If I learned one thing in the industry, it’s that a remake, port, sale, PS Plus free game, or Xbox Game Pass release always happens at the worst time for me. It’s like they’re watching me and waiting until they know I’ve purchased something to drop a new or free version of it elsewhere. If I know one thing about myself, it’s that this knowledge will not stop me from playing what I want to play when I want to play it. And in the case of Persona 4 Revival, Sega and Atlus got me.
My backlog is rather…well, we’re not going to talk about my backlog. Between keeping up with every release, playing what I want to play, trying not to miss out on interesting indie gems, finding time to play with my friends, and the responsibilities of adulthood, it gets kind of ugly. One way I try to compensate for this, as well as my general lack of access to games when I was much, much younger, is something I call video game marathons. It’s pretty self-explanatory: I start playing franchises that I’ve never played (or at least played to completion) with the intent of finishing them all. You can probably guess where this is going with Persona 4 Revival, huh?
Let’s Talk About These Marathons Real Quick
A couple of years ago, I started with Yakuza 0 and played all the way through to Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It quickly became one of my favorite franchises, so much so that I was essentially kicking myself for not playing them sooner. And, I mean, of course, I was there day one with The Man Who Erased His Name, Infinite Wealth, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, etc., and I will always be there day one for Kiryu and Ichiban.
Sometime after that, I transitioned to the Zelda games. I played many of them when I was younger but only ever beat a few, so there I went starting with The Legend of Zelda playing all the releases to Tears of the Kingdom. But, Joshua, that’s not the last game in the franchise. You’re right. But that was when I started. I was actually playing Tears of the Kingdom when the Big N was like “Yo, how about a little Echoes of Wisdom?” (see paragraph one). I did manage to wrap up that marathon though and move on to my next one…Persona.
The Persona Marathon is Still Ongoing
On paper, Persona is a fantastic franchise for me. I love social elements, I love romance options, I love strong narratives, and I love turn-based games. However, there is one “flaw” that has always made me bounce off every Persona game I’ve played before (and, by “flaw,” I mean something that doesn’t generally work with me personally): the high school setting. It just does not gel with me in any sort of media, but for this marathon to work, I had to get over it, and I am glad I did. Here is my gameplan for playing through all the Persona games:
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Knowing the original Persona games (Revelations: Persona, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment) are hard to get, have some serious age to them, and are wildly different, I wanted to start with the big 3: Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal.
- I know there are different versions of Persona 3, but completing P3R was going to just be my checkmark there.
- As I finished those, I would begin playing the spin-offs as they relate to each game, just doing them as I choose.
- Circle back to the OGs
At the end of this, I would have played these games, roughly, in this order:
- Persona 3 Reload
- Persona 4 Golden
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Persona 5 Royal
- Persona 4 Arena/Arena Ultimax
- Persona Q/Q2
- Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight/Persona 4: Dancing All Night/Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
- Persona 5 Strikers
- Persona 5 Tactica
- Persona 5: The Phantom X (which, yes, comes to mobile devices this month)
- Revelations: Persona
- Persona 2: Innocent Sin
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
The question you’re thinking about now is how much progress I’ve made on this marathon. Well. I’ve beaten Persona Q, Persona 4 Arena/Arena Ultimax, Persona 3 Reload, and Persona 4 Golden. I’m currently about halfway through Persona 5 Royal, give or take, and I started it after finishing Persona 4 Golden earlier this year. Now you’re thinking: Joshua, why would you do this? Why not just play the other Persona games? And the answer is A.) I DON’T KNOW and B.) REFER TO PARAGRAPH ONE. I DO WHAT I WANT. Ahem. OH AND C.) IT’S A MARATHON I ALREADY STARTED.
Were there rumors of a Persona 4 remake when I started P4G? Yes. Was I sure it was true? I figured as much. Was it pretty much confirmed before the Xbox Games Showcase by all the actors chiming in? Yes. Had I already beaten it by then? Yes. Do I have regrets? I dunno.
You Could Probably Just Play P4R, Joshua…
General quality-of-life wise, going from Persona 3 Reload to Persona 4 Golden to Persona 5 Royal was a serious case of whiplash around P4G, but of the three (so far), I like its narrative the most. P5R could still overtake it, but I preferred the more personal story revolving around a serial killer than the world-ending stakes of P3R. Despite the whiplash, I really enjoyed my time with Persona 4 Golden, and had I played it years ago, I would probably be jumping up and down for Persona 4 Revival.
Therein comes one of my big character flaws: I, generally speaking, do not play a game more than once. Persona 4 Revival rumors suggest it might come out in late 2026, so will that be enough distance between it and Persona 4 Golden? Maybe. Will that be enough distance between it and my Persona marathon? Did you see the list of games I still need to beat? I’m going to be so real: anyone who has played P4G before should be incredibly excited by the brief, but clearly upgraded stills its announcements showed. If someone has never played the Persona games, I’d probably say wait until the remake to play P4. But me, well, I might just be the sacrificial lamb here. I guess we’ll see. If it slips into 2027, then maybe? I dunno. Either way, I’m excited to see how Atlus approaches this remake and the existence of this remake is a good thing, but man, I dove in headfirst and I don’t know if I’ll still be swimming at that time.
In my mind, there’s a silver lining to this for all Persona fans though, not just me. Let’s assume that Persona 4 Revival is released in late 2026. Let’s assume that my Persona marathon at least carries me close to that, if not into late 2026 itself. I am pretty sure we’ll have Persona 6 news by the time I finish this marathon.
I mean, Persona 5: The Phantom X got an international release date not too long after I started this one, Persona 4 Revival got announced, and Echoes of Wisdom got released as I neared the end of my Zelda one. My history suggests this is a very real chance, one I’d bet on. As the sacrificial Persona 4 lamb, what else can I say except you’re welcome? (That’s a Moana quote, just a silly little quote, I am not seriously that vain).