I OFFICIALLY Rank Every Persona Game 

My favorite Persona is Persona 3 FES: since I lost a sister when I was a kid, the theme and characters like Ken or Yukari reached to me a lot. I do agree with you that the Answer was necessary to give the message of 'you have to keep on living". It was a hard game to play emotionnally but the theme was perfectly written, without judging the characters' way of grieving their loss.

I will never forget the genuine emotion you showed during Akechi's boss fight and everything afterwards. I have seen people feeling bad, but never to the point of crying. Seeing you shed tears for him made me happy that someone could feel such love for a fictional character and it makes me believe that is what the creators intended originally with Akechi.

Persona 3: FES literally changed my entire worldview. Aigis' monologue at the end of the base game is so incredibly powerful, and no other work of art has moved me the same way. "You don't have to change the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes, all you need is something simple. Like someone to take care of." TEARS TO THIS DAY 100/10 game

P4G will always be my favorite Persona game ever. From the characters, world building and the ending illustrate always keep it close to my heart.

I'm shocked we got so many Persona tier lists, characters, dances but just now we got one for the GAMES itself 😂.

Liked the tier list since you gave every game an equal chance without shrugging any of the spin offs due to the fan reception. And the explanations you gave for them were quick and reasonable.

The rumors worked 💀

I remember finding you through P4G and P5R and honestly I’m glad I did and I think this is a very good rating (my personal favorite Persona is P4G since I enjoy the aspect of a genuine cast who interacts with one another more human-like, and also I enjoyed the idea of how the group had to learn to grow as the game went on.)

P5R will forever have a very special place in my heart. It's one of the few games that has genuinely touched my soul and I can 100% sympathize with your own thoughts about the experience that was P5R

Thank you for not being afraid to share your opinions! I’ve seen so many people in this community being scared because of the backlash specifically when it comes to P4, because P4 fans act like the game is the second coming of Christ.

you’re so real for the persona 4 placing

Personally, Persona 4 is my favorite in the series, and it's for a lot of the same reasons as you had with Persona 5 Royal. I got a lot more emotions out of Persona 4, than I have from Persona 5. But I think that both are equally great! Loved the tier list though! A lot of honestly based opinions!

I had a super fun and VERY shallow experience playing Vanilla P5 my first two times. Like I love the game, but I never found its story or themes to resonate with me on a very deep level, but Royal was a completely different story. Made for an experience I'll never forget, and one that in a lot of ways, changed my life. Glad it resonated with you so much as well.

Normally I’m not the type to cry at stories unless someone else is crying at them too and GIRL your blind 2/2 reaction HURTED. That and your P2 streams/Vids had me looking deeper into the game and I have a greater appreciation for its character writing. Thank you!

For me persona 4 was the best gsme I've ever played. The characters and the cast was so wholesome and amazing. So many events and social things to do. The community was so close and the true golden ending was beautiful. They really put a lot of effort into that ending making it complete amd satisfying. It was a full package experience. I don't think any game is going to top the experience I've had with persona 4 golden for me.

Agreed with 5, absolute masterpiece of a game. I'm playing the endgame at the minute and it's just been the best experience

The idea of a murder mystery Persona game is SO perfect. If only the mystery had had a more interesting solution.

I 100% agree with you on the answer. It blows my mind that people constantly criticize Yukari's character in it because she "goes back on her development in confronting death" but that's what I love, no one ever said that character development is permanent, those feelings you had before always come back stronger, it teaches us that even if you confront one adversity it doesn't mean you never suffer from it again, it's not about how many times you get knocked down by life, it's if you're willing to stand up again and Yukari does that, she changes and confronts her fears of loss thanks to the bond with her friends like Mitsuru who consoles her as she breaks down and lets it all out, it's just brilliant.

I have played and beaten the entire mainline franchise. I think 4g is also s tier but 4 vanilla was my first persona game so I'm biased

Definitely would want an SMT thoughts video. It is such an interesting series with themes I would love to here you discuss.

Personally I don't quite agree with this list, but you have an interesting opinion on the franchise, so thank you for the video! Also, is there any chance that we get same tier list for RGG games like Yakuza and Judgment? That would be awesome!

A while back I was in a pretty bad place with money and lifestyle, the only way I was able to experience persona was through videos and streams of people playing them. You might call me cringe or stupid for this but Persona 5 Royal was the breaking point for me, it was something I was so inspired by that it gave me the motivation to get a job and out of the place I was in mentally. There’s tons of other times in my life where relationships or other people have been difficult to confront or talk to and I’ve needed to go on a drive, and just listen to Persona music so I can work through my problems. I’m not saying that Persona is this holy thing that you need to praise as your lord and savior, because that would be antithetical to the messages the games try to teach. What I am saying is that without it I don’t know what would have happened to me, if I’d be in a darker place or not.

wow those persona 2 rumors really worked

Finally a youtuber that shares my opinion with p4g

I just want a full-ass Remake of the 2 Duology as one Super Game.

if we’re going to share opinions on the MCs, I honestly believe that Tatsuya was the one mc that got a really special place in my heart. In IS despite him being seen as the silent badass protagonist at first glance his whole journey left me SPEECHLESS about how well his whole backstory was portrayed. His whole bond with his friends, the arguing with Katsuya, the way he kept Jun’s lighter for years and the recollection of his memories was amazing. What got me the most is that he has his own worries about his future so he didn’t feel like an empty vessel for the player. You can clearly get an idea of him without him speaking it out for you. And in Eternal Punishment, though not being playable after half of the game and not being an mc anymore, my opinions stayed the same. He already set his own personality in the first game. Because he is such a good written character, you can treat him as your own character and his own character at the same time. I love him a bit too much

Persona 4 is one of those games you've had to play at the right time during your life to love. Mostly around the teenage years.

I am so glad I was able to discover your channel through your Persona content (it was actually your P3 highlights and not the P5R playthrough lol) and it was a pleasure getting to witness some of your P2 experience live. I am slowly progressing through my own Persona experience working backward from P5R (unless you can count watch the P3 movies twice already lol) and cannot wait for more Persona content from your channel, on top of the other games you play. Also, we NEED that P3 copium! PLEASE, ATLUS!

