SweetieGames

Earlier this month, the news dropped that the web domain p4re.jp was registered. This follows in the footsteps of Persona 3 Reload, which had a similar web domain registered before the news of the remake dropped months later. It’s looking extremely likely that a Persona 4 remake is in the works at Atlus, but is that really what the fans want?

Persona 3 Reload was a huge success on its release last year, generating over one million sales in its first week alone according to Statista. The game was praised among fans for its beautiful visuals and UI. It also includes Persona staples from the later instalments such as animations and graphics at the end of an All Out Attack and improved mapping and objective markers. P3R became Atlus’s fastest selling game at the time of its release, and it’s clear they want to give Persona 4 the same treatment. It does kinda feel like they’re going on side quests rather than giving players what they truly want; the next instalment in the Persona franchise.

The gap between Persona instalments is now the biggest its ever been. Even though Persona 5 is one of my favourite games, it’s definitely been milked for every last drop of new content that Atlus can muster. With the success of Persona 3 Reload, as well as their newer RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio, fans are definitely keen to see what the next mainline instalment of Persona has in store. A remake of Persona 4 is great, but rather than looking back, people want to look towards the future of the franchise; they want to meet new characters, indulge in a new story and see what a new Persona game on the current gen console looks like. The original Persona 5 was built to run on a PlayStation 3, after all.

I’m definitely not the only one eager to see what Persona 6 has in store, if we ever get it. Fan projects have even emerged that have created soundtracks, characters and concepts for the game, imagining what the theming and even colour scheme would look like. This is a tradition amongst fans, as they designed concepts for Persona 5 before it released, but this time it’s more organised than ever due to the amount of time between the release of Persona 5 and 6. We still have no idea if or when it will happen.

There was also a flurry of tweets from fans who seemed almost disappointed at this news; they want to see more love for Persona 1 and 2, which are difficult to get your hands on and have to be run with an emulator, or they’re trying to avoid inevitable discourse reopening, or they’re just wanting something new.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone was let down by this news. Persona 4 is widely beloved. Its fans were obviously delighted by the thought of seeing their favourite characters in stunning new graphics and being able to relive the story again. They said they’d be willing to wait longer for Persona 6 if it meant being able to play a remake of Persona 4. The excitement from these fans does make me want to pick up my copy of Persona 4 Golden. I’ve played Persona 3 Portable but ended up putting P4G on hold!

It looks like Persona 6 is pretty far off, and the reaction to a possible remaster of Persona 4 is mixed. Some people are ecstatic while others are eager for something new from the Persona franchise. Both are very valid responses! We can only wait and see what Atlus has in store.