The Best Atlus Games, Ranked

Before achieving major success with the Persona series, Atlus was already recognized in the JRPG community for its unique games, many featuring mature stories, darker themes, and distinct art styles. The games set in the Shin Megami Tensei universe are challenging but fair games that require strategic thinking and exploiting enemy weaknesses.

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The studio has an impressive catalog of games extending beyond the Persona series and Metaphor: ReFantazio with other great games worth exploring for enthusiasts. Atlus games are celebrated for their unique gameplay and artistic design, showcasing imaginatively dark storytelling and turn-based mechanics that feel innovative and old-school. The following list highlights some of the best games from the developer that are a must-play for fans.

5 Devil Survivor Overclocked

Fantastic Handheld Tactical RPGs

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked is an expanded 3DS version of the original that launched on the Nintendo DS. The story remains consistent, featuring an easy difficulty setting, new demons, and an additional scenario. While Overclocked is the preferred option, both versions of Devil Survivor are outstanding, showcasing excellent writing and pacing. Devil Survivor was created by Atlus, incorporating key members from Career Soft, the developers behind the Growlanser series.

The gameplay is classic turn-based strategy RPGs, but to win the player's characters must exploit their enemy's weaknesses and complete mission objectives. Players can bid on and recruit demons via their COMP system to help them in battle and sway the odds in their favor. The player takes on the role of a young protagonist trapped with his friends by demons in modern-day Tokyo. The player must make allegiances and decisions that change the direction of the story offering lots of replay value.

4 Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2

Dark Fantasy Sci-Fi Story

• Platform: PS2
• Released: 2005
• Developer: Atlus

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga released as two games that are only available on the PlayStation 2. They are two of the developer's most atmospheric, gruesome, and compelling JRPGs that deserve another chance on modern consoles. As mentioned above, Digital Devil Saga is a two-part story that needs to be experienced together to appreciate its narrative fully, and the characters are far more engaging than the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series.

Digital Devil Saga is a post-apocalyptic adventure where the characters must battle it out with rival tribes in what is known as the Junkyard, with the remaining tribe able to enter a place called Nirvana. The player takes control of the leader of the Embryon tribe, a silent protagonist named Serph. The core gameplay will be familiar to fans of Shin Megami Tensei's Press Turn battle system where the team must exploit their enemy's weaknesses to gain an extra turn in combat. And a combo mechanic where the player's team attacks their enemies at once.

3 Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne

Regarded As One Of The Best Mainline SMT Entries

Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne was originally launched on the PS2 and remastered in HD for modern systems with a higher resolution, improved framerate, additional voice acting sequences, and the original Japanese voice work. Unlike Atlus' Persona series, The narrative is complex, featuring subtle but complex storytelling in a world that unfolds as players explore.

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The combat is engaging with its introduction of the Press Turn battle system, becoming a hallmark of SMT's combat mechanics, requiring players to identify and exploit their enemies' weaknesses. The protagonist, known as the Demi-Fiend must recruit demons in a system reminiscent of the 'catch 'em all' approach popularized by Pokemon. Like that series, the Demons evolve to become more powerful versions, offering more help on the battlefield.

2 Persona 5 Royal

Highly Polished Story With Great Characters

All the modern Persona games from Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 are worth the time of any JRPG fan. However, the most accessible and polished may be Persona 5 Royal. The Royal version features an extended narrative with extra scenes and two new characters.

Despite its age, Persona 5 Royal is a stunning title, featuring timeless artwork, character designs, and, most importantly, a well-developed story and characters. The combat will be familiar to fans of Shin Megami Tensei with its Press Turn system, exposing an enemy's elemental weaknesses.

1 Metaphor: ReFantazio

The Atlus Formula Set In A Unique Medieval Fantasy World

Atlus is best known for its popular Persona series, but Metaphor: ReFantazio may be their finest work to date. This game combines the strengths of Persona while introducing a distinct and beautifully crafted medieval fantasy world, the United Kingdom of Euchronia. Metaphor avoids the typical Tolkienesque elements commonly found in the fantasy genre. The world fuses Medieval, 1960s, and 1970s fashion with Victorian-era architecture. In place of Persona's school year is an upcoming election that follows the events of the opening cutscene. It limits the time players have to complete tasks and build friendships.

There is a social-link relationship-building mechanic but Metaphor avoids the romantic aspects typically found in the Persona series. Side quests are also meaningful in helping build the protagonist's Royal Virtues, Courage, Eloquence, Imagination, Tolerance, and Wisdom. The virtues influence, the election and how the NPCs react to the lead character.

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