At best I can only see a SMT style RPG with Puyo Puyo working. But less dark. I can't see the characters really meshing well with the cute style, the SMT demons and characters. And given the negative fan reaction to Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, the SMT fanbase would hate a more silly and cutesy take on the series. There's already enough controversy with Persona fans.
Though yeah, a real RPG return for Puyo Puyo would be fun. If they can get the right director, I can trust that it can be good as the original RPGs by compile.
Exactly. That’s what makes it so fitting. That being said, I'm actually VERY curious as to how the cast of Fever 1/Fever 2/Puyo 7 would translate into a game like this. Then again, Persona 3, 4, and 5(?) had high school kids as the main protags, so...
For starters, the artstyle would OBVIOUSLY need to change. Maybe the game could use Puyo Puyo~n’s artstyle? Yes, yes. I know, I'm "worshiping" Yo~n for its artstyle again.
But this time, I feel like that would be the ONLY artstyle they could use that wouldn't straight up be some blatantly mature stuff right out of SMT/Persona and at the same time, be TOO cutesy and end up feeling out of place. Surely, it would help that that specific artstyle's already been used in an official Puyo game, no less.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't complain if SMT/Persona's artstyle was used. As a matter of fact, I'd LOVE to see the likes of Rulue, Schezo, Lagnus, and ESPECIALLY Satan in that kind of style. I just feel like that might be a bit...mature(?) for Puyo Puyo, and Heaven FORBID they use the art that the series has been using since Fever 1. Honestly, I'm laughing at the idea right now.
As for the story, I feel that the game could go with the somber tone Yo~n had, make the whole thing coherent obviously, and they'd be more or less set for the story. Heck, from the fanart I've seen of this series on pixiv and the like, it looks like Puyo Puyo going with a slightly more dramatic/somber tone certainly wouldn't be impossible.
Also, PLEASE no J-Pop stuff. As you've mentioned already, TMS. The fan reaction should probably say it all. What's more, Puyo Puyo going THAT route feels almost insultingly easy to do, if you want my opinion.
In terms of gameplay, I wonder if Madou Monogatari's first-person gameplay would work this time around. I almost feel like they'd have to go with what Puyo Chronicles did to make things work. The whole "three-to a-team" thing, I mean. I could be wrong, but you never know. Maybe MM's style could still work.