History YMMV / ShinMegamiTenseiPersona

[[redirect:YMMV/Persona]]

For the other Persona related YMMV subpages:

* ''YMMV/{{Persona 1}}''
* ''YMMV/Persona2''
* ''YMMV/Persona3''
* ''YMMV/Persona4''
* ''YMMV/Persona5''

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* AcceptableTargets: Considering how the games want to focus on ThePowerOfFriendship, loners in general are a major target, especially as the series went on.
* BetterAsALetsPlay: The games, especially 3, 4 and 5 are very popular Let's Play games in the JRPG genre, due to being very long and very story driven. It would be very easy to say that a lot fans of the games never actually played the games themselves and simply watched a Let's Play of it. The main reason people prefer to watch Persona games rather than play them is because of the "Life Sim" portion of them, whereas the player has to choose what daily activity the main character will do. People watch other people play it because they either don't have time to do it themselves, or they want to see how the choices/time management of the content creator play out.
* CommonKnowledge: Nyarlathotep is commonly stated to be the BigBad of the entire series by the fandom, even though in the grand scheme of things his actual level of impact is minimal at best. He only served as the main antagonist of the ''VideoGame/Persona2'' duology, and after that he has not been seen since, in spite of [[EpilepticTrees constant theories about his return in future games]]. And while yes he is the embodiment of humanity's darkness and directly competes against [[BigGood Philemon]], he's not really that much different from any other ''Persona'' BigBad, being an AnthropomorphicPersonification of some negative aspect of humanity that intends harm on the world, with the only thing he has above them is [[spoiler:successfully [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt ending the world]] at the end of ''Innocent Sin'' (And even then, he just wins that battle, not the war)]]. Hell, in his debut back in ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona}} Persona 1]]'', he was nothing more than ''a regular Persona'' used by the actual villain of the game, Takahisa Kandori, and the ''Persona 2'' doulogy just {{Retcon}}'d him as using Kandori during those events.
* CompleteMonster: See [[Monster/ShinMegamiTensei here for a page of the most despicable villains in this sub-series]].
* FandomEnragingMisconception: Referring to ''Persona 3'', ''4'', and ''5'' as "the ''Persona'' series" is sure to hit a sore spot among more hardcore fans, given how ''Persona 1'' and both ''Persona 2'' games tend to be forgotten while the more recent titles get tons of attention and spin-offs.
* FandomRivalry:
** With ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure,'' due to both having a spirit like entity each character can summon that represents their "true selves", and in ''Manga/StardustCrusaders,'' having an Arcana theme. The biggest example is the rivalry between ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'' and ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', due to them having similar premises (high-school-aged protagonists trying to solve a murder in a small town, and at least one of the murder victims was hung from a telephone wire).
** With the main series, due to its popularity overshadowing it and everything else Atlus makes. There are those who actively dislike the spin-off and its fanbase, viewing them as Johnny-come-latelies who can only enjoy watered-down gameplay and thematic compromise. Simultaneously, some fans are ''only'' fans of the spin-off and dislike the main series for its stagnant, recycled "order vs. chaos and both are jerks" plots, flatter characters that contrast heavily with the spin-off's heavily character-focused narratives, and its archaic difficulty and gameplay. There ''are'' those who enjoy both, but the two series are different enough from one another that there's less overlap than one would think.
** With the fandom itself, there's a split of ''Persona 1/2'' fans vs. ''3'' and beyond. Katsura Hashino took over as the series director starting with the third game, retooling the series both gameplay and tone-wise in the process. While ''Persona 3'' contained a few easter eggs to the early games, it was essentially a SoftReboot of the franchise. The side effect of this is all the spin-offs moving forward draw from these modern ''Persona'' games leading to a rivalry of the fanbase.
* {{Fanon}}: People arguing that the canon love interest for ''every'' "Fool" bearing protagonist is whoever happens to be represented by the Lovers Arcana in their respective game.
* FridgeHorror: The Social Link system introduced in ''Persona 3'' can easily be read as you deliberately cultivating "friendships" solely for the purpose of amassing more power for yourself. This is toned down in ''Persona 5''; most of your Confidants befriend you with the explicit understanding that you're getting some material benefit out of the relationship, and a throwaway line by Morgana indicates that he is aware of Social Links and has no issue with it.
* FriendlyFandoms:
** Though there have been spats of a FandomRivalry as noted above, the fandoms of the ''Persona'' series have started to grow tight with ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' due to several similarities, especially with involving {{Fighting Spirit}}s.
** The ''Persona'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' fanbases got along following [[VideoGame/Persona5 Joker's]] addition to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''; the ''Persona'' fanbase was excited to see representation in a major fighting game series, and the ''Smash'' side have gotten [[GatewaySeries interested]] into the ''Persona'' games.
* HilariousInHindsight: ''Persona 3'' introduces the series's take on TheGrimReaper, who dual-wields guns. Guess [[VideoGame/{{Overwatch}} what later property]] features a [[TheDreaded dreaded-in-universe]] character with "Reaper" in his name that dual-wields guns?
* MorePopularSpinoff: The ''Persona'' games are the most popular commercially and critically acclaimed about of the whole ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise, specifically the games from ''Persona 3'' onward, with each new main installment surpassing the previous one in both sales and critical acclaim. ''Persona 5'' in particular has become Atlus's best-selling game ever, and it's main character Joker is a [[GuestFighter DLC fighter]] in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.
* NeverLiveItDown:
** The 10 month delay of ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' in Europe gets brought up every time the series is discussed. Regardless of the change in circumstances for the franchise since then[[note]]Namely, Sega's 2013 purchase of Atlus meaning that Sega UK are now publishing Atlus games in the region as opposed to different publishers on a game-by-game basis[[/note]], the EU fanbase still holds a grudge. Other titles also coming out late didn't help.
** The number of ''Persona 4'' [[CashCowFranchise spinoffs]] have also been a source of mockery. While well received, it led to a BrokenBase of fans upset that Atlus didn't release a proper new entry instead. ''VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight'' in particular garnered much of the scorn, which led to a case of HilariousInHindsight since it ultimately got both [[VideoGame/Persona3DancingMoonNight P3]] and [[VideoGame/Persona5DancingStarNight P5]]-themed sequels.
* SequelDisplacement: How many people knew of ''Persona before'' the third or fourth games? For that matter, it's rare to meet a Western ''Shin Megami Tensei'' fan that wasn't introduced to the series by those two games.
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* ''YMMV/{{Persona}}''

