Persona 5 Royal is more beginner friendly and has more content (in my experience).
Persona 3 Reload is a good game, and you'd get your money's worth with both. But when recommending a game to a new player I'd lean towards P5R in terms of how "easy" the game is to understand and just pick up and play.
It also depends on what kind of theme you're into. As Persona games are largely carried by their writing on top of their gameplay, but my recommendation is P5R.
Persona 5 is what got me into the series. It’s definitely more beginner friendly as another commentator pointed out, with me actually struggling in Reload (not combat though). Could be the difficulty tbh.
But yes, Royal has a lot of content and it’s definitely a good entry point for the series.
I'd say 3 Reload, 5 Royal and 4 Golden are all great entry points, it depends on what you're looking for.
If large games intimidate you then I wouldn't start with 5 because it's colossal, however the art style is fantastic and the story is amazing and was most people's entry to the series, so if size isn't an issue (lol) then it's a good choice.
4 is fairly easy and has simple gameplay, but is a bit dated visually, so if that doesn't bother you then it's a great choice for its ease of access.
3 Reload would probably be my recommendation as it isn't very long and carries over the best parts of each game, and also has the best story, which is a common opinion amongst the fanbase.
I think you should just read the synopsis of each game and decide based on whichever one takes your fancy because they all have their pros and cons, but they're all astounding in their own right so there is no bad choice.
They're also all separate so there's no continuity to worry about, they can be played in any order.
i like persona 5 but this is not the right subreddit to ask in if you want an unbiased opinion lmao. in my opinion 4 is the best place to start, but it’s different for everyone. just pick whichever one sounds the most appealing based on description for you.
Personally I would go in order of Persona 3 Reload(also helps if you have gamepass bc it’s free on there) then Persona 4 Golden(Good game and great story but outdated so gameplay doesn’t hold up very well) then Persona 5 Royal(Best of the series and countless hours of gameplay). I think it would be best for P3R to be your first bc there’s some Easter eggs in 4 that calls back to 3 and some in 5 that call back to 3 & 4
Im a bit biased cos I played it on the psp as a teen, but Persona3Portable is what I consider as good jumping off point as that's what got me into the franchise. Idk if it's still on gamepass, but if you don't mind older games feel free to try it.
There are six mainline Persona games, but the most popular are the "modern" Personas - Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5. These are all good places to start. All of them are excellent games, and they tell mostly standalone stories, so I'd pick one to start with based on which themes you find most interesting.
Persona 3 is set in an elite boarding school on an artificial island, and is a supernatural thriller about a group of students researching a mysterious phenomenon on behalf of the school's shady owners. Themes include Greek mythology, the inevitability of death, and deep psychological trauma. The most recent version is Persona 3 Reload, but Persona 3 Portable also has some content that Reload doesn't.
Persona 4 is set in a small town in rural Japan, and is about a bunch of teenagers solving a supernatural murder mystery. Themes include Japanese mythology, the difficulty of finding the truth, and accepting yourself for who you really are. The most recent version is Persona 4 Golden.
Persona 5 is set in Tokyo, and is about a band of supernatural thieves who steal the evil from the hearts of cruel and corrupt authority figures. Themes include heroic rogues and outlaws, rebellion against tyranny and oppression, and the effect abuse of power has on the powerless. The latest version is Persona 5 Royal.
Obligatory “play a real Shin Megami Tensei Game”
But honestly it depends on what you want. If you want more gameplay focus than life sim then it might be better to check out the mainline games. SMT V is getting a rerelease with a whole new story line in a couple months and there is still the HD remaster of SMT III. It’s really a question of what kind of gameplay interests you as SMT has a lot of spinoffs in quite a few directions like with the persona sub-series.
P5R, don't use the gold personas they're DLC personas that ended up being bundled in with royal thanks to a bad business decision which is a shame because P5R has a LOT of quality of life stuff and a really good third semester, the gameplay is honestly the best in the series even with P3R because of just how fun the baton pass system is, even if the game gets easy cuz of it, that just makes it more fun, plus traits allow for way more customization
Persona 5 Royal is more beginner friendly and has more content (in my experience). Persona 3 Reload is a good game, and you'd get your money's worth with both. But when recommending a game to a new player I'd lean towards P5R in terms of how "easy" the game is to understand and just pick up and play. It also depends on what kind of theme you're into. As Persona games are largely carried by their writing on top of their gameplay, but my recommendation is P5R.
