Persona 3 Reload is only a little while away, but if you want your Persona fix here and now, then a little while is a little while too long. Here’s our choices for the 10 games to play while you wait for Persona 3 Reload.
The 10 games to play while you wait for Persona 3 Reload
Before we get started I think it’s important to state that there are not many games like Persona out there. Not many games combine the life-sim stuff with a JRPG, however much we wish more things would. So for this list, while there are a few that are pretty close to Persona on this list, I will also be looking at the different aspects of Persona, like the social/life-sim elements and the persona collection system, and hoping you can find the game in this list that appeals to what you’re looking for right now. Anyway, without further ado, here’s our list of the 10 games to play while you wait for Persona 3 Reload.
Persona 5 Royal
I know starting a list about playing games that aren’t Persona with a Persona game is very funny, but honestly, if you’re looking specifically for Persona, look no further than more Persona! Each Persona game is separate, with only extremely vague references to stuff that’s on TV or posters, and the Velvet Room/Tanaka’s shop tying things together. This means, if you haven’t played a Persona game, then you should play one of those if you’re really in the mood for a Persona game. I listed Persona 5 Royal here because I think it’s one of the best games of all time, and is my personal favorite game of all time. But if you’ve played Persona 5, but not Persona 4, then play 4! I would probably hold off on playing Persona 3 mind you, as Persona 3 Reload is getting pretty close to release. Playing games from the same series as the game you’re waiting for can sort of dull the excitement for the latest entry in my experience, so luckily there’s the rest of this list that can hopefully help with that.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a part of Nihon Falcom’s esteemed Trails series, and has many ties to Persona at its core. In Cold Steel 1 and 3, you’re attending a school, doing social links, with a calendar system, and fighting off bad guys in a turn-based combat system. One of the best turn-based combat systems ever, too. Falcom really loves making games with aspects of Persona mixed in, and Trails of Cold Steel as a series has tons of them. They even have lines of dialogue that play during a dungeon that pop up in the corner of the screen, which I understand is a very niche reference, but it feels very Persona once you see it in-game! Recommending Trails as a series There is the other side to recommending Trails though, which is that it’s part of a longer series of games with an ongoing narrative. The Cold Steel arc of Trails is the third arc of the series and is luckily designed for newcomers to hop in and play it with basically no issues. There are currently four arcs in the series, with the fourth one starting in English in 2024 with Trails through Daybreak, and the first one starting in 2004 with Trails in the Sky. I’ll always recommend playing all of Trails, as it’s my favorite gaming series by a mile, and if you’re interested in playing them all, you can find a lot of guides on the internet and YouTube about playing them. But TL;DR though, you basically just go in order of their original release.
But all that aside, Cold Steel 1 and 2 are incredibly approachable without that prior knowledge. If you do end up making it to Cold Steel 3 however and really enjoy your time with it, you’re probably going to want to go back and play the rest of them, as Cold Steel 3 and 4 serve as the sort of Avengers Infinity War and Endgame of the first part of the series, with basically every character coming back from prior games in a big way. Luckily enough though, while Trails is a pretty big investment if you plan to play them all, Falcom have made another game that’s incredibly Persona-like, which is…
Tokyo Xanadu eX+
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ is Falcom’s attempt at essentially making a full-on Persona game. The same things from Trails of Cold Steel apply here, you’re attending school, living on a calendar system, and even in this game going to a different plane of existence to fight off the looming threats, much like Atlus’s very own Persona series. While there isn’t an explicit Social Link system like Persona, there is a bonding element with the cast of characters that you have around you. The main difference between Trails of Cold Steel and Persona is that this game features an action combat system. Tokyo Xanadu eX+ is an expanded rerelease of the original Vita game on PS4 and Steam, with a Switch version recently released in Japan. So there’s another similarity with Persona, it’s also a pretty great time, all things considered. While I haven’t finished it myself, it’s easily pretty high up on my backlog when I get some time from the endless barrage of new releases.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
The next entry into the list of games to play while you wait for Persona 3 Reload is Fire Emblem: Three Houses. This game is the 2019 entry into the series and is currently the highest-selling game in Fire Emblem’s history. It’s an incredible time, with four whole routes of content for you to see, if you want something as long as Persona. But the real reason why this is on the list is that it seemingly takes a lot of inspiration from Persona’s life/social-sim elements, implementing a calendar system and an area for you to run around and interact with students, do minigames, and complete support events. Fire Emblem’s gameplay is a far cry from Persona, with it being something more akin to Persona 5 Tactica, an SRPG. Fire Emblem is my favorite SRPG franchise though, and every game I’ve played in the series has been a stellar time, with Three Houses being no different.
Sakura Wars (2019)
Sakura Wars, which is also known as Sakura Taisen in Japan, is a storied franchise going all the way back to the Sega Saturn. These games have generally been SRPGs with a social element revolving around a theater group, and they all look great. The only issue is that most of them aren’t officially available in English, but the most recent entry, Sakura Wars (2019), is available in English on PS4. The newest entry serves as a sort of reboot, and it’s an underrated gem. The new game changes out the SRPG combat for a more hack-and-slash/musou approach, and while I prefer SRPGs in general, it’s still a really fun gameplay style. The main element of Sakura Wars though is the social sim stuff, you’ll be talking to characters during your time, learning about them, and making decisions during conversations that can change the relationships with those characters. The LIPS (Live & Interactive Picture System) system they use for interaction is really cool, and some of the animation on the characters makes it feel like you’re watching a cutscene during normal conversation scenes. If you’re a fan of Bleach too, the main cast of characters in this game were…