Persona gives you two lives to run at once. Main combat takes place in dungeons, where you fight Shadows and demons. Outside battle you spend time with friends and grow your Social Links, and those bonds feed straight back into how your Personas evolve. The fights reward sharp play: strike an enemy's weakness and you get an extra turn and knock it down. The series began as a spin-off of Shin Megami Tensei If..., built around its high school setting.
Plenty of other RPGs borrow one half of that formula. A few try both. These are the 15 games players recommend most to Persona fans, ranked by how many different people named each one.
15 Games Like Persona Where You Build Bonds or Battle Demons
Azure Dreams (1997)
Azure Dreams is set in the desert town of Monsbaiya, which prospers because of a Monster Tower above it. Koh enters the tower when he turns 15 and meets Kewne, a monster that can speak to humans. Back in town there are seven characters he may develop a relationship with, which gives the game the same pull between the dungeon and the people waiting outside it.
The big difference is the tower itself. Every time Koh goes in, he returns to level one, and progress comes from strengthening your familiars and your gear. Familiars hatched outside the tower keep their level. Play it on PS1. The Game Boy Color version drops the relationships.
Stella Glow (2015)
In Stella Glow a witch named Hilda has been crystallizing people all over the country. Alto, an amnesiac, has to unite the other witches and have them sing the Anthem that will undo her work. Your time is split into free time and battle time. In free time you get three chances to build relationships with teammates or explore. Fans describe it as a relationship game wrapped around a tactics RPG, which makes it an easy step from Persona.
The big difference is that the bonds pay off in battle. Battles are turn based, and a closer friendship with Alto can unlock new abilities for a character. The epilogue changes with whoever Alto is closest to. It was the final game by Imageepoch before the studio went bankrupt. Play it on 3DS.
Catherine (2011)
Catherine was made by the same studio behind Persona, including director Katsura Hashino and character designer Shigenori Soejima. Work on it began near the end of Persona 4's development in 2008, with the aim of making something for a more adult audience. In the daytime Vincent Brooks talks to the other characters in a social simulation, and his choices shape the ending.
The big difference is what happens at night. In his dreams Vincent must climb towers made of blocks, arranging them into a stairway to reach the exit. It is a hard puzzle game, and Atlus released a patch with an Easy mode. It sold over one million copies by 2017. Play Catherine: Full Body on PS4 or Switch, or the original on PS3.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (2009)
Devil Survivor traps a group of teenagers in Tokyo inside a government lockdown after an invasion of demons. Early on they learn that everyone within the quarantine will die within seven days, and the protagonist can see counters over people's heads showing when they will die. Story events are tied to an in-game clock. Persona fans recommend it for its story and its time with the cast.
The big difference is the combat. Fights are tactical and grid based, with a turn-based battle system, and the battle information is split across the two screens. You buy demons at auctions. Who you save over the seven days decides which ending you get. Play Overclocked on 3DS, or the original on DS.
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (2004)
Digital Devil Saga follows the Embryon, a tribe that fights five other tribes in a digital world called the Junkyard. After a demon virus gives them demonic powers, they must fight and devour the other tribes to reach Nirvana. Like Persona, it puts a fixed group of friends at the centre, in a story first drafted by the author Yu Godai.
The big difference is the hunger. You gain Atma after each battle, but a greater amount comes from eating enemies, and characters can fall ill if they overeat. Abilities come from Mantra Grids, and battles use the Press Turn system, first used in Nocturne. Both games were heavily praised by critics for their story. Play it on PS2 or PS3.
Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars (2013)
Conception II is set at a school where monsters form in Dusk Circles. Wake, the new hero, has so much ether in his body that he can fight inside their labyrinths. He also has a 100% chance of creating Star Children with S-rank female students, small fighters made through a process called classmating. You build bonds with the heroines and follow their stories, like the ghost haunting the school pool.
The big difference is how far it leans into the dating side. Fans call it close to Persona in shape but a weaker game, with the dungeons as a light extra. Strong bonds are needed to create strong Star Children. Play it on 3DS or Vita.
Shin Megami Tensei IV (2013)
Shin Megami Tensei is the series Persona grew out of, and IV is a good place to meet it. You play Flynn, a samurai who protects the medieval Kingdom of Mikado from demons. When a Black Samurai starts turning people into demons, Flynn and three companions go after her. The chase drags them into a power struggle between angels and demons, and into a Tokyo where only twenty years have passed while over a thousand passed in Mikado.
The big difference is focus. Fans warn that it is harder than Persona and has nothing like Social Links. In battle Flynn fights alongside three demons, and turns follow the Press Turn System from earlier games. Negotiating with demons and fusing them both earn experience. Play it on 3DS.
Fantasy Life (2012)
Fantasy Life is for the Persona fan whose favourite part was the life outside the dungeon. You choose from 12 Life paths in the world of Reveria and level up through the ranks, from Fledgling to Legend. Fans describe it as half RPG and half life sim. The story starts when a strange purple meteorite falls into your house.