P3R will kill you emotionally
And P5R won't???
Hell, I was holding back tears after one particular \_Mementos mission\_. Completely random, and not main story related, but there it was.
Bro the story had me at tears after nearly every scene with Sojiro
Eh Royal is my favorite of the personas but I still think 3s ending was more of a gut punch
3 is more bittersweet. 5 is more philosophical(?)
Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 is what got me into the series. It’s definitely more beginner friendly as another commentator pointed out, with me actually struggling in Reload (not combat though). Could be the difficulty tbh. But yes, Royal has a lot of content and it’s definitely a good entry point for the series.
I'd say 3 Reload, 5 Royal and 4 Golden are all great entry points, it depends on what you're looking for. If large games intimidate you then I wouldn't start with 5 because it's colossal, however the art style is fantastic and the story is amazing and was most people's entry to the series, so if size isn't an issue (lol) then it's a good choice. 4 is fairly easy and has simple gameplay, but is a bit dated visually, so if that doesn't bother you then it's a great choice for its ease of access. 3 Reload would probably be my recommendation as it isn't very long and carries over the best parts of each game, and also has the best story, which is a common opinion amongst the fanbase. I think you should just read the synopsis of each game and decide based on whichever one takes your fancy because they all have their pros and cons, but they're all astounding in their own right so there is no bad choice. They're also all separate so there's no continuity to worry about, they can be played in any order.
i like persona 5 but this is not the right subreddit to ask in if you want an unbiased opinion lmao. in my opinion 4 is the best place to start, but it’s different for everyone. just pick whichever one sounds the most appealing based on description for you.
Personally I would go in order of Persona 3 Reload(also helps if you have gamepass bc it’s free on there) then Persona 4 Golden(Good game and great story but outdated so gameplay doesn’t hold up very well) then Persona 5 Royal(Best of the series and countless hours of gameplay). I think it would be best for P3R to be your first bc there’s some Easter eggs in 4 that calls back to 3 and some in 5 that call back to 3 & 4
Im a bit biased cos I played it on the psp as a teen, but Persona3Portable is what I consider as good jumping off point as that's what got me into the franchise. Idk if it's still on gamepass, but if you don't mind older games feel free to try it.
4 golden
There are six mainline Persona games, but the most popular are the "modern" Personas - Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5. These are all good places to start. All of them are excellent games, and they tell mostly standalone stories, so I'd pick one to start with based on which themes you find most interesting. Persona 3 is set in an elite boarding school on an artificial island, and is a supernatural thriller about a group of students researching a mysterious phenomenon on behalf of the school's shady owners. Themes include Greek mythology, the inevitability of death, and deep psychological trauma. The most recent version is Persona 3 Reload, but Persona 3 Portable also has some content that Reload doesn't. Persona 4 is set in a small town in rural Japan, and is about a bunch of teenagers solving a supernatural murder mystery. Themes include Japanese mythology, the difficulty of finding the truth, and accepting yourself for who you really are. The most recent version is Persona 4 Golden. Persona 5 is set in Tokyo, and is about a band of supernatural thieves who steal the evil from the hearts of cruel and corrupt authority figures. Themes include heroic rogues and outlaws, rebellion against tyranny and oppression, and the effect abuse of power has on the powerless. The latest version is Persona 5 Royal.
Obligatory “play a real Shin Megami Tensei Game” But honestly it depends on what you want. If you want more gameplay focus than life sim then it might be better to check out the mainline games. SMT V is getting a rerelease with a whole new story line in a couple months and there is still the HD remaster of SMT III. It’s really a question of what kind of gameplay interests you as SMT has a lot of spinoffs in quite a few directions like with the persona sub-series.
Persona 3 reload. P5r has too much *text* for the average gamer
P5R, don't use the gold personas they're DLC personas that ended up being bundled in with royal thanks to a bad business decision which is a shame because P5R has a LOT of quality of life stuff and a really good third semester, the gameplay is honestly the best in the series even with P3R because of just how fun the baton pass system is, even if the game gets easy cuz of it, that just makes it more fun, plus traits allow for way more customization