The Persona series, developed by Atlus, is easily one of their most beloved and popular franchises in the realm of JRPGs. Known for its unique blend of simulation gameplay, intriguing psychological influences, and engaging character-driven narratives, the Persona games have captured the hearts of players worldwide. With their distinct art style and excellent combat, the Persona games have garnered a dedicated fanbase that eagerly anticipates each new installment.
The community this franchise has garnered since its inception finds joy and excitement in pushing the boundaries of the games through self-imposed challenge runs. These unique challenges increase the difficulty or complexity of the game, making these playthroughs even more interesting. Veteran JRPG players who want to make a playthrough of one of the Persona games more interesting can definitely check out the following challenge runs!
10 100% Completion
The Persona games are loaded with so much content that players will have to go through multiple playthroughs in the majority of these titles to witness everything the game has to offer. So, it's only a given that a challenge run exists for the same too.
Achieving 100% completion means completing all quests, maxing out all social links, collecting all personas, fighting all superbosses, and everything else along the same lines. This requires meticulous planning and efficient time management, as players must access and complete every piece of content in the entire game to achieve this challenging feat.
9 Starting Persona Only
A key part of most mainline Persona games is acquiring different personas by either capturing them in battle or via fusion. This challenge run completely throws this mechanic out of the window.
Instead, players restrict themselves to using only the initial persona that the protagonist starts with throughout the entire game. This adds an additional layer of difficulty, as players must rely solely on the abilities and strengths of the starting persona, forcing them to carefully strategize and manage resources to overcome formidable foes and challenges.
8 Main Character Only
Persona is a JRPG where a full party is critical to securing success against tough enemies and tanky bosses. However, this challenge run limits players to using only the protagonist as their main combatant.
Other party members are prohibited from participating in battles, which can place players in quite a pickle. Succeeding in this challenge run requires careful planning, as players must rely solely on the protagonist's abilities and personas to navigate through tough battles and overcome formidable enemies.
7 Speedrun
As the name suggests, the speedrun challenge involves completing the game as quickly as possible. Players must optimize their routes, make strategic decisions, and skip unnecessary content to minimize playtime and achieve a speedy completion.
Speedruns are one of the most popular challenge runs in any video game, and there's something hypnotic about watching these players use every exploit in their arsenal to complete games in record time. There are different categories of speedruns too, ranging from Any% to 100%.
6 No Item Use
Items in any JRPG are critical to succeed against tough bosses where the party's HP and SP are constantly being depleted. Losing access to these items makes for a great and tough challenge run that is pretty accessible too.
This challenge forbids players from using any items whatsoever, relying solely on the abilities of their personas and the limited resources available in battle. This adds an extra layer of strategy and planning, as players must manage their health and resources carefully to survive battles and progress through the game.
5 No Magic/Ability Use
Using SP to cast support, healing, and offensive magic along with a bunch of HP-intensive physical skills is critical to succeeding in the Persona series. Not being able to use these moves in battle can be quite debilitating indeed.
This challenge run prohibits players from using any magic or abilities in battle, relying solely on physical attacks and item usage. Players must rely on physical attacks and strategic item usage to overcome enemies and progress in the game.
4 Starting Equipment Only
Managing equipment is a huge part of any JRPG, and the Persona series is no exception. Players need to ensure that their stats are as high as possible to deal with the many challenges they'll face in the game.
This challenge run limits players to using only the equipment that the characters start with at the beginning of the game without upgrading or purchasing any new equipment. This adds an additional layer of difficulty, as players must rely on the limited capabilities of their initial equipment to overcome battles and challenges.
3 Minimum Level Run
Leveling up is the bread-and-butter of any JRPG, including the Persona series. Not being able to level up serves as a huge handicap that can cause players a ton of problems as they try to battle against tougher and tougher enemies.
In this challenge run, players aim to complete the game with the lowest possible level for their characters. To avoid any unnecessary experience gain, players will have to avoid any optional combat encounters, fleeing from every random encounter and begrudgingly defeating any mandatory side and main bosses.
2 Gun Only
This challenge run is only possible in Persona 5 since it's the only game where players can use guns. This weapon can be useful to target weaknesses but doesn't really boast a high level of damage otherwise.
Players must carefully manage their ammunition and exploit weaknesses to overcome enemies, which can be pretty annoying at times. Getting the best guns and buffing these attacks is downright necessary to get through this challenge without players tearing their hair out.
1 Never Exploit Weaknesses
Exploiting enemy weaknesses in battles is a key gameplay mechanic in the Persona series. A challenge run that prohibits the same can be pretty tough to deal with.
Players must rely on other strategies to defeat enemies, although they won't be nearly as effective as simply targeting a weakness. Not being able to carry out All-out Attacks can be pretty frustrating, but that's one of the many sacrifices players need to make if they seriously opt for a challenge run in the Persona games.