Persona 4 Revival might just be one of the most exciting new JRPGs underway – aside from Atlus' Persona 6, that is – and yes, its menus look just as stunning as the studio's past games.

In case you missed the likes of Persona 3 Reload and Metaphor: ReFantazio in the past couple of years, Atlus' JRPGs have featured some of the most stunning menus I've seen in any game.

With vibrant visuals, eye-catching fonts, and fluid movement between selections, they're simply to die for – heck, it's one of the most notable features Metaphor: ReFantazio fans pointed out before the fantasy gem even launched in 2024.

It appears that Persona 4 Revival will join the studio's lineup of beautiful in-game menus, with new screenshots of its own UI drawing attention from series stans online.

In one post over on Twitter, we see bright turquoise shades and yellows showcased with various fonts, reflections, and shadowy backgrounds. It's a graphic designer's dream come true, and fans can't help but praise Atlus for the jaw-dropping menus.

"I think this might be the cleanest and best graphical presentation from an Atlus game ever, my God," writes one fan. Another adds, "These look sooo good." Elsewhere, someone jokes, "I hope they spent some of the budget fleshing out the characters" – because, you know, it feels like a lot of money went into the menu designs.

There's also a clip of the menus in action floating about, and yep… they're brilliant.

As one poster exclaims, "HOLY SHIT, THIS MENU IS SO RAD!" And, I have to include my favorite comment: "I FUCKING LOVE ATLUS MENU SCREENS!" Me, too, anon. Me, too.

That's not to say that Persona 4 Golden had bad menus or anything – but Revival is an upgrade, after all, and the menu redesigns certainly prove it. Personally, I can't wait to experience them in real-time.

Thankfully, I won't have to wait too long – Persona 4 Revival is releasing on February 18, 2027, which is mere months away at this point.

Searching for more to look forward to? Browse through our roundup of the best new games coming this year and beyond to add to your wishlist.

New Persona 4 Revival footage has shown a new scene with Marie, leading to hopes that she'll be integrated better into the story than she was in Persona 4 Golden.

It's a trend in Persona games that when the updated version of it comes out, there's a new character integrated into the story who becomes a vital part of the new content – and by a trend, I mean it's happened twice. Persona 4 Golden introduced Marie to the story, a Velvet Room attendant who is a bit abrasive before opening up to the investigation team and protagonist. But she's a bit awkward in her integration, with many in the fandom dubbing her Poochie (in reference to a top five Simpsons episode).

However, Kasumi, introduced in Persona 5 Royal, has conversely become one of the most beloved characters in that game, and was overall integrated far better than Marie was for Persona 4 Golden, as if Atlus took the feedback about Poochie to heart. And from the looks of things, there may be some more Marie in Persona 4 Revival.

In the Persona 4 Revival character overview trailer, fans noticed that the scene shown alongside Marie is on the night of April 17, which would be after beating one of the game's first major bosses. The thing is, this scene doesn't exist in the original Persona 4 Golden, with Twitter user MeovvCAT speculating that this scene will play after the protagonist gets a tracksuit from Morooka.

And despite the mixed reception to Marie, response to the idea of more of the character is generally hopeful. Replies to the post include one user saying, "Hopefully learning from Kasumi and how to better integrate Marie into the overall story." Another adds: "What the remake needs to do, and I hope it succeeds, is to better integrate Marie into the story. If they do that, the remake will have fulfilled its purpose."

Persona 4 Revival changes some of Yosuke's controversial scenes: "We wanted to lighten that up and make it a little bit more fitting for the world we live in now."

Persona 4 Revival producer Kazuhisa Wada has revealed that Yosuke will be subject to changes to make him a "bit more fitting for the world we live in now."

Speaking to Anime Corner, Wada explains that the team hasn't made many changes "about the story," how characters think, "or how they act or anything" in Persona 4 Revival, but that the changes are "mostly with Yosuke."

He adds that Yosuke is "a little bit insensitive in terms of how he treats outsiders sometimes. So we wanted to lighten that up and make it a little bit more fitting for the world we live in now."

Persona 5 may be the biggest game in the series, but Persona 4 is that guy. Almost 20 years down the line and the game everyone used to complain was being oversaturated during the wait for Persona 5 is coming back, with 18 years of discourse backing it up. Some story elements of Persona 4 are a bit controversial to this day, so many have been curious as to how the remake would handle some of these elements.

One of the elements of Persona 4 that is perhaps aged in the eyes of many is pretty much everything to do with Yosuke. As a character, Yosuke embodies the "bro" archetype and – as someone who was a teen when Persona 4 came out – was a pretty accurate portrayal of your average edgy teenage boy in the era.

Yosuke is a very insecure character deep down, but it manifests with him being a bit of an asshole to his friends, playing on their insecurities, and by-extension being homophobic, misogynist, and just a bit of a creep. Most infamously, he asks Kanji – who was having doubts about his own sexuality – if he and the protagonist are going to be "safe alone" with him.

We've already seen that the game has removed a fan-favorite line that shows how awkward Yosuke could be (as well as a change to the pageant scene). Some are also wondering if the seemingly cut romance option with Yosuke will be restored in the upcoming remake, with some feeling that his homophobia and creepy lines could be symptomatic of a closeted person projecting their own insecurities. However, given the word that the team hasn't made major changes to the story, I have my doubts this will be included.

Persona 4 Golden Chie actor is "deeply grieving" being recast in Revival: "Thank you for sharing the journey with me."

As if Persona 4 Revival couldn't get any more exciting, it's now been confirmed that anime powerhouse MAPPA – the studio behind Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan's final season, and more – is producing all of the JRPG remake's animated cutscenes.

That's right, from the animators who brought you Satoru Gojo's ethereal blue eyes and many of Attack on Titan's most explosive scenes, we can now get ready for Persona 4 Golden's cutscenes to be brought to life in a new way.

We've already seen some of these in action from the remake's trailers and promotional videos – like the snippet of protagonist Yu Narukami awakening to his first Persona, Izanagi, in the game's pre-order trailer.

From what's been shown so far, they look incredible.

MAPPA's involvement in Persona 4 Revival was announced during Anime Expo 2026 over the weekend, where it was also revealed that Rise (the game's navigator, like Persona 5's Futaba and Persona 3's Fuuka) will be voiced by Abby Trott in the English dub, replacing The Last of Us Part 2's Abby actor, Laura Bailey. This isn't Trott's first Persona role, as she also voiced Tae Takemi in 5 Royal.

The new cast might take some getting used to for veteran fans, but it'd be hard to fault the new performances, from what we've heard.

I always thought that Persona 3 Reload looked great, but I've got to say that Persona 4 Revival is already looking like an even more impressive remake from what we've seen. MAPPA is only handling those anime-style cutscenes, but even the regular in-game cutscenes look super expressive, too.

There's still quite a wait before Persona 4 Revival's February 17, 2027, launch, but at least we'll have something to tide us over until Persona 6 eventually releases.

It's real, it's green, and it's looking a bit sinister, but that's about all we know about that one right now.

One Persona 4 Revival actor shared her "hardcore manifestation" to get into the JRPG remake over 2 years ago, and it clearly worked: "Dreams really do come true."

Although Atlus didn't bring female protagonist Kotone Shiomi back from Persona 3 Portable in Persona 3 Reload, she is making a comeback now – albeit not in a mainline game.

She'll be returning to Persona, but she's not joining her male counterpart Makoto Yuki in Reload – instead, she's part of a new Persona 3 Portable crossover event in Persona 5 gacha spin-off The Phantom X.

It's a strictly mobile and PC game, but it is free to play, so fans of Kotone will finally be able to play as her should they please. Atlus confirms as much in a teaser for the event, showing Kotone in action.

The description of the video details that more information is coming soon, which will likely include the event's release date – but it doesn't provide any other word on what players can expect to see in the crossover aside from Kotone herself.

Regardless, it's a pretty big reveal for folks who've missed one of the Persona series' only female protagonists… and trust me, there are plenty of them to go around.

Heck, Persona 3 Reload fans have been redoing every cutscene in the JRPG to add Kotone in – the dedication is unparalleled, y'all. There's even a mod out there that attempts to bring her into the 2024 remake as seamlessly as possible.

The Persona 3 Reload FEMC Mod Version 1.1.0 has been released (The Biggest Update Yet!) from r/PERSoNA

In other words, there's no shortage of Kotone truthers to be found in the wild, and I've got a good feeling this crossover event might spur a rise in Persona 5: The Phantom X players thanks to that.

As for why Atlus didn't choose to include Kotone in Persona 3 Reload a couple of years ago, it all boils down to difficulty and expenses. General producer Kazuhisa Wada previously stated (in machine-translated comments) that even though adding the female character was considered during Reload's development, "the hurdles were too high" ultimately. It's certainly sad, but at least we can play as her in the Persona 5 spin-off.

Here's hoping we learn more about the crossover event from Atlus soon – and perhaps see what else the developers have in store for Persona 5: The Phantom X.

While you wait for the big event, why not read through everything we know about Persona 4 Revival and Persona 6 so far, or browse some other exciting new games underway?

Fans have taken one of the biggest missed opportunities of the late 2000s into their own hands and are porting Persona 3 to the Nintendo DS.

I don't know about you, but I'm of the opinion that RPGs are best experienced on handheld consoles. Being able to chip away at a massive game in bed, on the bus, or wherever else you fancy (the bath? I don't know) is always a pleasure, and beats locking yourself to a console on the big TV. Before Persona 5, I spent most of my RPG time on the likes of the GBA, DS, and PS Vita, which did mean I missed out on some all-timers.

While Persona 3 Portable does exist, it was exclusive to the PSP, and it's a shame Atlus didn't share the love of the mainline Persona series to Nintendo until well after Joker appeared in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. However, a group of fans collectively named the P3D Project are aiming to right this wrong by porting Persona 3 to the DS, under the name Persona 3 Dual.

The game's 1.0 version released earlier this week, with the devs calling this "Milestone #1" with a new trailer showing off the port. And yes, it sure is Persona 3.

In fact – despite being substantially stripped back in comparison to the PS2 original – it does feature some things that never made it into the Portable edition on PSP. Namely, you're able to walk the streets of Iwatodai and the Paulownia Mall areas. In Persona 3 Portable, the overworld was made into a pseudo visual novel experience, whereas this DS port brings it more in line with the original game.

You can play this fan project now with a download available on the game's Github, but the developers have also shown what will be in the next version of the game, with the continued development of Persona 3 FES's female protagonist and updated versions of the UI to match. Will it be the most optimal or best way to play Persona 3? Probably not. But it's a really cool project regardless for those looking for a different way to experience one of their favorite RPGs.

Persona 4 Revival makes changes to fan-favorite scene from the OG JRPG, and veteran players aren't sure how to feel: "I'm sure people will be normal about this."

Persona 4 Revival is still underway as a remake of one of the best JRPGs to date (no, I'm not biased at all) – but just how true it is to Persona 4 Golden remains a bit of a mystery.

Although we do know that Atlus is remaking Golden specifically, there have been a few signs here and there pointing to differences between the 2012 banger I spent way too much time playing on the PlayStation Vita and Persona 4 Revival. For instance, we've previously seen cut dialogue lines come to light – and, of course, changes in characters' voices, like Yukiko's and, perhaps most notably, Chie's actor, too.

The discussion dominating the community right now has to do with yet another supposed step away from Persona 4 Golden: the Beauty Pageant and swimsuit contest.

If you've played the original revamp from Atlus, you might recall that October 30 – in-game, that is – is the date of the Beauty Pageant event. There are two phases, casual and swimwear. Now, the change in Revival, as per new screenshots from Atlus, has to do with Rise's outfit.

Persona 4 dancing outfits confirmed for P4R through a new screenshot atlus posted from r/PERSoNA

As pointed out over on Reddit, she appears to be wearing her Persona 4: Dancing All Night idol outfit during the Beauty Pageant. This would likely be a replacement for her "casual" wear – unless the swimsuit portion is different as well – in which she usually wears a simple dress in Persona 4 Golden. As you can imagine, the community has thoughts on this… to say the least.

"What if they make Persona 4 Revival an all-in-one," reads one comment. I'm not so sure they'd include its spin-offs instead of references like the outfit, but as a fan responds, that would be "cool as hell."

Another person writes, "Given there is a sprite, I'm thinking this is canon in game, and they are reworking that whole segment. Just a thought, though, who knows. It also could be an additional part of the school festival. I'm sure people will be normal about this." So am I, anon. So am I.

Somebody else says, "Looks like they're changing the swimsuit contest from the school festival event into maybe a dance contest, which is honestly probably for the best imo." I wouldn't be so quick to suggest that.

Over on Twitter, an eagle-eyed Persona modder instead shares in my own sentiment here: "It's likely Rise wears her P4D outfit in the Casualwear portion of the event." Honestly, I really think this is the most probable case.

I can't see Atlus changing it entirely, and we do see Rise's swimsuit in other new pictures. Fans are also sharing those – although it does seem like her beach-ready outfit has a new pattern.

