PSP PS4

Persona 3 Portable

Persona 3, released outside Japan as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It is the fourth main installment in the Persona series.

Point-and-clickRole-playing (RPG)AdventureVisual Novel

Time to beat: about 66.1 hours
Plays offline: Yes

Overview

Persona 3, released outside Japan as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It is the fourth main installment in the Persona series. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2006 and in North America in 2007. It has received several enhanced re-releases and ports: Persona 3 FES, an extended version featuring a new playable epilogue and other changes, was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2007 and worldwide in 2008. A PlayStation Portable version, Persona 3 Portable, was released in Japan in 2009, North America in 2010, and Europe in 2011, and ported to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2023. Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the core game and epilogue, was released in February 2024 for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, with a Nintendo Switch 2 release occurring in October 2025.

In Persona 3, the player assumes the role of a high school student who joins the "Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad" (SEES), a group of students investigating a temporal anomaly known as the "Dark Hour", during which its members can enter Tartarus, a tower containing monsters called Shadows. They battle the Shadows using a physical manifestation of their psyche called a Persona, which they summon by firing a gun-like object called an "Evoker" at their head. Persona 3 incorporates elements of role-playing and simulation games, as the game's protagonist progresses day by day through a school year and forms relationships that improve their Personas' strength in battle.

Reception towards Persona 3 was mainly positive; critics enjoyed its social elements, while some found its combat and environments repetitive. Persona 3 FES's epilogue was said to give narrative closure to the original game, although it was criticized for not featuring its simulation aspects. Persona 3 has also seen other related media, including the fighting games Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, the rhythm game Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, the role-playing games Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, soundtrack albums, musical concerts, radio dramas, a manga, a loosely connected anime series, and an episodic animated film series.