Megami Tensei
"Persona" is the largest and most popular spin-off from the "Megami Tensei" series. The first entry in the series, "Megami Ibunroku Persona" (originally released overseas as ""), was released in 1996 in Japan and North America. The first "Persona 2" title, "", was released in 1999 in Japan. The second game, "", was released in 2000 in Japan and North America. "Persona 3" was released in 2006 in Japan, 2007 in North America, and 2008 in Europe. Its sequel, "Persona 4", was released in 2008 in Japan and North America, and in 2009 in Europe. A sixth entry in the series, "Persona 5", was released in Japan on September 15, 2016, and was released in North America and Europe on April 4, 2017, to critical acclaims. In addition to the main "Persona" games are spin-offs, so far focused on "Persona 3" and "4": the canon spin-off "", two fighting games "Persona 4 Arena" and its sequel "Arena Ultimax" as well as the crossover fighting game "", and rhythm game "". While "Persona 3" and "4" used the "Shin Megami Tensei" moniker, it was dropped for the "Persona 4 Arena" duology and "Persona 4 Golden" as it would have made the titles too long to be practical.
Persona (series)
The music of the "Persona" series has been handled by multiple composers. The one most associated with the series is Shoji Meguro, who began working on "Persona" shortly after he joined Atlus in 1995. His very first composition for the game was "Aria of the Soul", the theme for the velvet room that became a recurring track throughout the series. During his initial work on the series, Meguro felt restricted by the limited storage space of the PlayStation's disc system, and so when he began composing for "Persona 3", which allowed for sound streaming due to increased hardware capacity, he was able to fully express his musical style. His main worry for his music in "Persona 3" and "4" was the singers' pronunciation of the English lyrics. He was unable to work on the "Persona 2" games as he was tied up with other projects, including "Maken X". The music for "Innocent Sin" and "Eternal Punishment" was handled by Toshiko Tasaki, Kenichi Tsuchiya, and Masaki Kurokawa. Tsuchiya had originally done minor work on "Persona", and found composing for the games a strenuous experience. Meguro also wrote the theme song for "Persona Q", while the rest of the soundtrack was handled by Atsushi Kitajoh and Toshiki Konishi. Meguro also served as the lead composer in "Persona 5", using elements of acid jazz and the game's themes for inspiration to achieve the right mood.