Persona Games Series Introduction

Persona, known in full as Shin Megami Tensei Persona is a single player Playstation RPG released in 1998. It is also called Persona:Revelations. Over the decade, it has spun a number of succeeding instalments.

The Persona games series consist of:

1. Persona:Revelations (for PSX game console)
2. Persona 2: Innocent Sin (for PSX game console)
3. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (for PSX game console)
4. Persona 3 (for PS2 game console)
5. Persona 3 FES (for PS2 game console)
6. Persona 4 (for PS2 game console)
7. Persona PSP (for PSP handheld console- to be released on September 22nd 2009)

The Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series' distinctive flavor lies in their intriguing story telling filled with philosophical ideas and themes. The setting for every Persona game is based in modern day Japan, where chosen individuals uncover the hidden powers of their minds called Personas, reflections of their own selves.

The main villains are demons, mainly deluded manifestations of inner souls, which can only be defeated by the calling of one's Persona, the hidden power. The plot usually revolves around a murder mystery or conspiracy which the player unravels as he progresses.

Despite the sharing of the same universe and the general backgrounds of the characters being students, the stories are very loosely connected, or not at all.
Player controls a silent protaganist, whose name and replies are decided by the player himself. As the story goes, the protaganist explores the fictional town of Japan like schools, subway stations, hospitals, shopping districts, holy shrines and many others to solve the game's mysteries.


Before Persona 3, the Persona series adopt a more traditional RPG gameplay with random battles and restricted freedom to interact with the games' world. It was Persona 3 which mixed simulation genre with role playing genre, headed for a revolutionary take on the role playing gaming experience away from the conventional role playing gameplay system.

The latest in the series is the critically acclaimed Persona 4, to be followed by the upcoming PSP Persona. Brief rumors of a Persona 5 has been heard, but no official announcements have been made yet. Mixed responses have been voiced by fans regarding which console it will be released for. More news are believed to come into light somewhen later this month, so do stay tuned.