I think I might be part of the 3% of population in the world that thinks P3P is the best persona game. I played all of them, including vanilla P4 and vanilla P5. From my POV experiencing persona 1 by yourself is a really great experience, I really loved the game. For my personal ranking, all of the persona 1 to 5 are S tier games, they're just different from every other kind of RPG o JRPGs (but that comes from the perspective of someone that played the games multiple times, I played Persona 1 two times (1º route and ice queen route), Persona 2 IS two times, Persona 2 EP two times, Persona 3 nearly 6 times, Persona 4 vanilla two times and Golden 2 times, Persona 5 vanilla 2 times and Royal 2 times, so.. well, and I didnt even skipped a single dialogue, every playtrough was like 130+hs of gameplay. Well, my personal ranking is, from my favorite to least favorite (altough all of them are S tier to me), is: 1º Persona 3. (P3P is my fav game of all time btw) 2º Persona 2 Lis and EP (this mainly comes from persona 2 EP) 3º Persona 4. 4º Persona 5. 5º Persona 1.

100% agree with you on the Persona 5/Royal take, I think the hate it gets because of its popularity is totally undeserved, easily the most all around fun game in the series.

My personal favourite Persona game is, and by a long shot, Persona 4 Golden. This game came, when i needed it the most. I suffered from bullying in high school, and these persons got so much in my head that, it started me questioning about my tastes, personality and well... over my whole being, i was starting to really think i was being weird beacuse i had a passion for videogames, and my self-esteem was lowering even more and more, i didn't even want to keep drawing (wich i love still to this day), and i wasn't giving my best in school either, wich made my mom very angry and stressed. This came with me, getting ghosts of problems and expectations that i had to achieve to make, at least, my mom happy. Once that year ended, i had to redo the year, meet new people and i was devastated mentally. This kept going until 2020, where my eyes met Persona 4 Golden for PC, i've heard abour Persona before, and great things about it, so i gave it a try, but i never knew that, this game was about to save my life and turned it upside down forever. Something about the characters and their respective arc, stroke'd me so much, that i started revaluating everything that i have witnessed and lived before. When i was entering the last battle, i knew that finishing it was saying goodbye to the cast, i wasn't ready for it, but yet i finished it, and saying goodbye to them, was almost like saying it to one of your best friends of all time, i've passed so much time with these characters that i became attached to them. This game, taught me to not be ashamed of who i am, even with my flaws as a person, i can embrace them, and mold them to make me a better person. This game taught me that i shouldn't care what some stranger that doesn't know me thinks about me, and it also told me that my tastes, are not weird or wrong, they are completly normal, and i shoulnd't be ashamed for them. As time went on, my mind started to get more and more conscious and cleaner about this. I started to practive and give mor effort to my drawings, while also giving my 100% to High School, and now i'm graduated and tomorrow will be starting a new life in an university studying graphical design. For these reasons, Persona 4 Golden, not only is my favourite Persona game, but also my favourite game of all time 💛. P.S: Seeing you putting P4 in A tier felt like a gunshot through my heart LMAO, but i respect it

I'm actually experiencing P3Fes via your twitch vods uploaded to youtube! It's actually way more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I think overall I still like P5 more than P4, but so far i think P3 is gonna also be better than P4 in my eyes. Imma keep watching.

As an SMT fan and their spin-offs, Persona is the best spin-off turned series I have experienced. P4G was definitely my favorite for a long time until the release of P5R. I love how Atlus would make these games and their stories so fun to follow along, but the characters are- imo- better than the story as they help drive the plot to its conclusion for me. Finding you was such a breath of fresh air because you have the best commentary of your playthroughs. Your analysis of said games is also wonderful and how your views and arguments of these games being good and bad can challenge and even sway others. I appreciate you so much Crystal and look forward to the future 😊

I played Persona 5 Royal around 6 months ago and its some of the best gameplay I've ever experienced. I see people saying "I relate to akechi so much" or "Oh wow ann is so relatable" and stuff and that's what I love so much about the game. Every person who's played P5R relates to a different character. For me incase you were wondering I really relate to Ryuji in this game. He's a track runner who's injured and when he hit kamoshida everybody turned there back on him. I suffered a huge injury a while back in track and I missed out on lots of competition and I almost wanted to quit but in the end I knew it was my passion just like Ryuji. I've also always been a sidekick to my friends I've never considered myself the anime protagonist in any situation and I prefer to just be the Robin to my friend's batman or the Speedwagon to my friend's jonathan. Ryuji was the first confidant I maxed out and I think that was just ment to be. Long story short I fucking love Ryuji

Literally got this recommended to me because I'm playing through the P3 remake you manifested here. Thank you kind citizen

Royal in S TIER CRYSTAL?! Take my like.

Persona 5 will probably always be my favorite game of all time for nostalgia reasons. Back when I first played it fall of 2017 I just moved and entered high school so it entered my life at the perfect time. I always say you don't choose your favorite game your favorite game chooses you. It was the first game that actually made me tear up when I finished it, after 100+ hours with these characters it was REALLY hard to let go of them... so I played it over again. Persona 4 I also loved with all my heart and also teared up at the end but when I finished Persona 3, like two years ago... I think it was the first time I actually just sat in front of my computer crying... not just tearing up but actually crying over the ending. It wasn't a sad cry or really a happy cry... it was more like a "god damn it" type of cry if that makes sense? Like god damn, when Aigis asked "what am I doing" I was starting to tear up but then she slaps you with "You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life... Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of" and shortly after Memories of You starts playing... how could you not feel something? If Persona 3 had the gameplay of Persona 5 I really feel like it would be in the top running for greatest JRPG of all time without contest. Please for all that is holy and right in this world let the remake rumors be real *huffs fifty bags of cope*

For me, I loved Q2 more, I liked the unison attacks they added and the healing was much easier, it was also nice seeing them add more elements for the 3 and 4 characters

I love how you brought up Joker and how he is more than just the self insert silent protag, they gave him huge character depth and all that jazz. Compared to p4 and p3 male protags at least.

