The post Every Game in the Persona Series in Chronological and Release Order: I Am Thou, Thou Art I appeared first on Cheat Code Central.
While the Shin Megami Tensei series can trace its roots back to the Famicom, it wouldn’t be several years later until the 5th generation of console hardware that its equally popular Persona spin-off would get its start. Revelations: Persona and Persona 2 laid the groundwork for what players could expect from the series in terms of its blend of creature-collecting RPG and social simulation gameplay, but the franchise’s popularity exploded once longtime series director Shoji Meguro took over. Beginning with Persona 3, every game in the Persona series would introduce several new mechanics that have come to define the franchise, to the point where some of them even started finding their way into the mainline Shin Megami Tensei titles.
The recent reveal of the long-rumored Persona 4 remake, Persona 4 Revival, sees the series experiencing a bit of a full-circle moment as one of its most beloved entries gets a long-requested reimagining, and it just so happens to seemingly coincide with the series’ 30th anniversary. For Western players, the Persona games have now eclipsed their Shin Megami Tensei parent series as the most popular RPG franchise from Atlus, and it’s a great time to look back through the history of the franchise to chart how it’s developed over nearly three decades.
Revelations: Persona
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- Release Date — September 20, 1996
- Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PlayStation
Like a lot of RPG series, the first Persona game is a little rough around the edges and more of a “proof of concept” than a fully realized creative vision. That said, Revelations: Persona is a good, if not slow, JRPG that establishes the framework for the rest of the spin-off franchise.
Persona 2: Innocent Sin
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- Release Date — June 24, 1999
- Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
- Platforms — PlayStation
Originally a Japan-only release, Persona 2: Innocent Sin is where the series would really come into its own. The social simulation elements are more pronounced and have a greater impact on the core gameplay loop, and the darker, more mature story is leaps and bounds ahead of Revelations‘.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
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- Release Date — June 29, 2000
- Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PlayStation
Despite not getting the first half of the Persona 2 saga in the West, North American players did end up getting the chance to play its follow-up, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. In many ways, Eternal Punishment helped to set up the Persona series as being more successful in the West than its parent series, Shin Megami Tensei, and is widely considered one of the best JRPGs on the PS1.
Persona 3
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- Release Date — July 13, 2006
- Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PlayStation 2
The Persona series’ transition to 3D with Persona 3 saw it also undergo some of its most significant gameplay changes. New director Shoji Meguro would end up becoming the series’ steward for the next several entries before going on to form Studio Zero, and most of the Persona franchise’s gameplay hallmarks — demon fusion, the calendar system, and the “Press Turn” battle system — originate in Persona 3.
Persona 3 FES
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- Release Date — April 19, 2007
- Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PlayStation 2
The release of Persona FES marks an important point in the series’ history as the first “director’s cut”-style re-release of a mainline entry. Persona 3 was already a huge critical and commercial success, and the enhancements made in Persona FES proved to go over well with fans, solidifying the tradition of releasing a new and improved ultimate edition of each mainline entry moving forward.
Persona 4
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- Release Date — July 10, 2008
- Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
- Platforms — PlayStation 2
For many players, Persona 4 stands as the greatest entry in the series, and even as one of the greatest JRPGs ever made. Persona 4‘s characters, setting, and story are the highlight of the experience (including some incredibly inventive dungeons), but its gameplay refinements are just as important, making the calendar system less punitive than it is in Persona 3.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
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- Release Date — April 29, 2009
- Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PSP
The PSP would end up being a perfect platform for re-releases, remasters, and remakes of PS1 titles, and the Persona series was one of the main RPG franchises to take advantage of it. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona is the PSP remake of the first game in the series, Revelations: Persona, and features a more accurate translation than the PS1 original.
Persona 3 Portable
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- Release Date — November 1, 2009
- Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PSP
By 2009, Persona 3 was far and away the best-selling game in the franchise, making it a perfect fit for a PSP port. Persona 3 Portable was, for many years, the definitive version of Persona 3, bringing together all the content from Persona 3 FES and adding in some new elements of its own. Even in the wake of Persona 3 Reload‘s release, some fans still prefer Persona 3 Portable.
Persona 2: Innocent Sin
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- Release Date — April 14, 2011
- Review Aggregate Score — 75% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PSP
The third Persona game to arrive on the PSP is Persona 2: Innocent Sin, marking the first time the title had been available outside Japan. Like the PSP port of the original Persona, Innocent Sin‘s PSP port and localization were handled by the series’ new director, Shoji Meguro, who added plenty of new features to the title.
Persona 4 Arena
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- Release Date — March 1, 2012
- Review Aggregate Score — N/A
- Platforms — Arcade
The one and only Persona arcade game, Persona 4 Arena is a 1v1 fighting game featuring characters from Persona 4. The success of the arcade cabinet would eventually prompt Atlus to release a home console port just a few months later.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
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- Release Date — May 17, 2012
- Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PSP
The final Persona game for PSP is the handheld’s port of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Like the other Persona handheld ports, the PSP version of Eternal Punishment slightly remasters the original’s PS1 visuals and adds in some features that newer fans of the series had come to expect from Persona 3 and 4.
