Persona is having another moment. What was once a series mostly popular in Japan is now a hit worldwide, and there have been a lot of releases over the past few years. Besides main franchise titles, there have also been countless spinoffs, remasters, and remakes, with the latest being Persona 3 Reload. You can start anywhere in the series, and if you don’t mind starting in the middle, you’ll have an easy time thanks to multiple bundles that package the franchise’s entries starting at Persona 3. However, if you want to experience the entirety of the Persona franchise, you might run into a bit of trouble. Still, it’s doable if you have the right hardware and know where to look.
What you need to know first
Developer and publisher Atlus has been returning to previous Persona games with remakes like Persona 3 Reload, making them more available than ever. However, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still difficult to find and play the first three games in the series — Revelations: Persona, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment — without emulation. The only ways to play these early entrants are through discontinued platforms, but we’re still going to include them for people who want to complete the entire series. Do note that in all these cases, you’ll need the appropriate older hardware to access the games — specifically, the PlayStation 3, PSP, and PS Vita.
PlayStation hasn’t made playing older titles easy. The company has had a rocky relationship with backward compatibility, especially in regard to the PlayStation 3, and many digital storefronts that supported those older games have been shut down. For example, PlayStation Store access for PlayStation 3, PS Vita, and PSP titles closed in 2021. As you’ll see below, those consoles are still the most viable way to play the first three Persona games. So while we wouldn’t normally include older consoles on these lists, we’re making an exception for those titles.
As a reminder, the Persona series was PlayStation-exclusive until 2021, when Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal were finally released on Xbox.
We also won’t be including places to find used copies, since we can’t vet every seller to make sure they’re trustworthy. However, if you can find secondhand versions on places like eBay, feel free to go that route.
There are also so many Persona games to play if you want to dive into the spinoffs. We’re going to focus on the mainline titles here, but you can seek out action, tactics, and even rhythm games in the Persona series. We will be including bundles and collections, though, as they’re great ways to save some money on multiple Persona games.
Where to play every Persona game
With all that out of the way, let’s dig into how you can play these classic RPGs.
Revelations: Persona (1996)
- PlayStation 3, PS Vita, and PSP: You can still get the game through the store on the respective devices.
- PlayStation Classic: You can still buy this console new from third-party sellers on Amazon. It comes with 20 pre-loaded games, including Revelations: Persona.
Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999)
- PS3, PS Vita, and PSP: You can still get the game through the store on the respective devices. Previous owners of the game can re-download their copy.
- Innocent Sin received a PSP remake in 2011 for North American and European players.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (2000)
- PS3, PS Vita, and PSP: You can still get the game through the store on the respective devices. Previous owners of the game can re-download their copy.
- Unlike Innocent Sin, Eternal Punishment did not receive a PSP remake outside of Japan.
Persona 3 (2006)
There are two versions of Persona 3 you can play.
Persona 3 Reload, which is a full-on remake, released in 2024:
- PlayStation: For PS5 or PS4 on the PS Store, or anywhere else that sells games, like Best Buy, Amazon, and GameStop.
- Xbox: For Xbox Series X and Xbox One on the Microsoft Store, or anywhere else that sells games, like Best Buy, Amazon, and GameStop.
Persona 3: Portable, which is a quality-of-life remaster originally for the PSP, first released in 2009 and again for modern consoles in 2023:
It doesn’t appear you can get a new copy of the original Persona 4 anywhere. However, you can play Persona 4 Golden (2012), which is an expanded version with new story and game elements.