P5 is not only the best persona game I've played, but the best game i've played period. It's the only game where I shed a tear at some point... many tears...... okay I cried.

My girlfriend loves your videos and we had an hour long discussion about this one where I had to guess the rankings and she would smile and laugh so adorably each time I got it wrong. Thank you so much for indirectly giving me that. Made my entire week.

Very based tier list. The only Persona games I haven’t played are the ones before P3, and this has helped inspire me to somehow get my hands on those games.

My favourite was a hard pick between P4G and P5 then when they made P5R, that was it. The story, the banging soundtrack, the fact that JP Akechi made me cry right at then end BOY that man put in work!

I think my personal list would be P4G > P2:IS > P5R > P3Fes/Portable > PQ > P5S > Arena > P2: EP> P4D > Ultimax > P3D> P5D > Q2 > P1. P4 still has my favorite overall cast, S. Links included. It's also the only game to have ever made me tear up a bit. While the P2's are much closer than my list would have you think, I've only played the psx version of EP, which has really hurt the experience for me. Katsuya is one of my favorite characters in the entire series though. I'm probably the most critical when it comes to P5, but that's only because of how strongly I resonate with it's themes, which I feel it fumbles with a little bit. I also kind of dislike how similarly the confidants play out, which is why I love Toranosuke's confidant. Maruki is still my favorite human antagonist, even if I enjoy Adachi as a villain more, if that makes sense. P3 being the lowest of the "new" Persona's mostly has to do with gameplay over anything else. And while it still has some of the best S. Links (The dying author, the old couple, Aigis) in the whole series, it's also got some of the worst one's too (Kenji, the fat cultist kid, the rival from another school). Also being forced to cheat on your gf's if you're playing as a dude sucks, and actively ruined the Answer for me. For the Arena's I mostly just preferred how Arena 1 did it's story, multiple characters getting to be the MC, over Ultimax's, it's mostly just Labrys and Yu, with a little bit of the new characters to spice things up. PQ2 not getting a dub hurt it more than I thought it would. So much of the charm of Q1 was some the dumb thing's your party would say during battle and around the maps. Also, yeah the maps seemed less well thought out, and overall less interesting. While I understand your reasoning for preferring 3 and 5 dancing over 4, I really enjoyed the story in DAN. I also feel like P5D had the weakest songs overall. Nothing as bad as the Mass Destruction remix, but also nothing that really stood out either. I don't think there's much to say about P1, it's got cool ideas, but it's age shows a lot more than the 2 duology. I'm pretty sure you started with Royal, so I wonder if that affected how much you like Akechi. In vanilla he didn't have a Social Link, it was all crammed into his regular scenes, which wasn't great for him. Royal, and you especially, have let me appreciate him more, but the 3 years of him being kinda mid hurt my enjoyment of him as a character.

Amen! P5R is so good! it’s so emotional with every conflict how it effects a person cognition and mind. When playing the game I was reminded of my psychology on why people who are depressed inflict harm of themselves, because they cant physically feel the pain but mentally and I think that’s the worst feeling anyone can have. Especially the 3rd semester hits the soul where you go against two sides and then throw away your mask hits it’s a thing of beauty.

I'd say for me personally that Persona 3 has the best cast because of how different they feel compared to all the other casts. I think Junpei in particular has one of the best arcs of a best friend type character in Persona games. He doesn't immediately treat you as a natural leader. He realistically has his own doubts about that, which makes him feel a lot more real than Yosuke and Ryuji in my opinion. Another character to me that really stands out is Shinji. I firmly believe that Persona has not created a character that can rival Shinji in any of its later or earlier installations. Shinji encapsulates all of the themes that Persona 3 tackles and his main story and is genuinely one of the most well written stories I've ever come across. Also I think that the cast's personas Awakening with the story are much better than the social link Awakenings in 4 and 5. Case in point being Akihiko I think the best way you could mediate the system is have the personas awaken with the story but maybe make the rank 10 like a combat bonus so there's an incentive to do The Confidant but the character still grows on their own.

I'd like to watch your ranking for SMT games though maybe playing the other SMTs like the Devil Survivor games or Digital Devil Saga might give more materials to work with?

P4G is my favorite because as a small town kid it really was beautiful for me to be able to play a game with such a rich gameplay and mechanics but still really live down that small town vibe that in real life i live in. it's more lighthearted in story imo compared to the other persona games and its a breather really, its a simplistic game that just screams with that normal slice of life fluff filled with lovable characters in a small but lovable town, and that's why i love it so much!

Hi crystal. I watched most of your persona playthrough but this is the first time I commented. I found your channel because of the dancing tier list and then before I knew it I watched many of your videos. Watching most of your persona blind through just reminds me of how I first reacted to the game. I really appreciate that you shared your experience with us because whenever I watch your videos, you re-live the same experience that I have long time ago. It feels like I play the game for the first time. Hence, your channel has become my #1 go-to channel for replay value of playing the persona games. I played all versions of P3, played P4G on vita, and OG P5 (I still haven't play P5R yet, waiting until it goes on sale). P3 is easily my favorite because a lot of reasons, but same as you the message resonated with me the most. I played P3 when I was still a kid (2007! Holy shit!), and with the release of the remaster, as an adult I find it funny that the message hits harder now. Being an adult makes you forget the simple things, I didn't realize how much I needed to hear Aigis monologue, Akinari's mother advice, and the squad hopeful messages after fighting erebus. I still cried whenever key moments of P3 show up. Keep up the good work crystal. Thank you for all the content and best of luck to you!

6:15 Well, it worked.

I know everyone's going to be talking about it, but I agree, Persona 5 Royal really is a masterpiece of a game. The moral conflict of the third semester, and the way that despite everything that's clearly wrong it comes from someone doing their best to do a good thing just hits me so deeply. Like, to me, this game is genuinely the best writing of morally grey characters and concepts I've seen, not to mention how it encourages you to look tragedy in the eye and keep on going despite it. Idk, this game and this series as a whole has touched and changed me very deeply, so I really like hearing about how other people have had similar experiences.

