Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 5's Morgana's Narration

To call either Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 or 4 a rough or uncoordinated game would be silly.  While no game is perfect, and Persona 4 has significant problems with its narrative content, approach, and execution, they each certainly feel like tight, smooth works, nuanced with personal touches and features.  Yet their successor, SMT Persona 5, does an absolutely remarkable job in building upon the traits and details of 3 and 4, improving and polishing them.  5's Ryuji, for example is the perfect culmination of Yosuke’s genuine, solid value as a best friend in 4, with the endearing bro energy of 3's Junpei along with Junpei’s appealing buddy-buddy/partner-in-crime dynamic with Yukari (taking the form of Ann for Ryuji), taking the best traits of both previous pal characters to become Ren’s perfect bestie.  You wouldn’t know that Junpei or Yosuke were only pieces of the buddy character they could be, until you see them brought together into Ryuji’s whole.  Persona 5 builds on and polishes the characteristics of its predecessors like this, in ways both great and small.  But of all the cases in which Persona 5 has refined the formula of its predecessors into something better, it’s Morgana’s role for the player that stands out to me as the greatest improvement.

Now, in his own right, Morgana is really only okay as a character.  He’s likable enough,* but certainly not the stand-out personality of the cast on any front--Ryuji’s more fun, Futaba’s more quirky, Haru’s more unique and compelling, Makoto’s cooler, Sumire’s more earnest, Akechi’s more of a bishounen douchebag (a douche-ounen?), etc.  He’s got a character arc, some history, some significance to the plot, and some depth, but in none of these arenas does Morgana really stand out as especially memorable; his story’s simply not that gripping.  The strongest emotions I felt as regards the cat was to be a little annoyed at him when he was being a brat with his solo shenanigans during what should have been Haru’s spotlight, and some sadness at the end of the game when he died, which he ended up coming back from so fast that it barely counted as a catnap, anyway.  In terms of the overall plot and cast, Morgana serves a function, but it’s more as a utility for keeping things moving than as 1 of the characters who really represent the heart and soul of the game.

But that’s okay, because Morgana’s real calling and purpose in SMT Persona 5 isn’t his major story role, or his contribution to the personal dynamics of the team, or his development through his Social Link.  Nope.  It’s to be the narrator of Ren’s day-to-day life.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 and 4 had a dispassionate, objective, and very understated narrator for the basic actions and impressions of Makoto, Kotone, and Yu in the previous titles.  It was a very utilitarian, get-the-job-done, keep-your-thoughts-to-yourself matter.  Something happened, the narration let you know what that something was strictly within its neutral confines, and you moved on.  “You have decided to study.  Your Academics has increased.”  “You sense someone watching you...A mysterious fox suddenly appears before you...!”  “The teachers seem busy...You decide to leave.”  That sort of thing.  Simple, clean, straightforward, no-fuss.  Even when it’s descriptive, it’s pretty impersonal.

And that’s fine, make no mistake.  It gets the job done and it never would have occurred to me that the narration for the protagonist’s everyday actions and reactions should be anything more.  Hell, it’s not like it doesn’t fit the largely reserved, chill silent protagonists of the games--Persona 3’s recent remake changed the narrative voice from this distanced second-person POV to a first-person one, and it’s all, as far as I’ve seen from clips of the game, virtually the same, because that’s just the kind of guy Makoto is.  Hell, there’s even something ever so slightly endearing about the “voice” of Persona 3 and 4’s narration to me, although I’m not sure how much of that is real, and how much of it is my love for Hiimdaisy’s take on it and the great work that Sapphire and Kenneth Bruce put into the voicing of it.

