Me: If you don’t enjoy children’s media and YA because they have child or teen protagonists, then you should look into media made for adults with adult characters.
People on tumblr: So you think adults are never allowed to enjoy kids shows? There isn’t a single adult show that isn’t about cops or men beating their wives.
Me:
Me:
The constant calls from americans that “the next Persona game should be about college students, not high schoolers” are driving me LITERALLY insane. 🤝 I have a rant stored up about it.
This is slightly off-topic, but I would genuinely be interested in reading that rant!
I’ve primarily played p3-p5 and only dabbled in p2, for reference, but I also feel persona would be interesting to set in college. It would suit the themes of discovering/becoming your true self pretty well, and the 0 character stats since it’s a fresh start at adulthood. It’d be a nice mix on why you move to a new town, too. Personally speaking, it’s also where I was able to finally make close friends, but I realize this is an entirely self-centered reason lol
I’m not expecting or demanding this change; on topic, they’re “mature” here, but for teens in Japan, and I fully expect after 5 entries, the high school setting is firmly set in stone for the franchise. I also realize high school in Japan is treated like mini college in a lot of ways that ours isn’t, and just moving to start a new high school from year 1 could mimic what I want to see. But I am, nonetheless, interested in seeing your rant, if you ever get around to typing it out!
the TL;DR of the rant is just exactly what the OP of this thread was saying. Asking for a persona game that’s about adults instead of teenagers is like being a spy fiction enthusiast asking why Kim Possible wasn’t an adult. Or why the Spy Kids weren’t adults. You can absolutely go enjoy spy fiction that isn’t about teenagers, if you want spy fiction that isn’t about teenagers.
The Persona series (since 3) is essentially built on the tropes, rhythm and expectations of the Japanese high school year, stylistically, mechanically and narratively. It’s how the game is structured, written, and marketed.
A persona game about adults would have a completely different rhythm and vibe than one about teenagers. The problems that the character is faced with and the themes that they interact with are based on the themes associated with a Japanese teenager facing down the change into adulthood. It is about the pupa that will soon become the butterfly, and what that means.
If you’re interested in a Persona game about adults, I urge you to go back and play Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, which IS about adults, and tackles more adult themes like work burnout, bad relationships, and acting as a parental figure. It’s a straightforward rpg, set over a couple of days instead of a school year.
Discussion ¬