As far as I'm concerned, though, I'll be happy with whatever ends up truly ringing true here. While I don't believe the Beauty Pageant will see drastic changes or that we'll see spin-off games integrated into Revival, I'd be thrilled either way.

Here's hoping we learn more about Persona 4 Revival as we near its February 18, 2027, release date… or, you know, Persona 6 while we're at it.

Searching for more to look forward to? Browse through our roundup of the best new games coming this year and beyond to wishlist.

Persona is the latest video game making the leap to live-action, with Netflix on board to adapt the beloved RPG series. And fans already have the perfect Joker in mind.

According to a report from Variety, Star Trek: Picard's Christopher Monfette is attached to write. Monfette has worked on a variety of genre shows and is a credited writer and co-producer on Marvel's upcoming VisionQuest. Stranger Things' Shawn Levy is also on board as a producer as part of his production company, 21 Laps. On the Sega side, Sonic the Hedgehog's Toru Nakahara is reportedly attached to produce.

Details beyond that are thin on the ground as, per Variety, Netflix declined to comment or confirm the veracity of the news. We don't even have a sense of which entry in the long-running series this show is likely to adapt. But it's further evidence of how much Netflix values video game adaptations in the wake of The Witcher, Castlevania, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2, Arcane, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, Devil May Cry, and many more.

While each mainline Persona entry deals with a new set of characters, there are some throughlines across the series – most notably, each stars a set of Japanese high school students who navigate the minutiae of school life by day, and fight their way through deadly dungeons by night, adopting a range of colorful personas to do battle.

The next game in the series, Persona 6, was announced only last month at Summer Game Fest, but with little more than a teaser to go off, it's unlikely Netflix's adaptation will be drawing from that. Far more likely is that Netflix's live-action Persona will take its cues from Persona 5 – as it features a number of the most beloved characters across any Shin Megami Tensei game. It's also the most successful entry in the series to date, with almost 14 million copies sold when Persona 5 Royal and the 2022 remaster are taken into account.

Naturally, Persona fans have plenty of thoughts about the news, not all of them positive. While some point to Netflix's track record of live-action adaptations as an ill omen for Persona, plenty are excited about the proposition of Joker and co. making the transition to live action. One common bit of fan-casting: Tom Holland as Joker. Though given the Spider-Man star has recently graduated to working with the likes of Christopher Nolan on The Odyssey, and that he has a long-gestating Fred Astaire biopic coming up, the chances of him starring in a Netflix video game adaptation seem relatively slim.

Whoever eventually signs up, it's certainly an exciting time to be a Persona fan, as Persona 6 seems to have some unexpected horror vibes. A Sega leaker has also hinted that the highly anticipated game could be released as early as next year.

Netflix's live-action Persona series does not currently have a release date. For more, dive into our list of upcoming video game movies and shows, or fill out your watchlist with our ranking of the best shows on Netflix.

People looking for any morsel of info about Persona 6 will be happy to know that the director and series producer Kazuhisha Wada is happy to oblige.

Speaking to Famitsu (and reported by TheGamer), Wada explained some of his philosophy when it comes to making games. Specifically, he was asked about what challenges he wants to take on in the future and what he would tell other game developers.

"Fundamentally, as a creator, I'm not very interested in things that are neither good nor bad," he said. "That's why, while facing various risks and constraints, we've tried to deliver something like a poison that leaves a strong impression. Of course, this isn't just about sensationalism or extremism, but something that shakes people's values or gives them something to think about."

Even though Wada doesn't directly connect this to Persona 6, he's described the Persona games as a form of "poison" before. In 2024, he talked about trying to make games widely appealing but still distinct and compared it to "serving players deadly poison wrapped in sweet coating."

Wada routinely makes games that surprise people and I doubt Persona 6 will be any different. The hardest part will be waiting to see what kind of poison he's slipped into it. Persona 6 doesn't currently have a release date. All we know is that it will be rated M and seems to have some horror vibes.

Persona 4 Revival removes fan-favorite line, leaving fans hoping for a certain new love interest in shambles: "We definitely aren't getting that romance"

Persona 6 breadcrumbs continue to drop, this time with a Mature age rating courtesy of the Australian government.

The upcoming Atlus JRPG has been a very long time coming, but Persona 6's reveal trailer didn't divulge much information about the game at all. That's now changing with the speed of a dripping tap, and it's all thanks to the Australian Classification Board.

The ACB recently slapped Persona 6 with an M rating (for Mature), recommending it stay in the hands of gamers over the age of 15 due to "coarse language," nudity, and violence supposedly depicted in the game.

While age ratings don't provide concrete confirmation that games are nearing release, they do normally serve as good indicators since it suggests publishers are already doing certification prep. After all, classification boards can't recommend an appropriate age rating without seeing content used in the final game and publishers don't usually start the process for games early on in development with content that's likely to change substantially.

Essentially, if you're feeling optimistic, this could be a clue that Persona 6 is further along than its brief, shadowy reveal trailer implies. Look no further than Splatoon Raiders and Star Wars: Zero Company's age ratings, which were both submitted shortly before their release dates were made official.

Still, I'd recommend pumping the breaks on any hopium-fuelled dreams that involve Persona 6 getting a full gameplay blowout and a release date anytime soon. It's entirely possible the new age rating is based on content disclosures seen on Steam's Persona 6 storefront description: "This Game may contain content not appropriate for all ages, or may not be appropriate for viewing at work: Some Nudity or Sexual Content, Frequent Violence or Gore, General Mature Content".

Also keep in mind Atlus has other priorities to keep track of. Persona 4 Revival, a remake of the classic RPG, is coming out on February 18, 2027 - and Atlus has said we can look forward to more Persona 6 information after the remake releases.

For now, we know Persona 6 seems to be following in the footsteps of its high-schooling, demon-punching predecessors. "Live a Double Life in Modern-Day Japan," the game's Steam page reads, while hinting at another year-long in-game calendar and "contemporary Japanese cities."

Persona 4 Revival fans hope Atlus is teasing a male romance option thought to have been cut from the original JRPG, and as Persona 6 approaches I think it's about time

Atlus has changed a specific line of dialogue in Persona 4 Revival, leading some to wonder if they got their hopes up for the rumored cut Yosuke romance option returning a bit too early.

Persona 4 is one of those games where there's a lot of curiosity about how Atlus would go about remaking it. Despite Persona 5 eclipsing it in popularity, the discourse around Persona 4 has persisted for decades, and one of the big reasons why people are curious about how it will be remade is Yosuke Hanamura. Yosuke takes on the "bro" archetype that Persona 3's Junpei and Persona 5's Ryuji exist in, and is your protagonist's right-hand man throughout the adventure.

But Yosuke is awkward – especially in the English localization. He creeps on the litany of women throughout the game, plays on insecurities of the party members, and most notably, constantly makes homophobic comments – especially towards Kanji. And while from my perspective of growing up in the era, he's almost a perfect representation of a teenage boy in a world where Family Guy, South Park, and any number of sitcoms were appointment viewing, and giving your friends abuse for the love of the game was a common activity, it's led to him being a disliked character for a portion of the fanbase.

One thing that many point to with Yosuke in regards to his homophobia is an apparently cut romance option with the character where he seemingly confesses his love to the protagonist – as if his comments are a manifestation of his own feelings in a society where people as homophobic as Yosuke exist. And with it becoming more common in games – like Fire Emblem, Hades, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 – to offer same-sex romance options, many were wondering if this scene will be restored in the upcoming remake.

Atlus released a deep dive video for Persona 4 Revival revealing that a line – in which Yosuke awkwardly tells the protagonist that "you do seem to be great with your hands," before catching himself and quickly retracting it – has been changed. In Revival, the line is changed to, "Woah, you can cook? Actually, you do strike me as someone who'd be good at that," which is a pretty straight-forward compliment, and not nearly as debatably flirtatious as the original.

Fans have been quick to react, with one user lamenting: "We definitely aren't getting that romance," while another adds, "Only way the scales balance from this is if they add the Yosuke romance."

However, it's been pointed out that the Revival version of the line is actually more accurate to the original Japanese version, which others do celebrate, hoping it'll make Teddie's character a bit more obviously an oblivious kid than he was in the English version, where many just viewed him as a total creep.

Persona 4 Golden Chie actor is "deeply grieving" being recast in Revival: "Thank you for sharing the journey with me."

Persona 6 is now on Steam, ready to wishlist as we wait who knows how long for the next big JRPG from Atlus.

As expected, the Persona 6 Steam page closely mirrors the existing pages on the PlayStation and Xbox stores. However, Atlus and publisher Sega have also shared a few moderately interesting breadcrumbs.

With just a short and vague reveal trailer to go on, we've had to resort to these store pages for any information sturdier than bread. Most of the details around Persona 6 have served only to confirm what hasn't changed since Persona 5, which is by far the most popular entry in the series. Today hasn't yielded any bombshells either, but sometimes no change is interesting news in its own right.

One thing that has changed a tiny bit is Persona 6's mature content description. This is unique to the Steam listing, at least for now, and reads: "This Game may contain content not appropriate for all ages, or may not be appropriate for viewing at work: Some Nudity or Sexual Content, Frequent Violence or Gore, General Mature Content".

For comparison, here's what Persona 5 Royal's Steam page says: "This game includes content such as blood, drug reference, partial nudity, sexual themes, strong language, and violence."

I'm really only pointing this out because, while Persona 6 shows very slight differences to Persona 5 Royal's mature content Steam description, it's identical to Persona 4 Revival's disclosure. This suggests Atlus or Sega have simply updated their boilerplate verbiage, so we shouldn't read it as a unique reflection of the tone or content of Persona 6, which, based on that graveyard reveal trailer, is currently suspected to be a bit darker than the more pop-flavored Persona 4 and 5 (though both of those also feature some grim scenes and subjects).

If nothing else, this does indicate that Persona 6 won't be a step back in terms of mature content or themes. Previously, we only had pending ESRB ratings, with the Xbox page predicting "likely mature 17+".

We can also look at the SteamDB page update history and find "content descriptors" which include "some nudity or sexual content," "frequent violence or gore," and "general mature content".

Speaking of Steam tags: separate from user-determined tags, Persona 6 has categories that include "single-player," "Steam Achievements," "Steam Cloud," and "Family Sharing". I look forward to seeing what tags Steam users brute force into the store page.

Another Steam update log matches a blurb on the live page: "Added 3rd-Party DRM – Denuvo Anti-tamper". This also comes as no surprise, as Persona 4 Revival uses the same tech.

Somewhat more interesting is clear confirmation that the Persona series' calendar structure hasn't changed. In store page descriptions, Atlus explains that we will "Live a Double Life in Modern-Day Japan". The Steam post co-published by Atlus and Sega notes that Persona 6 will see us "Live a Year Alongside Unforgettable Companions in Modern-Day Japan," recentering the calendar and putting us on a course for a year in "contemporary Japanese cities".

Additionally, Atlus and Sega continue to emphasize that Persona 6 is a completely standalone game, seemingly looking to avoid any confusion or fear around playing this as your first Persona. Atlus knows Persona 5 got a lot more attention than previous entries, and it obviously wants those people, and others, to play Persona 6. I've scoured every crumb of Persona 6 information, and I can't stress enough just how heavily this newcomer-friendly sentiment has been pushed.

That new Steam post reads: "While staying true to the distinctive atmosphere and innovative gameplay experience that have made the series beloved for years, Persona 6 introduces an entirely new setting and story. Each mainline title features a self-contained narrative with no story ties to previous games — so if this is your first Persona experience, jump right in!"

Persona 6 could release next year, Sega leaker hints, telling JRPG fans not to "read too much" into the teaser's lack of release window.

One Persona 4 Revival actor shared her dream to be cast in the JRPG remake over two years ago, well before Atlus's next game was even announced, and now she says "dreams really do come true."

Ari Thrash, who also voiced Yao Guang in Honkai: Star Rail, has now been announced as the new English voice of Marie in Revival – a Persona 4 Golden-exclusive character who was previously voiced by Eden Riegel. "I'm so ecstatic to say dreams really do come true as I announce I had the incredible honor of voicing Marie in P4R," Thrash writes following the news – and looking at her old posts, you can tell she's really not exaggerating.

Back in April 2024, Thrash took to Twitter with a dream. "If P4 gets another remaster with like P5 graphics and they give the characters other VA's I would love the chance to try out of Rise or Nanako," she wrote. "This is hardcore manifestation. Even if I didn't get one of them just to be able to try is a dream."

She reiterated this point in December of the same year, sharing a fan-made Persona 4 and Dandadan crossover animation and proclaiming: "Mark my words I will be in the remake of this at any cost. I'm manifesting it rn."

Well… here we are! While Thrash didn't end up being the voice of Rise or Nanako like she initially suggested – in fact, she now admits that at the time of that post, "I had never played Golden so I didn't know who Marie was" – she's clearly over the moon.

"Being a part of this game is a HUGE dream come true for me," she says in her announcement. "I'm still in awe and I'll be forever grateful.

