How to Play the Persona Games in Release Order

Persona has become such a mainline hit, it’s hard for fans who are relatively new to the series via Persona 5 to fathom that the series dates back all the way to 1996. More stunningly, its parent story, Megami Tensei, has roots as far back as 1987. Persona is not an overnight sensation and has been building a fanbase for decades. With so many Persona titles out there, you might be wondering how to play the Persona games in release order, and that’s why we put together this guide just for you.

All Persona Games in Chronological Order

This is the order that you want to play all of the Persona games, even the spin-offs, chronologically in order for their storylines, and in order of release if you go by their dates. And you can also check out our rankings of our favorite Persona games.

1. Revelations: Persona (1996)
2. Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999)
3. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (2000)
4. Persona 3 (2006)
5. Persona 3 (2006) FES – The Answer (2007) & PSP (2009)
6. Persona 4 (2008) – Golden (2012)
7. Persona 4 Arena (2012)
8. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (2013)
9. Persona Q: Shadow of Labyrinth (2014)
10. Persona 4: Dancing All Night (2015)
11. Persona 5 2016 – Royal (2019)
12. Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight (2018)
13. Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight (2015)
14. Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth (2018)
15. Persona 5 Strikers (2020)

Now that you know how to play the Persona games in release order, you can choose which games to get and when you want to play them. The Persona remakes for other consoles generally add a new character or two, and as a result, there are a few more plot elements and endings. Persona has also spawned a side-scrolling fighting game in the form of the Arena games, and also an action RPG spin-off with the Strikers title. Ultimately, if you deem yourself a Persona fan, do yourself a favor and get a hold of each of these games to play out the entire Persona franchise — just make sure to remember what your true persona really is!