Persona 3, known outside Japan as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, is a 2006 role-playing video game created by Atlus. It is the fourth main game in the Persona series, which belongs to the larger Megami Tensei franchise. The game was first released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2006 and in North America in 2007. It has been released in improved versions and on other platforms: Persona 3 FES, a longer version with a new ending and changes, was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2007 and globally in 2008. A version for the PlayStation Portable, called Persona 3 Portable, was released in Japan in 2009, North America in 2010, and Europe in 2011. It was later released on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023. Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the original game and its ending, was released in February 2024 for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A version for the Nintendo Switch 2 is planned for October 2025.
In Persona 3, players control a high school student who joins the "Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad" (SEES), a group of students investigating a strange time-related event called the "Dark Hour." During this time, they enter Tartarus, a tower filled with monsters called Shadows. They fight the Shadows using a power called a Persona, which they summon by using a gun-like device called an "Evoker" on their head. The game mixes role-playing and simulation elements, as the player progresses through a school year day by day and builds relationships that strengthen their Personas in battle.
Critics generally praised Persona 3 for its social features, though some found the combat and settings repetitive. The epilogue in Persona 3 FES was said to provide a complete ending for the original game, but it was criticized for not including the simulation aspects. Persona 3 has also inspired other media, including fighting games like Persona 4 Arena and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, a rhythm game called Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, role-playing games such as Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, soundtrack albums, live concerts, radio dramas, a manga, a loosely connected anime series, and an episodic animated film series.
Gameplay
Persona 3 combines ideas from traditional role-playing games and simulation games. The story follows the main character, who must balance attending school, building relationships, and fighting monstrous creatures called Shadows during a special time called the Dark Hour. Each day is split into daytime and evening parts. Except for planned events like story progress or special activities, players can choose how to spend their time. Most activities cause time to pass, and the types of activities and characters available depend on the day of the week and time of day. Some activities require the protagonist’s three traits—Academics, Charm, and Courage—which can be improved through specific actions or choices.
During the evening, players can visit Tartarus, the game’s main dungeon, to gain experience and collect items. On the day of the full moon, players must fight a powerful boss to advance the story.
A key part of the game is Personas, which are creatures and figures linked to the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Each Persona has unique strengths, weaknesses, and abilities, such as attacking, supporting, or providing passive benefits. While other characters have their own Personas, some of which change during key story moments, the protagonist can use multiple Personas and switch between them in battles. New Personas can be created in the Velvet Room by combining existing ones, with the result inheriting moves from the combined Personas. The protagonist’s level limits which Personas can be created. Players can also obtain Personas through Shuffle Time after battles or summon them from the Persona Compendium for a fee. The Velvet Room also lets players complete tasks, like finding items, for rewards.
The game includes "social links," which are friendships with other characters, each tied to a specific Major Arcana. Players improve these links by spending time with characters. If a social link is strong, creating a Persona linked to its Arcana gives bonus experience. Carrying a Persona from the same Arcana helps strengthen the link. Reaching the highest rank in a social link allows players to create specific Personas for that Arcana. However, choosing wrong dialogue or dating multiple characters at once can weaken or break a link, preventing the use of related Personas until the link is repaired.
Tartarus is the main dungeon, accessible during the evening if certain conditions are met, such as specific characters being present. Players can split up to explore or let party members automatically attack Shadows. Players will eventually face boss floors, where they must defeat powerful Shadows to progress. Some floors block further movement until the story advances. Civilians may appear in Tartarus; rescuing them before the full moon grants rewards. Spending too much time in Tartarus can make characters "Tired" or "Sick," reducing their combat effectiveness. These effects can be fixed with items, visiting the infirmary, or resting early.
Battles begin when the player encounters a Shadow. The battle party includes nearby characters. Attacking first gives an advantage, while being attacked first gives the enemy an edge. Battles use a "Press Turn" system, where players and enemies take turns attacking with weapons, items, or Persona abilities. Players can assign battle strategies to party members, and in Persona 3 Portable, they can give direct commands. Attacks are divided into three physical types and six elements, with both Personas and Shadows having strengths and weaknesses against these. Physical attacks cost HP, while magic and support abilities cost SP. Hitting an enemy’s weakness or landing a critical strike can knock them down, giving the player an extra turn. If all enemies are knocked down, the party can perform an All-Out Attack, dealing heavy damage. Winning battles grants experience points, which are shared among party members. Enough experience lets Personas level up, improving their stats and abilities.