"Persona 4 was my first introduction to the franchise and I've been a huge Persona fan since," she continues. "It's always been a bucket list series for me to book and working with the localization team brought me so much joy and is such an unforgettable experience.

"Every one of my cast mates is someone I look up to. To be able to be a part of this cast is surreal beyond belief."

Thrash acknowledges that many veteran fans will likely "miss the OG Marie's voice and I can't/won't blame you for that (she slays), the OGs are iconic!!" Even so, she's hopeful that folks will enjoy her take on the character.

"When I recorded Marie I had no idea what her previous voice was like, my version of her is just based on her design and her sides and learning with her as she learns about herself," she explains in a separate post. "I wanted to keep myself from doing an impression – but I wonder if me and Eden will have very similar performances. That'll be a fun comparison when I get to play both the og and Revival side by side."

Thrash promises that she gave the role her all, noting that "I cried once my last session finished," and her enthusiasm is contagious. We've not heard too much of her as Marie just yet, but I can't wait to hear her in action once Revival launches next February.

Persona 4 Yukiko actor passes the torch to her replacement as Atlus reveals Revival cast: "I know she will rock this role."

Atlus has unveiled several of the new actors who'll provide the English voices of Persona 4 Revival's iconic characters, and the cast seems to know exactly how big the shoes they're stepping into are. The new actors have taken to social media to celebrate the news and pay tribute to the OGs, and at least one of the original actors is happily passing the torch to her replacement.

Brianna Knickerbocker will take on the role of Yukiko Amagi in Persona 4 Revival. She describes this as an "absolute bucket list dream role" on Twitter, promising fans that "we all poured so much love into this story/game. You all are going to LOVE it."

Among the people already certain to love it? Amanda Winn Lee, who voiced Yukiko in the original game. "This is fantastic news," Lee exclaims in her own tweet. "Brianna is an absolute doll and I know she will rock this role and it's ridiculous laugh! Have fun, gorgeous!!"

The Persona 4 characters are uniquely beloved, even among the intense world of JRPG fandom, and for many players in the West these personalities are inseparable from the English voices who previously brought them to life.

"I know how much this series and specifically this title means to Persona fans, so I just want you all to know the immeasurable amount of care and consideration that went into the recording of this game," says Paul Castro Jr, who's taking over the role of Yosuke Hanamura. "I can only hope to capture some of what made Yosuke so special to so many people, while bringing my own voice to the role."

As for Ari Thrash, who's taking over Marie from Eden Riegel, she says "I know most of you will miss the OG Marie’s voice and I can’t/won’t blame you for that (she slays), the OGs are iconic!! But– for every new persona fan and old, I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy my interpretation of her."

Funnily enough, Thrash tweeted way back in 2024 that if Persona 4 were to ever get a full remake with a new cast "and they give the characters other VA’s I would love the chance to try out [for] Rise or Nanako. This is hardcore manifestation." That manifestation did end up working, in a way, though Marie wasn't on her radar at the time. "I had never played Golden so I didn’t know who Marie was," she explains.

"My cast and I stand on the shoulders of giants," according to Nazeeh Tarsha, who's taking over the role of the protagonist from Johnny Yong Bosch. "We all grew up on monumental and iconic performances and the amount of respect we have toward our predecessors cannot be overstated. Truthfully I know that this news comes to the chagrin of many and I would be lying if I said I haven't been nervous about this reveal. I want to make it clear that I see myself solely as an iteration. Johnny will forever be my and many people's GOAT and I can only hope to aspire to his greatness. I did my best to do right by both him as well as the fandom."

These roles have clearly meant a lot to the actors who've taken them on over the years. Chie actor Erin Fitzgerald, who herself replaced OG actor Tracey Rooney for Persona 4 Golden, said she was "deeply grieving" losing the role for Revival. Here's hoping the new cast can live up to the precedent set by those who've come before.

You can't make a list of the best JRPGs without at least one Persona game.

As Atlus shows off Persona 4 Revival's fully voiced Social Links, some fans are convinced that the devs are also teasing the addition of a male romance option thought to have been cut from the original JRPG.

The character in question is Yosuke Hanamura – protagonist Yu's first friend and party member, and one half of a non-canon pairing that's been popular for the best part of two decades now. In Persona 4 and its Golden re-release, Yosuke and Yu become very close over the course of the story and their strictly platonic Social Link, but some datamined cut voice lines previously led fans to believe that the devs may have planned for it to be possible for the two to have become more than just friends.

As showcased by Persona content creator Faz in the video below, the unused (but fully voiced) dialogue goes as follows: "I focused all my attention on the murders to avoid having to confront myself. So long as I don't try, nothing will change, even if we catch the killer. Right now, I'm just plain old me, and I want to do what I can with everything I got, with you guys. I never knew I had such heat inside, so I… I want to become someone who can proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Don't go. I like you. … Don't make me say stuff like that."

While it's up to interpretation, the delivery of those lines definitely implies there could have been a romantic connotation, and many are hopeful that this could surface properly in the upcoming remake – something some believe Atlus is now teasing. Over the last couple of days, Atlus posted a selection of Social Link clips from Revival in a video shared across its social media accounts, leading the post with the caption: "'If someone had to see that, I'm glad it was you.'"

That's a line from one of the conversations with Yosuke – you can hear Revival's voiced version in the video itself – and while it might not mean much on its own, some are intrigued that Atlus is pushing that particular Social Link into the spotlight. "COME ON ATLUS THIS HAS TO MEAN SOUYO. RIGHT. RIGHT," one fan questions, referencing the pair's common ship name.

"They used Yosuke's line on the caption. They are hinting a Yosuke romance route," another speculates, while another asks, "WHY HIS QUOTE HMMMMM." Meanwhile, another simply declares: "ATLUS! MAKE YOSUKE ROMANCE ROUTE REAL AND MY LIFE IS YOURS!"

And, as fans have previously pointed out, if Atlus were to add a romance route for Yosuke, it could theoretically add new context to some dialogue that's aged very poorly in 4 and Golden. As one puts it, "Atlus has a once in a lifetime chance to completely recontextualize and VASTLY improve Yosuke's character by confirming his homophobia to be a projection of his insecurity and internalized homophobia."

It's dialogue like this that I've been wondering how Atlus will handle when it comes to the remake – I've personally been speculating that it'll likely just be cut entirely, even if a Yosuke romance route is added, but we'll have to wait and see.

As for our chances of a Yu and Yosuke romance, I don't think this specific Atlus post is the hint some want it to be, but given the old cut content, I'd like to think there's still a possibility. We don't yet know how Persona 6 is going to shake out in any capacity, but we do know it'll feature romance, and locking players down to purely heterosexual relationship options like we've seen in Personas 3 through 5 would certainly feel like a dated decision, despite the fact that it wouldn't be a first for the series (just look at Persona 2: Innocent Sin).

With that in mind, it'd also be a good opportunity before then with Revival to update one of the older games with something many felt it was missing, and, let's face it, after years of shipping, Atlus is definitely aware of the demand.

Persona 4 Golden Chie actor is "deeply grieving" being recast in Revival: "Thank you for sharing the journey with me."

Persona is one of the most iconic RPG franchises for a reason. Since Atlus released the first game in the series, Revelations: Persona in 1996, the series has been a critical darling and fan-favorite for years. We've had countless spinoffs and remakes over the years, but there have only been six main entries in the Persona series, with the last, the phenomenal Persona 5, releasing back in 2016. Ten years later, we’ve finally got a teaser trailer for Persona 6. It’s extremely dark – so much so that it looks like Persona is finally ready to take a surprising leap into horror. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier.

The teaser gives virtually nothing away, but it’s got a seriously sinister energy. There’s a green tint over the proceedings, as we're taken to a shadowy graveyard. Ominous music builds as eerie discordant sounds flood our ears. The camera moves slowly, lurking in menace towards a large, ornate gravestone in the middle of the cemetery. The shadow of a hand is seen outstretched towards it. Before the hand can make contact with the grave, the teaser cuts to a rapid montage of footage and cutouts of body parts that wouldn’t feel out of place in the Resident Evil franchise. Then, in bright, toxic green, “P6” flashes on the screen before the title “Persona 6” appears below. This may not be the Persona we've come to expect.

Reach out to the truth

The teaser's description makes vague but unsurprising promises: Persona 6 is a “new standalone story blending heartfelt daily life and new characters with pulse-pounding, supernatural adventure. Whether it's your first Persona game or you’ve been here since the beginning, this one's for you." “Heartfelt” is the only word that suggests this might not be horror, but plenty of great horror has heart. And “pulse-pounding” certainly suggests things are gonna get intense. I don’t know a genre more pulse-pounding and nerve-shredding than horror.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Persona has never done horror before. It's had plenty of spinoffs, including two fighting games, Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax as well as three rhythm games, Dancing All Night, Dancing in Moonlight, and Dancing in Starlight. But no horror. But Atlus’ fascination with taking these characters into different genres is all the evidence I need to know it's capable of diving into the deep end of horror.

For those quick to say that Persona would never take the jump into horror, there’s something important to address here: Persona has always been a degree or two away from being a true horror game. Throughout the main series, you battle with twisted manifestations of your own psyche called shadows at night. Persona 3, arguably the darkest game of the series, is about coming to terms with the inevitability of death. Every Persona game has enemies that look like they’ve come straight out of Silent Hill, with plenty of murder to boot.

The farthest Persona has strayed from horror was Persona 5, with its infectious upbeat jazz soundtrack, but even that game dealt with heavy topics. Atlus has steadily pushed the boundaries with what we can expect from turn-based RPGs, and I seriously doubt Persona 6 would be an exception to that rule. Horror is precisely what Persona needs to take things to new heights. With a few tweaks, the dungeons we’ve come to know and love could become dense, relentless nightmares, while the daytimes at school could be used to grapple with the psychological impact of the horrors that await at night.

Now, Atlus is no stranger to delivering a creepy teaser trailer for a new Persona game. For Persona 5, the all-red trailer showcased five chairs with shackles on them. On screen text reads “You are a slave. Want emancipation?” before revealing the title Persona 5. It was undeniably sinister. Yet when you compare the two, the Persona 5 teaser comes off looking like an episode of Peppa Pig. If the Persona 5 teaser promised the chance for freedom, the Persona 6 teaser offers a full descent into darkness. And I can only hope Persona 6 delivers on this promise of a full-blown horror game. It’s been a long time coming.

With Atlus keeping quiet on Persona 6, we've ranked the best Persona games you can actually play

Persona 4 Revival's latest trailer has given us our first look – well, listen – of the upcoming JRPG remake's new cast of actors, and one of the stars from Golden is understandably "grieving" the fact that she's not reprising her role.

While fans have been theorizing who the new actors in Persona 4 Revival might be, we don't actually have any confirmed names yet, but one thing we know for sure is that everyone sounds different. Though this might be disappointing to anyone who enjoyed the previous performances, it's also not too surprising – before Persona 4 Revival was even revealed last year, a number of actors from the previous games helped fuel expectations that a remake was on the way by revealing that they weren't in it.

Amongst these was Erin Fitzgerald, the English voice actor for the energetic second party member, Chie Satonaka, in Persona 4 Golden (and its following spin-offs). She said at the time: "I have not been asked to reprise my role as Chie Satonaka in the Persona 4 remake. RIP." Now that the latest trailer is out, she's been sharing more thoughts.

"I'm ok chat. I'm just deeply grieving," Fitzgerald begins in a BlueSky post. "Everything in life is transient.

"I celebrate that the experience happened. I am grateful that I lived it FULLY," she continues. "Thank you for sharing the journey with me." She shares a GIF of her character, and signs off: "Chie out."

I’m ok chat.I’m just deeply grieving.Everything in life is transient. I celebrate that the experience happened. I am grateful that I lived it FULLY.Thank you for sharing the journey with me. Yukiko, i will love u forever. Yosuke, let’s go get a burger. 💚💛💚💛💚 Chie out

— @erinfitzbadass.com (@erinfitzbadass.com.bsky.social) 2026-06-10T11:51:36.436Z

Persona 3 Reload similarly recast the English voices for all of its main party members, and though the new performances were great, they still took some getting used to for longtime fans of the series. I imagine it'll be the same here, as you can see in fans' responses to Fitzgerald. "I'll miss your Chie, dearly," one says, as another writes: "Your performance as Chie was tremendously amazing and I think I speak for the entire fandom when I say we're NEVER forgetting it."

Persona 4 Revival is now confirmed to be a remake of 2012's expanded Golden re-release, where Fitzgerald first took on the role (taking over from Tracey Rooney). It's set to release on February 18, 2027, and after that, we even have Persona 6 to look forward to.

Persona 6 could release next year, Sega leaker hints, telling JRPG fans not to "read too much" into the teaser's lack of release window.

A Sega leaker has hinted that Persona 6 is probably still coming in 2027, despite the teaser trailer showing nothing about the game.

