For over twenty-five years, thePersonaseries has been giving players jaw-dropping Personas that help to make combat, and the plot, a little more exciting. Already, the games have presented fans with Personas based on deities, fictional characters, mythical creatures, and objects. But what the games need to give more of is Personas based on real-life historical figures.
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These figures can help the story of the game become even more immersive and alive, and who better to summon for the Persona tale than authors who have impacted the literary world? From playwrights to poets, here are our top choices for famous authors who would make good Personas.
10William Shakespeare
All Persona games contain a sense of theatrical drama in them. Coupled with dramatic characters, like Rise Kujikawa and Yusuke Kitagawa, it is very easy to picture the games on stage. Therefore, having a character such as William Shakespeare can help to further dramatize the gaming scene.
An author you probably recognize thanks to his many poems and plays about romance, tragedy, comedy, and magic, Shakespeare is known for having works that stand the test of time. As a Persona, Shakespeare could be summoned wearing either Renaissance or Elizabethan style fashion, which favored excessive and loud ensembles that showcased the wealth of the wearer.
He could also be summoned with a skull, a nod to the famous monologue performed by Hamlet upon finding poor Yorick’s head.
9Mary Shelley
In the Persona series, there are moments where the protagonists wonder how much good they are truly doing with their soul summoning. This uneasiness and fear they have regarding their morality and choices are themes the author, Mary Shelley, played with in her novel, Frankenstein.
One of the earliest female writers of science fiction, Shelley’s life was filled with travel, death, and general distraught. Her story about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates, in his opinion, a monster can tie into Persona’s overarching questions about life and innocence. Shelley’s Persona can reflect this by incorporating both man and monster within one body, similar to Shinjiro Aragaki’s Persona, Castor, fromPersona 3, which featured both a rider and a horse.
8Jane Austen
To be a Persona user, you have to be more than just a heavy hitter. Characters like Haru Okumura and Sumire Yoshizawa bring both wit and grace to the party. Therefore, the next author who should join the lineup is Jane Austen.
Through works like Emma, Sense and Sensibilities, Persuasion, and of course Pride and Prejudice, Austen captured the English landscape through the eyes of her powerful and sarcastic female protagonists.
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It would be interesting if the Jane Austen Persona could incorporate different fashion elements from when her novels were published, as the nineteenth century saw a clothing shift from large petticoats to more form-fitting, silhouetted skirts. Perhaps, like Haru’s Persona, Milady, the skirt can also have a surprise firearm in it.
7Agatha Christie
The Persona games have always been shrouded in mystery and crime. Yes, they usually end with you defeating a deity of some sort, but before that you will find yourself investigating for clues, learning about your targets, and wondering why Personas exist in the first place. And for an investigative game such as this, who better to summon than the Queen of Crime herself?
Agatha Christie was the writer of many popular murder mystery novels. Her whodunits, published during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, continue to leave readers on the edge of their seats even after all these years.
Christie’s Persona can take inspiration from one of her mystery main characters, like Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. It would be interesting to see a seemingly old lady Persona suddenly hit a Shadow with a Megidolaon attack.
6Sappho
Ancient Greek and Roman influences have already made their marks on the Persona series.Take Persona 3 for example, where the main casts’ Personas are named after Greek characters, like Orpheus, and the dungeon they explore in the Dark Hour is called Tartarus. So, why not take a famous Greek author and include them in the game too?
Sappho is one of the earliest Greek female poets ever recorded. Though little is known about her, Sappho’s works have transcended time thanks to their unique Sapphic stanza and her unashamed poems about her desire for her female lovers.
Sappho’s Persona can take inspiration from Persona 3’s Personas, thus giving her a statue-like appearance with a mechanical edge to her figure, ike Aigis' Athena or Yukari Takeba’s Isis.
5Matsuo Basho
Where Persona 3 focused on Greek and Roman figures,Persona 4was all about Japanese folklore. The game’s main casts’ Personas were all reminiscent of Japanese deities and fictional heroes. Therefore, it only makes sense that a writer who has impacted Japan’s literary scene should also make an appearance.
Who might this person be? None other than Matsuo Basho. One of the most famous and well-known figures in the haiku world, Basho’s poems were praised for their ability to capture the quietness of the natural world during the Edo period. Poems like The Old Pond continue to enchant readers to this day thanks to their visual simplicity.
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Basho’s Persona would be reminiscent of both Persona 4’s Personas and Goemon, Yusuke’s Persona fromPersona 5. But instead of Goemon’s pipe, Basho’s held item can be a brush, or even the frog that appears in The Old Pond.
4Miguel de Cervantes
Alongside tragedy and drama, the Persona games also feature comedic moments that help to take the edge off of more serious matters. Characters like Ryuji Sakamoto from Persona 5 and Yosuke Hanamura from Persona 4 provide lighthearted moments despite gloomy circumstances.
An author who can make readers and players laugh is a necessity, and the person who is best fit for the job is Miguel de Cervantes, a writer from the Spanish Golden Age whose epic, Don Quixote, brought a satirized look into the idealistic workings of knighthood.
During the Spanish Golden Age, fashion from the Spanish court was taking Europe by storm. Because of this, Miguel de Cervantes' Persona should show off that influence through the use of high collars, a form-fitting doublet, breeches, and dark colors juxtaposed against brighter ones.
3Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
For the women of Persona, they are given the tough task of breaking out of their gendered roles while also remaining true to themselves. This struggle for expression is similar to the life of Spanish Golden Age writer, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.
Sor Juana was a poet that challenged misogyny and questioned the lack of woman’s rights. Rejecting a life in court and a future as a wife, Sor Juana joined a nunnery where she could focus on her studies. Her legacy lives on through her many written works, such as Primero Sueño and Hombres Necios (roughly translated to First Dream and You Foolish Men).
Since Sor Juana’s did not enjoy the atmosphere of the court, her outfit can resemble what she would have worn when she was living at the nunnery. That, or Sor Juana’s Persona can take influence from Makoto Nijima’s Persona, Johanna, as both women challenged their respective churches.
2Murasaki Shikibu
Basho isn’t the only poet that has been heralded in Japan. Years before him, during the Heian period, a woman was creating what is considered today to be one of the world’s earliest stories.
Known for writing The Tale of Genji, Murasaki Shikibu was one of Japan’s first female writers. Although her name is more of a descriptor of who she was rather than her true name, Murasaki’s writings helped to provide an insight into the daily life of a lady-in-waiting.
Murasaki’s Persona could wear long, flowing, and colorful robes and take influences from the fashion recorded on woodblock prints created during the era. Perhaps, she can resemble Yukiko Amagi’s Persona, Konohana Sakuya or take inspiration from Ann Takamaki’s Persona, Carmen.
1Phillis Wheatley
A major theme in Persona 5 is the courage to live your life in spite of societal pressures and status norms. What all the protagonists and social links have in common are their seemingly inescapable situations. But, thanks to their courage, characters are able to free themselves and move forward in life.
An author who exhibits this similar type of courage is Phillis Wheatley. Writer of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, Wheatley was recognized as being the first black woman to have her works published in the United States.
For Wheatley’s Persona, her outfit can combine the high fashion of Colonial America, consisting of hoopskirts, petticoats, and gowns, with religious interpretations thrown in, similar to Fuuka Yamagishi’s Persona, Lucia. Or, Wheatley’s Persona could resemble Sophia’s Persona, Pandora, as her accomplishments gave hope and helped to pave the way for future black authors.