6:17 watching this in the future, lol

There's technically 1 Persona game you missed, Persona's inspiration "Shin Megami Tensei: if...", of which itself was inspired by the movie "If...." starring Malcolm McDowell. Pretty much everything Persona related started in that game. I'd recommend at least watching an english translated playthrough.

I actually agree with every single ranking on your playlist. Sounds weird to say, but I really do. Honestly, if I hadn’t watched this video my rankings would be slightly different, but you made some really good points and I agree with them. Also, Fire Emblem tier list when?! All jokes aside I’m interested in seeing how you would rank the Fire Emblem franchise.

I’m glad that P5R was my first persona game. I literally clapped once I had finished it. I did like P4G a lot as well but holy moly Teddie’s constant squeaky dialogue during combat was giving me migraines.

My favorite Persona game is Q2. Both it and Tales of Berseria mean a lot to me because of the messages their stories send. Also, while the dungeons in Q2 aren’t as good as Q1’s, the battle system was SO refined, and did a much better job of integrating Persona’s mechanics into Etrian Odyssey. (By the way, you should check out Tales of Berseria! It’s a really great game that I think you’ll love!)

I just got done playing p3p and I am IN LOVE with femc she is definitely my favorite protag and I really just enjoyed the game so much. I love the persona series so much it means the world to me and it makes me so happy to watch your videos I enjoy every one of them thank you Crystal

Finally! Someone who agrees with me on P4G

My fav is P4 and P4G because of the mystery aspect and how well crafted it is in this game. A saying I heard is a mystery is only ever as good as it's second viewing/reading. Having gotten the true ending of 4 and playing it again with that knowledge made me appreciate the time that went into the writing. Now I do say this while not having played P3:FES all the way through(I've been spoiled on the ending), haven't touched P1 P2 or P2E. I played P5 and P5R all the way multiple times just like 4 and P5/P5R is an amazing game in presentation, music, and gameplay, but P4/P4G holds a place in my heart for being my introduction to the series as a whole and it's theme of looking for and at the truth no matter how hard it is has stuck with me

i would LOVE an SMT video from you !!!!

my first persona experience was p4 for playstation 2. i was 13/14 (29 now) at the time and i played this game while having a hard time (divorced parents, bullying at school, diagnosed mental illness) and p4 helped me through a lot. after school i played this game like a drug. i was kinda addicted to it, because i really loved the characters, story and gameplay. i annoyed my best friend with it until they loved the music of persona itself even though they dont play the franchise. p5 is in my opinion the perfect game for everything, but p4 is still the bottom of my heart my favourite game because of my personal experiences. it healed my inner child for a time and it helped me through my hardest times.

I like how your thoughts on P5R can basically be applied to anyone's favorite. Mine is P4G and I feel the same, it will always be that experience that sticks with me and was so memorable 15:31

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about your game ranking. Sincerely, since you're someone who has experienced all of the games and can give their thoughts and understand the pros and cons of each one without overly criticizing for the sake of depreciating joy/interest. In terms of Persona games, P4 is my personal favorite out of all of them. I first played it in high school (10 years ago) and I fell in love instantly. The small town vibes and Japanese countryside made me nostalgic because my family in Japan lives in a town that was (before renovations) extremely similar to Yaso-Inaba. And honestly, had I not played it, I probably wouldn't be in Japan right now. P4 motivated me to pursue Japanese studies in college so I could be closer to my family and now I teach out in the countryside of Japan. I live in my personal Inaba and can only smile and appreciate my life now whenever I play or listen to the P4 soundtrack.

I'm so glad she spread those rumors about P3 Remake. It took 10 months, but thank you Crystaahhl!

Honestly SMT thoughtz sounds alright, but I'd be interested in something like Fire Emblem thoughts. I know you've played a lot of the older ones so that could be kinda cool

When I rate/rank games, I try to keep in mind the balance between story, characters, themes, gameplay, and art direction. However, I’ve never been the best at putting that into practice and I typically favor games with the most fun gameplay and my favorite characters, rather than those with weaker gameplay but stronger stories. So with that in mind, here’s my ranking of the games I’m familiar with: 10. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (C Tier) • A game with a very solid story; one of the best stories told through video games at the time. But the actual gameplay is really bad by modern standards. And I know it’s not fair to critique a 25 year old game on today’s standards, but it just doesn’t hold up anymore. 9. Persona 2: Innocent Sin (C Tier) • A game with a better cast of characters and improved gameplay over the first game, but still outdated by today’s standards. I feel terrible about rating it low mainly for being older, but that’s just what it comes down to for me. 8. Persona 5 Strikers (C Tier) • I actually like the gameplay and I think it goes without saying that I like the characters. My main issue with the game is that there’s no consequence to going into a Jail, leaving when you get low on HP/SP, and going back in immediately to continue from where you left off. It makes the game so unsatisfying to go through because there’s no challenge or fear of running out of time to complete the Jail. And on top of that, I never felt very connected to the story, which leaves the game pretty low on my list. 7. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (B Tier) • Better story, themes, and gameplay than Innocent Sin. The fresh take on the characters and the more in-depth themes and story put this one above P5S for me. 6. Persona Q2 (B Tier) • I like the dungeon exploration gameplay and I love having all the party members from the modern Persona games interact with each other. But, yes, the dungeons themselves are less interesting than they were in the first game. 5. Persona Q (B Tier) • Very similar to PQ2, with the added pro of having better dungeons, but the con of being pre-P5 and missing all those characters. Gameplay is better though, so it gets the edge 4. Persona 3 Portable (A Tier) • This was a tough placement for me. I love being able to control the party members’ actions, but I really miss the animated cutscenes and exploring the overworld. The FeMC route is a lot of fun and I prefer her Social Links over MMC’s. Plus, the Yukiko cameo was the perfect fan service moment in my opinion. I think it’s just missing a few too many things that keeps it from being the definitive version of P3. 3. Persona 3 FES (A Tier) • Despite not having the FeMC route or direct command party members, it is the definitive P3 experience. Beautiful fully animated cutscenes, an explorable overworld, and of course The Answer epilogue. 2. Persona 4 Golden (A Tier) • The story and themes of this game aren’t as strong as they are in P3 (I definitely cried the most from P3), but I much preferred the cast. Narukami might be my favorite Persona protagonist depending on the day, and Yosuke’s my boi. Kanji is precious and one of my favorite character tropes (tough guy who’s really a softie and eventually embraces that softer side). Yukiko and Chie really feel like best friends that have history together. Naoto is wonderful, too, basically having the same arc as Kanji but with different roots and reasoning. And Nanako is the sweetest, purest, most adorable sunshine child of all time and I would throw hands with God to protect her (and I guess I have). Oh, and Teddie exists, too, I guess. 1. Persona 5 Royal (S Tier) • I mean, do I have to explain? Persona 5 Vanilla was at the top of my list even before P5R existed, and Royal just added to the greatness of the original. My favorite cast in a Persona game; my favorite art direction in any game; my favorite soundtrack of any game; and the best gameplay I’ve ever experienced in a turn-based RPG. Not to mention the incredible story and absolute endless amount of content/ways to spend time outside of Palaces. I have never once felt bored with this game, which is mind-blowing for a 100+ hour game. By this point, I don’t think it’s surprising to reveal that P5/P5R is my favorite game of all time and it’s not even close

