Best Persona Game For A Beginner?

[Corrie]

Hey guys! I've never played a Persona game before but I've been considering getting into the series. I'm interested in Persona 5 Strikers for the Switch but am unsure. I know the Switch doesn't run that great sometimes but I don't have any Playstation consoles besides a PS2 so I'm kinda stuck.

What I'm curious about is which are the best games in the franchise, which are the worst and what spinoffs are worth buying? For someone new to the series, which games would you recommend? If I pick any game, am I going to be confused abut characters and story? Do each games continue off each other or can you jump in anywhere?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Halloqueen]

Hey guys! I've never played a Persona game before but I've been considering getting into the series. I'm interested in Persona 5 Strikers for the Switch but am unsure. I know the Switch doesn't run that great sometimes but I don't have any Playstation consoles besides a PS2 so I'm kinda stuck.

What I'm curious about is which are the best games in the franchise, which are the worst and what spinoffs are worth buying? For someone new to the series, which games would you recommend? If I pick any game, am I going to be confused abut characters and story? Do each games continue off each other or can you jump in anywhere?

Thanks in advance!!

I've never personally played a Persona game, but I've watched others play them on YouTube and whatnot. So I can answer some things.

You can jump into most of them and be fine. While there are certain aspects that you won't fully appreciate without having played, say, the Persona 2 games, they aren't interlinked to such a degree for there to be confusion. There are shared aspects like the Velvet Room, but basically, the games are individual experiences with their own stories.

However, while that's true for the most part, I have to tell you that this does not hold true for Persona 5 Strikers. If you're going to play Persona 5 Strikers, you should play Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal first. Persona 5 Strikers is a sequel, it takes place after Persona 5, so you will be missing context and probably be confused about some things as a result. If you can't buy them, I would at least watch a playthrough of either. Persona 5 Royal is just regular Persona 5 but with some extra characters and new story content, but to my recollection those events from Royal aren't mentioned in Strikers.

As for where to start, it depends. Persona 3 might be a good start because it's good but lacks features that are taken for granted in 4 and 5, specifically the ability to control your other party members. Both Persona 3 and Persona 4 are on the PlayStation 2. Persona and the two Persona 2 games are for the original PlayStation. You can also play all of those on the PlayStation Portable if you have one of those.

Theoretically you could start with the original Persona since, after digging a bit deeper, I noticed that there actually is some carryover from 1 to 2 and at least one character (maybe more of them, Persona 1 is the big blind spot for me) from the original shows up in 2. Most of the other instances of crossover I've seen are like one-off lines referring to somebody from one of the other games that you'll appreciate getting the reference to but that is not necessary for overall enjoyment of the game.

Also they all kind of have their own flavor and appeal. Persona 4 in particular, while certainly having darker aspects, is really upbeat compared to the others in a way that turns some people off.

I can't speak to side games. Side games for most series in general don't appeal to me.

 

[meggiewes]

The best one to start with is the one that appeals to you.

 

[Corrie]

I've never personally played a Persona game, but I've watched others play them on YouTube and whatnot. So I can answer some things.

You can jump into most of them and be fine. While there are certain aspects that you won't fully appreciate without having played, say, the Persona 2 games, they aren't interlinked to such a degree for there to be confusion. There are shared aspects like the Velvet Room, but basically, the games are individual experiences with their own stories.

However, while that's true for the most part, I have to tell you that this does not hold true for Persona 5 Strikers. If you're going to play Persona 5 Strikers, you should play Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal first. Persona 5 Strikers is a sequel, it takes place after Persona 5, so you will be missing context and probably be confused about some things as a result. If you can't buy them, I would at least watch a playthrough of either. Persona 5 Royal is just regular Persona 5 but with some extra characters and new story content, but to my recollection those events from Royal aren't mentioned in Strikers.

As for where to start, it depends. Persona 3 might be a good start because it's good but lacks features that are taken for granted in 4 and 5, specifically the ability to control your other party members. Both Persona 3 and Persona 4 are on the PlayStation 2. Persona and the two Persona 2 games are for the original PlayStation. You can also play all of those on the PlayStation Portable if you have one of those.

Theoretically you could start with the original Persona since, after digging a bit deeper, I noticed that there actually is some carryover from 1 to 2 and at least one character (maybe more of them, Persona 1 is the big blind spot for me) from the original shows up in 2. Most of the other instances of crossover I've seen are like one-off lines referring to somebody from one of the other games that you'll appreciate getting the reference to but that is not necessary for overall enjoyment of the game.

Also they all kind of have their own flavor and appeal. Persona 4 in particular, while certainly having darker aspects, is really upbeat compared to the others in a way that turns some people off.

I can't speak to side games. Side games for most series in general don't appeal to me.

Thank you so much for your heavily detailed response! Good to know about Strikers. I would have been screwed. I'll see which games I can find for cheap for PS2 before moving up to the newer ones. I'm always interested in seeing where the games began, especially if they're still playable and have aged well.

 

[UglyMonsterFace]

My first (and only so far) Persona game was Persona 5. I enjoyed it so much and don't regret starting from there! It's it's own story so you're not going to be left feeling confused and I love the music and animations so much. Even the menus have so much personality! It was also my first ever turn based game and it was very simple to pick up and learn! I think you'll have a lot of fun starting here

 

[King koopa]

I'd say start with persona 5 because strikers is a sequel to persona 5, so some things will probably make sense if you play the first one

 

[Haru Okumura]

Unfortunately Strikers is a direct sequel so you'll need to play P5/Royal first. Vanilla P5's also available on PS3, but Royal is a PS4 exclusive.

