I’ve been a huge fan of thePersonaseries since I first played Persona 5 back in 2017, and I’ve spent the years since trying to catch up to the games I missed out on when I was younger. I might not have been a high school kid when I started playing as them in these games, but better late than never!
That said, the protagonists in the Persona games go through all sorts of wild adventures in their games. Would I have the courage to do anything they do? Maybe, with the right group of friends by my side!
Naturally, this article contains spoilers for the plots of each game in the Persona series.
Persona 2: Innocent Sin
Small Town Gossip Cannot Become Lethal
The idea that rumors around town becoming an inescapable reality sounds like a real nightmare, especially if we’re playing as high school kids. It’s been redacted years since I’ve been in high school, sure, but I don’t believe teenagers have gotten any less catty or prone to gossip.
I remember being these kids' age, and I remember the things people said about me back then, the shamefully true and the dreadfully fabricated. Teenage girls can besuper meanto each other! Even if I thought I could handle the weight of having burned someone alive, the thought of gossip becoming a reality is enough to keep P2 in last.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Even Worse As An Adult
Don’t get me wrong: I like the idea of playing a Persona game as a slightly older protagonist - myself andplenty of othershave been asking for that for a while. Maya being a journalist writing about Joker feels awfully familiar as someone who’s written a good chunk of TheGamer’sPersona 5 guides.
But if I thought teenage gossip was too much to handle as a teenager, I have even less patience for it as an adult. Please don’t make me care what people are saying in my small hometown as an adult; the only thing worse than gossipy teens is gossipy old people…
Revelations: Persona
I Barely Know My Friends
I’ve always been someone who can acknowledge and respect where the things I enjoy have their roots, even if I don’t particularly enjoy that thing myself. As another example, I don’t much care for The Beatles, but I love rock music and respect that they had a major hand in forming it.
And that’s how I feel about the original Persona game. The story of the game is intriguing and I like the creepier elements in it, but I'’d really miss the chance to get to know the people on my team outside of working together. Other Persona games give you teammates that feel more like comrades than combatants, and I’d feel weird fighting for my life with people I just kind of know.
Persona 3
Can I Stay Alive, Please?
Persona 3 is easily my favorite of the games in the Persona series. I think its story is as rich as it is sad, and I think I learned a lot about myself playing it as an adult that I might not have appreciated or seen parallels to had I played it before.
But knowing Makoto’s fate feels sad, and the journey to get there is a pretty depressing one, too. I did like the levity with characters like my beloved Bebe, and who wouldn’t like having a dog living at your dorm as a pal, but my fate being so intrinsically tied to Nyx is a little too much pressure. I’ll stick around, thanks.
Persona 4
I’d Have Gotten The Accomplice Ending, Though…
While P4 is my least favorite of the three modern games in the Persona series, I do think I’d do pretty alright if I had to live in Yu Narukami’s shoes, even before we know much more about his upcoming upgrade. I’m singing the Junes theme song at least once a week, anyway, so I may as well move to Inaba and swing by.
I also love Nanako, so the idea of working with my friends to save her after we’ve bonded and overcome our self-trials is pretty appealing. But the true mastermind was my favorite character for the bulk of the game, though, so I know I’d probably have wound up on the phone with him on the train home at the end.
Persona 5
Teens Take Tokyo
I went back to college as an adult and was on track to study abroad in Tokyo for my final semester before the pandemic resurging at the end of 2021 cut the plan short. I know there’s more to student life in Japan than justwandering through the city, going for snacks with your friends, and chatting up the hot back-alley doctor, but man, did it seem like an appealing part.
Granted, I don’t know that I’d do well as a criminal - I’m way too soft. Persona 5 has my favorite cast of teammates, though, and the richest socialization system to date. If I ignore everyone side-eyeing me for having the audacity to stop a woman from being attacked, then a spread of snacks in the attic at Leblanc with my friends sounds top-notch.
Persona Q: Shadow Of The Labyrinth
Movie Mazes With My Pals!
I adore the cast of teammates from Persona 3 and Persona 4, I like going to the movies, and I think mazes are really fun. What’s not to love? I’m just happy to be here.
Persona 5: The Phantom X
Fancy Living, Here I Come
We’ve played most of the Persona games as teens in relatively dire conditions, living with adoptive father figures or in dorms after tragic incidents with our own parents. We’ve had to fight for our right to exist in our own space before we even really got into the game - but Wonder didn’t.
With the bulk of the story in Persona 5: The Phantom X largely yours to progress in real-time as your energy replenishes, it feels the most realistic, despite the whole “paying money in the hopes of summoning my friends” thing. A relatively comfortable life and a growing list of pals from across the Metaverse? Count me in.
Persona 3 Portable
Through Kotone, All Things Are Possible
I didn’t get to play Persona 3 for the first time until Persona 3 Portable, well, ported to Steam and modern consoles at the beginning of 2023, but better late than never. And while I’ve enjoyed playing Persona games as male protagonists, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love getting a slightly softer look at the charactersas the FeMC.
I’ve always liked the friendship-building parts of Persona games the best, and it was fascinating to watch male characters react differently to me than they would a male protagonist, especially once I went back and played as the male protagonist, Makoto. His friendships were still fun, but Kotone’s felt richer.
Female characters are friendlier, and a softer look at the more masculine male characters was really fun. Watching myself become pals with JunpeibecauseI’m a girl who will give it back to him, and then seeing Akihiko and Shinjiro both soften up quite a bit were incredible. I’ll always have a soft spot for Shinji, and yes, I still refer to him as him as that in my head.
Though I could 100 percent do without the weird Ken crush. No, I will not wait for you, dude; you are achild.
The Dancing Games
Literally Any Of Them
You’re lying if you say you don’t spend time in each Persona game vibing to the music, anyway. I’m doing this already - count me in for choreography with my favorite social links.
