Highlights
- Persona games vary in length, with the original title being the shortest at around 30+ hours, while Persona 5 has an impressive runtime of around 100 hours, setting the bar high for Persona 6.
- Enhanced versions of Persona games, like Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 Golden, add new features and story content, increasing the runtime to nearly 80 hours and 70+ hours respectively.
- Persona 5 Royal is the longest game in the series, with over 110 hours of content, making it one of the longest video games ever made.
Persona is one of the longest and most prolific franchises in JRPGs and has always been known for having longer games full of content for players to explore and characters to connect with. There have been so many titles since the first entry way back in 1996 that it can be nice for newer players - or those looking to replay - to know how long it takes to get through each Persona game.
The exact runtime for a game can vary based on individual experience along with a number of other factors like how "complete" a player likes their game to be before they feel like it's fully done (Just the story vs. full-on completionist), so take all of these Persona runtimes with a give-or-take mentality.
Base Persona Game Playtimes
There are currently five main series Persona games that can vary pretty dramatically in the amount of content available. What's made abundantly clear through each game's runtime, though, is that Atlus is constantly seeking to expand the boundaries of what this series can pull off.
Persona: The original title that began the series, also known as Revelations: Persona, clocks in at just around 30+ hours, which wasn't bad for the time, but does make it the shortest in the franchise today.
Persona 2 Innocent Sin/Eternal Punishment:Persona 2 is actually two different games that form a complete story, Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. Since it's actually two games, the runtime when they're combined gets a massive boost over its predecessor with more than 85 hours for players to enjoy.
Persona 3: The landmark third game in the series doesn't have a runtime as high as its predecessor with just around 65-70 hours, but it's also not two games, so it gets a pass for coming close.
Persona 4: The murder-mystery Persona game hovers safely around a similar runtime as its predecessor with just about 70-ish hours in its runtime.
Persona 5: Among the many things Persona 5 does to take its place as one of the best games in the series, it impressively leaps over the runtime of all other games in the series and manages to squeeze in around 100 hours of content. That kind of runtime sets the bar extremely high for where Persona 6 may go.
Bonus Content Persona Game Playtimes
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Starting with Persona 3, the mainline entries in the acclaimed Atlus series began getting enhanced makeovers sometime after the initial game's release. These often added new features, Personas, social links, and even entirely new story content that can increase the runtime over the original versions of the game. It's important to note those differences as they can sometimes be substantial.
Persona 3 FES:Persona 3 FES is a remarkable update to the original game with a fantastic amount of new features like the female protagonist and an entirely new storyline that pushes the game up to nearly 80 hours. With all of that new content, fans are understandably disappointed that Persona 3 Reload likely won't be adding FES content.
Persona 4 Golden: The enhanced version Persona 4 actually doesn't wind up being much longer than the original game, as most of its additions involve new features and other similar improvements to the game that address fan complaints from the first version. Persona 4 Golden sits at a similar 70+ hours, and is only marginally longer than Persona 4 with its new social links and extra dungeon, although some players may miss even being able to unlock it.
Persona 5 Royal: Without a doubt, Persona 5 Royal lands as the longest game in the series, and just generally one of the longest video games ever made with more than 110 hours of content for players to explore and enjoy. All of the acclaim this game receives should let any curious gamers know that, somehow, this game does manage to justify a runtime that is so ridiculously high.