As far as big name developers go in Japan, they don’t get much bigger than Atlus. Shin Megami Tensei and Persona are video gaming phenomenons in the East on a biblical scale, and its popularity could be likely to make waves in the West soon as well.
Persona 4 Golden is largely responsible for the series gaining traction in the West, but when Persona 5 launches in February it may well be the title to truly kickstart a global following. What is so fascinating about Persona is that it offers such a unique gaming experience; it’s Japanese pop culture that still feels accessible and relatable. Persona throws away outdated character tropes and old fashioned game design and forges its own identity. This is a game that blends dungeon crawling with hanging out with your friends and eating ramen; it takes JRPGs best traditional elements and cohesively combines it with an alternative a modern direction.
Critics have yet to even be allowed access to a playable version of Persona 5. Yet, even without hands on experience, there is a genuine buzz of anticipation that exceeds mere excitement for the game itself; Persona 5 might yet become the next big global craze. Indeed, it may even surpass’ Final Fantasy XV in its potential to bring JRPGs back into relevance in the West, principally because it has the ability to pull in non-JRPG fans, even non video game fans. The clever blend of everyday social life in Tokyo and a gameplay loop that is built on the success of traditional JRPG systems that gives Persona the point of difference that could elevate its popularity to stratospheric levels.
The 1990s was a special time for the JRPG scene, and though we’re unlikely to ever see the genre reach those heights again on such a consistent basis, 2016 might just be the first time in over a decade that Japanese games dominate proceedings on a global scale. Reassuringly, the recent release of I Am Setsuna, and future projects such as Cosmic Star Heroine and Ni No Kuni 2 indicate that developers appreciate and understand the essence of what gamers want from JRPGs.
Innovation is key, but years of trying to evolve established franchises too far away from what had made them initially so adored, resulted in the essence of what made JRPGs special being lost. Here’s hoping that a resurgence of the genre can get underway if more developers in Japan are willing to reacquaint themselves with the past, and in doing so, rediscover the magic that made the genre so beloved in years gone by.
