How Is Persona Connected To Shin Megami Tensei? (2024)

Persona and Shin Megami Tensei are two long-running JRPG franchises developed by Atlus. Originally, the Persona series began as a spin-off of Shin Megami Tensei, featuring similar mechanics and gameplay elements with a different focus on the story.

After many entries in both series, how are these two game franchises connected? Below, we'll take a look at how Persona and Shin Megami Tensei are connected, how the games cross over, and some key similarities and differences between the two series.

How Are Persona And Shin Megami Tensei Connected?

To understand the connection between Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, we need to go back to the very beginning, with the first Shin Megami Tensei game.

In this game, a player-named protagonist battles and controls demons in a near-future Tokyo. Shortly after the start of the game, demons start invading Tokyo from the Abyss, and eventually, the world is devastated by nuclear explosions. While humanity just barely hangs on, demons now freely roam the streets.

Several years later, Atlus released Shin Megami Tensei: if, which presents a "what if" scenario where this nuclear fallout never occurred. This game essentially sets the stage for Persona; the protagonist is a student whose school is transported into the world of demons, and who must explore this world by fighting alongside demons and other high school students.

This then leads into the first Persona game, which is centered around a high school student who gains the power to wield their "other self" in combat; their Persona. However, it wasn't until Persona 3 that the series really transitioned into the half-social simulator, half-dungeon crawler that it is now.

So, to summarize, Persona and Shin Megami Tensei are loosely related, with the key connecting game being Shin Megami Tensei: if, where the Persona series branches off from. Other than that, Persona and Shin Megami Tensei are only thematically and mechanically related, which we'll take a deeper look at below.

Persona and Shin Megami Tensei Similarities

The most obvious connection between these two series are the demons/Personas that you interact with. For the most part, these are largely the same creatures in both games, with similar appearances across games. For example, Jack Frost is an Atlus staple, and has appeared in almost every Persona and Shin Megami Tensei game.

Both series also feature the ability to battle alongside or against these demons, either talking to them to convince them to join your side or controlling them as your Persona. Fusion is another concept that is shared between Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, allowing you to combine demons into new ones.

Another constant between Persona and Shin Megami Tensei is their setting. With the exception of Strange Journey, every Persona and Shin Megami Tensei game takes place in Japan, with the majority of them set in Tokyo. However, in Shin Megami Tensei, Japan is usually hit with some apocalyptic disaster, whereas in Peronsa the world is usually fine.

Persona and Shin Megami Tensei Differences

Of course, there are many differences between Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, mainly in their story presentation and gameplay.

Shin Megami Tensei stories have heavy religious references, often featuring wars between angels and demons. The name Shin Megami Tensei, translated literally, means "Reincarnation of the True Goddess", so these religious overtones are definitely expected.

On the other hand, Persona games are typically more character-driven, following a small cast of characters and a more centralized plot surrounding these characters. Shin Megami Tensei tells the story of the world, while Persona tells the story of one specific place.

In general, Shin Megami Tensei games are considered much harder than Persona games. Shin Megami Tensei requires a bit more strategy for each battle, and you're expected to exploit the enemy's weakness in almost every battle, both in random encounters and boss fights alike. Persona isn't as punishing, but there are definitely some challenging fights throughout the series.

The biggest difference between these two game series is how you spend your time in-game. Persona games are defined by the split between daily school life and dungeon crawling, whereas Shin Megami Tensei games are usually focused entirely on the dungeon crawling gameplay element, with little to no daily life elements like Social Links.