It feels weird to say it, but Atlus has announced Persona 6. It's been almost a decade since Persona 5 released in Japan, and we've been waiting so long for the next numbered entry. But really, it being announced hasn't changed much, since the trailer proceeded to show us absolutely nothing about the game. It had some spooky visuals, a logo and release platforms, and that was it! I'm excited, but I knew as much about it around 10 years ago as I do now, and some are concerned we'll have a long wait ahead of us like we did after Persona 5's first teaser.

But ResetEra user lolilolailo, who has been known for leaking info about Sega games for a few years (them teasing the theme of the too-silly-to-be-leaked Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was enough to get my trust, personally) has commented on the teaser. When asked if 2027 was still the planned release date, they respond: "Don't read too much on the teaser not having 2027 in it, especially considering P4R is launching before."

And granted, it makes sense for Atlus to not overshadow the upcoming remake of Persona 4 with news about the next game in the series, with an Atlus lead suggesting we shouldn't expect more Persona 6 info until after Persona 4 Revival releases. Many are predicting we'll see a repeat of Atlus' 2024, where the Persona 3 remake released in early 2024 while the Persona-adjacent Metaphor: ReFantazio released in October.

So, despite Atlus giving us nothing, it sounds like the dream may still be on the cards and we could be playing Persona 6 next year. At least I hope so – it's been too long.

Persona 4 Revival finally gets a release date, and boy does it look good.

The Persona 4 remake is getting one of my favorite Persona 5 combat mechanics, and I bet you missed it in the trailer, too. Amid everything announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, which was in itself a fast-paced frenzy of updates and announcements including Persona 6, I don't feel bad that it took a more thorough and focused rewatch to spot. But spot it I did, and I can now confirm that swap out is coming to Persona 4 Revival.

Why is it so exciting? Well, I'm someone who plays the best turn-based RPGs by choosing my party more for the company than the logistics. There are a couple of caveats to that – no, I wouldn't pit Light damage specialists against a resistant enemy just for the sake of it, but unless I know what I'm up against, I'm a sucker for bringing my favs with me into each of the best Persona games. Persona 5's swap-out mechanic proved my saving grace for that precise reason, allowing me to switch up my party makeup mid-battle if I run into a nasty surprise. Seeing it come to Person 4 Revival is truly excellent news – and it shows how Atus is approaching its remakes with more in mind than a stylish new look alone.

Channeling the greats

I had been hoping to see swap out in Persona 3 Reloaded. The game was Atlus's first pop at its remake series, also made in tandem with the next mainline game (hell yeah for Persona 6 finally being revealed), and I knew it had set out to bring Persona 5's strong visual identity to one of its best-loved titles.

It absolutely pulled off making a stylish, slick remake, evoking the aesthetic charm and vibrance of the franchise's entry. But I was disappointed that the innovations stopped there. Persona 5's success made it the series' greatest hit, a lot of it probably down to how good it looks. There's more to the Joker's adventure than a cool vibe, though. It also has the best combat.

I see echoes of that in the Persona 4 Revival trailer. Everything is painted in vivid shocks of color, from the environs of the Midnight Channel itself to the skills Yu and his buddies use to defeat Shadows throughout. The UI is discernibly Persona 5-coded, much as it is in Persona 3 Reloaded, only reskinned to suit the game's own color palette. To that end, the P5 energy resides only in P4R's style instead of its substance.

Or so I thought, until about one minute and twenty five seconds into the trailer when the words "baton pass" flash on-screen. It looks like the protagonist is tagging Yosuke in, potentially swapping out a downed Chie to give her a chance to recover. It looks just like the swap out mechanic from Persona 5 and Persona 5 Golden – finally, it's coming to the remakes.

The real question will be how Atlus adapts its unlock path to accommodate a new context. Swapping party members out mid-combat is locked behind social sim elements in P5, specifically by building your relationship with the game's Star Confidant, classmate and love interest Hifumi Togo.

Maybe the role of Star Confidant is returning to P4R, but might be exclusive to one or more of the protagonists' eight love interests? Or, if Atlus wants to adapt rather than copy and paste the mechanic, there might be multiple ways to access it? Swap out is such a fun and essential tool in Persona 5, especially on higher difficulties or for anyone who struggles to be strategic about their party selection, and there are so many ways it could be introduced to P4R with the same effect.

For now, there's still a big question mark over what that might look like. But with a February 2027 release date locked in and less than a year to go until then, I'm excited to see which other ways Persona 4 Revival riffs off the fifth mainline game to deliver a fresh take on its coolest tricks. Style and substance, please!

Persona 6 is finally happening, but its big Xbox Games Showcase announcement was incredibly vague, and according to Kazuhisa Wada, director at Atlus's P-Studio, it doesn't sound like we can expect more details anytime soon, either.

I'm sure I'm not the only one whose highlight of the big Xbox show yesterday was the Persona 6 reveal, but, uh, Atlus really didn't give much away. We got a few extended, dark shots of the camera panning over what looks like a rainy graveyard, before moving to a green sky, some slightly creepy imagery of pointing hands, letters, and facial features, and then – bam – Persona 6 logo. It exists, it's coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and it's green.

Hoping to find out more? Well, too bad – at least, for now. In a press release, Wada – one of the leads on Persona 4 Golden, Persona 5 Royal, Persona 3 Reload, and more – says: "We are delighted to officially announce our work on the next installment of the Persona series and look forward to sharing the incredible efforts that the entire team is putting into Persona 6 for its release after Persona 4 Revival."

That certainly sounds like we shouldn't expect any more news until we're past Persona 4 Revival's release, which is now set for February 18, 2027. Painful though that may be for anyone desperate for more information, it's not particularly surprising, either – the lack of significant footage and any indication of a release window suggests that we might be waiting some time for the game. I just hope we don't have an Elder Scrolls 6-style wait ahead of us – poor Bethesda fans have gone eight full years without a look at the upcoming RPG now.

At least Persona 6's Xbox store page has given a little more away about the Atlus JRPG, teasing that "the signature blend of heartfelt daily life and pulse-pounding supernatural adventure returns, wrapped around a completely fresh, standalone story and new cast of characters," set in modern-day Japan.

"Navigate the rhythms of everyday school life and build friendships, pursue romance, and cultivate memories that matter," it continues. "But beneath the surface of familiar streets and quiet neighborhoods lies something darker: strange rumors, unsettling urban legends, and occult incidents that only you and your closest allies can face."

Frankly, that descriptor could be used for Persona 3, 4, and 5, so there's nothing unusual here – if anything, it confirms that Atlus is sticking to a formula it knows works, because why mess with a good thing? Clearly, though, for now, we'll just have to focus on Persona 4 Revival, which is now confirmed to be a remake of the expanded Persona 4 Golden, in turn avoiding Persona 3 Reload's biggest mistake.

The Persona series has sold 30 million copies, and an absurd chunk of that is from Persona 5.

Persona 4 Revival's first proper gameplay trailer is upon us, and as well as confirming that Atlus's upcoming remake looks stunning, it also showed off the return of content from Persona 4 Golden.

During today's Xbox Games Showcase, Persona 4 Revival's latest trailer confirmed a February 18 release date for the upcoming JRPG remake, and also showed a very important character. Around 50 seconds in, we see Velvet Room assistant Marie – a character who was added to Persona 4's expanded Golden re-release in 2012 along with her Aeon Social Link. Without getting into any spoilers, she also plays a big role in the new story content added to Golden, which was absent from the original 2008 game.

Up until now, it's not been clear if Persona 4 Revival was going to be a remake of the original or Golden. Notably, Persona 3 Reload fell into the former camp, controversially opting to remove the female protagonist introduced in Persona 3 Portable, as well as The Answer epilogue added to Persona 3 FES, though that did get added as post-launch paid DLC.

Persona 4 Golden's extra content couldn't really have been added as DLC in the remake given how interwoven it is throughout the main story, so I'm glad to see that it's made the cut. There were a couple of hints in the first reveal trailer last year to suggest this would be the case, namely, the use of the Golden-exclusive song, Time To Make History, and what appeared to be the protagonist's scooter outside the Dojima residence (which he didn't have in the OG release).

All in all, it seems like this has the potential to be the definitive way to experience Persona 4, which, really, is exactly what you'd want from a remake, and I couldn't be happier that Atlus is avoiding what I'd argue was its biggest mistake in its last remake.

Today's Xbox Games Showcase was a real treat for Persona fans – we also got confirmation that Persona 6 is real, green, and on its way to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC… at some point. Yeah, we really don't know much for now, but that didn't stop me from jumping out of my seat at the reveal.

The Persona series has sold 30 million copies, and an absurd chunk of that is from Persona 5.

As the Persona series turns 30 and we finally have confirmation of Persona 6, Atlus has revealed that the Persona series has sold over 30 million copies.

The day has finally arrived – Atlus has announced Persona 6 and, sure, the publisher proceeded to show us absolutely nothing about the game, but now we have official word that the game actually exists following some art seemingly leaking online last week (which has been inadvertently strengthened by the game's official logo). For now though, all eyes are on Persona 4 Revival which finally got a release date of February 18, 2027, alongside a new trailer which confirms it'll be a remake of Persona 4 Golden, avoiding Persona 3 Reload's approach of remaking the base game.

Alongside its dual announcements, Atlus released a new piece of artwork featuring Persona 4 protagonist Yu Narukami to announce that the series' 30th anniversary has coincidentally coincided with the series selling over 30 million units. The Atlus Twitter account adds, "Thank you to everyone who has supported us – we wouldn't be here without you!"

Notably, Persona 5 is unsurprisingly responsible for a huge chunk of that. Back in 2023 – around the time Persona 5 Tactica released – Atlus confirmed that the "Persona 5 series" which consists of Persona 5, Royal, Dancing in Starlight, Strikers, and Tactica, had sold over 10 million copies. More recent numbers confirm Persona 5 Royal alone has passed seven million sales, on top of the 3.2 million sales that base Persona 5 sold by the end of 2019. And, undoubtedly, the spinoffs have sold even more in the years since, too.

So, the next time you ask "why is Persona 5 still being milked by Atlus" (and somehow don't remember how much Persona 4 was milked beforehand), that's probably why.

Hopes for Persona 1 and 2 remakes crushed as Atlus mysteriously alters the JRPGs' new merch listings.

The Persona 6 reveal could hardly have been less informative, so we've no choice but to scrounge the newly minted store page for something of substance. At a glance: not a lot, but not nothing.

For my money, the main takeaway for the Persona 6 store page is what Atlus isn't doing – namely, fixing what isn't broken. Compared to previous releases, the studio is also strongly emphasizing approachability – presumably hoping to bring all the people who bought Persona 5 back for another game.

"Persona 6 brings everything beloved about the series into a bold new story," the description reads. "The signature blend of heartfelt daily life and pulse-pounding supernatural adventure returns, wrapped around a completely fresh, standalone story and new cast of characters. Whether you've been with the series since the beginning or this is your very first Persona experience, you belong here."

Persona has almost always been a series of standalone games, with the exception of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, the only direct sequel in the mainline lineup. Obviously, you'd want to play Persona 5 before playing a spinoff like Persona 5 Strikers – if only because hanging out with the Phantom Thieves does a lot of heavy lifting in that game – but you can start with any of the core games. At most, you might miss an extremely minor reference or two if you play them out of order.

With Persona 6. Atlus is really banging this drum. A dedicated subsection reads: "New to the Series? Learn about the journey." The closer adds: "Now, Persona 6 promises the perfect entry point into one of gaming's most beloved franchises for newcomers and a haunting, profound new mystery for those who have been waiting."

For Persona 6, Atlus seems to be playing the classics. "Everyday school life" returns, sending us back to the formative, awkward high school years. You'll "build friendships, pursue romance, and cultivate memories that matter" in more social links. The backdrop to this is a "double life in modern-day Japan," with "strange rumors, unsettling urban legends, and occult incidents" creeping into your routine.

After Persona 5 and its many children – Royal, Tactica, Strikers, Dancing, a big happy family – broke records for the series, it seemed unlikely that Atlus would suddenly change course and release a dramatically different installment. The dreary, graveyard-set Persona 6 reveal trailer does suggest a return to dimmer Persona 3 vibes compared to the more bubbly energy of Persona 4 and 5, but that's about all we can say, and even that is speculation. It's looking like Another Persona Game, and you won't hear any complaints from me.

Persona 4 Revival finally gets a release date, and boy does it look good.

Persona 6 is real, folks. Atlus announced it during today's Xbox Games Showcase live stream, and it was by far the thinnest announcement of the entire show.

The trailer is a dreary shot of a graveyard punctuated with a neon green "P6" logo, and that's about it. At least we have platforms to go on: Xbox Series X, PS5, and PC (Steam).

That's genuinely it for now. We have no release date, no characters (though some purported leaks would disagree), not even themes. But as of today, Persona 6 is a real, official, in-development JRPG to look forward to.

The trailer blurb reads: "The highly anticipated next chapter of the iconic RPG series delivers a bold, new standalone story blending heartfelt daily life and new characters with pulse-pounding, supernatural adventure. Whether it's your first Persona game or you've been here since the beginning, this one's for you."

