Preface
I have played Persona 3, 4, and 5/5S (also 1 and 2 IS/EP). In this article I will discuss which Persona game does best in various aspects. The versions of the games I have played in order of me playing them are:
Persona 5 (Original) on PS4
Persona 3 FES on PS2
Persona 4 Golden on PSVita
Persona 5 Scramble on PS4
This isn't a full review of the games, just some basic thoughts on them and how they compare to the other games and my rankings of them.
Persona 5: We Live In A Society The Video Game
Persona 5 was the first Persona game I played and became one of my top 5 games I have played. In terms of gameplay, I consider Persona 5 to be the best. The UI is the best UI I've seen in a video game and the aesthetics of the combat are amazing. The raw combat mechanics come second in my ranking. The story and themes come second also. The main cast comes third of the three games but I still enjoyed them very much, I just find the main cast of the other games a little better. I think confidants are the best social links of the three games. Joker, whom I named Naito Mokkusu, is my second favorite protagonist of the three games. Overall, I think Persona 5 is the best 'game' of the three. It's the most fun to play and the most enjoyable experience.
Persona 5 Scramble was a very good game. The combat system was pretty good. The game is pretty easy though and the only game over I got in my two playthroughs was by Futaba getting killed on Merciless mode once. Story and themes are obviously comparable to Persona 5 and the characters are the same.
Persona 3: Burn My Dread
Persona 3 is the second mainline Persona game I played and is one of my favorite games in terms of story and themes. The gameplay is the worst of the three due to Tartarus being a complete grindfest and being most of the combat experience of the game. Although Tartarus drags down the overall gameplay value, I believe Persona 3 has the best combat mechanics which are slightly different from Persona 4 and 5. The main difference is that when you knock an enemy down, they get back up if you attack them again and when using a ma- attack, you don't get a 1-More unless all enemies are weak to the attack and hit by the attack. I find this combat system better than the current one and more challenging. I believe Persona 3 Portable uses the modern combat system but FES uses this one. The main cast I believe are the second best in terms of their characters and development but are personally, my favorite cast. Social links are probably the weakest of the games but there are still good ones. Also, Persona 3 on normal difficulty is by far the hardest and is a genuinely difficult game on normal, I died probably 6-8 times in Persona 5 on normal but Persona 3, dozens. Good thing the Burn My Dread intro is my favorite of the games cause I watched it a lot. The emo messiah, whom I named Naito Mangetsu, is also my favorite protagonist of the three games. Also the way you summon Personas in Persona 3 is my favorite. I think as a game, Persona 3 is the worst of the three but as stated in the first sentence, has the best story and themes. I have also seen the Persona 3 movies and enjoyed them.
Persona 4: Happy Friendship And Murder
Persona 4 is the third mainline Persona game I played and I believe overall, although still a great game, is the weakest of the three. The gameplay is a significant improvement over Persona 3 with the different dungeons and such. Although the overall gameplay is better, on normal difficulty, the game is just so easy. I only died 2 or 3 times in my entire playthrough and only on the boss you fight in Yukiko's Castle after you rescue her. The game wasn't a challenge to me at all after the first dungeon. The combat mechanics changed from what they were in Persona 3 but a lot was added to Persona 4's combat to make up for it although the challenge is gone. The story of the game and themes I find to be the weakest of the three games. I understood the themes of Persona 3 and 5 but when I finished Persona 4, I didn't fully understand what was going on, something about truth or whatever. The main cast I think as characters are the best of the three games and have the best character development but are my second favorite. The social links are second best. The protagonist, whom I named Naito Mayonaka, is third when it comes to my ranking, I just wasn't as connected to him as I was with Joker or Makoto Yuki. Persona 4 is still a great game but I find it a little overrated by Persona fans.
Written 2021-6-30 Published 2021-8-1 Updated 2022-6-1