Just got recommended this video and I think it's a pretty solid list. I don't think P3P is a lesser experience than FES though and didn't finish Royal yet but it sure was great until the point I played. I also agree very much with P4, the more I think about it, the less it has things to think about plotwise. It's done in a pretty good way, but at the end it doesn't feel as misteryous and full of symbolism as the others.

She really did persona 2 p3r into existence

Great list. Yup I agree. P5R is one of the best games of all times. The more I play it the better it gets. It's top 3 for sure.

Personally speaking my favorite game in the Persona series is a little known title called "Aegis the First Mission". Now, I've never actually played the game since it is literally lost media, but there is a fully translated playthrough of it that was preserved through Nico Nico and has been reuploaded on RU-vid, and I will say that I personally did really fall in love with the characters and the story told in the game, even if it is incredibly short, and similar to the Q games it doesn't really get brought up again (even if it absolutely should). It's a game that stars Aigis as the protagonist and has you complete her training and a small mission where she eliminates Shadows on Yakushima Island, meeting a few new characters that only appear in this game. Yuu Kimijima is definitely the highlight among them, Aigis's creator and someone very important to the story who has her own emotional story and conflict going on throughout. I've basically made it my personal mission (haha) to make the game as well known as possible, so that more people can appreciate it and make art of it! It's hard to say if we'll ever be able to play the game again, but after the Megami Tensei LBNT trilogy got a Switch and Steam rerelease in Japan, another Atlus MegaTen game previously in an identical situation, I've felt there's some hope! It might not be your thing, but I definitely really love the game.

Persona 4 is my favourite. I loved the mystery part and the story in general. The best part for me is the characters ( except Teddy) and where it places. I used to stay in a very remote area like Inaba and met friends there and we hang out together like persona 4 cast. S tier for me

I have only played both P4G and P5R but if I have to choose both, as much as I love P4G, I will choose P5R for the impact it made in my life. The Third semester just hits really hard for me, it asks the players interesting questions. Even put the characters that have developed throughout vanilla and fleshed them out even more by giving the lives they all wished for. It's very interesting because trying to make them come to their senses feels like a gut punch, especially for Futaba. I was inspired with their resolve, How they will not let others decide their lives for them especially Akechi, even knowing that he'll die if he doesn't get along with Maruki's world. I also finished P5R at the perfect time of my life as well, I was going through "losing a friend" and I kept on wishing that things just go back to the way they were that's why I was so stuck on the past. Seeing the cast also overcome this and choosing once again to move on hits so very hard for me. I will never ever forget my P5R experience, it was truly a great game for me imo.

Persona 5 and Royal are the sole reason I know if a P3 Remake happens it will be a huge success. If there's one thing that P3F does better than Royal is literally the story. If they bring that to the level of Royal and fix most of the weird flaws in story telling social link romances and navigations that game will be the best so far in the series just for that. The thing is, I do believe they decided to go with Portable as a Remaster just to make FemC fans happy because I can't think of a Persona 3 Remake where they create two separate campaigns in the game with different cutscenes just because people want to play a happier version of the game with a flashier protagonist that feels like she came from P4 Cast.

Watching this video really got to me, I started watching you right around you starting Persona3FES as I was going through my own Persona4G journey and saw your uploads. I have loved ALL of your persona uploads, experiencing both of the 2 games for the first time through you as well, and the spinoffs such as the dancing games and Qs. I initially saw P3 through the movies but the game was so much fun with you, and I heartedly cried at the end at the last interaction on the bench with the Sun arcana's mom, bringing full light to the game's message. Thank you so so so much! You've made my years, literally, going back to 2020 for Persona 3, and ending the journey this year. I want you to keep creating content, I will always watch!!

This tier list is 🔥🔥🔥 she don’t miss

My favorite is Persona 5 Royal, my best friend Azrael got me to play the game and I absolutely loved my experience playing. I loved the storyline, the character development, and the palaces, I am currently playing it for the 4th time. Hopefully I can explore more things that I have missed the first 3 times. You and I definitely had a very similar experience with Akechi. My friend Azrael told me that I would like him and that he would grow on me. That wasn't the case at first. I went through an absolute rollercoaster with him. I absolutely hated him at first, then he impressed me with the whole outsmarting the system during Sae's Casino Palace, then I hated him again, I think I was more confused and surprised during the 3rd semester with him. It was until during my second time playing was when Akechi finally grew on me. My friend Azrael said I told you so. While he was absolutely growing on me, I decided to be him for Halloween 2 years ago and now I'm going to be him for one of the days at the convention I'm going to in May with my friend Taylor. 😊😊😊😊

I'll be fully honest... Persona 3 (both FES and Portable) was the only game I actually finished in the series. I'm extremely biased towards it, the themes really taught me so much about accepting life and death and how important people are in your daily life. I have watched through P4 (anime and gameplay) and P5 (gameplay), as well as read and watched through countless deep-dive analysis of P1 and both P2 games, but none of them sparked as much interest as P3 did to me. Everything about it, no matter how flawed, makes it a triple S tier for me. I love the characters so frickin much, to the point I always cry when revisiting their stories, I LOVE SHINJI WITH MY ENTIRE BEING, the music is some of my favorite music of all time and although I value all of the series... Persona 3 will always be my favorite.

