SMT or persona

[Jestermaxxing]

Love the music in persona, but hate the social/dating aspect of persona so I end up playing SMT. Am I the freak in this circus?

 

[PacGuy]

More into SMT on my end also

 

[Rox00]

I'm more into the Smt side when it comes to Megaten, stories are usually solid, gameplay is tight and they tend to be experimental with ideas and mechanics (Devil Summoner anyone?). Persona's pretty alright tho, I got into Megaten cause of playing P3 at a young age and then transitioned to Nocturne so I have a soft spot for it but it has a certain appeal with the balance of social life and dungeon crawling but high school settings aren't my favorite nowadays. Both tend to have solid music and fun times but I love both series overall, even if the wait for a new game and/or translation takes a good long time!

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

The amount of games I've played from both is pretty limited, so I might not be the best person to answer. on the Megaten side I've played Megami Tensei 1 & 2 (SNES remakes), Shin Megami Tensei 1 and a little bit of 2. Persona I've only played the PSP versions of 1, Eternal Punishment and Innocent Sin, so technically none of the "real" Persona games. I actually really like these early games so the concept of 3 onward being completely different doesn't sound all that appealing to me.

 

[Morgan Katarn]

SMT not that big on persona. It´s not that persona is bad I like them but if tell me to pick one SMT.

 

[Rocket2049]

I just HATE the calender/social link systems
it takes so much away from making it a FUN game.
i'm always playing all the Persona 3-5 through new game plus because I HAVE TO
like, i hate cheating but this is ONE OF THE TIMES CHEATS ARE OKAY IN MY BOOK.
just specifically on social link crap and nothing else

Metaphor Refantazio also has a calender and social link type deal, BUT MUCH LESS FRUSTRATING
i could've been 100% done with the game on my first run WITHOUT ANY GUIDE OR LOOKING UP ANYTHING I 100% IT ALL! with calender time to spare!?
one of the reasons i think metaphor refantazio is better than persona
(note the extra superboss needs a new game plus, the only ONE thing that needs NG+)

my opinions on SMT
i like SMT4 and 5 a whole lot and definitely don't miss calender and link crap
but SMT1,2,3 are annoyingly hard and grindy, i got nocturne HD put it on EASY mode, and still quit playing, it's stupidly unfair to the player and matador is absolutely stupid to show up THAT EARLY.

SMT5 is a good fun time and i had about zero issues with it outside replaying it about 6 times for various endings.

 

[Leon]

If we're talking ps1 era, persona all the way.
But outside of persona 1 and the 2 duology, i prefer SMT.
Persona 3-5 might as well be a different series using the name "persona".

 

[Appiplyer]

Of course SMT but if you compare it with Devil Survivor i'll choose devil survivor than the main series '>'

 

[Viviana Santos]

I also prefer the mainline SMT games a lot more than Persona, and I think the Digital Devil Saga series is also better than Persona. SMT Nocturne and the Digital Devil Saga duology have much more dynamic and fun battle systems than Persona 1, the Persona 2 duology, Persona 3, and Persona 4 (Persona 5 is fun in terms of gameplay, but I also prefer Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga over it)

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As for the Persona series itself, I really like the Persona 2 duology and Persona 3; I like the stories and characters in those games, as well as atmosphere and vibes of those games. I also like Persona 1 for similar reasons, but I don’t like the stories and characters in Persona 4 and Persona 5 (especially Persona 5, I think Persona 5 has one of the worst stories I’ve ever seen in a video game).

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My favorite Persona game is Eternal Punishment; I really love the message and themes in that game. It's so good.

 

[casali]

I like them both but I'm same, SMT>Persona. Persona music will always go hard but I'm old now dude, it just doesn't feel right to look at teenagers and say "yes I want to date that one."
At the end of the day I like em both, but reading the responses here I really gotta play Digital Devil Saga lol

 

[Viviana Santos]

reading the responses here I really gotta play Digital Devil Saga lol

Do it. It's peak

 

[seaglass]

They scratch different itches for me, but as I've aged I've become more of an SMT fan. I very much prefer the music in SMT games (dark, funky, hype), I listen to the SMT IV soundtrack at the gym all the time haha. I also prefer combat in SMT, but the stories usually are pretty forgettable for me. Recently played Strange Journey and that's one of the few SMT games that has actually captured me on its narrative + characters as well as on gameplay. Honestly such an excellent underrated game.

