The Persona series is one of the best in the entire JRPG genre, developed by Atlus. One of the key points of the Persona series is the Personas themselves, supernatural beings from real-life lore that the main characters summon for their battles. Each of the Personas is represented by an Arcana, derived from Tarot cards. It turns out that there are actual themed cards, as you’ll see in this Persona Tarot cards guide.
The Arcana is a massive part of the Persona series, and its inspiration is from Tarot cards, which some players may not even realize at first. It is legitimately possible to show your love for the Persona series by purchasing some Persona-themed Tarot cards of your very own. Here is what you need to know about how to acquire these collector’s items and some tips for avoiding danger via our Persona Tarot cards guide.
Bottom Line Up Front
The Persona Tarot cards are physical merchandise versions of the original Arcana that exist in the JRPG series. The Arcana represents the various Persona and even main characters that appear in each game. From the Fool all the way down to the World, there are many different Tarot cards you can purchase physically as part of a set.
However, be aware that there are both official Persona Tarot cards and unofficial ones from fans. Both have their place in Persona fans’ collections, but only as long as you are careful about buying them. Of all the official and unofficial Persona Tarot cards that exist, the best has to be the Persona 3 and 4 fanmade cards. I would argue that they are somehow better quality and more game-inspired than even the Persona 5 official-style ones. Plus, they aren’t too expensive, to boot.
Persona Tarot Cards Overview
By far, the single most crucial part of the entire Persona series is the Arcana. While you might think it is the Persona (not entirely incorrect), the Arcana is the more umbrella idea that covers all of the various shadows that players are able to tame and add to their parties.
The Arcana are so crucial to the series because they dictate everything that happens within the game. For this reason, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some players want to add the Arcana to their physical collection.
This is where the Persona Tarot cards come into play. These physical pieces of media are one way to show your love and passion for the Atlus-developed Persona series. The characters, Personas, and everything else can be given the proper treatment simply by owning these cards in your merch collection.
But what exactly is the Arcana for? And how does it truly connect to the Tarot cards in a way in which you would want to add them to your collection? That is what I aim to explain further below. This is mainly because Tarot cards might seem odd for the Persona series.
There isn’t much Divination itself that happens in the games. You aren’t often heading to a Tarot card specialist who explains your fate and all that in these games. Even still, they play such a massive role that it convinces some players that they need these items in their lives and collections.
All Persona Tarot Cards You Can Buy
Of course, the whole purpose of this Persona Tarot cards guide is to give you the tools by which you can purchase and own the cards yourself. And the best part is that I am not talking about any old Tarot cards, either. I am solely talking about the best there are, which are the Persona-themed cards.
Yes, that’s right, there are actual Persona-themed Tarot cards that you can purchase online. These aren’t just any version as they have the look and feel of the Persona series. When you look at these cards, you should be seeing the moments in which you are ranking up your Confidant or social link with a person of that respective card.
That said, a lot of confusion comes into play involving the Persona Tarot cards. There are a few different types of these that you are able to buy online. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and there are some warnings I have for you regarding some of them, too.
Here are all of the various types of Persona-themed Tarot cards and where you can purchase them from. Get your wallets ready, as these babies are up for sale right now.
Official Persona 5 Tarot Cards
- Cost: Approximately $60 (can vary depending on sales and site you buy from so please keep that in mind)
- Material: Linen Cardstock
- Cards: It comes with 90 cards in total
It starts with the most essential type of Persona Tarot cards you can purchase online: the authentic, official real deal Tarot cards. These are the merch items that were made by Atlus itself and distributed to Persona fans. This means they come with the knowledge that you have an exclusive, official item.
Plus, it has that basic guarantee that the items inside are going to be the cream of the crop when it comes to Persona Tarot cards. They have the official designs and qualities to them that we come to expect from officially-licensed merch items.
When it comes to recommendations for the official Persona Tarot cards, there isn’t much room to budge here. In fact, Atlus has only ever released a single set of official cards to date, at the time of writing this. You are able to buy that set of Tarot cards from Amazon right now.
Now, to be clear, these aren’t technically the real deal, but they are as close as you’ll get. You’d be hard-pressed to find the actual official Persona Tarot cards these days, as they were pretty elusive and exclusive.
Quality Explained
But this set tries its best to recreate the official Persona Tarot cards, and the quality is immensely high. The reviews are nearly immaculate, with hundreds of satisfied customers. And the price isn’t too terrible, considering this is a handmade project.
