Summary
As soon as footage ofEternights' calendar system came out and the focus ondating sim mechanicsthat improve your stats in combat was revealed, it received immediate comparisons to the modernPersonagames (mainly 4 and 5).
While these comparisons are usually fair, as the game does take clear inspiration from Atlus' popular RPG series, it also has clear differences that make it stand out from the Persona games. So, what do Persona and Eternights have in common, and how do these similarities compare, and more importantly, what do these games do differently to stand out from each other?
5Time Management
Persona
In terms of the more recent entries in the Persona series, your main character will usually have the length of a school year to play through the events of the main story. There will be certain free periods where you may do whatever you want, and eventually you will reach story sections where you have a certain number of days to beat a dungeon and its boss.
Managing your free time is important as you often can’t complete all the objectives in the time available, and if it is possible, it requires strict planning and occasionally multiple playthroughs.
Eternights
Like Persona, there are dungeon-like areas in Eternights that you will be given a certain number of days to complete. This happens three times, in Act 02, 03 & 04, with the first act being a tutorial, and the last a finale.
Each time you are given more time to complete the dungeon, but since the combat in Eternights relies less on stats and leveling up abilities, you can easily beat the dungeon in just one day, and spend the rest of the time leveling up your skills for the next act. This means that time management is still important, but feels a little less demanding than it is in Persona.
Winner - Persona
The time management systems in Persona are a lot more challenging and more involved in Persona, with more room for customization, and encouraging repeat playthroughs. If you want a potentially less stress-inducing version of the same system, then you might prefer Eternights.
4Combat
One of the main differences between Persona and Eternights is the combat. The Persona series has retained a turn-based system that takes inspiration from its parent series; Shin Megami Tensei. Each game has tweaked the combat slightly, but for the most part, the weakness-based, turn based combat has remained strong and consistent.
You can level up certain combat abilities by leveling up confidants in your free time, and this is how the time management system interlinks with the combat. There are no real-time action sequences featured in the Persona mainline series.
Eternights stands out from Persona based on how starkly different the combat system is, with Eternights opting for ahack-and-slash action-focusedapproach that plays similarly to Bayonetta with its focus on dodging to slow time.
You will unlock different abilities by spending more time with different love interests, and each love interest has associated passive buffs you unlock alongside your rank with them too. Three of the love interests and the main character have an associated element, and these are needed to break countering elemental barriers that bosses and strong enemies defend themselves with.
Winner - Eternights
The hack and slash combat in Eternights is suprisingly snappy and responsive, and while it never gets too deep, it is the perfect level for how long the game is. Persona’s turn-based combat is as fun as ever, but after a certain point in the game, you’ll realize it doesn’t change too much. However, if you love refined turn-based combat, then you’ll love Persona.
3Length
Compared to Eternights, the Persona games are massive; for example Persona 5 Royal takes about 100 hours or more to complete. This makes these games massive time investments, and you will want to verify that you are a fan of the gameplay and genre before you are invested.
you may beat the game quicker than 100 hours, but since the games have such a strong focus on dialogue and paying attention to the narrative, you will want to stay focused and not rush.
Eternights is a much shorter game than Persona, since it only has three dungeons, and the time between the dungeons is much shorter. The game usually takes most about ten hours to complete, and since there is little side content, this amount of time usually doesn’t vary unless you are really struggling with certain bosses or enemies.
The short length encourages multiple playthroughs, with a mew game plus unlocked after beating. The ending is also different based on which love interest you chose too.
This category of course depends on whether you are looking for a longer or shorter game, but if you prefer something you will have more time to spend with, then Persona is the top choice. However, with how short Eternights is, a repeat playthrough feels like less of a commitment.
2Dating Sim
The secondary aspect of Eternights that drew comparisons to Persona is the ability to date different characters. In Persona, certain social links are romance options, and when you reach the end of the romanceable links, you will be given the choice to make them your partner or not.
Depending on the Persona game, you will have more or less options, and notably, in comparison to Eternights, Persona has not featured any same-sex options since Jun in Persona 2, which had much more restricted romance options.
Compared to Persona, dating is much more encouraged in Eternights, with it being a more primary focus of the game whereas in Persona you can avoid dating altogether, and it will not have a noticeable impact on your experience. Unlike Persona, the ending you get in Eternights will strongly depend on your love interest, with the whole of Act 05 hinged on the character which you chose to romance.
There areonly four romance options, but this doesn’t feel too limiting, since each character gets enough time to shine in the short runtime of the game.
While every modern Persona game will give you more options when it comes to romance options, it is much less of a focus, and no modern Persona games have provided same-sex relationship options. The romance plays a major role in Eternights, and while you might not love every option available, you are likely to grow attached to at least one of them.
1Persona Or Eternights?
Overall Conclusion
Because of the noticeable similarities between Eternights and Persona, it is likely that if you are a fan of one of these games, you will be a fan of the other. While Eternights does not have the same level of polish you get with a budget like Atlus had with Persona, it takes full advantage of its resources to make a memorable and concise experience.
But if you want something longer, with more going on and side experiences too, then the modern Persona games, especially Persona 5, have a very similar atmosphere and pacing to Eternights.