RE: possibly 'aging out' of Persona, it makes me a little sad to admit to myself I don't get as much joy from it as I used to. Persona 4 was one of my favorite games when it came out. I LOVED the social sim aspects, but I think maybe I'm no longer the target demographic for that stuff, but it might also be a change in my personality from life stuff that has nothing to do with age. I'm replaying the Persona 2 Duology right now, and I think those are probably my favorites now for the darker, closer to SMT vibes.

 

[NardoBoom]

I played nocturne when it was released and it didn't click on me. Fast forward to 2021, i played Persona 5 for like 95 hours and stopped playing when i broke up with my ex and started to go out a lot, drinking, using drugs, hooking up with girls, etc. It's a game that i Plan to play again because i now have it on Steam and I really enjoyed what i played on PS4. Early this year, i played nocturne again and finished. i loved the game, got the true demon ending and it got me more interested in the series. Now i am currently playing SMT V Vengeance and i LOVE it. I think i love SMT a bit more than Persona, but i love them both and i want to play more o the series, not just SMT or Persona

 

[Jestermaxxing]

P5 strikers and tactica over p5, any spinoff that removed the social/dating aspect are better. Let's be real, most Japanese stories are milk toast. Doesn't matter if it's fatal frame, MegaMan, final fantasy, resident evil. Japanese stories just really are mid to bad. It's just the Japanese way.

 

[Xenocloudarius Xenocloudarius]

 

[Fietto!]

I’m pretty sure that’s how the initiation works these days.

Post automatically merged: May 22, 2026

Do it. It's peak

Second this.

 

[Ikagura]

Shin Megami Tensei (especially Devil Summoner) but I'd also take Etrian Odyssey overall.

 

[JustLooking456]

The closest I've come to playing SMT or Persona was when I played Catherine, and I don't think it's connected??

 

[Viviana Santos]

The closest I've come to playing SMT or Persona was when I played Catherine, and I don't think it's connected??

Nope, but there is a reference to Catherine in Persona 3 Portable (Vincent, the game's protagonist, makes a cameo appearance in the game)

 

[Jestermaxxing]

Persona q and q2 anyone? Best of both worlds. Sometimes you look at an IP and say yo that's a catdog. Circa 2008 financial crisis 2 electric stinkaloo.

 

[shaggi]

I like Shin Megami Tensei games. On the other hand, i never played any Persona game.

 

[wilddogsdivorce]

SMT is by far my favorite part of the series. Unfortunately it's being cannibalized by its younger brother. I understand the appeal of the school setting, the digestible short stories of the social links, etc. But how anyone can tolerate that calendar system is beyond me, really. It turned Persona 5 from a 70 hour high tier experience to a 160 hour beast. I'll probably never see the end of P5 and I'm fine with it.

I do like Persona 3 though. And Reload was pretty good.

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

I prefer SMT . They can just make new worlds and their own Interpretation of the demon apocalypse with the same demons as always and its always a treat .
I still want to see a really fucked up and i mean a really bleak , filled with evil and broken SMT-world which survival is the most importance and coorperation is only possible with few demon-archetypes and even pacts that give its buffs and nerfs but also compromises too that can change the ending by its outcome that still comes around for Order , chaos or Neutrality . Otherwise a new IP should take this concept and give SMT some competition or approach-alternatives .

Persona was at the beginning with the first 2 games really interesting and a new approach how SMT was shown there but i think at the third game it changed way too much into a more insincere series that lost alot of the mystery for its Friendship-system but i cant blame it for it . Thats personas stick and people loved it very much for it .

 

[Burzuru Burzuru]

i've enjoyed persona 4 but 3 and 5 i can't bother with. persona 1 & 2, the main series, and the other side series, are more interesting for me.

 

[Serotonin]

I'm also pro-SMT. I like Persona too, but I find the school drama aspects too bloated and mundane, most SMT games are around 30-40 hours while Persona are like 80-90