Persona

### Publisher

JP: Atlus, ASCII CorporationNA: Atlus USAEU: Deep Silver, Koei, Ghostlight, Sega, Square Enix, NIS America, Zen United

### Platform

PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, Arcade, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch

### Mode

New Game +

***Persona***, sometimes known as ***Shin Megami Tensei: Persona*** outside of Japan, is a video game franchise developed and primarily published by Atlus. Focusing around a series of role-playing video games, *Persona* is a spin-off from Atlus' *Megami Tensei* franchise. The first entry in the series, *Revelations: Persona*, was released in 1996 for the PlayStation. The series has seen several more games since, with the most recent main entry being 2016's *Persona 5*.

*Revelations: Persona* was the first role-playing *Megami Tensei* game to be released outside of Japan. Beginning with *Persona 2: Eternal Punishment*, the English localizations began to remain faithful to the Japanese versions at the insistence of Atlus. The series is highly popular internationally, becoming the best-known *Megami Tensei* spin-off and establishing Atlus and the *Megami Tensei* franchise in North America. Following the release of *Persona 3* and *4*, the series also established a strong following in Europe. The series has since gone on to sell over 13 million copies worldwide, outselling its parent franchise. There have been numerous adaptations, including anime television series, films, novelizations, mangas, stage plays, radio dramas, and musical concerts.

## Games

* ***Revelations: Persona*** is the first entry in the series, was released in Japan and North America for the PlayStation in 1996. A port to Microsoft Windows was released in Japan in 1999. The game was later ported to the PlayStation Portable (PSP): it was published in 2009 in Japan and North America as physical and digital releases, and 2010 in Europe as a digital release. Set in the town of Mikage-cho, it follows a group of high school students from St. Hermelin High, who are forced to confront an outbreak of demons in their hometown.
* ***Persona 2: Innocent Sin*** is the second entry in the series, released in Japan for the PlayStation in 1999. After the success of *Persona*'s PSP port, a port of *Innocent Sin* was greenlit. For this version, adjustments were made so that it played more like its sequel, along with added features and a new scenario. The port was released in 2011 in all regions. Set in the coastal city of Sumaru, the story follows Tatsuya Suou, a student of Seven Sisters High, as he confronts phenomena generated by reality-altering rumors.
* ***Persona 2: Eternal Punishment*** is the third entry in the main series, released in Japan and North America for the PlayStation in 2000. Like *Innocent Sin*, it was remade for PSP, and included a new scenario by the game's original writer. The remake released in Japan in 2012, but did not reach the West. The original version was re-released worldwide on PlayStation Network (PSN) in 2013 in response to this. Set shortly after the ending of *Innocent Sin*, the story follows Maya Amano, a supporting character from the previous game, as she confronts a similar rumor-created threat along with Tatsuya.
* ***Persona 3*** is the fourth entry in the main series. Developed for PlayStation 2, it released in 2006 in Japan, 2007 in North America, and 2008 in Europe. *Persona 3 FES*, a director's cut featuring new content and an epilogue, was released in 2007 in Japan and 2008 in North America and Europe. The main portion of *FES* was later ported to the PSP in Japan in 2009, North America in 2010, and in Europe in 2011 as *Persona 3 Portable*: it featured a few enhancements such as a female playable character and the ability to control all characters in battle, and some content was adjusted or removed so it could fit on a portable platform. The story takes place in the town of Iwatodai, following a group of students known as "SEES" who fight monsters that appear during a time known as the Dark Hour.
* ***Persona 4*** is the fifth entry in the main series, released for the PlayStation 2 in 2008 in Japan and North America, and 2009 in Europe. The success of *Persona 3 Portable* inspired the creation of a portable version of *Persona 4*, titled *Persona 4 Golden*. As using the PSP would result in cutting too much content, it was instead developed for PlayStation Vita, which allowed for the addition of new features and content. A port of *Golden* was released for Microsoft Windows in 2020.  *Persona 4* takes place in the rural town of Inaba, where a group of students investigate a series of killings related to a realm known as the Midnight Channel.

* ***Persona 5*** is the sixth entry in the main series, released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. It was released in 2016 in Japan, and in 2017 in North America and Europe. *Persona 5 Royal*, an enhanced version of the game similar to *Persona 4 Golden* for *Persona 4*, was released in Japan in 2019 and worldwide the following year. *Persona 5* is set in Tokyo and follows a group of students as they adopt disguises of thieves to tackle the city's corruption and attain freedom from imposed societal pressures.

## Gameplay

The gameplay of the *Persona* series revolves around combat against various enemy types: Demons, Shadows and Personas. Main combat takes place during dungeon crawling segments within various locations. The way battles initiate varies between random encounters (*Persona*, *Persona 2*) or running into models representing enemy groups (*Persona 3* onwards). Battles are governed by a turn-based system, where the player party and enemies each attack the opposing side. Actions in battle include standard physical attacks using short-range melee or long-range projectile weapons, magical attacks, using items, guarding, and under certain conditions escaping from battles. During battle, either side can strike an enemy's weakness, which deals more damage than other attacks.