desired level of immersion as developers may believe. This issue is particularly noticeable in the Persona series and should be addressed in the upcoming release of Persona 6.
Persona is a highly beloved and widely popular JRPG franchise developed by Atlus, known for its use of silent protagonists throughout its long history. Despite the games successfully portraying distinct personalities for these characters despite their lack of dialogue, there is a case to be made for future installments to include full voice acting for the protagonist. In Persona 5, the latest entry in the series, the silent protagonist, known as Joker, is a well-crafted character overall. However, when compared to the vibrant and eccentric cast of Persona 5, his silence feels out of place. Thankfully, the anime adaptation of Persona 5 partially addresses this issue, providing some relief to fans.
Persona 5's Protagonist in Persona 5 The Animation
In Persona 5, the protagonist, Joker, is mostly quiet throughout the game with only a few instances of dialogue. However, Persona 5 The Animation takes a different approach by giving Joker a complete voice acting, allowing him to have more conversations with other characters. Although Persona anime have received mixed reviews for their quality, fans agree that giving voices to the protagonists is a positive decision.
Despite being a silent character, Joker still enjoys social interactions. The addition of voice acting in the anime adds depth to his enigmatic personality, especially in comparison to the game. The anime beautifully portrays Joker's daily reactions, his relationships with friends, and his confidence in battles. This enhancement makes it more believable for future games in the series to also feature voice acting for the main character.
Should Persona 6's Protagonist Have More Voice Acting?
The previous titles in the Persona series, like Persona 5, also featured intriguing video game protagonists who remained mostly silent throughout the games. Although not as widely known, Persona 3 and Persona 4 are cherished entries in the series that even received their own animated adaptations. These animations provide fresh insights into their respective protagonists, which sets them apart more distinctly.
In the absence of voice acting, the series' protagonists appear quite similar. However, with the addition of more dialogue, their unique traits become more pronounced, making them feel more authentic and relatable. The animations reveal that Persona 3's protagonist possesses a stoic and reserved disposition, Persona 4's protagonist is highly adaptable and charismatic, and Persona 5's protagonist embodies rebellious yet empathetic qualities.
Persona games are widely regarded as some of the best in the JRPG genre, delivering captivating storytelling and immersive gameplay. Despite not having extensive voice acting for their main characters, these games offer unforgettable epic quests that definitely deserve to be experienced at least once. However, gaming franchises are constantly evolving and breaking away from their traditional formulas, as exemplified by Final Fantasy 16. This upcoming installment will be the first in the mainline Final Fantasy series to showcase completely real-time combat, deviating from the traditional turn-based or hybrid systems. Considering the enhanced depth and charm that voiced protagonists bring, it's not unreasonable to hope that Persona 6 will feature a protagonist with spoken dialogue. Excitingly, Persona 6 is currently in development.
