Other RPGs like Persona and Tokyo Xanadu

[Mithraslogos]

So, I am a huge Persona fan, specially from 3 to 5. I love the social link system, it really makes you feel like you're part of the story. I am now playing Tokyo Xanadu, and I am also loving the game, since it also has similar social sim aspects.
I was wondering, what other games are similar to Persona and Tokyo Xanadu?

 

[RustySK]

I've heard people compare the Trails of Cold Steel games to Persona.
Personally I don't really see it, but the framing is definitely similiar. I believe they also have a social sim element, can't quite remember though.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel on Steam

At Thors Military Academy, Erebonia’s best learn everything from the art of war to liberal arts. First year Rean Schwarzer learns he’s been selected to join the controversial Class VII, and they’ll need to deal with more than just class warfare--they’ll need to safeguard their country from chaos.

store.steampowered.com

Now Cyber Sleuth meanwhile is absolutely inspired by Persona - no social sim though.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition on Steam

With engaging storylines, classic turn-based battles, and tons of Digimon to collect, Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition delivers everything fans loved about Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth and Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory.

store.steampowered.com

As for oldschool fare... maybe the Ar Tonelico games might do it for you? They have... let's call it an analogue to the social sim elements.?

 

[DanVzare]

I've heard that Metaphor: ReFantazio plays a lot like the Persona games. Although I can't attest to it myself, since I've neither played Persona nor Metaphor.

EDIT: They're on my "to-play" list though.

 

[SkunkyBeaumont]

Check out the MIght and Magic and the WIzardry Series, For 1st person blobber goodness.
The 2 .hack series on PS2 have a lot of psuedo-social interaction, and .hack//fragment is an online multiplayer version of those games.

 

[Stookymalarkey]

There's a few I can think of, though they don't have the strict time limits of the Persona games. There's the Fire Emblem series, such as Fire Emblem Awakening, where you can foster relationships between characters.

There's the Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth where you can bond with teammates in your hangout bar and do basically a social links when the bond level reaches the next level. The Rune Factory games let you get friendly with different NPCs and can even romance the one of your choice.

There's also the Sakura Wars games, though I haven't played them myself.

 

[Cu-Neo]

Mind Zero on the ps vita has the same concept of "teenagers fighting monsters with the power of their inner self". Is also on PC but I've heard only bad things about the port altough it goes on sale for like 2 dollars on steam

 

[Glimbo]

You might be familiar with Devil Survivor 2 on DS since it's SMT related. It's basically social link lite.
Also Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time on PSP has relationships but its not shown to you in numbers like Persona.

 

[Boog111]

You may want to try Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE. It was for Wii U and Switch. It was made by the same company as Persona. The game play was similar although I can't remember if it had a social aspect.

 

[Stookymalarkey]

Mind Zero on the ps vita has the same concept of "teenagers fighting monsters with the power of their inner self". Is also on PC but I've heard only bad things about the port altough it goes on sale for like 2 dollars on steam
View attachment 11381

I played it, and it's a mediocre dungeon crawler that was clearly aping Persona. I'd give it a pass unless you need a time waster on your Vita.

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

Fire Emblem: Three Houses has the same calendar/school mechanic as the Persona series, but it has strategy gameplay instead of turn based.

 

[gekiganwing]

I played Sakura Wars: So Long My Love on PS2 during 2010. Do you like the following:
* Absurd storytelling with a few moments of genuine drama?
* Goofy settings with intentional anachronisms?
* A team of characters that seem like a harem, though they're friends first?
* Turn based strategy RPG battles?

If you said yes to most of these, you might also like this game. It's a story with about two hours of adventure game or borderline visual novel interaction, followed by two hours of combat.

Sakura Wars (2019) is a franchise reboot only available on PS4 and PS5. I don't own either system, so I haven't given it a chance. It's still in print. Also, it features action RPG battles.

Some of the same creators worked on the Playstation 1 game Thousand Arms. It's tough to recommend. The game has frustrating elements such as disk loading before every invisible enemy, and camera controls that make it tough to walk through towns or the world map. If you also liked Tenchi Universe or the first El-Hazard OAV series, you might put up with this game.

Brave Soul for Windows answers the question "what if Diablo 2 had cuter graphics and explicit content?" I tried this game years ago, but I didn't care for it. (Nor did I like Diablo 3 when I finally tried it in 2023.)

Finally, I've heard good things about Dungeons of Hinterburg. As far as I know, it's only available on Steam and XBox Series.

 

[TheWanderer]

Aight if you want the social links stuff I got you.
Luminous Arf 3 DS (school setting)
Devil survivor 2 (Social links are basically for trust)
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (school setting,not sure about remance stuff)
Path of wuxia (school setting, basically Chinese persona)
Fire emblem 3 houses (school setting ?)
Caligula effect 1 and 2 (school setting ,no romance tho but there is the real self power here )
Monark (No social links mechanics but something similar ?)

Post automatically merged: Jan 13, 2025

You may want to try Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE. It was for Wii U and Switch. It was made by the same company as Persona. The game play was similar although I can't remember if it had a social aspect.

Aside from the gameplay the story was simply pain

 

[Yousef]

I've heard people compare the Trails of Cold Steel games to Persona.
Personally I don't really see it, but the framing is definitely similiar. I believe they also have a social sim element, can't quite remember though.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel on Steam

At Thors Military Academy, Erebonia’s best learn everything from the art of war to liberal arts. First year Rean Schwarzer learns he’s been selected to join the controversial Class VII, and they’ll need to deal with more than just class warfare--they’ll need to safeguard their country from chaos.

store.steampowered.com

Now Cyber Sleuth meanwhile is absolutely inspired by Persona - no social sim though.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition on Steam

With engaging storylines, classic turn-based battles, and tons of Digimon to collect, Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition delivers everything fans loved about Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth and Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory.

store.steampowered.com

As for oldschool fare... maybe the Ar Tonelico games might do it for you? They have... let's call it an analogue to the social sim elements.?

I actually thought cyber sleuth was more inspired by the NDS SMT games.

 

[RustySK]

I actually thought cyber sleuth was more inspired by the NDS SMT games.

That's a good point of comparison as well for sure - wasn't the character designer the same in both series as well?

 

[Yousef]

That's a good point of comparison as well for sure - wasn't the character designer the same in both series as well?

ayup!

 

[TheWanderer]

ayup!

Tbh his art style is my favourite Fr
They are unique

 

[Tonberry]

So, I am a huge Persona fan, specially from 3 to 5. I love the social link system, it really makes you feel like you're part of the story. I am now playing Tokyo Xanadu, and I am also loving the game, since it also has similar social sim aspects.
I was wondering, what other games are similar to Persona and Tokyo Xanadu?
View attachment 11378

I’m pretty sure Neo: The World Ends With You has some sort of social mechanic. I haven’t played it myself but I remember reading about it. No clue how deep or good it is but I hear the game is fine, and it also has that contemporary urban japanese ”irl fantasy” vibe that I assume you’re looking for too :)

 

[TheWanderer]

I’m pretty sure Neo: The World Ends With You has some sort of social mechanic. I haven’t played it myself but I remember reading about it. No clue how deep or good it is but I hear the game is fine, and it also has that contemporary urban japanese ”irl fantasy” vibe that I assume you’re looking for too :)View attachment 12069

No it doesn't have any ,but it's a very good game nevertheless