To interrogate the trailer itself a little more closely, the vibes appear closer to the likes of Persona 3, the darkest of the modern installments. Persona 4 Revival, also shown during today's show, is a bundle of pop, and Persona 5 has jazz in its blood – not what I'd play at a graveyard.

About a minute in, right before the big P6 logo crashes down, a series of rapid cuts displays a message with broken lettering: "WHO ARE YOU". This could be another Persona-standard riff on identity and the self, or it could tie into a larger, more unique plot point of Persona 6. For now, we can only speculate.

Persona 4 Revival finally gets a release date, and boy does it look good

Atlus is warning users to be wary of fake accounts and misinformation amid a sea of Persona leaks.

During not-E3 season, leaks are plentiful, and if you've been paying attention as of late, you'll have no doubt seen a deluge of potential Persona 6 artwork leaks. Many were unsure of how real these leaks were, however, now that Sega has apparently issued copyright strikes against them, some are taking it as confirmation of the leaks being legitimate, especially as we approach Summer Game Fest and the Xbox Games Showcase – where prominent Switch 2 leaker Nate The Hate says he is confident the game will show up.

However, amid these leaks, Atlus has released a statement about false information spreading. In a post on Twitter, the Atlus account (via machine translation) notes that it has confirmed the existence of accounts impersonating employees of the company, which have no connection to Atlus officially. The post then notes that information will only come from the Atlus website or official social media accounts.

While Atlus doesn't call out any specific accounts, notably, an account parodying Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio lead Katsura Hashino released a fake statement yesterday that claimed to be from Atlus, acknowledging the Persona 6 leaks. The same account made a fake post about what looked like a Metaphor: ReFantazio sequel or expansion, titled Metaphor: ReFantazio Retold.

Of course, the parody account has now chimed in, quoting Atlus's post and telling fans to be careful, prompting countless replies of that Spongebob screenshot of him looking for the maniac. However, in the time since, they have also said they are going to stop using the account (which could just as easily be a joke). But regardless, it's a good reminder to be vigilant when it comes to believing social media posts you see online.

While you're here, take a look at our Summer Game Fest schedule to keep up with this year's showcases. Wondering what new games might be announced? You can read our Summer Game Fest 2026 predictions for our thoughts.

After Sega issued copyright strikes on some supposed Persona 6 leaks, all eyes are on a potential Summer Game Fest reveal. And now, prominent leaker Nate the Hate is claiming that we should be seeing it on Sunday.

Over the last few years – after over a decade of not supporting the platform – Atlus and RGG Studio have gotten cozy with Xbox for most of its major reveals. Persona 5 ports, Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4 Revival, and Metaphor ReFantazio were all revealed at Xbox Game Showcase events, and now everyone's looking to Xbox for more news about Persona. While it feels very likely that we could see something about Persona 4 Revival, given that it's received multiple age ratings within the last few months, the unannounced Persona 6 is a bit more mysterious.

However, Nate The Hate – who most recently leaked details about the new Star Fox before its reveal alongside a whole host of Nintendo info – says in a recent episode of his podcast that "I'm confident enough to say that Persona 6 will be there," in regards to this Sunday's Xbox Games Showcase. He doubles down on this, saying: "I don't think there's any way Persona 6 does not show up at this showcase."

As for any other details, Nate The Hate adds that "I think they will put the year. I think it'll just be that generic 2027 type of thing," but that we won't be getting a release month. However, he expects a repeat of 2024, where a Persona remake releases in February, before a new game (in 2024's case, Metaphor) launches in the second half of the year. So it only took 10 years, but we may be seeing the next Persona game this week.

Be sure to check out our Summer Game Fest schedule to keep up with this year's showcases. Wondering what new games might be announced? Take a look at our Summer Game Fest 2026 predictions for our thoughts.

Sega has apparently issued copyright strikes against purported Persona 6 leaks that have been circulating across the internet for days, and some fans are now taking the DMCA notices as soft confirmation in the lead-up to Summer Game Fest and the Xbox Games Showcase.

Persona 6 hasn't been officially revealed, but several convincing images allegedly showing off everything from character designs to the game's green logo recently hit the internet. As with any supposed leak in the modern era, there wasn't too much reason to believe the screenshots were legit, though some hopefuls are now on high alert after rights owner Sega scrubbed them from the internet.

A Twitterer who reposted the alleged logo and in-game art jumped online to saythat it was, in fact, Sega who sent a copyright strike: "Got a DMCA takedown request by SEGA, so that second image was in fact real and not AI generated."

"Well, that clears it. If they requested a take-down, it's probably real at this point," one fan writes over on the Persona subreddit. "Ok the snipers are out, that kinda proves it," another says.

But after a decade of being fed reheated Persona 5 nachos, not every series fan was convinced. "Maybe, but not neccesarily," a third fan argues. "Companies also sometimes take down leaks that get big because of the potential damage they can do (i.e. false expectations)." Hear, hear.

While leaks and the removal of leaks aren't confirmation of anything, it's clear that Atlus is cooking up more than just Persona 4 Revival for its demon-punching, high-schooling JRPG franchise. On the Persona 30th Anniversary website, the Persona 4 Revival announcement sits alongside three 'Coming Soon' boxes. Make of that what you will...

Last year, P-Studio head Kazuhisa Wada also said the developer had "several projects in development." What better time to announce Persona 6 than in 2026, which also happens to be the series' three-decade milestone, eh?

As for Persona 4 Revival, the remake recently got a new age rating that also raised hopes for its potential appearance at either tomorrow's Summer Game Fest show or Sunday's Xbox Games Showcase.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our picks of the best Persona games.

Persona 4 Revival has been given an ESRB rating right in the midst of this year's not-E3 period, suggesting that an appearance at either Summer Game Fest or the Xbox Games Showcase could be likely.

As highlighted on the Persona subreddit, the upcoming remake's ESRB rating has been added to its Xbox store page, giving it a mature 17+ rating. That gives it the same rating as Persona 4 Golden – the JRPG's expanded 2012 release – with almost identical content warnings given.

To be exact, Revival is set to feature "Mild Blood, Violence, Sexual Themes, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Alcohol Reference" – the only variation there from Golden is that its "Language" warning has become stronger. Obviously, given that Revival is a remake (though whether it's of the original release of 4 or Golden is still unclear), you wouldn't expect drastic changes here, so this is all as you'd expect.

Really, it's the timing that's the most interesting part about this. This also follows the game getting rated by the Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea, and at the time of writing, Summer Game Fest is set to kick off tomorrow, with the Xbox Games Showcase taking place on June 7. It was at last year's summer Xbox show that Persona 4 Revival was revealed in the first place, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to speculate that we might be due to get another look at it.

That's certainly what fans are hoping, anyway. "Xbox Showcase Sunday new trailer incoming," one predicts on the Reddit thread highlighting the latest rating, as another speculates an announcement is "imminent."

Very little of the game was shown last year, and no release window for it was given, either – it'd be great to get a more extended look this time around, and hopefully clarify whether or not the extra content included in Golden is going to be present. Persona 3 Reload controversially elected to remake the 2006 version of the game, losing the FES re-release's epilogue content (until it was added as paid DLC) and the Portable version's female protagonist.

Persona 4 Golden made a number of changes to the 2008 JRPG, like adding two extra social links and an additional chunk of story at the end of the game (including a new dungeon). Given that last year's trailer uses a song added in that re-release, and seemingly teases the protagonist's scooter being in the game, it seems pretty likely that this is the version that's getting revamped.

While you're here, be sure to check out our ranking of the best Persona games.

Earlier this month, hopes of possible Persona 1 and 2 remakes were sparked when Atlus put new merch related to the two decades-old JRPG gems up – but the company has now made a change to its listings that potentially crushes those dreams.

Look, I want remakes of the first two Persona games myself – especially as we've gotten one for just about every entry (or so it feels), from Persona 3 Reload to the upcoming Persona 4 Revival.

I did feel a spark of hope when Atlus unveiled new tank tops, baseball hats, mugs, and sweatshirts, proudly exclaiming, "Persona and Persona 2: Innocent Sin / Persona 2: Eternal Punishment are coming to Amazon" on social media.

Heck, the merch was even sporting names unfamiliar to us: Origins and Duality. Those aren't titles that the original JRPGs have ever gone by, so it's not surprising that most of us took the news of possible remakes and ran wild with it – but now, I'm not so sure.

That's because, as an eagle-eyed fan points out in a new online post, "Atlus has removed 'Origins' and 'Duality' from the product names of their Persona 1 and Persona 2 merch after fans started to notice."

Started to notice, you know, the never-before-seen names. I've checked the official listings on Amazon myself, and sure enough, every piece of merch now just carries the old, known titles with it rather than Origins or Duality.

It doesn't exactly help the hopium we've all been on, and I'm not alone in feeling this way. "They hate us, bro," as one comment amusingly reads. Another jokes, "Atlus never changes fr." It's not all doom and gloom, though.

While I'm not entirely convinced that Persona 1 and 2 remakes are coming soon anymore, this doesn't necessarily mean they're not on the table at all. It's more likely that Atlus changed the names because we were all freaking out, and the studio isn't ready to officially reveal any potential Persona 1 and 2 projects just yet I mean, the developers did add fuel to the fire with a celebratory thread for Persona 2: Innocent Sin's birthday days ago.

The top comment literally reads, "Now release the remake version!" There's no way Atlus didn't know what it was doing, right?

It's all the more tough to say, seeing as long-time Persona producer and P-Studio director Kazuhisa Wada also previously said Persona 1 and 2 remakes aren't on Atlus' "schedule" right now, but he "would like to do it someday." When that day might be, nobody knows. Fingers crossed, I guess.

I suppose only time will truly tell what they're cooking. For now, we have Persona 4 Revival and Persona 6 to look forward to, at least, although the latter hasn't been officially revealed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go replay Metaphor: ReFantazio to clear my mind of this Persona business a bit.

While you wait for more remakes from Atlus, check out the best JRPGs to try out now.

Earlier today, Atlus announced a new line of merch themed around the first two Persona games. That announcement broke a lot of hearts thanks to some awkward phrasing that made it sound like the OG titles were getting a modern re-release, but those hopes aren't entirely dead. Atlus has applied some new branding to those PS1 JRPGs that's almost got me willing to believe something bigger is on the way.

"Persona and Persona 2: Innocent Sin / Persona 2: Eternal Punishment are coming to Amazon," Atlus proudly exclaimed on Twitter. You can probably see why a number of Persona fans were annoyed when they realized that the publisher meant a selection of merch – shirts, mugs, hats, and the like – based on those games is now available rather than new re-releases.

But here's the weird thing: all that merchandise is listed under the names "Persona 1 Origins" and "Persona 2 Duality." Those are not titles the original games have ever gone by. Maybe it's just some kind of branding update, and it probably means nothing, but… As we continue to get more and more remakes and remasters of older Persona titles, I can't help but find myself hoping that the original games are in line for similar love.

Both these games were previously remade for PSP, but that's the most modern platform they're officially available on. If you want to play them these days, you're either going to be spending a whole lot of money on eBay or dipping into the world of piracy, and it's tough to stomach the idea that there are no other options. Especially when other Persona games are getting such lavish modern versions.

Persona 4 Revival is on the way, and that's a notable factor as I try to reckon with how plausible Persona 1 and 2 comebacks really are. I very much doubt that Atlus would be working on multiple full-scale remakes simultaneously, but something smaller – maybe a modern version of those PSP remakes, like when Persona 3 Portable came to current platforms – feels very possible. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

You can't argue with our rankings of the best Persona games or the best JRPGs.

Kouji Okada is breaking his years-long hiatus from game development with another RPG set in what looks like a supernaturally tormented Japanese high school, decades after leaving his fingerprints all over the genre with Shin Megami Tensei and, by extension, Persona.

Developer Compile Heart today announced that it'll properly unveil a new "school life RPG" later this month, on January 29, that's produced by Kouji Okada himself alongside several other veteran Atlus developers, including original Persona writer Tadashi Satomi and early Shim Megami Tensei composer Tsukasa Masuko. (Thanks, Automaton.)

Our first-look teaser flashes through several quick-cut shots of spiralling DNA, ominous corridors, what appears to be a blood-splattered research lab, and then a character's eyeball expanding at the sight of... something probably gruesome. We also briefly see a cafeteria full of people screaming in terror/pain/discomfort/something that's also probably gruesome.

Details on the game, its release window, or launch platforms are up in the air but we'll likely get more info before the end of the month.

Either way, it's worth paying attention to anything with Kouji Okada's name attached. He was an original Atlus co-founder almost four decades ago, a lead developer on the earliest Megami Tensei games, and then a director for the very first Persona title, among many others.

After leaving the studio he co-created, Okada opened a company called Gaia, which went on to release a handful of games published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Though there was much speculation about Gaia's shutdown around 2010, it should be noted that the company's name and trademark does appear at the end of the teaser above.