Story
The story of Persona 3 takes place in 2009 in the Japanese city of Tatsumi Port Island, which was built and funded by the Kirijo Corporation. Ten years before the game begins, experiments created the Dark Hour, a time that appears between days. During the Dark Hour, most people are turned into coffins and do not realize it, but a few people are not. Reality changes during this time: Gekkoukan High School, where students attend during the day, becomes a maze-like tower called Tartarus. Shadows, which are monster-like beings, live in Tartarus and attack people who are still awake, leaving them nearly unable to think clearly after the Dark Hour ends. To fight Shadows and learn about the Dark Hour, a group of high school students formed the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or SEES. Members of SEES can summon beings called Personas to battle Shadows. The instruction manual describes Personas as "a second soul that lives deep inside a person's heart. It is a different personality that appears when someone faces something from outside the world." Persona users summon their Persona by using a gun-like object called an Evoker and pointing it at their head.
The main character of Persona 3 is a silent player-controlled character who is named by the player at the start of the game. His canonical name is Makoto Yuki. Ten years before the game begins, Makoto lost his parents and became an orphan. He returns to the city where he grew up to transfer to Gekkoukan High School. After discovering his ability to summon a Persona, he joins SEES, a group of students who fight Shadows and explore Tartarus. Members of SEES include Yukari Takeba, a friendly and popular girl; Junpei Iori, a class clown and Makoto’s best friend; Akihiko Sanada, a calm senior and leader of the school’s boxing team; and Mitsuru Kirijo, the president of the student council and daughter of the Kirijo Group’s leader. As the story progresses, SEES gains new members: Fuuka Yamagishi, a shy girl who takes Mitsuru’s place as support; Aigis, a female android designed by the Kirijo Group to fight Shadows; Ken Amada, an elementary school student whose mother was accidentally killed by a Persona user; Shinjiro Aragaki, a former SEES member who left due to past events; and Koromaru, a dog that can summon a Persona.
Makoto moves into a dorm in the city after transferring to Gekkoukan High School. On his third day in the city, during the mysterious 25th hour called the Dark Hour, he is attacked by Shadows and awakens to his Persona. After defeating them, he joins SEES, a group of students who fight Shadows and explore Tartarus, a giant tower that appears during the Dark Hour. On nights of the full moon, the city is attacked by a Shadow more powerful than those in Tartarus. After several attacks, Mitsuru Kirijo, a senior SEES member, reveals the origin of Tartarus and the Dark Hour. Ten years earlier, the Kirijo Group, a research company founded by Mitsuru’s grandfather, tried to contain Shadows to use their power. However, the experiments failed, allowing Shadows to escape and form twelve larger creatures. SEES’ leader, Shuji Ikutsuki, tells them that if they defeat the twelve greater Shadows, Tartarus and the Dark Hour will disappear.
While vacationing in Yakushima, Makoto meets Aigis, a Persona-wielding machine who has an unexplained need to be near him. After defeating the twelfth and final Shadow, SEES learns that Ikutsuki lied. Destroying the greater Shadows has freed parts of a being called Nyx, also known as the "maternal being," who will end the world if fully restored. Nyx is the creator of Shadows and is drawn to Earth by the Appriser, or "Death." Ikutsuki wants to sacrifice SEES to speed up Nyx’s arrival and believes he will become the "prince" of the new world she creates. He is later wounded in a gunfight with Mitsuru’s father, Takeharu Kirijo, and jumps from Tartarus to his death.
SEES encounters the Appriser in the form of Ryoji Mochizuki, a new student at Gekkoukan High School. In December, Aigis and Ryoji reveal that the Shadow experiments ten years earlier created the Death Shadow, though it was incomplete. Unable to defeat the Shadow, Aigis sealed it inside Makoto when he was a child. Its purpose is to bring Nyx to Earth and destroy life on the planet. Ryoji claims Nyx cannot be defeated but offers SEES an alternative: if they kill him, their memories of the Dark Hour and Tartarus will be erased, allowing them to live without knowing about their impending death.
On New Year’s Eve, the player must decide whether to kill or spare Ryoji. If Makoto kills him, the game ends with SEES, except Aigis, losing their memories of the Dark Hour and Tartarus. They live unaware of their future until Nyx causes the end of the world. If Ryoji is spared, on January 31, SEES faces him on Tartarus’ roof as he transforms into the Nyx Avatar. While defeating Nyx Avatar, Nyx continues to descend to Earth. Makoto awakens the power of the "Universe," sealing Nyx and restoring the world. On Graduation Day, Makoto and Aigis go to the school’s roof, where Aigis thanks Makoto for giving her a purpose: protecting him. Makoto, feeling tired and unwell, closes his eyes.
