Every Persona Spinoff Game, Ranked

Summary

• Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is a fantastic dungeon-crawling RPG that fans of the franchise should try, despite its mediocre narrative.
• Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is an excellent fighting game that translates Persona 3 and 4 characters well, but may not be as enjoyable for Persona fans who don't like fighting games.
• Persona 5 Strikers is a great spinoff that feels like a true sequel to Persona 5, with enjoyable combat and a surprisingly well-handled story.

When Atlus first made Persona—a spinoff of the Shin Megami Tensei series—we sincerely doubt that they anticipated it receiving close to a dozen spinoffs. Yes, that does mean that we now live in a world where spinoffs are receiving spinoffs. However, while your first inclination is to probably look at these titles with a great deal of trepidation, we have good news: they are all quite good.

Best Mainline Persona Games, Ranked

It's hard to go back to old-school JRPGs sometimes, but not when the stories are still so good.

That's right, there isn't a dud in the mix. Each and every one of these spinoffs does at least a few things well. In fact, most of them do a few things brilliantly. But we aren't here to just praise these games, we're here to rank them! We tell you which of these titles we think are the best of the best, and provide you with a concise rundown of what each brings to the table.

Updated February 14th, 2024 by James Kennedy: Since this list was first written, new Persona Spinoffs have been released. So, we rolled up our sleeves and have diligently updated it for your pleasure. We also puffed up some of our previous entries and put a little more meat on the bones.

7 Persona 5 Tactica

Persona 5 Tactica is the newest spinoff in the Persona franchise. It sees the Persona 5 crew battle it out in their third distinct iteration of turn-based combat; first we had the SMT-style turn-based combat we all know and love, then the dungeon-crawling take with Q2, and now we have the Tactical RPG spin.

While the Persona 5 cast is as lovable as ever, they aren't really the core players here. The story instead revolves around newcomer Erina. While we like Erina, her taking the central stage does make it feel like the Persona 5 cast are guest-starring in their own game. The biggest issue here is the combat. It isn't that it doesn't add its own Persona-twist to the formula—it absolutely does—it is just quite simply too easy. Which, you know, kinda defeats the purpose of a strategy game? Thankfully, despite this issue, Persona 5 Tactica is still a slick and stylish diversion.

6 Persona 4: Dancing All Night

Dancing All Night debuted on the PS Vita and was later ported to the PS4 alongside the other Persona Rhythm games (but we'll get into those a little later). While Dancing All Night may at first blush appear to be an odd choice, once you remember how hard the Persona 4 OST slaps, you'll change your tune (pun very much intended). But you need not come solely for the catchy music, the rhythm game mechanics are intuitive, while also feeling distinct enough from the classic falling notes of DDR to feel fresh and fun.

10 Best JRPG Soundtracks, Ranked

We all love a good JRPG. We all love a good soundtrack. Well, have we got just the games for you...

However, while Dancing All Night is a highly enjoyable rhythm game experience, it is also inundated by a pretty low-quality narrative. And, unfortunately, the game forces you to interact with it if you want to gain access to all the songs. Dancing All Night is one of the first spinoffs, and it really set the tone for how they would play out: awesome gameplay, stylish visuals, banging soundtrack, and a terrible story. It is the way.

5 Persona Q: Shadow Of The Labyrinth

Do you like the Etrian Odyssey games? Well, if so, then you'll have a great time with Persona Q. This is, for all intents and purposes, a Persona-themed Etrian Odyssey game. If you aren't familiar with those titles, they are dungeon crawlers that have a heavy focus on combat and exploration. The combat does incorporate some of the Persona accouterments as well, of course, but this is an Etrian Odyssey game through and through.

It is worth noting that the first Persona title has more of a dungeon-crawling emphasis than the later games would have. So, the series actually has a rich history with the genre.

