Top 10 Things Players Want Most in a Persona 5 Remake
Am I going crazy, or are video game companies continuing to ride the buzz of remaking older video games? I know Persona 5 is technically almost ten years old at the time of this listing, but with Persona 4 being remade as Persona 4 Revival, what makes us think they won't remake Persona 5?
While it's an excellent game, it's not what everyone would call perfect. Even though Royal's re-release fixed some issues, it still has more issues.
So here's my top 10 list of things players might want in a Persona 5 remake. Naturally, spoilers will follow.
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Allow Sumire to join your party earlier than the third semester
One of the biggest controversies in Persona 5 Royal was how Sumire Yoshizawa, a.k.a. Violet, wasn't able to join your party unless you'd unlocked the 3rd semester. For those of you who are unfamiliar, let me give you the tearjerking backstory. Kasumi and Sumire were actually twin sisters who were very proficient in gymnastics. However, while walking home in the rain before the events of Persona 5 Royal, Sumire ran a red light, and Kasumi sacrificed herself to save her. She then sees Dr. Takuto Maruki, a counselor, who changes her cognition so that Sumire thinks she's Kasumi. Ever wonder why her tarot card on her Confidant page looks different? Now you know.
In order to unlock the 3rd semester, you have to max out Maruki's Confidant before November 17th, which gives him full knowledge of how the Metaverse works.
Now, if you've played through Maruki's Palace, often called the Laboratory of Sorrow, you'll see how Maruki didn't awaken to his Persona, Azathoth, until Christmas Eve when the real world and the Metaverse became one. However, remakes can change story elements completely. Take Lunar: The Silver Star. In the Sega CD original, Luna stays on Caldor Isle while Alex, Ramus, and Nash head to Meribia. In the Silver Star Story Complete remake on Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation, she still decides to stay on Caldor Isle, only for Alex to convince her to come at the last minute by grabbing her hand and pulling her onboard. Also, Ghaleon enslaved the people of Burg in the Sega CD original but leaves them alone in the remake.
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Get rid of the talking faces next to speech windows
One thing about modern RPGs that bothers me is how we still have portraits of the characters next to their speech windows. While it doesn't bother some people, others like myself see it as cheap and lazy.
We now live in an era where it's possible to make character models look so realistic that it's almost impossible to tell them apart from real people. If they were going for a retro sprite style, I guess it would be okay. But Atlus' 2011 sleeper hit Catherine shows they're more than capable of ditching that format, and that's something I'm sure some Persona fans would like to see in a future installment.
In fact, games for 5th generation consoles such as Conker's Bad Fur Day for Nintendo 64 and Mega Man Legends for Sony PlayStation were able to pull this off for a more cinematic experience, so lack of console power is no excuse.
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Improve Confidant abilities
While the Royal version definitely made some of the confidants' abilities better, such as VIP Treatment for Caroline and Justine's confidant, I still think they could use some improvement.
Yusuke's ability to copy skill cards was greatly improved in Royal, but he still has one major caveat: he can only copy one skill card per day. That's frustrating, to say the least. In Persona 4 Golden, players could give Marie a skill card and buy as many copies as they wanted, as long as they had the money. And this is just one example.
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Allow players to replay Palaces
One of the biggest issues I have with Persona 5 is how you can't replay palaces once you've cleared them. One of the best things about RPGs is being able to go back to areas you've cleared to find new items and challenges.
As good as the palaces in Persona 5 are, they're basically one and done. Being able to replay them in some capacity after you've acquired their rulers' treasure would be nice.
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Don't include game-breaking DLC for free
This might be controversial because some players like a challenge. However, if things become too challenging, players can download specific DLC to make the game easier. But there's a problem when companies include this kind of DLC for free on rereleases.
When Persona 5 was released, there were certain powerful Personas players could only get through DLC, and for good reason. I understand why Atlus included these Personas for free in the Royal release to give players more value for their money, but Royal's additional mechanics make some of these Personas incredibly overpowered.
The most infamous example is Izanagi-no-Okami and his Picaro variant. Both have the ability "Country Maker", which increases Joker's attack and defense based on how complete the Persona Compendium is, and "Myriad Truths", which deals heavy Almighty damage to all foes three times. When you consider that there's only one enemy in the whole game that takes reduced damage from Almighty attacks (and it's an optional super boss), it's easy to see why people are tempted to use this beast throughout the entire game.
To make him even more broken, you can summon him from the compendium for free the first time. Some players might've resisted using him on their first playthrough, but when you get to certain areas like Okumura's Palace, where physical attacks are useless on some enemies, the temptation is hard to resist.