The events of "The Answer" begin on March 31, shortly after the end of the original game. The opening scene shows that Makoto died at the end of the original story, which other characters believe is connected to him defeating Nyx. The school year has ended, the dorm is closing, and SEES is separating. During their last dinner party, SEES members discover they are trapped in their dorm, and March 31 is repeating. A large door-like hole opens in the dorm floor, and SEES is attacked by Metis, an anti-shadow weapon similar to Aigis. While fighting Metis to protect her friends, Aigis awakens the Wild Card ability, which Makoto previously had. Aigis defeats Metis, whose actions were an attempt to end the time loop and save Aigis, whom she calls her "sister."
Beneath the dorm is the Abyss of Time, a multi-layered dungeon causing the time loop. At the bottom of each layer, the characters see memories of themselves awakening to their Personas. At the seventh and final door, SEES fights a Shadow-like version of Makoto, after which each member receives a key. Combining the keys would end the time loop and allow them to leave the dorm. However, Metis offers an alternative: using the keys to travel back in time to before Makoto’s death. Unable to agree on how to use the keys, SEES argues. Aigis and Metis take all eight keys, fusing them into the Final Key. They discover a new door in the Abyss of Time, which they use to travel to the moment Makoto sealed Nyx.
Metis explains that the seal’s purpose was not to trap Nyx but to stop humanity’s despair from calling her and causing the Fall again. People’s unconscious wishes for death and despair create a monster called Erebus, which summons Nyx to destroy the world. Metis suggests that Erebus’s contact with Nyx caused the Fall. SEES realizes that their own wishes created Erebus and fights to defeat it. Mitsuru understands that Erebus will return because human despair continues.
Development
Persona 3 started development in 2003, after the completion of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga. In March 2006, the first details about Persona 3 were shared in the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsū. The article announced the game’s Japanese release date of July 13, 2006, and described the game’s story, combat system, and social link system (called "community" in the Japanese version). It also introduced three characters—the main character, Junpei, and Yukari—and their Personas: Orpheus, Hermes, and Io.
Shigenori Soejima was the main character artist and art director for Persona 3. Kazuma Kaneko, the character artist for earlier Persona games, gave Soejima the role to help him gain experience. Soejima felt pressure while designing the characters because he wanted to satisfy the series’ fans. The goal was to make players of the Megami Tensei series feel happy that they supported the Persona series. In an interview, Soejima said the game’s style looked like a fantasy comic, with mecha-like Personas and Mitsuru’s bold fashion. Soejima later designed the character Metis for FES. The game’s user interface had a blue design to create a cool and stylish look. The anime cutscenes for Persona 3 and FES were made by Point Pictures.
In an interview with Play magazine, lead director Katsura Hashino explained why party members were controlled by artificial intelligence: "It’s more fun to let the AI control them, so each character’s personality can shine." He said no one on the development team objected to this choice. However, some players did not like the AI system. Later, the use of AI was described as a design choice that reflected the game’s theme of overcoming the fear of death through "bonds," meaning players could only influence characters by interacting with them. Unlike earlier Persona games, Persona 3 did not include negotiation features, such as talking to enemies during battles to recruit them or earn rewards. Instead, the game’s social elements, like those in Persona 4, were considered similar to the negotiation system by the development team. Maragos said in an interview that "negotiation isn’t gone…It’s still a big part of the game, even if it’s hidden."
The localization of Persona 3 was done by Yu Namba and Nich Maragos. The team tried to keep as much of the original Japanese content as possible, following a trend from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. One goal was to share Japanese culture with Western audiences. The team kept the honorifics used by characters in the original Japanese script because they added meaning to the text. During translation, some jokes that did not make sense in Western culture were changed to similar jokes. For example, school tests based on English were adjusted, and Mitsuru’s second language was changed from English to French to match her cultured appearance. In-game references to Shin Megami Tensei were also changed to references to Persona 2.
The original soundtrack for Persona 3 was composed by Shoji Meguro. It was released as a two-disc album in Japan by Aniplex on July 19, 2006. A selection of tracks was included with the North American version of the game. An arranged album, Burn My Dread -Reincarnation: Persona 3-, was released in Japan on April 18, 2007, and included 11 remixed tracks and an extended version of "Burn My Dread." Meguro said working on Persona 3 was his first chance to fully express his music in video games. The soundtrack used many vocal elements, including "Aria of the Soul," a theme from earlier games. The battle theme, "Mass Destruction," was originally a prototype but became part of the final game due to positive feedback. Meguro noted that the PlayStation 2 allowed for smoother music playback, unlike the original PlayStation, which limited music quality. He was also concerned about how the English lyrics were spoken.