6:16 I wish! Edit: well that aged like fine wine!

Really good tier list, I think most of this is what I probably feel of this games as well. And I got to give you even more points for being honest and don't fear the possible hate on your Persona 4 opinion, of course is a really controversial opinion, and I disagree bcs 3, 4 and 5 are evenly matched in my S tier ranking. BUT that's why I like to watch your playthroughs and videos bcs you are very honest. Nice video Crystal

Did someone say "I love puzzles"??? Professor Layton is running at full speed in the background, lol A good tier-list! I really like how you explain the thought process and put games through the perspective of your personal experience,, and of course, everyone's experiences are different, that's why people like different games,,

When you mentioned you didn't care for the murder mystery of P4 got me to realize "Yeah, I don't either". I love the themes and revelations of P4, but the murders felt so impersonal compared to P3's themes of Death, P2's Sin/Punishment and P5's Rebellion. At least till the final third, but yeah. And this is coming from someone who loves P4 and P4G

You got me with the low P5 bit, I was so shocked 😆. I haven't played the fighters or the dancers myself, but watched your play thoughs (holding off on Strikers as I do want to play it but somehow just haven't brought myself to it). That said I think I completely agree with your rankings, and while not quite things I thought of totally agree with the things you said about all of them. The only one I think I can add too is P5R. As much as I loved it I think it's the only one that suffers for not having a more adult cast since the story is way more integrated into the surrounding society than the previous titles. As far as I could personally come up with I think P5 would be twice as good if they just made them college students and the only part that really would need major rewriting is the minor with a record/Sojiro becoming your gaurdian angle. Even then I think the story could get way more compelling with the theme of societal reform from the perspective of an actual convict returning to society. Barely even need to change any of the characters to fit that too. Always love your Persona takes and wish you continued success going forward.

Highly disagree with your Persona 4 Golden ranking but at the same time I highly respect and see where you are coming from. The murder mystery is just a way to force some kind of overarching narrative to keep the story tied together but I don't dislike it at all. It's my favourite but P5R is definatly the best made with the best systems and QOL improvments.

Oh come on, not "gay contradiction" P4G again... Literally EVERYONE who dislikes or criticize gay jokes, innuendo and all has never had any male friends or simply do not know a thing about boys friendship! And all other aspects of it, like Kanji palace - do you really think that the way developers portray his journey to face himself wasn't made on purpose? OF COURSE it was horrible and wrong as fuck, just like any other Shadow self and that is the point

Goddamn pinoy's editing is so damn good 😂 Great video as usual Crystaahhl!! 🫶

As much as I have opinions that are different from Crystal's on a lot of other games she has played, I can gladly say that I pretty much agree with her ranking here. Maybe a few minor changes, but the overall tier list is pretty much the same as mine 😁 P5 and P5R hold a special place in my heart and I'll definitely remember P5R for the rest of my life. Also I literally never made the connection until now that Jun literally gets the Haru treatment wtf how did I never notice that?

This tier list needed more Persona 1. But no, P3 FES is still my overall favourite, I think it's my favourite with combination of story and gameplay and it's definitely the best one overall. Now... if P1 and P2 get remakes however, this conversation may go down a little differently... but we'll have to wait and see (Atlus please don't let me down I am begging you)

I feel like I'm solitary in not having super fond memories of P3. It's a game beloved by so many too, I really wanted to love it as much as everyone else! The game, to me at least, always felt bogged down by too many weird game design choices that I can't honestly say it's an S-tier game. Even P3's plot (which most consider one of its strongest points) was like a capital 'U' to me; starts and ends really really strong, but I just can't forget a lot of the mediocrity that was in between. If the remake does come around though, I'm definitely eager to give the game another shot. Only 'modern' persona game I didn't want to replay.

Persona 4 Golden is probably my favorite p5r is second place but the reason is those characters the investigation team is my favorite group of characters I have had as my companions in any game I've ever played it is the only game that when it got towards the end I had to stop playing I was not ready to say goodbye to my friends. And that is the point and I love it for that. I understand your story criticisms but it's the character moments that stand out for me I love those characters so much.

Umm akshually you didn't rate the entire series, you missed persona poo and the official chie bath flash game

I was one of the people who got into SMT and Persona way back in my childhood, so i first played really bad international version of P1, then i played Eternal Punishment since as a kid i didnt know Innocent Sin is a thing and it wasnt translated anyway. Only some time after i was able to experience the rest and it was a journey for sure. And while i love 3-5 to death, the experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life is Persona 2 above all else. As a person, it is very difficult for me to accept my weakness and inability to do something. Just half a year ago my close friend was hospitalized with brain tumors and still hanging for her life and everyone is powerless to do anything about it. And while P4 explores accepting themselves, with all respect, those are still relatively minor and individualistic issues in my eyes, while P2 touched on things fundemental for every human. Sometimes you make mistakes, sometimes you can own up to them and sometimes you end up regretting them for the rest of your life. This is something you have to accept and live with it. Sometimes your kind intentions bring only ruin and such things are outside of your control. Should you have done anything differently? Is there any reason to regret your decisions? Would you make the same decisions again? I think despite every game having great themes, Persona 2 is above all other Persona games in that regard and thus way more impactful. Separately i think P5R had the weakest impact on me because while i love every character (Akechi especially), i completely disagree with everything Phantom Thieves do. They keep preaching how no one should be able to force people to do things yet this is exactly what they do in both R and Strikers. They just push their own immature agenda and rewrite reality for people not unlike Maruki. The hypocricy of the entire journey left the least of an impact on me because of that.

