Summary
The Abyss of Time fromPersona 3 Reload’s The Answer DLC could lay the foundation forPersona 6to build its own dungeons. After all, ifPersona 6is anything like previous games in the series, players are going to be spending a lot of the story exploring various dungeons. Even with that in mind, the way those dungeons will be handled is still unclear. The past few games have offered a few different possible approaches. The late entry ofPersona 3 Reload’s Abyss of Time in The Answer DLC may offer the best argument of them all.
The way thatdungeons are designed inPersonagameshas a few general rules to follow, but some of those rules have also been broken. For instance, dungeons have typically been randomly generated aside from certain areas required for events, butPersona 5’s palaces had fixed designs, with random generation going to Mementos instead. In addition,Persona 3’s Tartarus andPersona 5’s Mementos were game-spanning dungeons, whilePersona 4had nothing of the sort. Despite keeping a similar gameplay loop,Personahas experimented plenty when it comes to dungeon design. For that reason,Persona 6’s dungeons could prove difficult to predict ahead of time.
Persona 6’s Dungeon Could Take Lessons From the Abyss of Time
Dungeon design is a big way thatPersona 3’s DLC can influencePersona 6, at least in one sense. The campaign of The Answer leaves Tartarus in favor of a new dungeon, the Abyss of Time. The Abyss of Time’s presence causes the members of S.E.E.S. to be stuck in a time loop, constantly reliving the same day. This, combined with the arrival of Metis, acts as the initial reason for the team to investigate the Abyss. However, the Abyss proves to be a different kind of encounter than otherPersonadungeons. Yet at the same time, it manages to tread through familiar territory.
The Abyss of Time’s Memories Make For Great Character Moments
Behind each door in the Abyss lies the past of one ofPersona 3’s party members. Many of these moments involve their recruitment into S.E.E.S., but other important scenes, such as Mitsuru awakening her Persona, also appear. WhilePersona’s dungeons have led to revelations for party members before, withPersona 4’s story heavily invoking the concept, the Abyss of Time had its own interesting take on the concept. As a result, it took characters that were already established in the main campaign and made them deeper. It’s a fascinating second look at the party that the player had spent several hours with.
The Abyss of Time isn’t Atlus' only dungeon that explores past memories. The Soul Matrix ofSoul Hackers 2does the same for its protagonists.
The Abyss of Time Could Be Persona 6’s Dungeon Blueprint
Because of its design and themes, the Abyss of Time could easily be a better inspiration thanPersona 3’s Tartarus forPersona 6. AsPersona 5proved, having a fixed location as a dungeon can let the developers craft it into a more meaningful and memorable location. The gimmick of having different areas represent different characters could also be replicated. That way, dungeon crawling could reward the player with more backstory and a deeper understanding of their party members. The Abyss of Time has plenty of building blocks for a great dungeon, andPersona 6can capitalize on them.
The Abyss of Time plays host to the DLC that effectively acts asPersona 3 Reload’s epilogue, but it could be even more. Acompelling dungeon inPersona 6can take a lot of aspects from the Abyss while putting its own spin on them. The end result could be remarkable dungeons that stand out among their peers.Persona 3 Reloadalready showed how good the series is at evolving, and its DLC dungeon could pave the way forPersona 6to create its own dungeons.