While the primary focus of this title is dungeon exploring and combat, it also has a big narrative. And it is... fine? Okay? The character interactions are a lot of fun, of course. So, it will scratch that itch. And it does act as a crossover for Persona 3 and 4, which is a ton of fun, but you would be best served to not show up for the story. Still, at its core, this is a fantastic dungeon-crawling RPG that every fan of the franchise should give a shot!

4 Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth

And now the spinoffs of spinoffs are getting sequels. Oh, the humanity! We're not going to lie, people. We were of two minds on this one. Persona Q2 adds a number of quality-of-life changes that are very welcome. It also adds the cast of Persona 5, and even adds P3P's FeMC, who is obviously a fan favorite.

Every Persona 5 Game, Ranked

There are more than 5 Persona 5's.

However, while Persona Q2 builds on the original game in such a way that it is the better game, the fanservice element starts to go a little off the rails here. And hey, what else would you expect with a game that mashes the casts of three RPGs together? We're going to say that Q2 edges out Q1 due to the inclusion of the lovable Persona 5 cast, but it doesn't render the original game obsolete. Both Persona Q games are definitely worth playing!

3 Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is the sequel to Persona 4 Arena, which is the Persona 4 fighting game. However, Ultimax builds off of Arena, includes all the Arena content, and then also adds a ton of new content. So, this entry will cover both games, as Ultimax renders the original title obsolete. So then, what of the game? Is it any good? Well, we seriously considered putting the game on top of this list, so, we'd definitely say so.

Ultimax is a fantastic fighting game that lovingly translates Persona 3 and Person 4 characters to the fighting game genre. In fact, some of these characters are easily among the most interesting characters to ever exist in a fighting game (we're looking at you, Stupei). However, while Ultimax is an excellent fighting game, it is not necessarily an excellent Persona game. If you are a Persona fan who doesn't like fighting games, you probably won't love Ultimax. Sure, it features a pretty meaty visual novel, but it feels more like fanfiction than an actual cannon story. Come for the incredible aesthetic and fantastic music, stay for the top-tier fighting game action.

If you want to know where we would rank the original Arena, due to Ultimax just completely eating its lunch, it would probably be placed just above Tactica. It was a great game when it released, but there is literally no reason to play it in a world where Ultimax exists.

2 Persona 3: Dancing In Moonlight And Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight

Persona 3: Dancing In Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight are being added as one entry as they feel like they are two halves of the same game. Released simultaneously, these titles feature remixed versions of Persona 3 and Persona 5 soundtracks. Naturally, these titles are a continuation of Persona 4: Dancing All Night. However, the package feels a little more streamlined, and while the narrative is less expansive, that serves the game well.

As is (nearly) always the case with a Persona spinoff, the story itself is nonsense fanservice. However, the interaction between characters is still a lot of fun. The soundtracks have defined the modern Persona titles, so a rhythm feels like a natural direction for a spinoff to take. And it all works brilliantly.

1 Persona 5 Strikers

Persona 5 Strikers is the pinnacle of Omega Force's expansion of the Dynasty Warriors formula. It truly feels like a full-on sequel to Persona 5 as opposed to a spin-off title. The story picks up a few months after the conclusion of Persona 5. You will be following the misadventures of the Phantom Thieves once again. In nearly every way, Strikers feels like a true sequel. Except for the aforementioned Dynasty Warriors-esque combat engine, of course. But even there, the combat engine has been retooled to suit Persona, and it feels pretty damn good, even if it does still have a bit of that button-mashing that you would expect from a Musou title.

Many fans were understandably skeptical of a Persona game by way of Dynasty Warriors, but everything about this project was handled gracefully. It also does the unthinkable: it has a fairly enjoyable story. That's right, this is the one spin-off that manages to actually handle its narrative elements surprisingly well. The cast is just as lovable here as they were in Persona 5, and it is great seeing them get a whole other game together. Persona 5 Strikers is, quite simply, the perfect spinoff title.

Persona 5 Royal: All Showtimes, Ranked

The best of each two-person performance.