Meguro also composed music for Persona 3 FES, released in Japan on May 3, 2007. The soundtrack included original FES music and remixed tracks from earlier Persona games. For example, "The Snow Queen" was a remix of a song from Revelations: Persona, and "Maya’s Theme" and "Time Castle" were remixed from Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Persona 3 Portable added new background music for the female protagonist. The game’s official soundtrack was released in Japan on November 25, 2009.
Promotion and release
The North American release of Persona 3 came in a collector's edition box that included the game, a soundtrack disc, and a 52-page art book. The game was originally planned to release on July 24, 2007. However, Atlus faced a problem with making the art book a few days before the scheduled release. To avoid shipping the game without the book, the company decided to delay the release by three weeks, to August 14. Atlus shared a press release stating that the delay was necessary to keep the quality of the package high, as skipping or changing the deluxe package would have made it "irreparably compromised."
Persona 3 FES is an expanded version of Persona 3 that includes updates to the original game (called "The Journey" or "Episode Yourself" in the Japanese version), a new Hard difficulty option, and a new ending where the player controls Aigis (called "The Answer" or "Episode Aegis" in the Japanese version). The gameplay in "The Answer" is similar to "The Journey," but the daily life system is removed, and the player no longer attends school. Players who completed the original Persona 3 can transfer certain data from their save file, such as the player's compendium, social stats, and maxed social link items. The game's director, Katsura Hashino, explained that the subtitle "FES" comes from the word "festival."
Persona 3 FES was first released in Japan on April 19, 2007, in two forms: the "Regular Edition," which includes both the "director's cut" version of Persona 3 and the new ending on a separate disc, and the "Append Edition," which includes the same content but requires the original Persona 3 disc to be inserted before playing. After creating save data, the "Append Edition" can be played alone.
At the time, Atlus had no plans to release FES outside Japan. Later, in February 2008, the North American release date was set for April 22, 2008. The European version, published by Koei, was released on October 17, 2008.
An exclusive limited edition bundle from Amazon.com was released on November 28, 2008. It included the FES edition of the game, the same artbook and soundtrack disc that came with the original game's North American release.
The FES edition of the game was released on PSN on April 10, 2012, as a PS2 Classic for the PlayStation 3.
Persona 3 Portable, an improved version of Persona 3 for the PlayStation Portable, was released in Japan on November 1, 2009, and in North America on July 6, 2010. It was released in most of Europe on April 29, 2011, and in the UK on April 28, 2011. A report in Famitsū stated that players could choose to play as a female protagonist. This choice changes parts of the story: the first Persona gained by the protagonist, Orpheus, looks different, and Elizabeth, Igor's assistant in the Velvet Room, can be replaced with a male character named Theodore. The gender choice also affects parts of the social link stories. In addition to the new playable character, two new difficulty levels were added to the original game and FES's three. Persona 3 Portable only includes the story of the original Persona 3, called "The Journey," but the plot has been slightly changed, regardless of the character chosen.
The game's battle system includes changes inspired by Persona 4. During battles, players can control every character directly, instead of relying on the game's artificial intelligence. A guarding ability was added, and allies can take fatal attacks for the protagonist, preventing their death. Outside of Tartarus, players move a cursor on the screen to interact with characters and objects, rather than directly controlling the protagonist. The game includes the original voice acting, but characters are not shown in the world; instead, they are represented by on-screen portraits. The anime cutscenes from the original game were replaced with in-game graphics. Shoji Meguro composed 10 new musical tracks for Persona 3 Portable, most of which were created for when playing as a female character. Characters from other Atlus games, such as Yukiko Amagi from Persona 4 and Vincent Brooks from Catherine, also appear in the game.
Persona 3 Portable was released as a standalone game and as part of a bundle that included a T-shirt and desk calendar. In North America, Atlus U.S.A. offered Junpei's baseball cap as a pre-order bonus. A version of Persona 3 Portable was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on January 19, 2023. Limited Run Games announced in September 2023 that they would distribute special physical versions of Persona 3 Portable for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox consoles in limited quantities. A similar release was planned for Persona 4 Golden on the same platforms. Limited Run will offer three versions of Persona 3 Portable's physical release: a standard copy, a "Grimoire Edition" that includes the game in a special SteelBook case, a Grimoire Book box, and a slipcover, and a "S.E.E.S. Edition" that also includes a replica of the Evoker used by the main party to summon Personas and a 3D shadow box showing the cut-in graphic for the All-Out Attack sequence. Pre-orders for the physical releases began on September 29, 2023, and ended on November 12, 2023.
