The Persona Movie

[Dominik Ransom]

PersonaJp. 1] previously marketed as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona outside of Japan, is a video game franchise primarily developed and published by Atlus, and owned by Sega.[a] Centered 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,[b] was released in 1996 for the PlayStation. The series has seen several more games since, with the most recent main entry being 2024's Persona 3 Reload.

Persona began as a spin-off based on the positively-received high school setting of Shin Megami Tensei If... (1994). Persona's core features include a group of students as the main cast, a silent protagonist similar to the mainline Megami Tensei franchise, and combat using Personas. Beginning with Persona 3 in 2006, the main series came to focus more on, and become renowned for, the immersive social simulation elements that came with the addition of Social Links, which are directly linked to how Personas evolve. Character designs are by series co-creator Kazuma Kaneko (Persona and the Persona 2 duology) and Shigenori Soejima (Persona 3 onwards). Its overall theme is exploration of the human psyche and how the characters find their true selves. The series' recurring concepts and design elements draw on Jungian psychology, psychological personas and tarot cards, along with religious, mythological, and literary themes and influences.

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 16 million copies worldwide, outselling its parent franchise. There have been numerous adaptations, including anime series, films, novelizations, mangas, stage plays, radio dramas, and musical concerts.

Persona 3 received a Japan-exclusive spin-off titled Persona 3: The Night Before;[Jp. 2] it follows a similar cycle of daytime activities and night time combat as the original game, with one player being chosen as the party leader each night.[39] After its closure in 2008, a new free-to-play browser game titled Persona Ain Soph[Jp. 3] was released that year; the gameplay focused on players fusing Personas and confronting a threat known as the Qliphoth. Staying exclusive to Japan, it closed down in June 2010.[40][41] A fighting game sequel to Persona 4, Persona 4 Arena, was released in arcades in Japan in 2012.[42] Console versions were released in 2012 in Japan and North America, and 2013 in Europe.[43][44][45] A sequel, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, was similarly released in Japanese arcades in 2013, then released in 2014 in all regions for consoles.[46][47][48] A standalone spin-off for the Nintendo 3DS, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, was released worldwide in 2014;[1] it features the full casts of Persona 3 and 4, and is classed by Atlus as an official entry in the Persona canon.[49] A sequel, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, saw the addition of the Persona 5 characters and was released in Japan in 2018 and worldwide in 2019.[50] A rhythm game set after the events of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, was released worldwide in 2015.[51][52][53] Two follow-ups to Dancing All Night, Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, were released together in 2018.[54] A Dynasty Warriors-style action role-playing sequel to Persona 5, Persona 5 Strikers, was released in Japan in 2020 and worldwide the following year.[55][56] A tactics spin-off of Persona 5, Persona 5 Tactica, was released in November 2023.[57]

Several Persona mobile games have been made in partnership with other Japanese mobile companies such as BBMF. Their first partnership was in 2006 with the development and release of Megami Ibunroku Persona: Ikū no Tō-hen, a 3D dungeon crawler set during the events of the first Persona game.[58] The companies later collaborated on two mobile games based on the Persona 2 games: Persona 2: Innocent Sin - Lost Memories[Jp. 4] in 2007, and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment - Infinity Mask[Jp. 5] in 2009. Both games carried over the basic gameplay functions of the original games tailored for mobile phones.[59][60] Many mobile spin-offs are related to Persona 3: there is an RPG side-story titled Persona 3 Em,[Jp. 6] an action game prequel set ten years prior to Persona 3 titled Aegis: The First Mission, and an alternate version of Persona 3 featuring different characters titled Persona 3 Social.[Jp. 7] Multiple Persona 3-themed puzzle games have also been developed.[61][62][63][64][65][66] An online mobile RPG set around the high school featured in Persona 3, titled Persona Mobile Online,[Jp. 8] was released in 2009.[67] Persona 4 likewise received a mobile card game spin-off, titled Persona 4 The Card Battle.[Jp. 9][68] A mobile spin-off for Persona 5 entitled Persona 5: The Phantom X was announced in 2023, developed by Black Wings Game Studio and published by Perfect World Games.[69]

The gameplay of the Persona series revolves around combat against various enemy types: Demons, Shadows and Personas.[70][71][72][73] 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.[14][33][74][75][76] Starting with Persona 3, landing a critical hit grants the character an extra turn. If all enemies are knocked down by critical hits, the party can perform an "All Out Attack", with all party members attacking at once and dealing high damage. Each party member is manually controlled by the player in all but one Persona title: in Persona 3, all the party apart from the main character are controlled by an AI-based command system. The general gameplay has remained consistent across all Persona games.[14][33][73][76][77][78]

Each Persona game also includes unique elements. In Persona, battles take place on a grid-based battlefield, with characters' and enemies' movements dictated by their placement on the battlefield.[71] This system was abandoned for the Persona 2 games: the party has free movement across the battlefield, and is assigned a set of moves which can be changed in the menu during and in between battles.[14][79] In Persona and Persona 3, there is a lunar phase tied to gameplay, time progression, and the plot. In Persona 4, this was changed to a weather-based system, where changes in the weather keyed to the story affected enemy behavior.[73][80][81] Persona 5 introduces elements such as platforming and stealth gameplay to dungeon exploration.[70][76][82] The All-Out Attack can be initiated in a "Hold-Up" session, triggered when all enemies are knocked down.[83]

A defining aspect of the series is the use of the "Persona", which are physical manifestations of a person's psyche and subconscious used for combat.[84] The main Personas for the cast used up to Persona 3 were inspired by Greco-Roman mythology. Persona 4's were based on Japanese deities; while Persona 5 used characters inspired by fictional and historical outlaws and thieves.[85][86][87] The summoning ritual for Personas in battle varies throughout the series: in early games, the party gains the ability to summon through a short ritual after playing a parlor game; in Persona 3, they fire a gun-like device called an Evoker at their head to overcome their cowardice; in Persona 4, they summon their Personas by destroying Tarot cards; in Persona 5, they are summoned through the removal of the characters' masks.[84][88]

Personas are used for types of physical attack and magical attacks, along with actions such as healing and curing or inflicting status effects.[14][33][71][75][84][89] For all Persona games, all playable characters start out with an initial Persona, which can evolve into other Personas through story-based events and use during battle.[14][78][89] In multiple Persona games, two or more Personas can be summoned at once to perform a powerful Fusion Spell.[14][78][79] In Persona 3, 4 and 5, only the main character can wield and change between multiple Personas; the other characters use a single Persona.[33][89] During the course of the game, the player acquires more Personas through a system of Skill Cards, represented by Major Arcana Tarot cards. Each skill card represents a different Persona family, which in turn hold their own abilities inherent to that family. Multiple Personas can be fused together to create a new Persona with improved and inherited abilities: these range from fusing two Personas in the Persona 2 duology to up to twelve in Persona 4.[14][33][71][75][89][90] Starting with Persona 3, the main protagonist of each game has an ability known as "Wild Card", an ability to summon multiple Personas represented by the Fool Arcana.[91]

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