It's about time I make a comeback in my own FC. I've been far too inactive.
Well, the demon summoning mechanic was greatly executed, but the rest of the game was somewhat bad. It could only be considered fun if you play with other people, hence why it's called an ''MMO'', I guess. Not every MMORPG has to be that way, though.
Keep in mind that Atlus had absolutely nothing to do with that game. Atlus eventually claimed the publishing rights to it and ended up shutting down all servers bar the Japanese ones.
In terms of gameplay mechanics, it would definitely work. Shin Megami Tensei naturally works on the principle of '''demon negotiation'', so I'm not so sure how they would incorperate the Persona formula into that, but there are definitely chances of such a system succeeding.
Story is always subjective, so I can't properly judge whether this will work out. Shin Megami Tensei Imagine Online simply followed the basic principle of SMT with the whole Law vs Chaos thing. You could make certain choices in the game which would shift your alignment from Neutral to Chaos to Law etc. That ended up changing your capabilites with certain demons. I was completely chaotic, so my compatibility with chaotic demons rose. I guess that's more of a gameplay mechanic, but still. The exact same formula could be used with the Arcana.
One could say that the theme of ''bonds'' throughout the Persona series would work really well in an MMO, though. It sounds extremely logical when you think about it. MMO's are games which encourage socializing and grouping up, so they could make it work, if they put effort into it.
The micro-transactions really bothered me, though. That's the problem with ''Free to Play'' MMO games. Players who pay will always have the advantage. Although I'm also not really a fan of monthly subscriptions. That's what got me into Guild Wars 2. A single-term payment in order to create an account/buy the game and everything else worked amazingly. There was an in-game shop, but it was only for esthetic purposes.
So, yes, a Persona MMORPG could work. All they would have to do is tweak the already working mechanics of SMT Imagine Online a little and you'd already have a half-decent game. The game would have to have some sort of payment, but not a forced commitment such as a monthly subscription, and if Atlus could give a creative twist to the concept of MMO's in combination with the Arcana/Bonds it might just work out greatly. The chances of Atlus ever doing this are close to zero, though. Unless Persona becomes majorly mainstream to the point it will turn into the new Final Fantasy.
That's a little pointless, right? Minato takes both scenarios with utmost ease. Igor guided both the Persona 1 and Persona 2 cast yet was fanboying over Minato when he awakened the Universe.
''Nothing is outside of the realm of possibility for you now'' - Igor speaking to Minato
I've waited for the release of this OST for so long, but now it's even more amazing. The lyrics fit together greatly. Especially the part that Magatsu quoted:
''I am flawless''
"More like thoughtless"
I guess I'll have to update my soundtrack list...
Well, you could always watch the original animations/movies if you are interested. They don't have the same ''feeling'' as the games do, but they are still quite an experience.
