All Persona Games, Ranked

Ranking the Persona games has been the easiest task, given that the series always gets better over time. While the first game, Revelations: Persona, deserves its flowers for curating such a strange world of high schoolers fighting demons in their spare time, ATLUS continues to fine-tune the turn-based combat and dungeon-crawling experience. By the time Persona 5 Royal launched, fans had become invested in managing hectic school calendars and ridding Tokyo of its demon infestations while making friends along the way. Before Persona 6 comes to take its place at the top of all Persona games, ranked, let’s see how the games currently released stack up so far.

5. Revelations: Persona (Persona 1) (1996)

The Persona series took a minute to take off, with the early releases confined to Japan. It’s not until the graphics and sound got better, and the gameplay expanded to include social simulation, that the Shin Megami Tensei spin-off series began to hit it off with the Western audience. Revelations: Persona, while introducing the spin-off RPG to the world, failed to catch your attention, whether through the graphics or music. It’s a tediously long playthrough, with a boring storyline and audio-visual quality you’ll soon forget.

Even worse is the gameplay that just isn’t enticing. But perhaps the gameplay issues are more pronounced compared to the more modern releases. The novel ideas that go on to make the series great are here. Philosophical mysteries to solve and dungeon-crawling. However, the execution is clunky. The battles aren’t fun at all, with the player having to figure things out for themselves. It’s a gameplay system with layers that aren’t necessarily inviting, like negotiating with enemies during battle. Dungeons are boring, which sucks, given they make up a significant portion of your time here. 

4. Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999/2011) / Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (2000/2012)

However, Persona 2 picks things up, thankfully so. I’ve bundled Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment in fourth place because they are a duo package for the second mainline entry in the Persona series. Persona 2: Innocent Sin tells the first chapter, picking up three years after Revelations. While the story holds its own, the combat, once again, fails to deliver. It uses the same negotiation mechanics, with different paths you could take during enemy encounters, except that the actual gameplay isn’t fun at all. It’s pretty easy to cruise through, taking away all of the tension, while still feeling clunky in some parts. 

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment tells the second chapter and, unfortunately, doesn’t escape the same fate as its predecessor. Its story will definitely intrigue at points, especially when it isn’t always predictable. But the gameplay is still too easy. Still, the rumors gameplay system is fun. It feels like a different RPG experience that gives you more leg room to play your own way, although it still has its cumbersome issues trying to gather and spread rumors. In any case, both entries later got PSP remakes that make things like text scrolls and menu browsing more seamless, but didn’t fix the dated gameplay. 

3. Persona 3 (2006) / Persona 3 FES (2007) / Persona 3 Portable (2009) / Persona 3 Reload (2024)

You might as well use the release dates as the guide for the best Persona games, with Persona 3 coming up next in our list of all Persona games, ranked. At first, ATLUS released Persona 3. And here’s where the series finally carved its place among the best RPGs through engaging dungeon crawling and social simulation. You now had to balance school and demon-fighting, managing social calendars, and building stronger bonds with characters. 

The Persona 3 FES director’s cut was released soon after, adding new content and a fresh epilogue. Think of it like an expansion of the original Persona 3, and thus offering more of demon-fighting and social interaction. Meanwhile, Persona 3 Portable brought the original to PSP platforms. It’s more or less the same as Persona 3, except with a few tweaks, most notably adding a new female playable protagonist.

Then there is Persona 3 Reload, which is the latest remake of Persona 3. This is the definitive way to enjoy the third game, combining all of the additional content in FES and treating you to satisfying dungeons and modernized visuals. No female protagonist here, though.

2. Persona 4 (2008) / Persona 4 Golden (2012) / Persona 4 Revival (2027)

Next up on all Persona games, ranked, is Persona 4. By this point, ATLUS had settled into refining a deep and layered RPG system that works. The characters are more varied and easy to fall in love with. They’re more relatable, with complex personalities. Combat is fun, too, at long last capturing your attention. And it’s through adding surprises in the random enemy encounters, whether it’s the rewards you gain or the weaknesses you don’t see coming. Dungeon-crawling is more engaging, as a result, as is the story exploration and social simulation system. 

Persona 4 was so good that it led to the launch of Persona 4 Golden on PlayStation Vita platforms. The story is the same. However, Golden expands on the original, adding more content and QoL improvements. You may have heard just how dialogue-heavy Golden is, but all for a good cause to genuinely mature and multi-faceted character relationships. Currently, I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for Persona 4 Revival’s launch in 2027, which will be a faithful remake and certainly will boast smoother gameplay and slicker visuals.  

1. Persona 5 (2016) / Persona 5 Royal (2019)

I doubt there’s any debate on whether Persona 5 is the best among all Persona games, ranked. While waiting for the upcoming Persona 6, I’m sure most of you are still vibing to the absolute banger OST. More than that, Tokyo looks the most detailed, with interesting places that beg to be explored. So do the characters and demons you fight, dotting fine details.

On the social simulation front, it’s never for naught because your efforts pay off in battle. Strong social links influence combo systems, and many more intricate gameplay systems are integrated into demon negotiation and progression. 

Persona 5 Royal is definitely the best way to enjoy the series, at least before Persona 6 arrives. As expected, it offers a smoother gameplay experience with slicker visuals. Again, think of Royal as the expansion, offering more content, characters, and gameplay improvements.