Now, what I should note regarding the official Tarot cards and these replicas of them is that they were only ever made for Persona 5. Unfortunately for you, there were never any official Persona Tarot cards (at least for the public) that were designed and sold for the previous games in the series. This even goes for the audience in Japan.
Pros
- These are the only official-style Persona 5 Tarot cards you’ll find
- 90 cards is quite impressive
- You get both Major and Minor Arcana cards for the full gamut of Tarot cards from Persona 5
- The price is surprisingly reasonable, all things considered
Cons
- The overall presentation of the outside and back of the cards looks shaky
- While I do like the font and style of the face side of the individual cards, the white borders around them looks way too big
- The box the cards come in is pretty unimpressive
Persona 3 and 4 Fan Made Tarot Cards
- Cost: Approximately $55-$80 (depends on the material you pick and shipping)
- Material: Card stock, linen, and plastic are all options (priced differently)
- Cards: Roughly more than 70 cards
Then there are situations like the actual fan-made Tarot cards. Most of these will be clear that they are unofficial and unrelated to Atlus and the official Persona series in any way. The ones that are transparent and clear in this are generally the types of items that you want to add to your collection.
Quality Explained
Take, for example, this set of Persona 3 and 4 Tarot cards from an Etsy creator. This is a complete set of cards that the person has handcrafted themselves and put up on their Etsy store. They are utterly brilliant, with some of the best designs I’ve seen on in the internet in this category.
If you want some Tarot cards to represent Personas 3 and 4, which aren’t officially available and never have been, this is the way to do it. The reviews are good, the price is decent enough, but a little on the pricier side if you pick other materials, and they ship essentially anywhere in the world.
Those are all pluses. But the best part, in my opinion, besides the actual designs, is the fact that you can choose the material the cards are made of. Sure, it’ll cost you more money this way, but this optional step lets you make some cards that are going to last for possibly generations to come.
Pros
- The best-looking Tarot cards you’ll ever find based on the Persona series
- You get cards based on both Persona 3 and 4
- The presentation from the outside of the cards to the face is terrific
- The prices can vary but are generally pretty cheap
- You get material options, which is fantastic for those who want to have more durable, long-lasting cards
Cons
- The box the Tarot cards come in is just passable
- This can get a bit expensive for Tarot cards if you get the nicer plastic material
- If you don’t like these blue stylized cards from past games and prefer the red Persona 5 ones, look elsewhere
Homemade Persona 3 and 4 Tarot Cards
- Cost: Approximately $50 (the price can vary so remember that)
- Material: Linen material
- Cards: 85 cards
On the other hand, the problem with these fan-made cards is that sometimes you’ll find ones that are maybe not necessarily worth the price you pay. Take, for example, these cheaper Persona Tarot cards that I found on Amazon. They are one of the first ones that will pop up on Google for you.
Quality Explained
Personally, I don’t think they’re worth it for most fans. For $10 more, you can get the slightly better Persona 5 cards on Amazon. These cards have lackluster designs with strange colorations to them that look amateur or almost copied and pasted from elsewhere.
They aren’t horrible by any means, but when you have such better options out there, I wouldn’t waste my time on them. This is a prime example of why you should carefully look at everything. That said, my main issue with these cards come from the sleeve side. The design here is uninspired and bland, but the face side of the cards are generally pretty good.
They take after the actual Tarot card designs from the Persona games, and they look great in the process. So, if you want a more budget-level Tarot card deck, this may be one you could consider, especially if you have some card sleeves.
Pros
- You get some of the most Tarot cards in a single Persona collection
- These cards tried really hard to copy the original game versions, especially for Persona 3 fans
- You get basically all of the Major and Minor Arcana cards
Cons
- This is the worst-looking of the three possible options for Persona Tarot cards
- The collection box is forgettable and messy
- Some of the cards have a strange discoloration from them (at least from the official images)
PSA: Don’t Confuse These With Persona Trading Cards
Now, there is another public service announcement that I need to bring up here. You see, there is a distinct difference between the official Persona Tarot cards and other types of cards that are trading cards that have been released by Atlus in the past to celebrate Persona 5.
The issue here is that they serve entirely different purposes, and they are on a whole different price level, too. The official Persona 5 trading cards are for the Weiss Schwarz game and are hard to find. This particular listing is one of the few I have seen at the time of writing.
And you’re looking at $750 for them. Now, you could potentially get the official Persona 5 trading cards for much cheaper if they are opened or used. However, these are trading cards that are meant to be traded or used for card battles. That is entirely different from what the Tarot cards are for.