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Fix Akechi's skillset for Loki
Even though Akechi was in the party for only one palace (or two if you've unlocked the 3rd semester), he still brought some serious moves to the table with his Persona, Robin Hood. He had a good variety of both Bless and Curse moves, and some Almighty moves for good measure. But during his boss fight in Shido's Palace, defeating him once forces a rematch where he uses his other Persona, Loki.
That's right. He's the first non-protagonist character since Persona 2: Eternal Punishment to be able to use more than one Persona at a time. And while he looks cooler than Robin Hood, he has a major problem. If you unlock the 3rd semester, Akechi will rejoin your party. But this time, he uses Loki, and his moves are a serious downgrade from Robin Hood's.
While Robin Hood had 15 abilities to choose from, Loki only has 8, and Eigaon is the only Curse move that he can learn. I understand that Loki couldn't learn any Bless attacks so that Sumire's Persona, Cendrillon, could shine with her moves, but they didn't have to nerf Loki this much. Give him more variety.
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Improve New Game +
While Persona 5 Royal's New Game + was made better than the vanilla version, there were still some issues with it. It really bothers me that you can't bring any healing items with you, except for the chocolates you get on Valentine's Day.
Another thing Atlus could add is the ability to have future party members available from the start when beginning a New Game +. In Persona 5 Strikers, players could start a New Game + with Zenkichi Hasegawa (a.k.a. Wolf) in their party, as well as have Sophia use Pandora at the start. You could also have party members use their second or even third-tier Persona in New Game +.
Considering Omega Force and P-Studio began development on Persona 5 Strikers shortly after the vanilla version of Persona 5 was released in Japan, it's worth asking why the developers didn't include these kinds of bonuses in the Royal version.
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Give Joker more dialogue
One of the things that peeved me about Persona 5 is how Ren has no dialogue outside of the anime cutscenes, which paints him as a somewhat bland protagonist.
When Atlus released Persona 3 Portable, players could choose between the usual male protagonist, Makoto Yuki, or the new female protagonist, Kotone Shiomi. What made Kotone a fan favorite is how she was a complete tomboy. So players who played that path felt they weren't controlling just another blank slate.
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Make choices more meaningful
One pet peeve I have with Persona 5 is how the choices you make on Joker's behalf have no effect on the outcome of the game, except for two situations. Or four if you're playing the Royal version and have unlocked the third semester.
In Persona 4 and its Golden rerelease, making certain choices in certain situations would increase the protagonist's social stats. For instance, at the beginning of the game, when Kinshiro Morooka (a.k.a. King Moron) introduces the protagonist to the class, you can score some courage points by responding with "Who are you calling a loser?" This is just one example.
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Have Social Stats act as more than just artificial barriers
An issue many Persona fans have is how the social stats are an artificial boundary to leveling up social links more than anything else. While increasing some stats allows you to get more out of certain activities (like fishing in Persona 4 Golden and crafting infiltration tools in Persona 5), this isn't utilized as well as it could be.
For example, having higher Charm could make it easier for Joker to negotiate with Shadows or make enemies give the party more items or money. And this is just one possibility.
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Get rid of the SIU Director
If there was one person I felt that was completely useless in contributing to the main story, it was the SIU director. He is never seen outside of his office, is only seen interacting with Sae Nijima face-to-face and only contacts the principal and Shido via phone calls. According to a Google search, removing him would have no major effect on any major plot points.
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Fix Okumura's Palace
Many people who've played Persona 5 and its Royal updated version are bound to tell you its biggest flaw: Okumura's Palace, and there are quite a few things wrong with it.
First off, the story surrounding it. It feels like it revolved around Morgana, an established character, more than Haru, who is formally introduced here. In my opinion, when characters are introduced, the story should focus more on them than on any other character.
Second is the music. I can't really describe how bad it is. You need to listen to the soundtrack yourself to understand.
Third are the annoying puzzles. The first involves getting keycards from the right supervisors. The second involves manipulating cranes and hydraulic presses that allow you to advance, and finally an airlock puzzle that can get confusing.
Fourth is the enemies. Some enemies like the robots are strong against physical attacks, and others like the Arahabaki and Girimekhala will repel your physical attacks, which makes conserving SP and SP-restoring items very difficult.
Fifth and most infamous is the boss fight. I wouldn't call it a boss fight. More like an enemy gauntlet, and the worst part is that it's on a 30 minute time limit. You also have to take down all enemies within a certain number of turns or Okumura resets it. It's worse in Royal because you can no longer perform all-out attacks, not to mention you now have to deal with a cognitive version of Haru's that's literally a robot.
Finally, there is how very little free time you have before and after the palace. When Morgana runs off, you won't be able to do anything outside LeBlanc, and after the palace deadline (assuming you've cleared it), you won't be able to enter Mementos until much later because Haru is taking care of family affairs.
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Use the original English dub cast