In the meantime, check out the best JRPGs to play right now.

Persona 6 hopefuls have been waiting for another new mainline entry in the stylish JRPG series for almost a decade (the Japanese version of Persona 5 launched in 2016), and the game's producers have now given everyone a lifeline.

You see, the very first Persona game released almost 30 years ago, meaning the series will have a chance to go all out and celebrate a milestone birthday next year. When asked about his ambitions for the year ahead in an interview with 4Gamer, translated by Gematsu, producer Kazuhisa Wada said the team is "preparing a wide variety of initiatives on a global scale" to mark Persona's 30th anniversary.

"Additionally, we believe there will be opportunities in 2026 to talk about future developments for the series," he also teased. "Preparations are steadily coming together, and all of us at Atlus will be giving it our all to build excitement around Persona, so we sincerely ask for your continued support."

"Counting back to Revelations: Persona, which first released in 1996, the Persona series will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026," fellow producer Atsushi Nomura said. "I would like to express my gratitude to those who have supported us for a long time, as well as to those who have newly discovered Persona, and I hope to make it a year in which Persona can reach even those who have not yet experienced it. I'd love for us to build the excitement together with everyone."

Whatever the future holds for the high-schooling series, it'll most likely come after the launch of Persona 4: Revival, an upcoming remake of Atlus' 2008 RPG, which doesn't currently have a release date.

While we wait, why not check out the very best JRPGs to play right now?

Despite defining and then redefining what the modern Persona series could be, frequent series director Katsura Hashino hasn't been too hands on with the high-schooling, demon-hunting franchise since its last mainline entry in Persona 5 Royal.

After directing Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, and Catherine, Hashino decided to open a new subsidiary within publisher Atlus and alongside P-Studio called Studio Zero, which went on to release the widely-acclaimed Metaphor: Refantazio. But that also means Hashino doesn't have the creative involvement he once did in the Persona series.

"Right now, my juniors – members who have come after me – have taken over the reins and are producing titles for P-Studio," Hashino told Game Informer. "I've been on the sidelines, watching them and looking over them to see what they're doing. In that sense, I haven't been super involved in the Persona series after P5."

Still, P-Studio and Studio Zero exist in the same space, so the RPG maestro isn't completely cut off. "Within the physical office we have at Atlus, the studios that make Shin Megami Tensei, the studio that makes Persona, and us, the studio that makes Metaphor, we're in the same floor environment; there's nothing that separates us," Hashino added. "Even if it is indirectly, it's stimulating for us to see what the other studios within our company are doing. We're not completely separated from a creative standpoint, so rest assured on that front. Of course, we can't really talk about what's coming down the pipeline at this point, but we do have that level of interaction."

Up next for Atlus' blockbuster series is the remade Persona 4: Revival. We still don't have any official word on Persona 6, but next year is the series 30th anniversary...

Persona studio has "several projects in development" beyond Persona 4 Revival, Atlus wants the JRPG series' 30th anniversary next year to let fans "enjoy the series even more"

The Persona series has always been known for bangin' soundtracks, and Persona 3 is no exception. That's why there was some disappointment when it became clear that the remake, Persona 3 Reload, was remixing its iconic songs with a new vocalist. The new tracks turned out to be great, too, but soon you won't have to pick favorites – the original singer of those tracks is coming back.

A new patch on October 23, released on all platforms alongside the Switch 2 version of the game, will include eight tracks from original Persona 3 vocalist Yumi Kawamura, which you'll be able to set as dungeon or battle music from the options menu. Those tracks are as follows:

• Burn My Dread -Last Battle-
• Mass Destruction
• Deep Mentality
• When The Moon's Reaching Out Stars
• Want to Be Close
• Memories of You
• Mass Destruction -P3fes Version-
• Brand New Days

"It's been a while! I'm truly overjoyed and grateful to be reunited with everyone again," Kawamura says in a message accompanying the news. "Persona 3 is a treasure to me as well – I can't help but feel excited. Old friends, will you fight alongside me once more? New friends, how about letting my songs aid you in battle? Let's celebrate together. Thank you for your continued support!"

Many of the original Persona 3 vocal tracks were rerecorded by Azumi Takahashi in Reload, and for my money the results are fantastic – but having the original voice of the game back in as an option is unequivocally a good thing.

These are the best JRPGs you can play today.

It's no secret that Persona 3 Reload is coming to the Switch 2 on October 23, with a recent demo having landed on the eShop just last month – but following feedback, it seems Atlus has quite a few updates planned with some much-needed fixes.

As Atlus and Sega gear up for the Switch 2 release of Persona 3 Reload, players have been sharing their thoughts on the port's demo – one that didn't exactly impress longtime fans, with online reports stating it "has frame pacing issues so bad it feels almost nauseating to play." Thankfully, it seems that developers are well aware of the issues, however, with port director Yoshihiro Komori revealing that they're "currently taking steps" to patch things up.

Persona 3 Reload demo has frame pacing issues so bad it feels almost nauseating to play from r/NintendoSwitch2

Speaking in a new interview with Nintendo Life, the lead explains that Atlus is working to fix the frame rate drops flagged by fans playing the demo. "We are currently taking steps to improve this," admits Komori. "Since careful QA is required, it was difficult to address this in time for the main game's release, but [fixes] will be in future patches." Sadly, these patches won't address the 30 FPS Personal 3 Reload has on the Switch 2, or add 60 FPS support.

"We have also been positively considering increasing the frame rate," as Komori describes, "however, for this release, we prioritized delivering the Switch 2 version to everyone as quickly as possible." Due to the team's speedy work to get Persona 3 Reload out on the new console, the port director says, "As such, we regret to inform you that there are currently no plans to implement this kind of requested feature at this time."

Although it's definitely disappointing to learn there won't be a smoother option for players hoping to up those frame rate numbers, it's nice to know fixes are coming at all – even if post-launch. Plus, this all lines up with what Atlus has previously said about working to get Persona 3 Reload out on the Switch 2 ASAP. In fact, it's why devs said they couldn't manage a port for the OG Switch on top of the one underway for Nintendo's newer system.

"With our desire to deliver the game as quickly as possible, we made the decision to focus exclusively on Switch 2," as creative producer Kazuhisa Wada previously described. Here's hoping that, even if at 30 FPS, the Persona 3 Reload port on Switch 2 impresses, then.

While you wait for the Switch 2 port to release, why not read through everything we know on Persona 4 Revival so far or browse through some other exciting new games underway?

As Atlus and Sega gear up for the Switch 2 release of Persona 3 Reload – one that's arriving over a year after the JRPG's initial launch in 2024 – developers explain they initially hoped to port their game to both of Nintendo's handheld consoles.

Although Persona 3 Reload is coming to the Switch 2 on October 23, it's notably not going to release on the base Nintendo Switch. Creative producer Kazuhisa Wada, who acts as the chief director of Atlus' Persona dev team P-Studio, reveals why in a recent interview with 4Gamer (as translated by Persona Central afterward). First speaking on his thoughts regarding the Switch 2 launch, Wada says requests for a port have poured in "for a long time."

The lead admits, "We were very happy to see such positive reactions both domestically and internationally," saying devs had "the desire" to bring Persona 3 Reload to Nintendo consoles "from the start." However, "simultaneous development was simply too difficult at the time" – and that's sort of still true, apparently. In fact, that's partially why only a Switch 2 port is in the works right now and not also one for the normal Switch.

"The main reason" the Persona 3 remake is coming to just the Switch 2, as Wada puts it, is that devs "wanted to deliver the game to everyone as soon as possible." As they "aimed to release it as fast as we could, without any significant delay from the other versions," it didn't make sense to try and undertake both a Switch port and a Switch 2 launch at the same time. It wasn't practical and "would delay the release by at least a year more than originally planned."

That's not the only reason the studio didn't bother with a Switch version, though. Persona 3 Reload director Shigeo Komori chimes in that devs actually tested the game on the console, but soon "realized that a direct port would be challenging performance-wise." They would've apparently had to "completely rebuild" parts of the JRPG to make it work with Nintendo's older hardware, and set the Switch 2 release back by quite some time.

"So with our desire to deliver the game as quickly as possible, we made the decision to focus exclusively on Switch 2," concludes Wada. "Originally, we were planning for a release early next year, but thanks to smooth development progress, we are able to release it this October. We're really happy to be able to release it earlier than originally planned." As a Persona stan myself, I'm pretty certain the community is just as happy.

While you wait for the Switch 2 port to release, why not read through everything we know on Persona 4 Revival so far or browse through some other exciting new games underway?

P-Studio director Kazuhisa Wada says the studio has "several projects in development" going into its 30th anniversary in 2026, and considering he wants next year to be special for the JRPG series, I personally can't think of a better time to finally, properly announce Persona 6.

In a recent interview with 4Gamer (translation via Persona Central), Wada talks about the upcoming Persona 3 Reload Switch 2 version as well as a teeny tiny bit about Persona 4 Revival, the recently announced remake of the 2008 RPG.

Wada only dropped the vaguest of teases about Persona 4 Revival, saying the remake is "shaping up nicely," and that it's "not just about adding more" content, but also about having "to create an experience that's enjoyable in a new and different way."

I'm definitely psyched to see Persona 4 get P-Studio's 'R' treatment, but it's also hard to ignore the fact that it's been nearly a decade since the last mainline game, Persona 5, released, and Atlus has yet to officially, publicly acknowledge Persona 6's existence.

In this same interview, Wada pointed out that 2026 will be 30 years since Revelations: Persona launched in 1996, and he said he wants the milestone to be "a year where fans can enjoy the series even more."

I'm no video game marketing expert, but surely there's some neat trick Atlus can pull combining the 6 in 2026 with the one in Persona 6. Surely, no one would waste that gimmicky potential by waiting another year to announce their game. Right? Right?!

In the meantime, here are the best JRPGs you can play right now.

Upcoming JRPG remake Persona 4 Revival is "shaping up nicely" behind the scenes, as P-Studio director Kazuhisa Wada teases that "it's not just about adding more" content.

Speaking in a recent interview with 4Gamer (translated by Persona Central), Wada is asked about the remake, which was revealed for the first time during Summer Game Fest this year, although not before three Persona 4 actors confirmed they wouldn't be returning for the then-unannounced game. So, the teaser trailer didn't exactly come as an enormous surprise, but obviously, it's still great to know that we'll soon be returning to Inaba.

"Persona 4 already packed a ton of content in Persona 4 Golden, so when it comes to creating the next 'R,' it’s not just about adding more – we have to create an experience that's enjoyable in a new and different way," Wada says. "And this includes the sheer volume of content, so to be honest, it's a tough challenge. But it's shaping up nicely!"

Wada can't reveal Persona 4 Revival's release window yet, but he reiterates that "we're working hard to make it a game that lives up to everyone's expectations!"

It's interesting to hear Wada bring up Persona 4's expanded re-release, Golden, as it's still not known whether the remake will be for that version, or follow in the footsteps of Persona 3 Reload and focus solely on the original, therefore cutting some added content. There's already some hope for Persona 4 Golden fans, as the remake's teaser trailer notably uses the song "Time to Make History" – a battle theme only used in the expanded version of the JRPG. In addition, one shot also appears to show a covered-up scooter outside the Dojima household, which wasn't present in the original version.

For now, we'll just have to wait and see – a Sega management presentation previously indicated that Persona 4 Revival isn't set to release before April 2026, which at this point isn't a shock (I'm suddenly realizing how close we are to 2026 in general, yikes), but we've clearly still got a bit of a wait ahead of us.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our roundup of the best JRPGs.

Playing Persona 4 Golden on Xbox Game Pass is a rite of passage for me, and a strange one at that. If you're new here, I should tell you off the bat that I'm very new to the world of JRPGs – Persona 3 Reload was my first foray into them, and after the taste of Persona 3 Portable I'd sampled a few months prior, I was blown away by how slick and stylish it was in comparison. Atlus clearly has a penchant for being its own biggest competitor, and with Persona 4 Revival on the horizon, I decided to lay the groundwork and sample the enhanced original.

I'm still early in my adventure, but what I've seen so far has left me impressed, cringing, and giggling to myself, almost all at once. Is it weird to feel nostalgia over something you've never played before? Perhaps, but the stark contrast between Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Reload just proves how much this game deserves a remake to bring it in line with the series' contemporary image.

Small fish, smaller pond

The first thing about Persona 4 that needs to be revamped from its Golden era is the art style. Round, bobble-headed character models with flat hair textures is about as Nintendo Wii-coded as you can get, immediately dating the game as very much of a different era.

Much like the other Persona games I've played, I can tell that Golden will be a bit of a slow-burn. Which would be fine if the more languid pace of its first few days didn't leave so much room for me to think too hard about how the game looks and feels. Just a couple of hours into it, I still find the visuals jarring. But it's a reminder of Persona 4 Golden's roots in the 2008 original, and that's not a bad thing as much as it is a simple fact of this being an enhanced port rather than a fully-fledged remaster or remake.