** The number of ''Persona 4'' [[CashCowFranchise spinoffs]] have also been a source of mockery. While well received, it led to a BrokenBase of fans upset that Atlus didn't release a proper new entry instead. ''VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight'' in particular garnered much of the scorn, which led to a case of HilariousInHindsight since it is now getting both a [[VideoGame/Persona3DancingMoonNight P3]] and a [[VideoGame/Persona5DancingStarNight P5]]-themed sequel.

* CommonKnowledge: Nyarlathotep is commonly stated to be the BiggerBad of the entire series by the fandom, even though in the grand scheme of things his actual level of impact is minimal at best. He only served as the main antagonist of the ''VideoGame/Persona2'' duology, and after that he has not been seen since, in spite of [[EpilepticTrees constant theories about his return in future games]]. And while yes he is the embodiment of humanity's darkness and directly competes against [[BigGood Philemon]], he's not really that much different from any other ''Persona'' BiggerBad, being an AnthropomorphicPersonification of some negative aspect of humanity that intends harm on the world, with the only thing he has above them is [[spoiler:successfully [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt ending the world]] at the end of ''Innocent Sin'' (And even then, he just wins that battle, not the war)]]. Hell, in his debut back in ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona}} Persona 1]]'', he was nothing more than ''a regular Persona'' used by the actual villain of the game, Takahisa Kandori, and the ''Persona 2'' doulogy just {{Retcon}}'d him as using Kandori during those events.