Persona is my 2nd Favorite VideoGame Series of All Time

I have only played persona 5, i first played the vanilla version (coz my brother lent it to me saying "you'll love this!") and completed that then went onto buying and playing persona 5 Royal, twice. What i found surprising and i don't know how many other people did the same as me, but persona 5 royal does register persona 5 vanilla saves and while its not a complete new game + you still have to do all your skills and confidants again. It does give you some help early game with some money and some items if i recall correctly. I thought this was a cool feature. I do intend to try at least 3 and 4 someday but i'm really happy with my experience of persona 5 royal and would rank it very high on my favourite games of all time list

Definitely interested in some SMT thoughts - you've managed to stay out of the weird Megaten hivemind so far, so a fresh perspective could be fun. I'd love to see some vlogs like the P1 manga one as you work your way through!

I agree with your list honestly. I love P3 so much, it's my favorite. However, P5R is such an amazing game, even with its flaws, it's incredible. The music is amazing, the ending of the original game was so hype just thinking about it is so exciting. I do like the new additions in R, but having played P5 and watching multiple playthroughs of P5R I think if you combine them together it makes for an incredible experience.

I disagree that 3 is about death. Aegis who will never die (of old age) ends the game having developed the same as MC or.... Anyway, it's about *life,* about existential triumph over nihilism. You even get the option to "kill death" at one point... Persona 4 is a mystery because the game is about epistemological perspectivism. You need to understand the "truth" from Namatame's perspective instead of your own to solve the mystery. I don't think just a dating simulator would have gotten it across even though that consumed much of the gameplay time. The development of relationships in 4 is inspired by Nietzche's "Human, All Too Human", to know oneself is the only way to bond with others, and the metaphor of the fog comes from Nietzche's "Beyond Good and Evil", though originally it's an India metaphor found in Hindu and Buddhist texts. All in all, a deeper story than it often gets credit for. Personally, I enjoyed Persona 5 the least of the big 3, but partially I think my expectations were too high. They said 5 would tackle "more serious" issues...in retrospect, I don't know how it could be more serious than 3 so I should have known better. It is a well-written story, don't get me wrong, IMO inspired by "The Genealogy of Morals" (the slave morality vs master morality) and "Thus Sprach Zarathustra" (punishment is no justice, but a revenge that actually does good to the other person is), but it doesn't succeed for me as well as 3 or 4. They did try to tackle more contemporary social issues and did a really good job combining the philosophical theme of justice with the issue of Japan's criminal justice system, but to me the problem there was the homophobia of the cast. In Japan, Shinuku is representative of misfits in society and treating the gay couple as disgusting completely undermined the story to me. (It's much worse in the vanilla game so the devs clearly realized it's a problem, hopefully 6 will do better.) The spinoffs are whatever. I'm a sucker for fanservice.