The big difference is that fighting is only one way to play. Mastering a Life lets you make and find your own materials instead of buying them from a shop. A butterfly in your story turns out to be the daughter of the Life Goddess. Nintendo brought it west in 2014, and a sequel came out in 2025. Play it on 3DS.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth (2015)
Cyber Sleuth stars Aiba, a young student in Tokyo who joins the cyberspace network EDEN and comes out half digital. Detective Kyoko Kuremi rescues Aiba and takes them on, and the cases lead into EDEN Syndrome, where users of EDEN fall into comas. The investigations take you around Tokyo. Fans say it feels very much inspired by Persona.
The big difference is your party. You command Digimon instead of Personas, and the game was built to have at least as many trainable Digimon as Digimon World DS. The fights use 3D models because players asked to see their Digimon during battle. Play it on PS4, Switch or Vita.
Rune Factory 4 (2012)
Rune Factory 4 starts with an attack on your airship on the way to the town of Selphia. Once you arrive, the real prince, Arthur, is happy to let you take over his job. As prince or princess you can issue Orders, from asking for a harvest festival to pushing back a storm that would wipe out your crops. Fans call it one of the best mixes of life sim and RPG.
The big difference is the farm. Your days go into crops and townsfolk as much as monsters, and you can marry one of the people of Selphia. The game did so well that it pushed its publisher's profit forecast up by 106.7%. Play Rune Factory 4 Special on Switch or PS4, or the original on 3DS.
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne (2003)
Nocturne feels like Persona with the school day taken out. You play a high school student who is turned into the demonic Demi-fiend after the Conception, an apocalypse that leaves Tokyo a Vortex World filled with demons. Battles reward you for exploiting weaknesses: score a critical hit or strike a weak spot and you gain an additional turn. You recruit demons in battle and fuse new ones at the Cathedral of Shadows.
The big difference is the mood and the challenge. Instead of friends you meet survivors trying to shape the world when it is reborn, and critics often pointed at its difficulty. It was the first mainline Shin Megami Tensei game released in the west. Play the HD remaster on PS4 or Switch, or the original on PS2.
Thousand Arms (1998)
Thousand Arms mixes a Japanese RPG with a dating sim, years before Persona 3 made that a habit. You play Meis, a womanizing Spirit Blacksmith who can make magical weapons, chosen to find the sacred flames before the Dark Acolytes do. To power up his weapons he needs the help of a woman, and he raises his intimacy level with her by going out on dates. One reviewer called it "the first real example of a decent dating simulation in the US."
The big difference is the tone. Fans recommend it as a light-hearted RPG with a little dating sim on the side. Only one character can fight the enemy directly at a time, which slows battles down. Some reviewers felt too much of the fun was locked behind dates. Play it on PS1.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010)
Danganronpa traps Makoto Naegi and his classmates inside Hope's Peak Academy with Monokuma, a robot bear. A student can leave only by murdering another and not being voted as the killer in a class trial. Between murders come the Daily Life sections, where you talk with the other students and the plot moves along on dating sim elements. Fans point Persona players to it for that time with the cast.
The big difference is that there are no battles in the usual sense. You solve class trials by shooting at arguments displayed on the screen. It earned positive reviews for the cast and story, though critics were split on how easy the trials are. Play it on PSP, or get both games on Vita in Danganronpa 1・2 Reload. The Vita version adds a School Life mode.
Tokyo Xanadu (2015)
Kou Tokisaka is a high school student living in Morimiya in 2015. Worried for a girl's safety, Kou follows her into a back alley and gets sucked into a vortex that leads to a nightmarish realm known as Eclipse. Along the way the group recruits Rion Kugayama, a member of a famous idol group, and their English teacher. Fans call it the closest match to Persona, for the school setting and a system much like Social Links.
The big difference is the combat, since Tokyo Xanadu is an action RPG. The developers based the town on real places in Tokyo, down to a station plaza modelled on the north exit of Tachikawa Station. It topped the Japanese sales chart in its first week. Play Tokyo Xanadu eX+ on PS4 or Switch, or the original on Vita.
Trails of Cold Steel (2013)
Trails of Cold Steel puts you in Class VII at Thors Military Academy, the only class there not split by social class, with nobles and commoners together. You play Rean Schwarzer, a commoner adopted into a noble family. Fans say it has its own take on Social Links, with a school setting and relationships to build with your classmates. The class is sent out to see the Empire for itself, a country that is close to civil war.
The big difference is the scale. Your school year plays out against a nation's politics and a terrorist group called the Imperial Liberation Front, led by a masked leader known only as C. Battles are turn based, in the traditional JRPG style. Xseed Games brought it to English players in 2015. Play it on PS3, Vita or PS4.
Which one to play
There you have it, the whole list of games like Persona. Some of these keep the school and the friendships. Others are all about the demons.
If the school days were your favourite part, start with Trails of Cold Steel or Tokyo Xanadu. If you want demons and tough battles, play Nocturne or Shin Megami Tensei IV. For a mystery with a cast you get attached to, try Danganronpa or Cyber Sleuth. If the dating was the best bit, Thousand Arms and Conception II lean into it the most. And for a cosy life between fights, pick Rune Factory 4 or Fantasy Life.
