Shin Megami Tensei

A spin-off where high school students summon Personas to confront demons and discover their true selves.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona is a video game franchise primarily developed by Atlus and owned by Sega. Originally marketed as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona outside of Japan, it serves as a spin-off from Atlus' mainline Megami Tensei series. Centered on Japanese role-playing games, the franchise began with Revelations: Persona in 1996 for the PlayStation. Unlike its parent series, which focuses on post-apocalyptic settings and alignment choices, this franchise is defined by high school students, a silent protagonist, and combat utilizing Personas to explore the human psyche.

Quick Facts

Creator

Kouji Okada, Kazuma Kaneko

Composer

Shoji Meguro
Atsushi Kitajoh
Toshiki Konishi
Ryota Kozuka
Kenichi Tsuchiya

Publisher

JP/NA
Atlus
ASCII Corporation
PAL
Deep Silver
Koei
Sega
Square Enix
THQ
NIS America

Genre

Role-playing, social simulation

First release version

Revelations: Persona

First release date

September 20, 1996

Latest release version

Persona 5: The Phantom X

Latest release date

June 26, 2025

Lore & Background

The series draws heavily on Jungian psychology, psychological personas, tarot cards, religious themes, and literary influences. Its core narrative revolves around a group of students facing supernatural threats, such as the demon outbreak in Mikage-cho or reality-altering rumors in Sumaru City. A defining evolution occurred with Persona 3 in 2006, which introduced Social Links—social simulation elements directly tied to how Personas evolve. This shift made the series renowned for its immersive focus on character relationships and personal growth, distinguishing it from the darker tone of the main Megami Tensei franchise while retaining the exploration of the human psyche.

Reader's Guide

Players control a silent protagonist leading a party of students through turn-based combat using Personas. Beginning with Persona 3, Social Links became central to progression; building these relationships directly influences Persona evolution. The series features distinct settings for each entry: Mikage-cho, Sumaru City, Tatsumi Port Island, Inaba, and Tokyo. While early games like Revelations: Persona were the first Megami Tensei titles released outside Japan, later localizations became faithful to Japanese versions starting with Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. The franchise has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, outselling its parent series, and spawned numerous adaptations including anime, films, novels, manga, stage plays, radio dramas, art books, and musical concerts.

Did You Know?

Persona 3 Reload, released in 2024, introduced a new English voice cast and additional story scenarios not found in the original or previous re-releases.
Character designs were handled by Kazuma Kaneko for Persona and Persona 2, while Shigenori Soejima took over from Persona 3 onwards.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment was originally remade only for Japan in 2012; the original version was re-released worldwide on PSN in 2013.