I'm a pretty new and "inexperienced" Persona fan, I've only played a handful of the games (and none of the definitive versions, shoot me). But I'll rank the ones I've played because why not. *1: -- Persona 4 --* P4 is still my favorite JRPG. Its gameplay is a huge step up from Persona 3 thanks to the more varied dungeons and the different way it handles a time-oriented structure (more on that later), party members feel more balanced, and you can *actually control them.* But what makes Persona 4 stick in my mind is the characters, themes, and setting. The Investigation Team is my favorite "hero group" of the games because they feel the most...earnest I suppose? They're all openly working towards the same goal with no ulterior motives, they always work together and never fight, and they come across as an ideal friend group. Kanji is one of my favorite characters in fiction, and not two days go by without remembering Mitsuo and reminding myself of what might happen if I let my video game obsession get the better of me. I also really resonate with the game's themes of never ignoring the truth even if it's painful, and that acknowledging your own weaknesses makes you stronger. I think Persona 4 is what instilled in me a value for authenticity and sincerity. Lastly, I love Inaba as a setting, but I think I'm biased because it reminds me of the small town that I lived in while studying in Japan and makes me nostalgic for the happiest time of my life. I firmly believe that Persona 4 is a fantastic entry title for anyone wanting to get into Persona or the JRPG genre. *2: -- Persona 5 --* P5 is great, but P4 ranks just a bit higher for me. I prefer the dungeon design, art style, and general gameplay of Persona 5, but I think I have more complaints story-wise. The Phantom Thieves have a super interesting "gimmick" and a very relatable cause, and I love the idea of them all being strangers to one another that find common ground and become an extremely close-knit group of friends. As the thieves add new members, it felt like so much more than just having another party member to use, but having a new companion joining your cause and sharing your joys and burdens. My problem with the Phantom Thieves is their dynamics with each other. I love the one Joker and Ryuji have because it starts the overarching theme of the group; strangers meet, are initially suspicious of each other, learn that they have a lot in common after all, and decide to help each other about. But every other dynamic I just found obtrusive and quirky for the sake of being quirky. Morgana is horny for Ann for no reason, he treats Ryuji like crap for no reason, Futaba calls Yusuke a weird nickname for no reason, and Makoto and Haru have no lasting dynamic with anybody. Even though the Phantom Thieves are fantastic as individual characters, I think as a group they're kind of weak. Also, I think the alternate-reality setting rather undermines the story's central theme of standing up to oppression. I find it a little hard to be inspired by the Phantom Thieves when the reason they accomplish what they do is because they can access a supernatural world where they fight cartoonishly evil versions of their oppressors using psychic demons and magic powers and make said oppressors grovel at their feet. P5 leans way harder into the "fantasy" side of urban fantasy, and that can hurt the relatability a bit. P4 also uses a supernatural world, but the Shadows are symbolic of the heroes facing and overcoming their own internal anxieties, instead of indirectly resolving an external problem through what's essentially a power fantasy (except for Futaba's and Sae's Palaces). But hey, it's a really, really cool power fantasy. Overall, Persona 5 is an amazing game, but it's not without some things that could be improved upon. *3: -- Persona Q2 --* I was addicted to Q2 when I first started playing it. The five-person party was so much fun and allowed for a lot of strategic options for combat, the Labyrinths' aesthetics reminded me of the variety and symbolism that P5's Palaces have, and I loved the simple idea of three games' heroes all meeting and interacting. Even the chibi art style grew on me after I initially hated it. But then I got to the third Labyrinth, and by then the difficulty was ramping up, the party was getting *insanely* bloated with new characters that I was never going to use, and it was getting harder to manage two Personas on every active character instead of several Personas on just the protag. Then I lost my save data, and I haven't touched the game since. So I haven't actually finished the game, but I enjoyed it for most of the time I played it. I bought Q1 right before the eshop closed but haven't played it yet, so I'm hoping playing that will motivate me to start Q2 again. *4: -- Persona 5 Strikers --* I haven't finished this one yet either, I've only gotten to the third Jail. The only other Warriors game I've played is Hyrule Warriors (probably my favorite Wii U game), and I was expecting something similar to that. But the two games are pretty much worlds apart. In fact I hesitate to call P5S a Warriors game, because it's really more like an action RPG with Warriors-like combat. Presently it's the story that's getting me through Strikers. The parts of P5's characterization that I disliked are written much better in Strikers, and the road trip setting feels perfect for the Phantom Thieves. I think I'd be enjoying the gameplay a lot more if I didn't have to deal with the shoddy friendly AI and if the new Fusion mechanics weren't so tedious with grinding up weak Personas. It's a 6/10 for me. *5: -- Persona 3 FES -- RANT INCOMING* No offense to P3 fans, but this has got be the one game that I just do not understand why it's so beloved (well, it's fighting Kingdom Hearts 1 for that position I suppose). If Strikers sat at B tier, P3 would be in D tier. I found neither the gameplay nor the story of P3 compelling. Tartarus is one of the dullest and most monotonous dungeons I've ever experienced, and the inability to directly control your party just kills the combat for me. When I got to the first Full Moon Event and saw it take place on a moving monorail, I thought "great, give me more of that!" then the love hotel dungeon came along and I was like "yeah that was also a cool and unique dungeon, give me more of that!" and then there were no more Full Moon dungeons, just boss fights, and piss-easy ones at that. Since Full Moon Events are when the story progresses, it felt like the whole game was just waiting until it's time to advance the story (That's as opposed to what P4 and P5 do, where you're actually managing your time before a deadline instead of just passing time until something interesting happens). That wouldn't be so bad if the things you can do in the meantime were interesting, but holy moley are they anything but. The alternative to grinding in Tartarus is to do social links, but P3 has some of the worst social links in the series. The only ones I remember even being enjoyable are the Sun, Strength, and Tower links (Hermit's fine too, but you can only do it one day of the week and it takes up the whole day); everyone else I found either boring or straight-up unlikable (the Chariot link sticks in my mind for encouraging you to enable the guy's self-destructive habits). And it's all done in Iwatodai, a generic city with nothing to do in it. As for the major characters, I'm very indifferent towards them. Shinjiro is a tough-on-the-outside, sweet-on-the-inside badass and prompted the only time I felt an emotional connection to the story, I resonate with some of Junpei's troubles (plus he's hilarious), and Koromaru is a good boi, but aside from them...meh? Akihiko's connection to Shinjiro saves him from obscurity, Ken I just thought was an angsty brat, and I don't remember any of the girls except maybe Mitsuru (I even forget Yukari's name half the time). The final act of the story focuses almost entirely on Aigis and Ryoji, who I didn't find interesting either. At least Nyx is a neat twist on the "personification of death" trope, in that she's an unstoppable unavoidable entity much like death itself, but the "humanity desires death" thing doesn't come through as strongly as P4's and P5's "desires of humanity". By the end of it I was on autopilot trying to finish P3 just so I can say I finished it. I didn't even bother with The Answer because the idea of doing any more Tartarus made me want to die. All of this said, I think P3's themes of mortality and deciding for yourself the value of your own life were great choices but could have been more present in the narrative. Aside from that...I guess I like the music? But not as much as other Persona games...humph. TL;DR Persona 4 is phenomenal, Persona 5 is also amazing but more flawed in the story department, Q2 started strong but lost steam towards the end, Strikers I could take or leave, and Persona 3 FES was largely unbearable with a few grains of gold, and I wish I could understand the appeal. UPDATE 1/29/24: Now I've played some of Q1 and Tactica, but not very much (still on the first dungeon/kingdom of each). So far, Q1 goes between Q2 and Strikers (it's pretty similar to Q2 but not as interesting thematically), and Tactica goes either slightly above or below Strikers (I like Strikers' writing and story better, but I prefer Tactica's gameplay)

Thanks for another great video Crystal! ❤ And whoever is editing is like killing it too in these videos, chef’s kiss, 10s across the board! Definitely interested in your SMT thoughts!!

I'm eager for you to talk about SMT mainline games :3 also yeah agree persona 5 is the ebst one. great dungeons and gameplay, bringng back the negotiation mechanic that I think the franchise is defined by, great charactes (even if I think somebeats and like oen or two confidant stories beign pretty crappy in some aspects) aswell as a fantastic story and villains. the persona 2 duology i sadly never got to pay but everything I now about it sounds REALLY cool ebtween the reality altring rumours and the mystery behind what's going on, the fact the duology actually gives the protags personality via the fact they're playable in different games and I like Nyarlethotep as a villain. Persona 4 is in hindsight pretty weak, i agree yeah. The mystery is pretty not the best (especially since its kinda not really a good mystery with actual clues or such and you jsut kinda have to stumble onto the truth and only like two people are actually killed by the actual killer and then the game tries to give him some weird redemption maybe when he helps you find the true mastermind? what?) and the cast can be REALLY, REALLY way too fucking mean to other at points (especially yosuke and chie, and ESPECIALLY the fuckign summer camp event). Its alrght and at the time it popualrised persona for many and got people to get interested in SMT but YEAH its not the BEST. I have a soft spot for Persona 1 because of its more horror themes. Its also itneresting to be the only Persona game to not have a deity be the ultimate villain (until P2 kinda retconned Nyarlethotep into being involved in hindsight) with the villains being a power hungry man and a the eprsonification of a girl's suicidal depression and nihilism.

P4G is still the best as of right now. There's nothing that could convince me otherwise. Best cast, fun story, Amazing vibes and music. 5 is pretty mid, but 3: FES deserves to be up there for sure.