But SMT Persona 5 mixes this formula up by having the majority of this narration be done by Morgana, Ren’s almost constant companion in his daily grind.  When Ren hits the books to raise his Knowledge, it’s Morgana who observes that he’s been so diligent in his studies that he must be smarter now.  When Ren dodges the chalk his teacher throws at him, it’s Morgana, who MUST be developing spinal issues from cramming himself in a school desk for 8 hours straight, that observes that his boy has the entire attention of the class for his sick dodge, and thus Ren’s racking up the rizz.  Morgana’s there to remark upon the businesses and landmarks Ren examines, to share his impressions of the movies and shows Ren watches, to cringe at Ren’s early disastrous attempts at working out...he’s basically the voice of Ren’s life and the player’s choices.  There’s still some room now and then for the classic muted narration for the stuff that Morgana’s not around for or can’t comment on--in the chalk-dodging scenario, for example, there is such narration for Ren in which he senses a murderous intent from his probably-should-be-fired teacher--but I’d say Morgana takes care of a good 90% of the game’s moment-to-moment narration.

And this is a really great feature that benefits the game.  With the encouraging, curious, and expressive Morgana always lending his thoughts as Ren reads books and scarfs down burgers and takes in the sights of Tokyo, Persona 5 maintains a more outgoing, engaging atmosphere.  Sure, it’s serviceable to have some omniscient voice in your head tell you, “You feel more knowledgeable after studying,” or “There might be something to gain from drinking this special menu item,” or “You feel more charming after finally taking a bath, you unhygienic animal.”  But it’s much more interesting and fun when it’s some cat sticking his head out of your backpack to say “Whoa my dude you’re studying like a goddamn CHAMPION!” and “bruh u srsly gonna chug that grimace shake holy shit” and “OK so theoretically no homo but seeing the water glisten on your be-toweled body after you’ve emerged from a steamy room full of other naked men is making me pop one hell of a cat-boner right now.”  Morgana’s personality may not be the strongest within the major cast nor the most compelling within the main story, but it’s perfect for being the narrative face of the game.  

It may seem like a small thing, but keep in mind, the daily living aspect of the modern SMT Persona is more than half of the entire game, and even if you remove Social Links from that equation (as Morgana is usually less involved or not present at all for them), it still represents a huge chunk of your Persona 5 experience.  Having a cast member engage with you and add personality to your daily grind is a small improvement that adds up to a big one when stretched out over so long a time and so many different activities.  And it helps Morgana’s character overall, too; more screen time is almost always the most reliable method of personalizing and cementing a cast member.  Most of what makes Morgana likable is the fact that his constant presence, input, and support really sell to the audience the place he has in Ren’s life as a buddy and pet.**

So yeah, I think it was a great idea for Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 5 to take 1 of the cast and make him your ever-present, companionable narrator.  Certainly, what Persona 3 and 4 had going for them worked just fine and took nothing away from their personality, but I definitely think that Morgana added a valuable appeal in his role as slice-of-life narrator.  It’s a great example of the intelligent polish that SMTP5 puts on the already solid practices of its forebears.  Hell, it makes me wish we could retroactively apply the method to the older Personas; Morgana’s reaction to Yu’s habit of consuming drastically expired food for the sake of his Courage stat would doubtless be priceless!

...Although if it were Persona 4, it wouldn’t be Morgana constantly chiming in, it’d be...Teddie.

...

Yeah maybe this narration approach came exactly when it should have and no later.













* Aside from his unasked-for, tiresome, emotionally shallow romantic fixation on Ann which keeps randomly coming up for no reason to add nothing.  Then again, even that flaw could be seen as 1 of Persona 5’s major polished improvements.  After all, the last time we saw this behavior, it was fucking Teddie constantly hitting on chicks with all the sophistication, self-awareness, and human decency of the kind of self-proclaimed “Alpha Male” pick-up artist who proudly posts his personal shame online so that real human beings can make fun of him for it.  Except that Persona 4 has no Moist Cr1t1kal or other Youtube funny-man to point out how utterly, infuriatingly worthless Teddie is.  Compared to his predecessor, Morgana’s creeping on Ann is downright wholesome.  Why, at this rate of improvement, Shin Megami Tensei 6’s mascot’s romantic aspirations might even be mildly tolerable.


** Also, it's super cute when he sits up like people to watch DVDs with Ren.