I was surprised to learn that Persona 4 launched on PS2 and PS3 initially – so much for my Nintendo Wii suspicions – and that much is plain from the touched up yet still incredibly old-school art style. The contrast between the 3D world and the more recognizably modern character portraits above each speech box is striking; I can see some flashes of Persona 5 visual flair in the latter, but I wouldn't be surprised if the former is pretty much identical to the original game.

By the time my third day rolls around, I decide that comparing Golden to Reload is a bit of an unfair fight. Instead, I'm starting to recognize more elements of Persona 3 Portable instead. It's long gone from the Game Pass roster now, but having played a little of the PSP port ahead of my Persona 3 Reload preview at Gamescom 2023, I'm getting some crazy whiplash.

Stepping into Golden brings memories of its predecessor back with a vengeance. Text bubbles look the same, the world map is the same, even Igor the unnerving Velvet Room host is back for round two. These familiar elements are elevated slightly in Golden, and I'm enjoying seeing how Atlus has been upping its own ante slowly over the years.

Self improvement

The fully-voiced dialogue is the most notable improvement off the bat, though the writing itself could use a little rework throughout.

Hopefully that's not too big an ask for the Persona 4 remake. After all, Atlus saw fit to scrap some of Persona 3's most poorly-aged jokes when it workshopped things for Reload (though the eternally icky "Battle Panties" somehow made the cut) and I think similar treatment could be given to the Persona 4 protagonist's creepy uncle.

That said, I know that these quirks and oddities are either a product of Persona 4's time, or have something to do with it being an English version of the original Japanese Shin Megami Tensei series.

As I play Golden, I'm trying to embrace that. From car engines being given scripted lines ("Car sounds br-br-broom broom") to the occasional bit of stilted dialogue and a bizarre obsession with perverts, it all feels part of the Persona 4 experience as it stands today.

It's distracting at times, yes, but none of it detracts from the social sim and turn-based combat elements that have edified Persona as some of the most beloved games in genre history. Comparing the Persona remasters and remakes has gotten me even more hyped to see what the new P4 can deliver in terms of meaningful modern updates, and I might end up leaving Golden unfinished just so I can experience it with fresh eyes when that day comes.

Check out some of the best JRPGs of all time to play next

Sega has announced that Persona 3 Reload is coming to Nintendo Switch 2, but the excitement around it has been dampened by some bizarre decisions.

One of the most anticipated reveals going into the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase was that Atlus would finally announce it's 2024 JRPG remake Persona 3 Reload would be coming to Switch 2 after skipping the original Switch last year. In addition, hopes were high that Sega had learned its lesson after Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was confirmed to not be on a Game-Key card, with it being on an actual 64GB card. However, while we did get the confirmation of Persona 3 Reload on Switch 2, I'm afraid I have bad news.

A Sega rep has confirmed to GamesRadar+ that Persona 3 Reload's physical release on Switch 2 will be released as a Game-Key card. This was also spotted on a Japanese retailer by Twitter user NSuperGamerGuy, and the responses to it are as you would expect. One user says that if the game had been on a full card with the DLC included, they "would’ve instantly double dipped," adding "thanks for saving my money Atlus!"

Which brings us to the other part. Sega has also confirmed that the Persona 3 Reload: Expansion Pass, featuring the Episode Aigis DLC, will be available at launch. You can currently pre-order Persona 3 Reload on the Nintendo eShop, with a $90 "Digital Premium Edition." This comes with the game, digital soundtrack and artbook and a selection of character costumes... but no mention of the Expansion Pass or Episode Aigis.

Keeping in mind that the game is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 almost two years later than the other consoles, people aren't exactly happy to be paying full price for the game and DLC separately. One Twitter user says in response to the news: "I like their games, but can't say I'm surprised with this, classic Atlus."

Considering fans slammed the DLC's Steam page with negative reviews when it was announced, Atlus likely expected this reaction, but it's still disappointing nonetheless.

Oh hey, Square Enix announced a turn-based JRPG: Octopath Traveler 0 is coming this year and it looks like it's added 8-character fights and some Suikoden to the mix.

Sega has finally confirmed that Persona 3 Reload is coming to Nintendo Switch 2, with it arriving on October 23, 2025.

I was shocked during the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal not to see a hint of Persona 3 Reload, but it felt like only a matter of time before Sega confirmed its 2024 RPG remake would come to the new console.

It was finally confirmed as part of the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase – Persona 3 Reload is not only coming to Switch 2, but it's also only a few months away.

The game is set to get a digital and physical launch, but there's no confirmation yet on whether it's a game-key card or an actual physical copy. All of Sega's launch titles were on game-key card, but the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds developer is doing the right thing and putting it onto a 64GB card, so maybe Sega has learned nobody wants the game-keys.

What Sega didn't confirm, however, is if the Persona 3 Reload DLC expansion Episode Aigis would be launching alongside the main game – or if it will be a separate purchase (but given it wasn't mentioned, I'm sure it will be).

Elsewhere in the Direct, Sega confirmed that action RPG Yakuza Kiwami 2 is coming to Switch 2 on November 13, with a native Switch 2 version of the first Yakuza Kiwami (which is already on Switch) coming alongside it.

However, in what seems like an obvious missed slam dunk, Metaphor: ReFantazio did not get a Switch 2 announcement – hopefully that won't be too far off.

Capcom announces new JRPG Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection coming next year, and Monster Hunter Rise monsters take the stage

After years of high excitement and, admittedly, some gacha concerns, Persona 5 spin-off The Phantom X finally released worldwide late last month – but its global launch hasn't exactly gone without any hiccups.

Although it was Atlus' biggest Persona 5 Steam launch to date, managing to hit a peak of 41,622 players within 12 hours of its release, The Phantom X currently sits on Steam with a "Mixed" rating and more negative than positive reviews. Most players' complaints revolve around the spin-off's gacha elements, unsurprisingly, with some dubbing its developers and publishers "greedy" and others saying they've neglected fans overseas.

These criticisms come after what players say has been a "severe lack of polish" and rewards for worldwide users, who have apparently received fewer redeemable in-game goodies than those in other regions like China. Atlus is listening, however – and a new post from the devs proves as much, hinting toward what could be the changes fans want. "We have received many comments about the operations of P5X," reads the apologetic announcement.

"We take your feedback very seriously, and we will be explaining our future operation plans in the next broadcast," it continues. "We ask for your patience in the meantime." Atlus then concludes its post saying that "we would like to apologize" for its previous livestream delay, stating that "details regarding the English broadcast for ver. 1.2" will be available ahead of time – but no concrete date is provided by the company just yet.

Comments see most fans responding with an understandable air of caution. "It's a start of a response," replies one such player. "Please actually follow through with answering the global feedback concerns because the game is very good and has a lot of potential." Another admits, "We ain't believing y'all until we see changes," but calls Atlus' words "a good start."

Only time will tell what direction devs take, but I'll personally be keeping my fingers crossed.

Need something to look forward to? Here are other new games coming this year and beyond.

The author whose book was adapted into the first Shin Megami Tensei, which itself spun out into multiple hit JRPG subseries, says that he doesn't really get that much money from Atlus' popular games.

In 1986, Aya Nishitani began to release a trilogy of sci-fi novels called Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, which were soon adapted into two video games of the same name. That series was eventually renamed to Shin Megami Tensei and has since spawned several semi-related subseries, including Persona, Soul Hackers, and Devil Summoner.

Almost 40 years later, Nishitani shares that the royalties he gets from the MegaTen multiverse of games aren't as big as you might think. "Let me answer it this way," he tweeted in response to a fan's question. "The royalties I get from the MT and SMT games are less than the royalties from all the novels I have written. That's why people call me a novelist."

Nishitani is, of course, a prolific author outside of Digital Devil Story, too, and Atlus has morphed its games into something completely unrelated to the novels at this point, so maybe it's not too surprising even if games like Persona 5 Royal have reportedly sold over 7 million copies.

Elsewhere on social media, the author revealed that an overseas company approached him about finally translating Digital Devil Story into English. "Therefore, I am in the process of first consulting with the Japanese publisher to see what Atlus thinks about my opinions on illustrations for the novel," he wrote.

There's not much news on what comes next for the MegaTen game aside from the upcoming Persona 4 Revival and the recently released Raidou Remastered.

Metaphor: ReFantazio and Persona 5 artist says his interest "in fashion" is why his work is so similar to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure artist's: "We're both into clothes and designer pieces"

Fans have long pointed out that demon designs in games like Shin Megami Tensei, Persona, and more recently, Metaphor: ReFantazio, are reminiscent of manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure – and according to artist Kazuma Kaneko, there's a good reason why.

In a recent interview with Animate Times, as later translated by Automaton, Kaneko explains why his work often resembles that of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure creator Hirohiko Araki. The Atlus veteran, who is lovingly known as the "Demon Artist" by fans, loves fashion – as does Araki, apparently. "I've been interested in fashion ever since I became sexually aware," says Kaneko. That interest in designer clothing is shared by Araki.

"You know the manga artist Hirohiko Araki, right? In the Persona series, which I worked on, characters fight by manifesting guardian spirits called Personas, and some people have pointed out that this concept is similar to 'Stands' in Araki-sensei's JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure," describes Kaneko. "What we have in common is that we both love fashion collections. Since we're both into clothes and designer pieces, that influence naturally shows up in our work."

Sometimes, their mutual love of high fashion shows in more than just their stylistic choices. For example, the first few Persona games feature a non-playable pixie-like character called "Trish." JoJo's Bizarre Adventure also has its very own "Trish," and it's no coincidence – as Kaneko admits, both he and Araki were inspired by former supermodel Trish Goff, and the two once had a chat where "we both got excited over how beautiful" she is.

Following their chat, Kaneko states, "It turned out we'd used the same person as inspiration for our characters." There's another interest shared between the two artists, too: their love of Western music. Although Araki is known to name Stands in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure after famous bands and songs, Kaneko has also drawn from musicians, noting that "you get to see all these interesting clothes and designs," when watching music videos "from overseas."

The artist concludes: "I think both of us have similar tastes, and those preferences naturally blend together into what we make." I, for one, am happy they do as both a JoJo and Persona stan myself – I mean, just look at those character and demon designs.

Need something to look forward to? Here are some new games coming this year and beyond.

Despite having the best launch out of any of the Persona 5 games on Steam, Persona 5: The Phantom X seems to be falling out of favor. Just a couple of weeks since the spin-off's global launch, it's become the worst-reviewed Atlus game on Steam.

Previously, that title was held by Soul Hackers 2, which has a Mixed overall rating with 65% positive reviews. The new Persona 5 spin-off (developed by Black Wings Game Studio for its original, more limited launch) also has a Mixed rating at the time of writing, but only 57% of its reviews are positive, with a huge spike of negative reviews hitting the JRPG earlier this week.

Why? Well, this follows a recent dev stream covering the game's 1.1 update, in which it was revealed that "to minimize the gap in gameplay experience between Japan/Western regions and earlier releases in China/Asia regions, we are working to deliver updates and main story content at a faster pace. As part of this effort, we will also make an adjustment to the release of events and Phantom Idols, as well as game balance."

On one hand, this sounds pretty exciting, but there's a big problem which all boils down to the fact that this is a free-to-play game with gacha elements. If more stuff is happening and at a faster pace, that inevitably means there's even more things to spend in-game currency on.

Furthermore, if players aren't being given an inflated amount of currency to match that speedier content pace, the whole thing ends up being a lot less free-to-play friendly, with more pressure on players to spend their hard-earned cash on microtransactions.

That's exactly what players are complaining about in the new flood of negative reviews. "Western players are getting treated like trash compared to the original version," one reads. "They're releasing characters even faster for us to attempt to catch us up faster but somehow giving us LESS currency to compensate for that rather than more?"

"The gameplay is good, the story is decent, and I generally would love to give this a good review. HOWEVER, the gacha monetization is incredibly aggressive," another says. "More currency is being given out to the CN servers than English servers get for maintenance, log-in bonuses, and code redemption."

"While the developers are accelerating character releases in our version to supposedly help us catch up, they're paradoxically reducing the amount of in-game currency we receive which makes absolutely no sense," complains another, while one player jokes that we're heading towards a "global EOS [end of service] speedrun WR [world record]."

As players have pointed out, this is absolutely something that could – in theory – be rectified by the developers, so The Phantom X has the potential to recover its Steam rating yet. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen. All I'll say is that if I had 10 minutes to find an ounce of generosity, I wouldn't start my search with gacha games.

Persona offers a new contender for silliest JRPG villain with Persona 5: The Phantom X and its "Subway Slammer," who declares "the whole subway's mine for the slammin'!"

Sega president Shuji Utsumi, who previously worked on the original PlayStation and was responsible for Disney and Square Enix joining forces for Kingdom Hearts, says he wants to be remembered for "Reviving Sega."