Reception
Persona 3 received good reviews when it was released. It got a Metacritic score of 86. Shane Bettenhausen from 1UP.com said the game offered a new and different approach to the MegaTen concept. He called it the best RPG for the PS2 that year. He praised the AI that controlled the characters during battles, saying it made the fastest and most exciting battle system in the series. Jeff Haynes from IGN criticized the system, saying it sometimes caused the player's character to die, leading to a game over.
GameTrailers called the game "a rare supernatural delicacy," saying fans of RPGs should not miss it. GameSpy's Patrick Joynt said the game's social links were very interesting. He thought the simulation parts might be hard for some players, but he said the game was well-made. Heidi Kemps from GamesRadar said the game's themes about teenage life were a fresh change, as they showed the social challenges of that age. Joe Juba from Game Informer said the game's environments were weak because most of the game takes place inside one tower, Tartarus. He also said new players might find the game's connection to the Megami Tensei series confusing.
Persona 3 FES got a Metacritic score of 89, slightly higher than the original game. Shane Bettenhausen said the story in The Answer added needed closure to The Journey. Kevin VanOrd called FES an improved version of an already-good RPG and recommended it to both new and returning players. Some reviewers criticized The Answer for not including the social elements from the original game. VanOrd said the new chapter was less interesting because of this. Jeff Haynes said the change brought back a classic, more difficult RPG style, but it lost what made Persona 3 special. Reviews from GameSpy and IGN repeated problems from the original game, like not being able to directly control party members in battle.
Some critics, like IGN, said Persona 3 Portable lost some polish, but it was still highly praised. It got an 89 out of 100 on Metacritic, making it the third best-reviewed PSP game on the site. It was praised for being worth playing again even after being released twice. This was supported by GamesRadar, IGN, 1UP.com, and GamePro. A reviewer from Famitsu said the remake had enough changes to the Social Links to keep old players interested. Websites like Destructoid and GamePro gave it perfect scores. GameTrailers nominated the game for "Best PSP Game" and "Best RPG," but it lost to God of War: Ghost of Sparta and Mass Effect 2. Three RPG-focused websites honored it with awards: RPGamer (Best Re-release), RPGFan (Best Traditional RPG on Handheld), and RPGLand (Best Port).
Shane Bettenhausen from 1UP.com said the inclusion of Evokers was a bold and surprising choice by Atlus. He said they fit well with the game's dark tone. Joe Juba from Game Informer also said the Evokers matched the game's tone. Jeff Haynes from IGN said the animations of characters using Evokers were both interesting and surprising. Kevin VanOrd from GameSpot said the Evokers were always exciting to watch, even after many hours of gameplay. Atlus did not remove the Evokers from the game worldwide, even though they might have caused controversy. A team member from Atlus said they did not receive any complaints about the Evokers.
The PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch versions of Persona 3 Portable got "generally favorable reviews" on Metacritic.
Persona 3 sold 127,472 copies in its first week and 210,319 copies in total in Japan by 2008. Persona 3 Portable sold over 158,000 copies in Japan in its first month.
Persona 3 was named the best RPG of 2006 by Famitsu and of 2007 by GameSpot and RPGFan. GameSpy gave it the 2007 PS2 RPG of the Year award and placed it second in the 2007 PS2 Top 10 Games of the Year. Persona 3 was nominated for Best RPG at the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards but lost to Mass Effect. 1UP.com's 2007 game awards, published in the March 2008 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, gave Persona 3 the award for "Most controversial game that created no controversy."
IGN ranked Persona 3 FES fifteenth in their list of "The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time." In 2010, Persona 3 was listed first on RPGamer's "Top RPGs of the Decade" and second on RPGFan's "Top 20 RPGs of the Past Decade."
Legacy
An internet meme about a typo changing the game's song "Burn My Dread" to "Burn My Bread" became very popular online.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is a role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS. It includes characters from Persona 3 and Persona 4 and uses some gameplay ideas from the Etrian Odyssey series. The Persona 3 story begins two weeks before October 4. When the group called SEES prepares to enter Tartarus that night, they are pulled into the Velvet Room and sent to a new school they have never seen. While exploring, they meet Zen, Rei, and the Investigation Team, who also arrived at the school. The group must work together to escape. The game was released in Japan on June 5, 2014, North America on November 25, 2014, and Europe on November 28, 2014.
