Making a change to the way that Velvet Room social links work could be a big move to help differentiatePersona 6from its predecessors. As an element that has been consistent over the past few games, having a Social Link with the attendants of the Velvet Room is something that will be expected oncePersona 6comes around. At the same time, it can break a trend that these Social Links have been following in order to keep from seeming too repetitive. In order to do so,Persona 6will have to come up with some new ideas.
The iconicVelvet Room of thePersonagamesis one of the most consistent and memorable parts of the franchise. Home of the enigmatic Igor and his assistants, the Velvet Room takes a different form in every game, but its role has remained the same. Players visit in order to fuse new Personas and summon old ones from the Compendium, making it one of the most important parts of the game in terms of strategy. The Velvet Room attendants have also been Social Links in the two most recent games in the series, with all of the perks such a role entails.
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Persona 6’s Velvet Room Social Link Should Bring Something New to the Table
Although the Velvet Room attendants have become commonSocial Links in thePersonagames, they are unfortunately quite repetitive in that role. InPersona 4andPersona 5, the way that players would level up said Social Links is by fusing a certain Persona with access to a certain skill. While having a Social Link that works differently to most is not a bad idea, this design was better in theory than execution. Often, players will need a guide to figure out how to fuse a certain Persona with the skill required, which adds another wrinkle for players as they plan their Persona roster.
An alternative for these Social Links has already been shown in alesson that could be learned fromPersona 3with its Velvet Room attendant, Elizabeth. Elizabeth had a list of tasks that the player could perform in order to earn rewards, some of which included the fusions that would become the basis of future Velvet Room Social Links. A similar angle was taken for the Mysterious Fox’s Social Link inPersona 4, with the player accomplishing tasks to fulfill wishes on emas found at the Inaba Shrine. With this precedent,Persona 6’s Velvet Room Social Link could take a similar mission-based approach rather than relying on fusions.
Ironically, the simplest solution to the situation could be for the attendant’sSocial Link inPersona 6to act just like any other. Characters likePersona 4’s mascot Teddie show that some supernatural characters can take on forms that allow them to interact with the normal world. It’s possible thatPersona 6’s Velvet Room attendant could do the same, taking the guise of a classmate or local. This would allow the player to interact with them like any other character, progressing the Social Link by simply hanging out with them. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it would be new for a Social Link involving a Velvet Room attendant nonetheless.
A new angle for the traditional Velvet Room Social Link would be a good move forPersona 6to shake up the formula. While a Social Link in the Velvet Room seems destined to be somethingPersona 6takes from past titles, it can do something different rather than making the link into another list of fusions for the player to perform. By doing so, the link could be more meaningful and character-focused than those that came before it. For that reason,Persona 6could do well by breaking the trends of Social Links from the Velvet Room.
Persona 6is in development.
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