Personagames tend to stand apart from one another, but as Atlus revisits old games more and more enthusiastically, one has to wonder if games likePersona 4 Goldenmight end up having a bigger impact on future installations in the franchise.Persona 5may seem like the most likely influence on the next big game, given its popularity, but the lore thatPersona 4’s suite of games introduced can’t be discounted. In particular,Persona 4 Goldenintroduced fans to Marie, whose unique backstory, abilities, and importance to the end of the game make her seem like a prime candidate to focus on inPersona 6or a futurePersonaspinoff.
Most entries in thePersonaseries have a handful of supernatural characters, from helpful otherworldly merchants likePersona 5 Royal’s Joseto Shadows that threaten the protagonists. Marie belongs to a category of her own because of wherePersona 4 Goldenleaves her, however. The consequences of her story arc could make her a great character to expand on in the future. A leading role inPersona 6may be unlikely, but a side game exploring Marie’s journey post-Goldencould expand on the franchise’s lore while offering more of the relationship-driven content that fans love.
Warning: Spoilers for Persona 4 Golden ahead
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Marie’s Role and Fate in Persona 4 Golden
As an affiliate ofthe Velvet Room, there’s a natural air of mystery around Marie when she’s introduced near the beginning ofPersona 4 Golden,but she turns out to be much more affable than most Velvet Room attendants. In fact, as fans progress through her Social Link, they’ll explore the question of her true origins, as she isn’t from the Velvet Room at all. Near the end of the game, the Investigation Team learns that Marie is related to Ameno-Sagiri, and that she’s meant to absorb the fog and save humanity by destroying herself. Ultimately the team saves her by defeating the fog instead, but they still end up facing the game’s true antagonist, Izanami.
AfterPersona 4 Goldenplayers defeat Izanami, Marie reveals that Izanami, Ameno-Sagiri, and Kunino-Sagiri were all once part of her as a single entity hoping to protect humanity and grant its wish, and now that they’re gone, she’s whole again. As a result, she’s restored to the height of her power, and she can live a happy life in Inaba with the rest of the Investigation Team. Supernatural entities like Morgana sometimes start new lives in the human side of thePersonaworld, but between Marie and Teddie,Persona 4 Goldenmakes it something of a theme.
Despite the cozy ending to Marie’s story, she could have a major impact on thePersonaworld afterGolden.Cutscenes prove that Marie still has a number of supernatural powers that she can wield in the human world, andPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxdrives home hew new role as a sort of minor goddess in Inaba. What’s more, Marie seems to be a cognitive being born from human thoughts and feelings much like Yaldabaoth, which may mean she can manipulate the cognitive world more deftly than just about any other survivingPersonacharacter. These elements mean she’s ripe for another story.
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How Persona Could Bring Back Marie
MainlinePersonagames don’t require knowledge of the previous games to be played, but spinoffs likePersona QandPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxlove to cross over with other titles. Therefore, aPersona 4 Goldenspinoff where Marie looks into the events ofPersona 5wouldn’t be out of the question. As an otherworldly being herself, Marie could have detected Yaldabaoth’s attempt to merge the human and Shadow worlds, compelling her to investigate. Whether it’s a visual novel or an RPG with just one lead character, aPersonaspinoff where Marie talks tothe Phantom Thievesand learns about their journey could offer a lot of depth to thePersonaworld, especially its supernatural elements.
Alternatively, Marie could crop up inPersona 6as a minor character. She might help the new set of protagonists out in the Velvet Room again, lending a hand to other Persona users in the wake ofPersona 5’s events. Such a permanent role in the Velvet Room could be jarring, especially if Marie appeared there without any otherPersona 4stars, but a bold move like this one could be necessary.Personamainstay Igorhas an uncertain future in the series, since he was missing inPersona 5 Strikers,so characters like Marie may need to step up in his place.
Perhaps the most likely and simplest Marie spinoff would be a game about Marie’s experiences in Inaba after thePersona 4protagonist leaves. WhilePersona 4Goldensees her build friendships with the whole cast, her bond withYu Narukaminaturally takes high priority overall. APersona 4 Goldenspinoff could focus on Marie building stronger friendships with the rest of the Investigation Team and other people in Inaba, eventually leading her to her career as the local weather forecaster.
Breaking Persona Precedent With Marie
Atlus has a tendency to sweep supernatural events under the rug in many of itsPersonagames. Whether it’s small titles likePersona Qor central titles likePersona 5, people often lose their memories of major events or simply discard the unexplainable out of skepticism. While this helps the franchise start anew with every generation, it’s a somewhat predictable pattern thatAtlusshould try breaking sometime.Personacan’t do the same thing every generation; on the contrary,Persona 5goes against the grain in many ways, and it was rewarded for it.
Marie may be one of the best ways for Atlus to break out of its current habit. She’s a well-established character with a unique connection and special abilities that remain strong well after the events ofPersona 4 Golden.All she needs is some motivation and agency to get involved in the franchise’s future events. Starting fresh with eachnewPersonagameis useful, but the calamitous, near-apocalyptic events that take place in eachPersonagame deserve to have some palpable consequences. Marie is well equipped to either discover these hidden consequences or cause some of her own as she makes her mark on the world.
Persona 4 Goldenis available now for PC and PS Vita. It releases in 2023 for PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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