Here are four reasons the Persona franchise should be on Switch.
It’s obvious that I love all things Nintendo. One thing that you might not know about me is that I love JRPGs. Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Dragon Quest are a few that come to mind. However, my favorite JRPG series is Persona. If you’ve played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, you’ll know that Joker is from the series. In my spare time, I have been playing Persona 5 Royal on my PlayStation 4 and it got me thinking about something… why isn’t the franchise on the Switch?
Not that long ago, Persona fans started the #BreakFreePersona hashtag on Twitter. This was the result of a comment from series developer ATLUS. They basically said “keep fighting for it.” This was featured in a report from IGN during an interview about Persona 5 Royal. The series definitely deserves a home on the Switch and here are four reasons why.
Perfect for Portable Play
The Persona series is notorious for featuring some lengthy run-times. For example, my first playthrough of P5 took just under 100 hours to complete. It’s also not like the franchise is a stranger to portable devices. Most of the series has been featured on a portable console. The PlayStation Portable (PSP) saw ports of Persona, P2, and P3 respectively. In 2012, the PlayStation Vita saw the release of Persona 4: Golden. Bottom line, the franchise is perfect for handheld gameplay. Each game in the series boasts hundreds of hours of content, so being able to take that experience with you makes a lot of sense.
Joker Is In Super Smash Bros Ultimate
This one seems more like an excuse than a reason… but please hear me out. Joker from Persona 5 was the first DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for a Persona title to be available on the Switch. While it may be true that Persona 5: Scramble released in Japan back in February. Western audiences have yet to experience Persona on the Switch. Personally, it makes a whole lot of sense but I might just be overreacting.
The Switch Needs More JRPGs
Don’t get me wrong, the Switch has a great selection of JRPGs. That said… I’m not opposed to seeing more. An ATLUS RPG is already available on the console in the form of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore. ATLUS could do with some more representation on the Switch as they’ve stuck with Sony for quite some time. They are, obviously, no stranger to Nintendo as a bunch of spin-offs and other ATLUS properties debuted on the 3DS. Catherine: Full Body is also heading to Switch on July 7, so releasing Persona is also a good idea.
Fan Demand
The #BreakFreePersona trend is a clear indication that the demand is there. Ever since the release of Persona 5 back in 2017, the series has soared in terms of popularity. The majority of these newfound fans have yet to play earlier entries in the series. Releasing some kind of Persona definitive collection is a no brainer. The sales would skyrocket because of the inclusion of the franchises backlog. This has also yet to be done on the PlayStation 4, so it makes a lot of sense to do so.
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There are many other reasons why Persona should come to Switch. I could go on all day ranting about why this should be. But, for the sake of time, we’ll leave it at four. The portable nature of the Nintendo Switch coincides well with the deep storytelling and length of the Persona games. Fan demand is clearly taking over Twitter, with more fans tweeting about #BreakFreePersona every day.
Personally, I’d purchase some kind of collection in a heartbeat. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll sneak away to the dark side and play some Persona 5 Royal on my PlayStation 4.
Would you play Persona if it came to Nintendo Switch? Let us know in the comments below!
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