10 Best Atlus Games Of All Time

10 Best Atlus Games Of All Time Shim Megami Tensei 5 screenshot of green monster

By Yuliya Geikhman Published 37 minutes ago Yuliya Geikhman has been writing professionally for over 17 years. She started out in the MMO scene with Pando Media Booster and now dives into everything gaming at Screen Rant. She's a lifelong gamer, a relentless industry sleuth, and a passionate follower of everything happening in the games industry. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Atlus is best known today for the Persona series and, more recently, the hit Metaphor: ReFantazio. Those two games are only the tip of the iceberg, though. The company has been around since 1986, and in that time, it's created dozens of excellent games.

Over the years, Atlus has built a lineup of excellent games that range from RPGs and action games to FMV mysteries and surgeon simulators. Some of the best Atlus games are exactly what you expect (with the two aforementioned games making it into the list), while others are more overlooked classics that may surprise you.

Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure

A Cyberpunk FMV Adventure

$Tex Murphy Adventure main character$

Until Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure came along in 2014, the last Tex Murphy adventure was released in 1998. Developed by Big Finish Games and published by Atlus, the game is a love letter to the original FMV-style games.

The game continues the cyberpunk Noir detective series with a new mystery for the titular Tex Murphy. It features silly writing, excellent acting, and fully explorable 3D renderings of the world.

Trauma Center: Under the Knife

Surgeon Simulator Meets Visual Novel

Trauma Center: Under the Knife was a 2005 DS game designed to take advantage of the handheld console's touch-screen controls.

Trauma Center split gameplay between surgery in a future where most diseases can be cured through medical procedures, and a Japanese-style visual novel. It was a strange mashup of genres, but somehow, it worked.

Sadly, the Trauma Center franchise ended with the 2010 entry, Trauma Team—though it may be due for a comeback. In an age of simulators for everything under the sun, a surgeon simulator-slash-visual novel would be welcomed by the cozy gaming community.

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir

A Beat-'Em-Up In The Style Of Classical Art

The dev studio Vanillaware was started in 2002 by a former Capcom and Atlus employee, so their collaboration as dev and publisher isn't all that surprising. Two of Atlus's best games were created by Vanillaware (the other one is listed next).

Technically, Odin Sphere was only published by Atlus in Japan and North America, while Square Enix handled the PAL region.

Odin Sphere was the first Vanillaware game to be published by Atlus, and it quickly became a classic. The game is a twist on traditional side-scrolling beat-'em-ups, with five playable characters and a beautiful, painterly style.

A remake titled Odin Sphere Leifthrasir was released in 2016. It improved the visuals and voice acting, made quality-of-life upgrades, and expanded the story. It was well met by critics and fans and bumped the title's Metacritic score from 83 for the original (Metacritic) to 87 for the remake (Metacritic).

Dragon's Crown

Adventure Through A D&D-Inspired Medieval Land

With the winning Odin Sphere formula on its hands, Vanillaware and Atlus decided to give it another go. This brought about the release of the beloved Dragon's Crown, which used a similar painterly, side-scrolling beat-'em-up style.

The game used a dungeon-crawling gameplay loop and a heavily D&D-inspired story set in a magical, medieval land.

Though it has its faults—including oversexualized female characters and repetitive gameplay elements—Dragon's Crown is still one of Atlus's best games. It's also, according to the Atlus website, "the most beautiful 2D action RPG in history."

Etrian Odyssey 5

Map Your Own Dungeons

Atlus began the Etrian Odyssey series in 2007 with an innovative idea: What if players had to create their own dungeon minimaps? The result was an innovative take on the roguelike genre, where players were encouraged to explore Mystery Dungeons and map out their progress on the DS touch screen.

The 2016 (2017 in NA) Etrian Odyssey 5: Beyond the Myth is considered by many fans to be the best of the bunch. The title improved on previous iterations and had a captivating story and plenty of variety in gameplay and classes.

Radiant Historia

An RPG Where You Travel Through Space And Time

On the surface, the 2011 pixel RPG told a fairly standard story about a soldier adventuring through a time of war. The twist is that this adventurer wasn't limited to progressing through the world on a physical plane.

Instead, players could navigate across multiple timelines through a branching narrative. The main character could go back to key moments in the story and see how things would have played out if they'd made a different decision.

The result was a rich and satisfying story that brought something new to the RPG formula. Atlus had some serious hits in the Nintendo 3DS era, and Radiant Historia was one of the best.

Shin Megami Tensei 5

Summon Mythological Creatures From Many Cultures

Before Persona took off, Atlus had the thematically similar Shin Megami Tensei series, also known as Devil Survivor. Like the Persona games, the Shin Megami Tensei titles are about high school kids summoning mythological beings from across many different cultures.

The very first SMT game dates back to 1987, but the 2021 Shin Megami Tensei 5 is generally considered to be the best of the series. The story of this entry centers on a post-apocalyptic world where higher beings are battling over who gets to rebuild the universe.

Unicorn Overlord

Command An Entire Army

Alain slashing at an armored enemy while others wait on the sidelines.

The best tactics games generally place players in the role of the strategist. Unicorn Overlord takes this to a new level by making this the player's sole role. Instead of choosing the actions of each individual on the battlefield, Unicorn Overlord has players directing entire troops in large-scale, real-time battles and skirmishes.

Created as another collaboration between Vanillaware and Atlus, Unicorn Overlord follows an exiled prince as he travels around the world amassing supporters. Every decision you make carries weight with real consequences, like whether you choose to kill, spare, or recruit an enemy, or how you choose to lead your army.

Metaphor: ReFantazio

An Instant New Classic

Atlus surprised everyone by releasing a new hit title in 2024 that wasn't a Persona game. Metaphor: ReFantazio may look and feel like another entry in the Persona franchise, but it exists in its own universe.

Like Persona, characters in Metaphor can draw on the powers of past Kings, known as Archetypes. These powerful fighters give players a leg up in their quest to become the new king of the magical kingdom of Euchronia.

The game was an instant success, reaching a score of 94 on Metacritic and praise from fans. The fresh take on the classic system of Shin Megami Tensei and Persona proves that Atlus is still capable of creating innovative new hits.

Persona 5 Royal

The Highest-Rated Atlus Game Of All Time

Joker, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana and more from Persona 5 standing in a group in their outfits.

Despite having a huge roster of excellent games, Atlus is best known for the stylish Persona series. And although all the Persona games are great in their own way, Persona 5 Royal is generally believed to be the best, with an impressive 95 on Metacritic.

Like all the other Persona games, Persona 5 centers around a group of high school students who form a vigilante group. The protagonists are able to summon manifestations of their inner psyches based on world mythologies and cultures, known as Personas.

Royal is the enhanced version of the game. It added a new character, more story and locations, an entire new semester to play through, and more quality-of-life updates. The game's style also makes it instantly recognizable as a Persona title, which is the perfect blend of action, mythology, and JRPG.

Persona

10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Crime Drama Mystery Thriller Release Date 2018 - 2024-00-00 Network puhutv, GAİN Directors Onur Saylak

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Haluk Bilginer Agâh Beyoğlu
Şebnem Bozoklu Zuhal Çelik
Recep Usta Deva Çelik
Cansu Dere Nevra Elmas

Writers Hakan Günday Genres Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller Powered by

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