From March 25th to April 1st, the Japanese Netorabo Survey Team conducted a questionnaire with the following question: “What is your favorite Persona series?”
The survey received 1,341 responses in total, and the top 13 results can be seen below.
13th Place: Persona 4 Arena (1 Vote)
In 13th and last place is the first spin-off of the Persona series: Persona 4 Arena. A fighting game developed in collaboration with Arc System Works. The game featured Persona 4 and Persona 3 characters, and acted as a sequel to Persona 4. P4A was originally released for Japanese arcades and subsequently for consoles in 2012.
12th Place: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (2 Votes)
Taking 12th place is the sequel to Persona 4 Arena: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Released for arcades in 2013 and for consoles in 2014, the fighting game featured an expanded cast of playable characters and a continuation of the first game’s story.
9th Place: Persona 4: Dancing All Night (3 Votes)
Tied for 9th place is the first rhythm game in the Persona series: Persona 4: Dancing All Night. Released in 2015, P4D featured collaborations with various music artists. P4D had a story set after the events of the Persona 4 Golden epilogue.
9th Place: Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight (3 Votes)
Tied for 9th place is the Persona 3 rhythm game spin-off: Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight. Released in 2018 alongside Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, it followed the same format as Persona 4: Dancing All Night without an elaborate story mode.
9th Place: Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight (3 Votes)
Also tied for 9th place is the Persona 5 rhythm game spin-off: Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight. Released in 2018 alongside Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, it followed the same format as Persona 4: Dancing All Night without an elaborate story mode.
8th Place: Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth (9 Votes)
Taking 8th place is Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, the sequel to Persona‘s first dungeon crawler in the vein of the Etrian Odyssey series. The game was released in 2018, featuring a story combining the casts of Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5.
7th Place: Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (11 Votes)
In 7th place is the first dungeon crawler spin-off in the Persona series: Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth. Released in 2014, PQ was developed in collaboration with members of the Etrian Odyssey team. It featured map drawing and gameplay mechanics from the EO series, and a story combining the casts of Persona 3 and Persona 4.
6th Place: Persona 5 Strikers (41 Votes)
Taking 6th place is the Persona 5 Musou spin-off released in February 2020: Persona 5 Strikers. The game was developed in collaboration between Atlus and Koei Tecmo Games’ Omega Force team. It featured Persona 5 characters in an action, hack-and-slash context, with a story taking place after the events of Persona 5.
5th Place: Revelations: Persona (50 Votes)
Taking 5th place is the game that started it all in 1996: Revelations: Persona. Following the high school setting featured in Shin Megami Tensei if… Persona was to be a spin-off of the SMT role-playing game series focusing on psyche and the human soul.
4th Place: Persona 2: Innocent Sin / Eternal Punishment (85 Votes)
In 4th place is the Persona 2 duology of Innocent Sin (released in 1999) and Eternal Punishment (released in 2000). P2 featured the return of several characters from the first Persona and cemented certain elements the series would become known for.
3rd Place: Persona 4 / Persona 4 Golden (304 Votes)
In 3rd place is the Persona 4 series, with P4’s release in 2008 and Persona 4 Golden‘s release in 2012. This was the first Persona game to have a rural setting with its town of Inaba instead of a populous city. P4 expanded the series with multiple spin-offs and media including anime adaptations and stage shows.
2nd Place: Persona 5 / Persona 5 Royal (401 Votes)
Taking second place is the latest mainline game in the series: Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal with 401 votes, or 29.9% of the total votes. The P5 series began with the first entry released in September 2016, with P5R releasing in October 2019 as a version including new characters and scenarios. Persona 5 is the best selling entry in the Persona series yet, greatly increasing the series’ popularity.
1st Place: Persona 3 / FES / P3P (428 Votes)
Taking first place is the Persona 3 series, which includes the first game released in 2006, the stand-alone “director’s cut” version Persona 3 FES, and the handheld remake Persona 3 Portable. The P3 series received 428 votes, or 31.9% of all votes.
Comments from voters had a general sentiment that “I think it was Persona 3 that established Persona as a series.”
***
The Persona 3 series was also ranked the highest (alongside Persona 2) regarding the Atlus games users would like to see a remake of the most, based on the results of the Atlus Consumer Questionnaire of 2022.
A Netorabo poll of 2022 ranked the most popular female characters in the Persona series.
— Netorabo