* CommonKnowledge: Nyarlathotep is commonly stated to be the BiggerBad of the entire series by the fandom, even though in the grand scheme of things his actual level of impact in minimal at best. He only served as the main antagonist of the ''VideoGame/Persona2'' duology, and after that he has not been seen since, in spite of [[EpilepticTrees constant theories about his return in future games]]. And while yes he is the embodiment of humanity's darkness and directly competes against [[BigGood Philemon]], he's not really that much different from any other ''Persona'' BiggerBad, being an AnthropomorphicPersonification of some negative aspect of humanity that intends harm on the world, with the only thing he has above them is [[spoiler:successfully [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt ending the world]] at the end of ''Innocent Sin'' (And even then, he just wins that battle, not the war)]]. Hell, in his debut back in ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona}} Persona 1]]'', he was nothing more than ''a regular Persona'' used by the actual villain of the game, Takahisa Kandori, and the ''Persona 2'' doulogy just {{Retcon}}'d him as using Kandori during those events.

** And with the fandom itself, there's a split of Persona 1/2 Fans vs. 3 and beyond. Katsura Hashino took over as the Series Director starting with the third game, retooling the series both gameplay and tone-wise in the process. While Persona 3 contained a few easter eggs to the early games, it was essentially a SoftReboot of the franchise. The side effect of this is all the spin-offs moving forward draw from the Persona 3 and beyond games leading to a rivalry of the fanbase.

* ContinuityLockout: Averted - despite being in the same universe, every game is essentially a standalone title. If a player wants to start at ''Persona 4'', for instance, they have nothing to lose but a few cool {{Mythology Gag}}s. The only mainline game that is a true sequel is ''Persona 2: Eternal Punishment'', and even there much time is devoted to explaining the events of ''Persona 2: Innocent Sin'' for newcomers. In fact, since ''Innocent Sin'' [[NoExportForYou never officially left Japan until the PSP remake,]] ''Eternal Punishment'' was a sterling example of ''avoiding'' this. The idea of a completely different adventure that had happened off-screen, leading up to the [[TItleDrop innocent sin]], actually ''intrigued'' a lot of North American players.

* FirstInstallmentWins: Absolutely averted in several ways. The ''Persona'' series as a whole is much more popular in the west than the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series that birthed it, and said popularity increases by leaps and bounds with every step in the series. ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona}} Revelations: Persona]]'' was the first major [[note]]Virtual Boy title ''Jack Bros'' came first[[/note]] ''SMT'' game to get a western release, though it and the ''VideoGame/Persona2'' games peaked at cult classic status. Then came ''Persona 3'', then ''Persona 4'', then ''Persona 5'', each increasingly separating the series' story, style, and tone from its ''SMT'' roots…and each producing breakaway success beyond its predecessor, virtually eclipsing the entire rest of the ''Megaten'' multiverse.
** Also averted within the franchise itself, as fans are more prone to talking about the games from ''Persona 3'' on than ''Persona 1'' and the ''2'' duology.

* FriendlyFandoms: Though there have been spats of a FandomRivalry as noted above, the fandoms of the ''Persona'' series have started to grow tight with ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' due to several similarities, especially with involving {{Fighting Spirit}}s.

* MorePopularSpinoff: The ''Persona'' games are the most popular commercially and critically acclaimed about of the whole ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise, specifically the games from ''Persona 3'' onward, with each new main installment surpassing the previous one in both sales and critical acclaim. ''Persona 5'' in particular has become Atlus's best-selling game ever.

* FandomBerserkButton: Referring to ''Persona 3'', ''4'', and ''5'' as "the ''Persona'' series" is sure to hit a sore spot among more hardcore fans, given how ''Persona 1'' and both ''Persona 2'' games tend to be forgotten while the more recent titles get tons of attention and spin-offs.

* FirstInstallmentWins: Absolutely averted in several ways. The ''Persona'' series as a whole is much more popular in the west then the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series that birthed it, and said popularity increases by leaps and bounds with every step in the series. ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona}} Revelations: Persona]]'' was the first major [[note]]Virtual Boy title ''Jack Bros'' came first[[/note]] ''SMT'' game to get a western release, though it and the ''VideoGame/Persona2'' games peaked at cult classic status. Then came ''Persona 3'', then ''Persona 4'', then ''Persona 5'', each increasingly separating the series' story, style, and tone from its ''SMT'' roots…and each producing breakaway success beyond its predecessor, virtually eclipsing the entire rest of the ''Megaten'' multiverse.

* AcceptableLifestyleTargets: Considering how the games want to focus on ThePowerOfFriendship, loners in general are a major target; especially as the series went on.