The fighting game Persona 4 Arena and its sequel Persona 4 Arena Ultimax continue the story of the SEES members.
A rhythm game called Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight was released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in Japan in May 2018 and worldwide in December 2018. It was released at the same time as Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight.
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth is a sequel to Persona Q. It was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on November 29, 2018, and worldwide on June 4, 2019. The game includes characters from Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, and the female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable.
Persona 3 Reload is a remake of Persona 3 made using the Unreal Engine 4. It was released on February 2, 2024, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A version for the Nintendo Switch 2 was released on October 23, 2025. The game was announced on June 11, 2023, after leaked footage appeared in April 2023.
Producer Ryouta Niizuma said the team focused on remaking the original Persona 3 and left out the epilogue from FES and the female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable. However, the "Answer" epilogue was later added as downloadable content called "Episode Aigis." The English version uses mostly new voice actors, except Tara Platt, who revoiced Mitsuru and Elizabeth.
Kotobukiya, a Japanese toy company, made figurines of the game's protagonist, Aigis, Mitsuru, and Akihiko. The figurines have parts that can be changed, like an Evoker or weapon, which fit into the base. Another company, Alter, released 1:8 scale figurines of Elizabeth, Aigis, and Mitsuru. The headphones worn by the protagonist are sold by Audio-Technica as the ATH-EM700 (Japan-only version). Atlus worked with Enterbrain to publish strategy guides and an artbook about the game's characters and settings.
A manga adaptation of Persona 3 by Shūji Sogabe was published monthly in Dengeki Maoh until it paused when Persona 4 was released. It later resumed in Atlus's Persona Magazine starting November 7, 2011. As of February 2017, 11 volumes were released.
A non-canonical anime called Persona: Trinity Soul aired in Japan starting January 2008 and had 26 episodes. It takes place 10 years after Persona 3 and includes elements like Persona suppressors and Akihiko as a secondary character. NIS America released the anime in two box sets with Japanese audio in 2010.
In June 2012, it was announced that Persona 3 would get a four-part film series. The films were made by AIC ASTA (first film) and A-1 Pictures (films 2–4). The first film was directed by Noriaki Akitaya, the second and fourth by Tomohisa Taguchi, and the third by Keitaro Motonaga. The original voice actors returned for the films.
Radio dramas based on Persona 3 and Persona 3 FES were released in Japan. Persona 3 Drama CD: A Certain Day of Summer includes an original story with the game's original cast. Persona 3 Drama CD Vol. 2 -Moonlight- connects the story of Persona 3 with the epilogue from Persona 3 FES. Between February and June 2008, five CDs were released, focusing on different characters. In early 2009, a two-volume story about Mitsuru was released.
Persona 3 was adapted into five live stage musicals, starting in 2014. The plays were written by Kumagai and Kotora Kagurazuka, with music by Meguro. The plays included versions for both the male and female protagonists, named Sakuya Shiomi and Kotone Shiomi, with unique scenes for each. The musicals featured actors like Shouta Aoi, Kana Asumi, and others. The plays were broadcast on Niconico and a behind-the-scenes special aired on Tokyo MX.
The first musical, Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade: The Blue Awakening, ran from January 8–12, 2014, at Theater G Rosso. It was released on DVD on May 14, 2014. The play covered events up to Fuuka joining the group.
A sequel, Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade: The Ultramarine Labyrinth, ran from September 16–24, 2014, at Theater 1010 and was released on DVD on January 28, 2015. It covered in-game events from July to early November. A reviewer praised the casting and effects but said the musical numbers felt out of place and the protagonists lacked personality.
A third musical, Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade: The Bismuth Crystals, ran from June 5–13, 2015, and was released on DVD on September 30, 2015. The fourth and fifth plays, Act 4: Indigo Pledge and Final Act: Beyond the Blue Sky, ran from April 14–23, 2017.
The songs Battle Hymn of the Soul and the Persona 3 Reload version of Mass Destruction were used in Yuzuru Hanyu Ice Story 3rd Echoes of Life Tour, an ice show created and performed by Olympic figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu.
On June 1, 2025, the Nishine Rice Paddy Art Enjoyment Association of Kakuda City, Miyagi Prefecture,