Persona Collection

Genre: Compilation / Turn-Based Monster-Collecting JRPG

Players: 1, Passive Online Features

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Review:

(Note: Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden, included in this Compilation, are also in Persona 3 Portable & Persona 4 Golden Bundle.)

Persona Collection, released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, is a Compilation of the Nintendo Switch versions of Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden, released earlier in 2023, as well as Persona 5 Royal, released on Nintendo Switch in 2022.

To be clear, this collection contains updated versions of all three modern mainline games in the Persona series, but it doesn’t have the earlier games in the series (which haven’t been released on Nintendo Switch), nor does it have any of the many spin-off games the Persona series has spawned.

Anyway, I have separately reviewed these games. Here is what I thought of all of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Persona 3 Portable	Turn-Based Monster-Collecting JRPG	1	B
tl;dr Persona 3 Portable on Nintendo Switch is a remaster of the PlayStation Portable remake of the original PlayStation 2 release of Persona 3, and this is a fine Turn-Based Monster-Collecting JRPG, but it has aged somewhat, features some tedious grinding, and lacks content from earlier versions of Persona 3. This is a decent port of a solid game, but it is neither the best game in this series nor is it definitively the best version of Persona 3.
Persona 4 Golden	Turn-Based Monster-Collecting JRPG	1, Passive Online Features	A-
tl;dr Persona 4 Golden on Nintendo Switch is a remaster of the PlayStation Vita remake of the original PlayStation 2 release of Persona 4, and this is still one of the best games in this series and the genre as a whole, even if it has aged somewhat. It’s not as flashy as Persona 5, but Persona 4 features a wonderful story with great characters, excellent gameplay, and this is overall a great port of the definitive version of the game. If you’re a JRPG fan with a Nintendo Switch, this game is a must!
Persona 5 Royal	Turn-Based Monster-Collecting JRPG	1	A
tl;dr Persona 5 Royal is a Turn-Based Monster-Collecting JRPG, and a game that is rightly praised as one of the greatest RPGs of all time. The game has an amazing visual style that is unforgettable, a wonderful jazzy soundtrack, a gripping story with memorable characters, a fun and engaging combat system, and tons of things to do outside of combat. The Nintendo Switch version unfortunately takes a hit in its graphics, but this is a small flaw in an otherwise absolutely must-have game.

In short, all three of these are superb JRPGs, but I definitely think Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal are the stars of the show here. I still think Persona 4 Golden may have my favorite story and characters out of all three games, but Persona 5 Royal absolutely blows both of the other games away with its amazing presentation and huge amount of content. By comparison, Persona 3 Portable is still excellent, but the most dated-looking of the three, and it’s the only game in this trio that isn’t a port of a definitive version of the game.

So that just leaves the question of value, and this bundle’s pricing is… okay. At $90, this bundle shaves $10 off the price of the trio of games, which is certainly the best way to go if you want to get all three… unless you’re looking at sale prices, when it starts to look muddier. Currently, sale prices can get as low as $13 each for Persona 3 and 4, and $30 (or lower) for Persona 5. For those doing the math, that’s $56, compared to the bundle’s sale price of over $58. Of course, the sale price could always change later, but as it stands, this bundle is only a good deal if you’re making it a point to buy these games when they’re not on sale.

How do I even judge that? This bundle is a good deal… but only if you’re not trying to get a good deal… and if you are trying to get a good deal, this is a bad deal? What?

I suppose it doesn’t matter too much – regardless of whether there’s a sale or not, the price of Persona Collection isn’t too much different than the price of the individual games, with the difference being at most $10. If you’re looking for a bargain, watch prices of both this bundle and the individual games (and I suppose the Persona Persona 3 Portable & Persona 4 Golden Bundle as well) and decide which combination is the most cost-effective for you.

It’s frustrating that the question of whether this bundle is worth it is so complicated, because the quality of the Persona games it contains is pretty easy to answer – all three are great, with the series just getting better as it moves forward. if you’re a JRPG fan with a Nintendo Switch, you should definitely want the three games contained in Persona Collection. It’s just a question of whether or not you should get them in this bundle. And the answer to that depends on when you ask.

tl;dr – Persona Collection is a Compilation of Persona 3 portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal, all three being excellent Turn-Based Monster-Collecting JRPGs, with the series only getting better as it progresses. These are must-play JRPGs, but it’s hard to say if this bundle is a good deal compared to the individual releases – it depends what’s on sale right now. Keep that in mind when buying, but regardless of how you get them, you should absolutely get these games.

Grade: B+

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