Persona 4 Golden
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- Release Date — June 14, 2012
- Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
- Platforms — PC, PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
The “ultimate” edition of Persona 4, Persona 4 Golden is basically the best version of what’s arguably the Persona series’ best game. Although it was initially exclusive to the PS Vita, it’s since been re-released on just about every major modern platform.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
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- Release Date — July 26, 2012
- Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is the home console port of the Persona 4 fighting game, Persona 4 Arena. As you might expect, the home console release contains some bonus content not originally contained in the arcade cabinet.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
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- Release Date — June 5, 2014
- Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — Nintendo 3DS
What’s better than playing Persona or Etrian Odyssey? Why, combining them into a single game, of course. Persona Q is a first-person dungeon crawler made in the style of Atlus’ Etrian Odyssey, only it features some very Persona-esque mechanics and the cast from Persona 3 and 4 as your recruitable heroes.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night
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- Release Date — June 25, 2015
- Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PlayStation 4, PS Vita
The first of three rhythm/music game spin-offs of the Persona series, Persona 4: Dancing All Night is just that – a dancing-themed title where you time on-screen button presses to make characters from Persona 4 dance to songs from the game’s soundtrack.
Persona 5
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- Release Date — September 15, 2016
- Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
- Platforms — PS3, PS4
The wait for Persona 5 was long compared to the gap between 3 and 4, but boy was it worth it. Not only does Persona 5 further refine the gameplay elements of Persona 4, but it also greatly enhances the series’ presentation, ultimately helping to propel the franchise into mainstream popularity.
Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight
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- Release Date — May 24, 2018
- Review Aggregate Score — 73% (Mixed or Average)
- Platforms — PlayStation 4, PS Vita
Following the fan appreciation of Persona 4: Dance All Night, Atlus went back and developed music/rhythm game spin-offs of both Persona 3 and Persona 5. Released on the same day for both PS4 and PS Vita, Persona 3‘s dancing-themed spin-off is Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight.
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
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- Release Date — May 24, 2018
- Review Aggregate Score — 73% (Mixed or Average)
- Platforms — PlayStation 4, PS Vita
The Persona 5 counterpart to Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight is a music/rhythm game that features the cast from Persona 5 dancing to songs from its soundtrack. Notably, it’s the lowest-rated title to feature characters from Persona 5.
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
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- Release Date — November 29, 2018
- Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — Nintendo 3DS
Positive critical and commercial response to Persona Q would lead Atlus to develop a sequel featuring Persona 5‘s cast, with Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth ending up as one of the final games to release for the 3DS. Like its predecessor, Persona Q2 is yet another first-person dungeon crawler featuring characters and mechanics from the Persona series.
Persona 5 Royal
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- Release Date — October 31, 2019
- Review Aggregate Score — 95% (Universal Acclaim)
- Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
The re-release of Persona 5, which also includes plenty of new story content and remixes existing content, Persona 5 Royal is seen as a definitive edition of the series’ most successful entry. To further that point, Persona 5 Royal‘s release would mark the first time that Persona 5 would make its way to PC and modern consoles outside of the PlayStation 4.
Persona 5 Strikers
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- Release Date — February 20, 2020
- Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Similar to Hyrule Warriors or Fire Emblem Warriors, Persona 5 Strikers is a musou hack and slash title that features characters and settings from Persona 5. To its credit, though, Persona 5 Strikers goes beyond most mousou spin-offs to include a surprising amount of unique mechanics pulled from the mainline Persona games.
Persona 5 Tactica
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- Release Date — November 17, 2023
- Review Aggregate Score — 77% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
It’s hard to believe it took as long as it did to get a tactics spin-off of a mainline Persona game. Thankfully, by the time Atlus followed through with Persona 5 Tactica, the wait was worth it thanks to how excellent of a game it is, both in terms of its tactical depth and its honoring of the Persona 5 source material in its story, setting, and gameplay.
Persona 3 Reload
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- Release Date — February 2, 2024
- Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
- Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
The remake of Persona 3, Persona 3 Reload, is as important to the franchise as the original Persona 3, helping to establish that the Persona 5 template was perfect for going back and reimagining the older games in the series. While some players prefer P3P over the remake, there’s no denying that Persona 3 Reload looks and plays incredibly well, and it immediately paved the way for Persona 4 to follow suit.
Persona 5: The Phantom X
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- Release Date — June 26, 2025
- Review Aggregate Score — N/A
- Platforms — Android, iOS, PC
Mobile game Persona 5: The Phantom X has already been available in an early access beta overseas, and the title is soon to make its way to the rest of the world later this month on June 26. This action RPG spin-off of Persona 5 is ostensibly the final game to utilize the characters and setting from that entry before Atlus moves on to Persona 6.
Persona 4 Revival
©Persona 4 Revival trailer footage – Original
- Release Date — TBA
- Review Aggregate Score — N/A
- Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Following months of rumors suggesting its existence, the Persona 4 remake was officially revealed as part of the Xbox Games Showcase for 2025. Dubbed Persona 4 Revival, there’s no set release date yet, but all signs point to it potentially having a 2026 launch coinciding with the series’ 30th anniversary.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©CheatCC/Matt Karoglou.
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