PersonaandShin Megami Tenseiare two long-running JRPG franchises developed by Atlus. Originally, the Persona series began as a spin-off of Shin Megami Tensei, featuring similar mechanics and gameplay elements with a different focus on the story.
After many entries in both series, how are these two game franchises connected? Below, we’ll take a look at how Persona and Shin Megami Tensei are connected, how the games cross over, and some key similarities and differences between the two series.
How Are Persona And Shin Megami Tensei Connected?
To understand the connection between Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, we need to go back to the very beginning, with thefirst Shin Megami Tensei game.
In this game, a player-named protagonist battles and controls demons in anear-future Tokyo. Shortly after the start of the game, demons start invading Tokyo from the Abyss, and eventually, the world isdevastated by nuclear explosions. While humanity just barely hangs on, demons now freely roam the streets.
Several years later, Atlus releasedShin Megami Tensei: if, which presents a"what if" scenario where this nuclear fallout never occurred. This game essentiallysets the stage for Persona; the protagonist is astudent whose school is transported into the world of demons, and who must explore this world byfighting alongside demons and other high school students.
Shin Megami Tensei: if wasnever officially released outside of Japan, so the only way to play this game is throughunofficial English translations.
This then leads into thefirst Persona game, which is centered around ahigh school student who gains the power to wield their “other self” in combat; their Persona. However, it wasn’t until Persona 3 that the series really transitioned into thehalf-social simulator, half-dungeon crawlerthat it is now.
So, to summarize, Persona and Shin Megami Tensei areloosely related, with the key connecting game beingShin Megami Tensei: if, where the Persona series branches off from. Other than that, Persona and Shin Megami Tensei areonly thematically and mechanically related, which we’ll take a deeper look at below.
The Persona series began as aspin-off of Shin Megami Tensei, but has now grown into its own identity.
Persona and Shin Megami Tensei Similarities
The most obvious connection between these two series are thedemons/Personasthat you interact with. For the most part, these arelargely the same creaturesin both games, with similar appearances across games. For example,Jack Frost is an Atlus staple, and has appeared inalmost every Persona and Shin Megami Tensei game.
Both series also feature the ability tobattle alongside or against these demons, either talking to them to convince them to join your side or controlling them as your Persona.Fusionis another concept that is shared between Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, allowing you to combine demons into new ones.
This is done in theWorld of Shadowsin Shin Megami Tensei or theVelvet Roomin Persona, which are bothvisually similar.
Another constant between Persona and Shin Megami Tensei is theirsetting. With the exception of Strange Journey,every Persona and Shin Megami Tensei game takes place in Japan, with themajority of them set inTokyo. However, in Shin Megami Tensei, Japan is usually hit with someapocalyptic disaster, whereas in Peronsa the world is usually fine.
Persona and Shin Megami Tensei Differences
Of course, there are many differences between Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, mainly in theirstory presentationandgameplay.
Shin Megami Tensei stories have heavy religious references, often featuring wars betweenangels and demons. The name Shin Megami Tensei, translated literally, means"Reincarnation of the True Goddess", so these religious overtones are definitely expected.
On the other hand, Persona games are typically morecharacter-driven, following asmall cast of charactersand a more centralized plot surrounding these characters. Shin Megami Tensei tells the story of the world, while Persona tells the story of one specific place.
In general,Shin Megami Tensei games are considered much harder than Persona games. Shin Megami Tensei requires a bit more strategy for each battle, and you’re expected to exploit the enemy’s weakness in almost every battle, both in random encounters and boss fights alike. Persona isn’t as punishing, but there are definitely somechallenging fights throughout the series.
The biggest difference between these two game series ishow you spend your time in-game. Persona games are defined by thesplit between daily school life and dungeon crawling, whereas Shin Megami Tensei games are usually focused entirely on the dungeon crawling gameplay element, with little to no daily life elements like Social Links.