As for where to start, it depends. Persona 3 might be a good start because it's good but lacks features that are taken for granted in 4 and 5, specifically the ability to control your other party members. Both Persona 3 and Persona 4 are on the PlayStation 2. Persona and the two Persona 2 games are for the original PlayStation. You can also play all of those on the PlayStation Portable if you have one of those.

Adding to this, Persona 4 Golden (a rerelease of P4 akin to Royal) is also available on Steam if you have a gaming pc.

Theoretically you could start with the original Persona since, after digging a bit deeper, I noticed that there actually is some carryover from 1 to 2 and at least one character (maybe more of them, Persona 1 is the big blind spot for me) from the original shows up in 2. Most of the other instances of crossover I've seen are like one-off lines referring to somebody from one of the other games that you'll appreciate getting the reference to but that is not necessary for overall enjoyment of the game.

The gameplay between P1/P2 and P3-5 is also much different. Just to name a quick example, 3-5 have calendars and social links/confidants, whereas P1/P2 don't. Prepare for a huge gameplay shift lol.

Thank you so much for your heavily detailed response! Good to know about Strikers. I would have been screwed. I'll see which games I can find for cheap for PS2 before moving up to the newer ones. I'm always interested in seeing where the games began, especially if they're still playable and have aged well.

Fair warning if you're wanting a PSP for P1 and P2: the PSN store for PS3/PSP/PSVita is shutting down in August, so you might have to buy them physically. Persona 3 Portable is also a good choice for PSP - it's a port of P3 and has a female protagonist (with her own social links) and controllable party members. For PS2, you'll want vanilla P4 and P3FES (P3's rerelease).
The P2 duology are considered one of the best Persona games for their plot, and imo the best modern title is P5 Royal.

 

[Firesquids]

I started with Persona 4 and then played 3, then 5. Really you can can start with any of them as the stories aren't connected in any meaningful way. Personally I'd say start with either 4 or 5, which ever looks more interesting to you (5 is my favorite persona game so far, so maybe play 4 first so you don't miss the better mechanics of 5?). Oh also definitely get the enhanced version of whatever game you go with (Persona 3 F.E.S, Persona 4 Golden or Persona 5 Royal) It's a lot like pokemon where they release a more complete version of the game a year or so after it come out!

I wouldn't bother playing the first two, they're quite old and the gameplay is very different.

 

[Mr_Persona]

3 is a great start or 4. Even though 2 and 1 are very old looking, they're also fun too. I don't remember 1 that much but l think the gameplay was a little different like it was more classic l believe.
Bad news though, Strikers is half spinoff and the way you fight in the game isn't exactly the same as the previous persona 5 game. But if you do any of the Persona games then starting at easy mode will help you get used to it and when you're ready to play again, you can try to get a different GOOD ending at normal mode. There's bad endings in these games so watch out or game will end early! If you do have a PC then l would just get P4 on there because its not that expensive, its only 20$!

To others users who read this,
l don't mean no harm when l say "spinoff". If it bothers you, then ignore my post Ty

Post automatically merged: Apr 20, 2021

I started with Persona 4 and then played 3, then 5. Really you can can start with any of them as the stories aren't connected in any meaningful way. Personally I'd say start with either 4 or 5, which ever looks more interesting to you (5 is my favorite persona game so far, so maybe play 4 first so you don't miss the better mechanics of 5?). Oh also definitely get the enhanced version of whatever game you go with (Persona 3 F.E.S, Persona 4 Golden or Persona 5 Royal) It's a lot like pokemon where they release a more complete version of the game a year or so after it come out!

I wouldn't bother playing the first two, they're quite old and the gameplay is very different.

very true about starting at any game. None of them are connected, kinda wonder if they will have 2 games where the stories are connected.

 

[Neb]

In my opinion Persona 4 Golden or Persona 5 Royal are the best places to start. 1, 2, and 3 are solid games, but they aren’t the most accessible. The first two games have high encounter rates and Persona 3’s dungeon crawling can get repetitive at times.

Which game you start with depends on what you are looking for. Persona 4 Golden excels in pacing, optional character interactions, and replayability. Persona 5 has an expansive narrative, more creative dungeons, and a stunning user interface. The soundtracks are very different as well. Persona 4 leans towards pop and rap, while Persona 5 has a soul/disco and rock feel.

 

[LambdaDelta]

persona 3 portable is easy af on regular difficulties, since they gave you the ability to have full control without optimizing the game to take into account not having to manage the ai

4 also has the ability for full control, but the game is optimzed for it and geenrally more challenging as a result

base 3 (including the fes release) as you can guess only lets you control door-kun

5 I'll leave others to say anything on, since I haven't touched 5

1 and 2 (both innocent sin and eternal punishment) are a far cry different from the modern persona games formula, having a much heavier focus on classical jrpg elements and thematically skewing more to the heavier/darker tones/themes more usually associated with the mainline smt games in fact, the literal just about everyone dies apocalypse quite literally does happen at the end of innocent sin. which in this case, the power of friendship is actually what caused this to begin with and sorta-but-not-actually reverting it required completely wiping these friendships from existence. something modern persona would never ever think to do, given it leans more towards general anime/shonen tropes now. but hey, innocent sin is also the only persona game where you can fight hitler

 

[AC.Newbie]

I can honestly say that Persona 4 is one of my favorite games. The story is pretty dark and well done. The characters are very likeable. Being that it's a PS2 game sounds like it would be right up your alley!

Post automatically merged: Apr 23, 2021

5 I'll leave others to say anything on, since I haven't touched 5

5 is very fun.

Spoiler

And super phallic.