Gameplay Ideas
Switchable Combat System: One thing that I'd really like to see is an optional combat system; I believe it would help with the pacing of the dungeon crawling so the player wouldn't have to transition in and out of battle constantly when confronting a shadow. Also, this feature should be optional and should NOT be mindless and way too easy, the combat should be on the same quality as the devil may cry games, where it's fun and takes skill to master.
One way I'd like to see this executed is that the player to be able to switch between characters, and the characters should have their own unique style of fighting. (Yosuke slashing with his Kunai knives, Naoto fighting with a blend of shooting and hand-to-hand combat, Kanji beating the hell out of everything, etc.) Something similar to dmc4se with all the characters having their own fighting style to make things awesome.
Another thing that should go with this feature is that the player should have an SP gauge to build up, and with the SP gauge you can activate one of two things. The first thing is to activate their persona in a similar way the Nero activates his devil trigger. The second thing is that the player can fully summon the character's persona and fight shadows with the persona's full abilities; while this happens, the character who is summoning the persona will automatically avoid danger so it wont be a pain to leave that person behind for a bit. One more thing that should the character should be able to mix in a few of their persona's skills with their own combat and it would use up a small amount of the SP gauge each time a skill is used, and the SP gauge would grow and be able to hold more SP as the game progresses.
This combat should also grant exp so the character(s) can still level up and the persona will gain new skills and abilities. As a side note, it could be fun of certain bosses have two parts where one part is in real time combat and the other part switches to the traditional turned based combat.
Better Designed Dungeons: The persona 3 & 4 dungeons weren't horrible at all, but looking back on them I realize that they were very bare bones. It doesn't make them bad by any means, it just means that they should definitely have more depth and unique design in the future.
Make The Dungeons More Fun to Roam Around in: The dungeons should be fun to roam around in at least the first time around so it doesn't feel like a chore; there should also be more than one way to get from point A to point B. Perhaps instead of going down a corridor all of time or taking stairs, there could be 2-3 more ways to get to your destination like you could go up and move above your enemies, you could go around them, go below them etc.
I also think that players should have an incentive to revisit dungeons for other things than exp. Like dungeons could have rare items that are unique to that location, maybe you could fight a boss again for fun, or there could be side quests for each dungeon.
More Save Points in Dungeons: This would be so useful for keeping progress up to date or playing it safe you don't lose any good loot that you might not find again.
Add Stealth: Stealth would be a great alternative way to get around in dungeons, rather than having to fight every shadow full on or run away; I would also like to see a stealth take-down system, you know the traditional get-behind-them-and-kill-them-before-they-notice-you thing, whether it be behind, above, or below them. That would serve as a kind of incentive to keep the stealth play up, so you wouldn't be forced to have full on battles to get rid of enemies; doing these take downs should also grant exp to the player, so the player doesn't get a reason to not try out the stealth.
Add mini games to do During the Day: In persona 3 & 4 there wasn't a whole lot to do during the day, whether if it was after school or on your days off. I know it gave you the illusions of things to do like: Completing side quests for rewards or trying to finish up social links, and there was shopping. However, aside from those things there wasn't really anything to do (Except go in the TV world in persona 4.) Like everything on this list, I don't want this to be rushed just to check off a list; I want it done right and have them be enjoyable.
I want these mini games to be beneficial as well. For example, these mini games should raise your stats like courage, knowledge, understanding etc. Or they can raise stats for your persona, or if there is a new stat system like Stamina, strength, endurance, etc. for the actual character and not the persona, then that would be another reason do these things. Another thing is that you should be able to take part in these activities with a partner and their stats can increase with yours.
Add More Things to do During Social Links: The social links were very bare bones in my opinion; there's not a whole lot to them except for meeting up with the person and replying to their dialogue. I didn't hate the past social links, but I would like to see more to it. For example, I don't feel like I'm actually doing anything with that person when we're hanging out, it's more like a 15-30 second cut scene and then it says that you hung out for a little while longer or went home.
What I'd like to see is that you and that character party up and go around the city doing activities together and have talks together other while hanging out. I do realize that certain points in social links need to take place at a specific location like a restaurant, a store, a park, a house, etc. so I think that while you two are roaming around that there should be an objective marker to reach to activate that important social link event. Also, roaming around and doing activities with the person should help you get closer to ranking up that link, instead of having to spend a certain amount of boring cut scenes with them saying that you two hung out and may become closer soon.
