If you’re like me and you’re excited for this fall’s Metaphor: ReFantazio, the next turn-based fantasy RPG from the team responsible for some of the most beloved Persona titles, you owe it to yourself to check out the latter series. Persona exploded in popularity over the last decade, turning into a bonafide hit for Atlus and Sega, which has resulted in various re-releases, ports, and expanded editions. Now, the most recent entries are on sale, and you might have enough time to fit one or two in before the jam-packed fall season arrives.
If you check out Steam right now, there’s currently a Persona franchise sale that’s got some pretty deep cuts on some of the most acclaimed RPGs of several generations. The big-ticket item of the bunch is Persona 3 Reload, the long-awaited remake of the third entry that was released earlier this year. Though Persona 3 has been ported a million different ways by now, this high-definition remake has been the thing that fans of the series’ dark horse have been clamoring for. Persona 3 Reload is currently available for $US42, and though a few more bucks will net you some cosmetic DLCs, you’re better off putting that money towards the controversial expansion pass.
Next down the line is Persona 5 Royal. Though the series was already growing in popularity, especially out here in the West, the original Persona 5’s release in 2017 was the moment that solidified the series as a new favorite for many. A few years later, Atlus re-released the game with a whole new story arc and dungeon, character, streamlined systems, and more, and called it Persona 5 Royal, and for many this is the definitive way to enjoy one of the greatest games of the 2010s. Luckily for you all, you can snag Persona 5 Royal for just $US24 dollars on Steam right now. Considering it was the last original game that the team behind Metaphor worked on, playing it will probably give you the best idea of what’s to come.
If you’re looking for some non-mainline entries in the series to get into, some of those are on sale too! Persona 5 in particular enjoyed a healthy amount of critically lauded spin-offs including last year’s tactics game Persona 5 Tactica and a musou game titled Persona 5 Strikers. You can snag Tactica for $US36 and Strikers for $US15.
Persona 4 Golden was my first game in the series, and it holds a soft spot in the hearts of many fans. It’s definitely not as transgressive as many felt it was, but I think for the time, it felt like a revolutionary game. Despite its shortcomings, there are things to love about it like the quiet countryside town of Inaba, the friends you make along the way (except maybe Yosuke), and the banger pop soundtrack that accompanies the whole thing. Seriously, Persona 4 Golden is worth it just for the chance to walk around listening to “Heartbeat, Heartbreak.” You can do all of that and more in Persona 4 Golden for just $US12 at the moment.
Persona 4 Golden also had a few spinoffs, and perhaps the biggest one was Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, a fighting game that actually continued the game’s story rather than functioning as some side episode. It’s still getting some level of support from its developer after all this time, and within the last year or so it even got rollback netcode to make online play smoother than ever. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is available on Steam for just $US9.
Finally, there’s a collection that compiles Persona 5 Royal, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 3 Portable for $US53.17. The last one of those, Portable, is an earlier port of Persona 3 that made its way to the PSP system back in the aughts. It condensed the game’s overworld into a point-and-click kind of hub rather than a 3D overworld, but it made up for that concession by including a female protagonist and streamlining elements from the original game to adhere more closely to Persona 4’s combat system, which allows full control of the whole party. While it’s got its detractors, it’s also a pretty great way to play something that’s pretty close to the original game.
For less than the price of one full game, you can dive into all three of those sprawling journeys. Persona games are thick with content, so no matter what you decide to pick up, you’re in for something massive. Just remember to budget your time (a thing you’ll learn by playing through the social aspects of the mainline RPGs) so that you’re as prepared as you need to be ahead of Metaphor’s release this October.
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