The Persona RPG’s are predominantly known for their turn-based combat against supernatural demons, fantastic writing and storytelling skills, ensemble casts full of complex and compelling characters, and highly realistic and engaging social interaction simulations. Fans have fallen in love with this series that explores the recurring themes of humanity, friendship, and morality - all through the lens of various silent protagonists who live in modern-day Japan.
The developers at Atlus have locked down a formula that has served them and Persona fans for over two decades. But could we see a game from the Persona creators that’s set in a completely different setting - for example, rather than 21st century Japan, what about an imaginative fantasy world? This hypothetical video game may be closer than we think…
Japanese video game magazine Famitsu recently published their annual year-end articles containing teasers and aspirations for the new year from staff and creators of some of the most popular and acclaimed video games. Among the many people interviewed - which included creators, producers, and writers from companies like Square Enix, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Sega Games - was Atlus’s very own Katsura Hashino.
Katsura Hashino is a video game director and producer from Japan, who’s best known for his work on the Persona series. He’s served as either the director or producer for over twelve games in the Persona series, including Persona 3, 4, and 5, as well as each of their respective spin-off games. Other works include Catherine and Catherine: Full Body.
When asked about what he was looking forward to in the upcoming year, Hashino offered a brief, but exciting, nugget of information regarding new projects that Atlus is currently working on. “We’re challenging a new RPG at the studio we started several years ago," he said, “In my previous title Persona 5, I think we were able to deliver the fun of an Atlus RPG to users around the world, but what can we create if we commit our efforts to a fantasy RPG? I hope to be able to make an official announcement soon.”
Could the next major release from Atlus and the creators of Persona 5 be a fantasy RPG stylized in the same way as past Persona releases? Unfortunately, nothing’s been confirmed. However, if Hashino’s statement is anything to go off of, perhaps we’ll be hearing an official announcement from Atlus sometime next year.
Source: Gematsu
