Persona has cornered a huge portion of the JRPG market, and for good reason. There's a lot to love about the Persona franchise, especially the more recent Persona 5 titles, which have expanded on the aesthetics and mechanics of the previous games in great ways. Since Persona is having such halcyon days, it'll be interesting to see what that means for Shin Megami Tensei. At a glance, it can be hard to recall that these games are actually siblings, Persona spinning off of Shin Megami Tensei. In spite of how much Persona has changed since its inception, though, the two franchises still have a lot in common, and they probably always will.
Shin Megami Tensei doesn't exactly have the glitz and glamour of the increasingly colorful Persona games. It's an apocalyptic franchise that tends to lean into duller tones and grittier aesthetics. However, that doesn't mean Persona fans wouldn't like Shin Megami Tensei. As a matter of fact, odds are good a lot of fans will feel right at home if they give the Shin Megami Tensei games a chance. The upcoming Shin Megami Tensei games, a remake of a classic installation and a new chapter in the franchise, have some key elements in them that'll could draw the Persona audience in, capitalizing on Persona 5's newbie-friendly introduction to this family of games.
Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne's New Dawn
The first test for growth in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise is actually right around the corner. Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster is about to release, and it'll give Atlus a good sense of whether or not Persona has had a positive effect on its parent franchise. There's some signs Atlus already realizes the importance of reaching Persona 5 fans.
For one thing, Persona 5 fans have long lamented the fact that the game is trapped on PlayStation; keeping it out of the hands of many interested players who don't have the console. Shin Megami Tensei 3's remaster is launching across several platforms, indicating that Atlus is aware that the fanbase is spread out across different platforms and that it wants to cater to that broad audience.
There's good reason that Persona fans should already have their eye on Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne. After all, the main character is extremely similar to Joker: a high-school age protagonist who is unexpectedly thrust into a world of supernatural beings and has to learn to master his command over them. What makes Shin Megami Tensei 3's narrative interesting is how it uses that familiar model differently. The Demi-fiend, SMT3's protagonist, has a very different moral burden on his shoulders than Joker, considering how the apocalypse is already well underway in SMT3.
One important part of Shin Megami Tensei 3 might be an obstacle to inviting Persona fans, and that's its difficulty. When reviewing the original version, critics agreed that the game was overwhelmingly difficult at times. Persona 5 certainly isn't the easiest game in the world to beat, but it's pretty measured and has some good low difficulty options for anyone who's there for the story. That's a stark contrast to Shin Megami Tensei 3's focus on challenging gameplay. Still, maybe that difficulty will actually turn out to be a good thing, offering a challenge to Persona 5 fans who want combat that's a little more demanding.
Shin Megami Tensei 5 on the Horizon
How the Persona fanbase responds to Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster should give a lot of clues for how they will respond to Shin Megami Tensei 5, which is also supposed to release in 2021.
Shin Megami Tensei fans have been waiting for this game since 2017, and now it's finally on the way. There's a couple important reasons that Shin Megami Tensei 5 might be the perfect game for Persona 5 fans, too. Much like how Persona 5 is the culmination of Atlus' innovations in Persona 3 and Persona 4, Shin Megami Tensei 5 is supposed to be the culmination of several design elements and mechanics from the previous two games. If Atlus is once again adding the best of two games together, then just like in Persona 5, the sum could be greater than its parts.
There's a couple reasons that Shin Megami Tensei 5 is also at a disadvantage when it comes to reaching Persona 5 fans. For one thing, Shin Megami Tensei 5 is only coming to Nintendo Switch, and that console exclusivity could be just as inconvenient for the SMT and Persona fanbases as Persona 5's PlayStation exclusivity. What's more, Shin Megami Tensei 5 is also a pretty big mystery.
Atlus hasn't revealed much about the game, even though it's supposed to be coming out this year. If the release window is still solid, then Atlus has to make a move and reveal more about the game soon. Even so, Shin Megami Tensei 5 should appeal to Persona games in a lot of the same ways as Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, offering a grittier take on the gameplay Persona fans are familiar with.
Bringing Persona Fans Into Shin Megami Tensei
Overall, though, odds are Persona fans will migrate to Shin Megami Tensei in droves this year, in spite of differences between the franchises or obstacles to play. Persona fans are craving new content that Atlus hasn't delivered much of yet, in spite of the fact that 2021 is the 25th anniversary of the Persona franchise. Shin Megami Tensei might not be as bright or spunky as Persona, but it offers very similar gameplay thanks to its demon recruitment system. As long as Atlus focuses on how similar Persona plays on its parent series, Shin Megami Tensei is likely to get a lot of new fans.
It's sort of funny how Atlus has ironically created a good market for one franchise by briefly depriving fans of another franchise. Maybe that was on purpose; it could be that Atlus has been quiet about Persona content so that it doesn't crowd out Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne. After the game comes out, fans might get a big showcase on Atlus' other projects for the year, both new Persona games and a big explainer on the state of Shin Megami Tensei 5. No matter what Atlus is planning, it's clear that the success of Persona and the success of Shin Megami Tensei are closely connected. They've fed into one another before, and it looks like they'll keep doing it for a long time.
Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster releases for PC, PS4, and Switch on May 25, 2021. Shin Megami Tensei 5 will also release on Switch in 2021.