Persona 1 (1999) and Persona 1 PSP (2001): The worst game you could play to get into Persona or SMT even. Its amazing story gets shadowed by the fact that the new mechanic Atlus trying to implement did not work well. The charcters are also somewhat forgetable. Wacky gameplay and overall a very stress-inducing gameply. 1/5

Persona 2 Innocent Sin (2001): Easily best story in SMT. With great writing and characters (even has characters from the first game )However the gameplay suffers the same problems as 1: anger-inducing and confusing mechanics. Plus unlike 1 (which got a remake), both IS and EP got no remakes. 2/5

Persona 2 Eternal Punishment (2002): Need to play Innocent Sin to really enjoy. No really go play Innocent Sin first. 2/5

Persona 3 (2006) and Persona 3 Portable (2009): The perfect Persona to get into the franchise. Heavily improved gameplay with a dark and mature story which reminiscenes that of SMT. Its dating-sim/life-sim element blends in nicely with the naturally dark story. However you can not control party members (which could be infuriating).Plus its has the option to play as a female. 5/5

Persona 4 (2009): Better gameplay than 3 but its plot is like a very wacky episode of Scooby Doo. A great game but is not for those who likes or is trying to get into SMT. It is still a very good game. 3/5

Persona 5 (2016): Best design, graphics, mechanic and gameplay so far but lacks in a morally ambiguous plot. Also has very stereotypical plot and overused tropes. Also is being milked like crazy. 4/5