One more thing is that the narrative/dialogue box should stop saying obvious stuff like: "You feel your relationship has grown deeper," "You feel and unbreakable bond with _," "You sense that something is bothering _," "You feel that your relationship is different now" etc. The player gets the point and having that bit of text personally takes away from the experience; and if the player doesn't know what's going on then the writing needs some editing. I believe that the player should build up how they personally feel about a character and not have it forced by saying that obvious stuff in the narrative box.
Add Some Free Roaming: The game can benefit from having a bigger and better world to explore while you aren't clearing dungeons; players should also be able to control the camera while walking around so there's a sense of freedom while roaming the world. The player should feel like they're actually in a city or town with things to do other than completing a checklist; another thing is that the game shouldn't need to use that menu that connects the different spots in town different spots in the town/city. It feels limiting and those spots aren't that big anyway. now it shouldn't necessarily be gone, it should just be optional. I know that speed runners could benefit from that menu and fast traveling.
As a bonus, I would like to propose the idea of being able to skateboard, bike, or roller blades to get around faster in the world.
Be More Lenient With the Amount of Things To Do During The Day: It was bothersome that you could only do one thing during the day and it would take up all of your time; I understand social links because hanging out with someone would actually take time. However, some things are just ridiculous like playing with that machine outside of the shiroku store, meeting up with the fox to tell him about the request, or going to the shrine to draw fortunes; like seriously, does it really take all day just to do one of those simple things that really only take a few minutes? I understand that its a video game and that not everything could be perfect, especially back then. However, since more powerful hardware is available that problem could be fixed; maybe there could be a timer that ticks during your free time, or you could be able to do 2 or 3 things instead of just one.
Be Able to Live a Nightlife: There should also be things to do at night and not just during the day; especially if it isn't a school night.
there should be certain things that are open for you to do that you can't do during the day, like having certain social links exclusive to the night, having places that can only be accessed at night, be able to do illegal things, or even meet up with your group sometimes; there should also be side missions exclusive to night time.
Better Side Missions: Instead of the dull fetching quests that we had before; we should have side missions that are actually fun to play. I honestly can't think of many examples, but almost anything would be a step up from a boring fetch quest.
Your decisions should truly matter: I haven't finished persona 3, but I have finished persona 4 a few times and in the end I don't think the decisions were that important. I understand the "bad" endings, normal ending, and true ending. However, I feel like they were just a matter of choosing a dialogue option or making a simple decision in a certain time of the game or just not finishing a social link. The decisions that we make should truly have an effect on the story and how the characters feel about the main character, whether it be good or bad. And there should be plenty of decisions to make and not just a few; and if there are just a few they should really lead a story in a different direction and not just towards the end.
Let Us Choose Our Moral Standpoint: It would be fun to not automatically be put in the role of a goody-two-shoes hero; I mean there's nothing wrong with being the hero, but I'd like be able to choose how I do things, who I side with, or how I use my powers. In the persona 5 trailer it gives off the vibe that we just might be able to have that freedom with our morality.
Also, the game should give good reasons why the player should choose the good or evil path; nothing like the: "Evil never pays off." kind of thing. And if the protagonist does get screwed over on being evil, it shouldn't be able to be seen coming from a mile away. I would also like to see a grey area with the morality and not just have it be a black or white thing.
Have the Option to Ditch School: I know this is kind of silly, but it would be a good idea to be able to ditch; it could be used to advance a social link with someone that doesn't go to school, complete a job or side quest, or go to the shadow world if it's accessible during the day. It could also have a small impact on morality, and just be a good addition in general.
Be More emotionally Invested: There game should give us a reason to get pissed off at a character and make a hasty decision in a critical part of the game, or have a reason to want to help somebody. The past two games did the story and character development really well and I would like to see those aspects improve in the future. I'm not saying that I want the game to be a huge emotional roller coaster, but there should enough to get the player invested with their own feelings.
Give the Main Character a Voice: I didn't care for Narukami that much to me he was just a means to fight shadows or conveniently solve problems for everyone; I can't say the same for the P3 protagonist because I didn't finish to game.
Now back on topic, just simply grunting or yelling during battle doesn't count as having a voice in my book; Narukami really shinned as a character in the anime, but in the game he was just an empty vessel to me. and I'm not saying that he or the other protagonist are bad characters; I really like them, but I just want the future protagonist(s) to have a personality and sense of identity and I think a voice would really add to that.
I know that giving a usually silent protagonist a voice is going to be new to a lot of people, and might even annoy some others; however, if it is done right then it would be an awesome change for the protagonist(s), at least I think so.