2024 was undoubtedly Sega's year. Launching the year with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Persona 3 Reload, and capping it off with the game of the year nominated Metaphor: ReFantazio, it's no wonder it was the best publisher of 2024 on Metacritic. And even outside of games, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 did extremely well in the cinema, becoming the second video game movie to ever be certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Speaking to The Game Business, Sega president and COO Shuji Utsumi was asked what he thought his greatest achievement was throughout his career, which has included the likes of the original PlayStation, Dreamcast classics, making Kingdom Hearts happen, and, most importantly, co-founding Q Entertainment, which led to Lumines existing. But for Utsumi, it was none of the above. "Now I've rejoined Sega and I'm working on reviving Sega… I want to say this is going to be my greatest achievement in my career."

After leaving Sega in 2000, Utsumi rejoined the publisher in 2020, noting, "when I rejoined Sega, the Japanese studios [were] somehow paying attention to the domestic market, like the Japanese market more, even though Sega is such a beloved company among [the] western audience." He says that Sega then decided that Japanese and international releases would launch simultaneously, as well as all platforms, including PC, at the same time. We've seen this pay off with recent releases like Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Persona 3 Reload.

Utsumi added, "by changing the system, studios started to think 'oh we have to prepare in the early stages', and that somehow helped their thinking process to develop a game." And clearly this has worked out well, because Sega is now at its brightest point since the Mega Drive era.

It's so over: Sonic boss Takashi Iizuka says there are "currently no plans" for Sonic Adventure remakes as they would take "as much time and energy as it would to make a new title."

Persona 5: The Phantom X's global release has been quite a success so far, and now that more fans are finally able to dive into the latest JRPG spin-off, everyone has been left baffled by its first big villain – the Subway Slammer.

The Phantom X carries forward the original Persona 5's concept of the Phantom Thieves venturing into the manifestations of people's warped hearts, to make them face their wrongdoings and atone for what they've done.

There were a number of big bads in Persona 5 and its Royal re-release, many of whom had done some truly horrendous stuff, with the very first one that the protagonists tackle being a teacher who physically assaults and sexually harasses his students. So, you can understand why some are struggling to take The Phantom X's first antagonist seriously, as he declares that "the whole subway's mine for the slammin'!"

Meet Takeyuki Kiuchi – the Subway Slammer. As his name would suggest, his whole deal is that he aggressively shoves into people on the subway, and he's very dramatic about doing so, delivering supervillain-style laughs and threatening characters by saying he's "gonna get you too."

It should be noted that Kiuchi's villainy is an example (albeit, perhaps a bit of an exaggerated one) of an actual issue in Japan. As one player points out, butsukari otoko (or 'bumping man') is a term used to describe men who purposely bump into women in crowded places like train stations, and it's obviously a "disgusting thing" to do.

However, it's largely The Phantom X's writing that's quickly sent the Subway Slammer into meme status. With dialogue like the examples above, it feels like the writers might have leaned a bit too far into the dramatics with him.

"I loved when the Subway Slammer said it's slammin time and subway slammed all over the place," jokes one player, sharing a screenshot of Kiuchi's now infamous "the whole subway's mine for the slammin'" line. Another fan declares the same moment as "genuinely the funniest fucking line in any Atlus game."

Others are jokingly calling the guy "the best Atlus antagonist ever created," while one says: "He does not run, he does not rush. Takeyuki Kiuchi simply skips with a jovial cadence, knowing that nary a soul on earth nor heaven can condemn the Subway Slammer."

Not everyone thinks Kiuchi's villainy marks "a bad start to the game," though, as one fan argues: "He sort of represents the smaller injustices that go ignored around us. Nobody would notice or care about this guy and his misogyny in real life."

However, as another puts it, "the problem with the P5X Subway Slammer isn't his crime, it's a real problem in Japan. It's how unseriously it's written, and how he's meant to be this story's parallel to Kamoshida despite not even coming close."

As they suggest, Kiuchi feels like the kind of guy who might have been featured in Persona 5's sprawling Mementos dungeon as a smaller quest boss, rather than having his own dedicated Palace dungeon. Regardless, he's made quite an impression, and I'm sure my Twitter timeline isn't the only one full of screenshots of his crimes.

Do not play the new Persona 5 game like it's a Persona 5 game, Persona 5 experts warn: "P5X does not give you a deadline."

Persona 5: The Phantom X has had a solid start on Steam, and as more players dive in, others are sharing some valuable advice that'll prove particularly helpful for any massive Persona 5 fans – don't treat the latest spinoff like the JRPG you already know and love.

That might sound obvious, but from the outside The Phantom X really does look like a free-to-play version of Persona 5, albeit with gacha elements that not everyone is a fan of. It also brings back Palaces, the big dungeons introduced in Atlus' 2016 game, but one fan on Reddit has a PSA – "you don't need to do the palace in a single in-game day."

In Persona 5 and its Royal re-release, the in-game calendar means you're constantly on a tight time schedule if you want to do everything the game has to offer. If you want to have any hope of maxing out all of your Confidants (AKA become besties with everyone you can) then you need to cut down the amount of time you spend on other things, like completing Palaces. Generally, it's advised that players try to complete Palaces in a single day.

Not here, though. Hoshi_Hime warns that "P5X palaces are HUGE even if you only follow the exclamation point that leads you to continue the story mode. This is especially true from the second palace onward."

While this could seem daunting, there's a key difference: "Being a live service game, P5X does not give you a deadline," they continue, adding that if you want to take a break for any reason, you don't have to feel guilty about saving and taking "as much time you want."

Tip for new players: You don't need to do the palace in a single in game day from r/personaphantomx

Many other players, in replies and similar posts, have shared similar strategies. There's also no need to worry about fully exploring a Palace straight away if you don't want to.

While P5R and Royal's Palaces become inaccessible after their respective story arcs end, in P5X there's still a way to go back to grab extra loot. "Do not bother to 100% a palace and explore every nook and cranny when you explore it for the first time, you will be allowed to visit a cognitive copy of it every time you want even after it collapses," Hoshi_Hime adds.

Basically, don't stress too much about organizing yourself perfectly in the new JRPG – it's clearly not as big of a concern in the spinoff. Sit back, relax, and take your time.

Be sure to check out our ranking of the best Persona games while you're here.

How much Persona 5 is too much Persona 5? That's a question that Atlus seems no closer to answering, as Persona 5: The Phantom X is finally available worldwide, and it's already hit the highest concurrent player peak on Steam out of all the P5 releases on there.

Since the original Persona 5, we've also had its Royal re-release, the Dancing in Starlight rhythm game spinoff, its Strikers action RPG, Tactica strategy RPG, and now, the free-to-play Phantom X is available in way more territories than before.

Looking at its concurrent player count records (thanks, SteamDB), the Black Wings Game Studio-developed spinoff of Atlus' favorite child managed to hit a peak of 41,622 within 12 hours of its launch. Given that we're currently midday on a weekday, I suspect that could well rise further in the days to come.

It's worth noting that not all of those aforementioned P5 games are actually available on Steam, but it's still outdone the ones on there, including the best version of the main game, Persona 5 Royal, which launched to 35,474 concurrent players back in 2022.

Admittedly, it did have a bit of a disadvantage in the sense that its PC release came three years after its initial launch on consoles (two years outside of Japan), but even so, it's still being beaten by a free-to-play take that's infused with gacha elements. That said, the fact that The Phantom X is free is a gigantic factor hanging over this whole player count thing.

As for Persona 5 Tactica, well, that one didn't have a particularly strong start on Steam. With a peak of 4,344 concurrent players, it was never going to be incredible competition, but even so. Persona 5 Strikers' peak wasn't much stronger at 8,730.

For what it's worth, The Phantom X is close to reaching the highest concurrent player count of any Persona game on Steam, too – it's currently only beaten by Persona 3 Reload, which is barely hanging on with its launch peak of 45,002. There's definitely still room for the new spinoff to overtake it – we'll just have to watch this space.

Looking for more? Be sure to check out our roundup of the best JRPGs.

A big part of the Persona 5 appeal is its slick depiction of present day Tokyo – but most of my favorite games in the series are anything but modern. Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army takes the Shin Megami Tensei series – from which Persona comes from – far into the past instead. In so doing, it feels like a really fresh take on the series' devil summoning action. And, thanks to some huge enhancements, this 2006 PS2-era action RPG is great to play today.

Even some of the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series' sci-fi concepts are often tinged by history. Shin Megami Tensei 4, one of my favorite RPGs ever made, stars a party of samurai who must contend with a futuristic demon world. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers may be set in a networked city of tomorrow, but its '90s vision of a tactile cyberpunk-like future still feels nostalgic to me. Raidou Remastered, a remake of Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army, leans into these concepts by playing it a lot straighter, set in the 1930s Taisho era.

Making history

Well, as straight as you can play the 1930s Taisho era considering it doesn't exist (it was 1912–1926 in real life). Raidou Remastered takes place in a fictionalized, extended version of the era that allows the developer to exaggerate the time period's key elements – the rebalancing of political and military powers, encroaching western sensibilities, and industrialization. I've always wanted to see more Persona and Shin Megami Tensei games embrace historical settings – especially as loads of demon designs play with old myths and legends. The Raidou duology has been an anomaly in this regard, but boy does it fit the bill.

Set in Tokyo, you play as Raidou Kuzunoha XIV, the latest in a long line to inherit the title as a spiritual protector of the people, battling rampaging demons while allying with those who can keep the peace. It also provides an excuse to blend in historical figures even when it might not make sense, such as Grigori Rasputin, a rival devil summoner who's up to no good and pulling the strings on a conspiracy that pulls Raidou in. For anyone who loved the Mayan and WW2 conspiracies towards the end of Persona 2, you'll love the approach here – even if it's much less abrasive.

Even in this fictionalized historical setting, the demon world is hidden from humans, so in order to blend in Raidou joins a detective agency that deals with fringe cases. Which also means beyond each main 'episode' you play through as you unravel the grander mystery at large, you've ample excuse to poke around every nook and cranny of each explorable district of Tokyo, getting to know the spaces, chatting with locals, and helping them out with side cases. You really do feel like a young detective living on the edge of the paranormal realm.

Sometimes those side activities are as simple as having a strong demon hoist an old man struggling to cross the road because of tram and motorcar traffic across it. Other times that means diving into abyssal rifts to slice and dice deadly demons alongside two of your own devilish allies in real-time combat. These vibes were great in the original release, and while the visuals are perhaps overly clean in Remastered, it's easier to soak in the details of the historical setting here thanks to a reduction in grindfest busy work.

A remaster by name, Raidou Remastered has so many tweaks that it feels like calling it that is underselling it – many aspects of the game being completely remade, giving a different feel. For instance, random battles are out, with wandering demons now confined to the dark world versions of Tokyo. You can swap between these two versions as you go, meaning like in Persona you can enjoy exploring the city by just running around, while delving into the demon-filled version to clear these slightly twisted areas like bite-size dungeons.

The real-time action is a little easier too, thanks to retrofitting Raidou's dual-summoning powers from the PS2 sequel into this first game. Combat is also so much slicker, a new camera system making you feel like you're really in the middle of scraps with demons – though they still take place in fairly basic square arenas – and moves feeling a lot more responsive. Aiming with Raidou's gun, useful for catching enemies off guard, quickly zooms in for an over-the-shoulder perspective. I don't think I'd ever want Atlus to drop turn-based altogether (our Metaphor ReFantazio review is testament to that), but I'd love for more SMT side games to explore other methods of battling like this.

With more moves in combat, more demons, and quality-of-life perks like free healing from allies in the dark world and fast-travel to the Goumaden for adjusting your demonic party – Raidou Remastered is definitely easier. But, for the most part, being able to choose the amount of grinding you want to do rather than slogging back and forth means you can spend more time appreciating what makes Raidou Remastered really unique – the excellent setting, both through its environments and the people who live there.

Local hero

I'm still spending a lot of time in each episode combing back through areas I've already explored to keep up with the NPCs whose storylines progress, using my demon powers to help them out or to learn more about the world – some demons, for instance, can 'fire up' NPCs; or can even read minds. It all contributes to the feeling of the 1930s being more than just a themed backdrop – both you and your demons are able to physically interact with the world before you.

Knowing I'm free to knock about this version of the Taisho period uninhibited really allows me to revel in the details this time around, and I already feel like I'm getting more out of it than my last attempt to get through the original because of it. While the grime of the 2006 release does have a lot of atmosphere, I even quite like the smooth graphics here – these renditions of Kazuma Kaneko's iconic character designs look stunning to behold with how they're rendered here (he's worked on the series since Megami Tensei 2, including the very first Persona game).

While I'd still like for the Shin Megami Tensei to return to the idea of doing a historically-set game rather than the modern day – I'd love a Persona game set in the '90s, or for more pseudo-historical clashing in the next SMT – finally revisiting Kuzunoha's adventures through Raidou Remastered has been the perfect game to scratch that itch. It does leave me wanting more, I yearn for the sheer quantity of experimental SMT games released in the '00s, but for now this is a trip back to the past I didn't know I needed.

Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army was played on PC, with a code provided by the publisher.

Want to summon more demons? Check out our best Persona games list!