Don’t get me wrong, these official trading cards are amazing, but I don’t want to see you get them mixed up and accidentally buy something that you weren’t meaning to. Honestly, though, I like the Weiss Schwarz Persona 5 trading cards more than the Tarot cards since they have a direct purpose for them beyond being beautiful to look at.
Be Wary of Fakes and Scams
Now, there is another tricky part of the whole Persona Tarot cards situation that you need to know about. You are unlikely to ever find the official Persona 5 Tarot cards online without them being sold for an absolute arm and a leg, considering how rare they are.
With that in mind, you need to be careful when searching for these cards online, as there are so many fakes and scams out there. I made it clear above that the ones that are on Amazon are, technically, fake since they are simply replicas of the official ones that were made.
You need to look carefully because even usually trusted sites like Amazon are prone to allow for these types of scams at times. In fact, one of the scams that I recommend watching out for is like these Persona 3 Arcana Tarot card coasters.
Almost everything in the description surrounding them makes it sound like they are official. They even have the usual trademarks and register for the Persona series, mention Atlus by name, and all that. It even says “official” at one point, but you should totally ignore that.
These are unofficial products. Now, to be clear, I actually quite like these coasters, and they are designed super well. They aren’t too expensive, either, so they may be a worthy gift or merch item in the end. You just have to keep an eye out for these types of scams because they are so misleading.
What They’re Used For
There are a few different primary reasons for the Tarot cards, and it depends on if you’re playing the game or collecting them in the real world. Both are equally important to Persona fans and can make the difference on whether or not you feel like you need some of the cards, too.
In-Game
When it comes to the Persona games, as mentioned, the use of the Tarot cards is quite different from how they are in the real world. Instead of being part of some fortune-telling sessions, the cards are used for the Arcana. These are the various faces of the cards that the set uses in the game.
You have figures and faces from the actual real Tarot cards, such as the Magician and Lovers cards. All of these cards are in the Persona games as a means to divide up and categorized just about everything and everyone that you encounter in these titles.
It starts with the Personas themselves. Every single Persona in each of the games, at least the last three mainline titles, is divided up into an Arcana. All of these Arcana are based on the core face cards of the Tarot set. You have Personas that are under the Magician Arcana, Emperor, Tower, and so on.
But it doesn’t stop with the Personas themselves. It expands to the characters that you meet in the Persona games, too. In the most recent titles, all of the main characters also fall under one of the core Arcana. They have a face card that represents them and some of the archetypes that go along with them.
The Tarot cards encompass every single them that happens in the Persona games. And it goes deeper than every character and Persona, too. Both of those are then connected to one another via the Tarot cards.
If a Persona falls under the Fortune Arcana, for instance, and you spend time with the person under the Fortune Arcana, then it is likely that you will get some boosts to help that Fortune Persona level up as soon as you fuse them in the Velvet Room.
It is for these many reasons that players would want Tarot cards in the real world. After all, the faces of the cards are used in every single aspect of the Persona games. In fact, you can’t even finish any battles in Persona 3 and 4 without seeing them in the Shuffle Time sessions afterward.
Real Tarot Cards
But, of course, that is what the Tarot cards are used for within the games themselves. There is still more use to the cards in the real world, too, which is why some players want to see them make the leap from the games into the real world.
If you are someone who wants to collect Tarot cards in real life, there are a couple of reasons why you can do this. Of course, this could be to use them for their intended purpose. But you don’t necessarily need them for that reason alone.
Many players may want to add the Tarot cards to their merch collection. One of the best ways to show your love for the Persona series and all of the characters and games in the franchise is to collect various physical items that are based around them.
These Tarot cards are some of the more crucial examples of merch items for the Persona series since they are so intrinsically involved in everything that happens in the JRPGs. As such, having these cards in your collection allows you to show your passion for the series at all times to anyone who sees them.
FAQs
Question: Does Persona use Tarot cards?
Answer: Yes, the Persona series uses Tarot cards. Each of the games in the series, even all the way to the very beginning with Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, uses these cards. They are such a crucial part of the entire series, from top to bottom and start to finish.
Question: What Tarot deck does Persona use?
Answer: The Persona series uses the traditional Tarot deck but focuses mainly on the core 22 face cards, starting with the Fool card, which is #0, and ending with The World, which is #21. It also occasionally uses some of the minor Tarot cards for other purposes like dungeons.
Question: What do the Tarot cards in Persona mean?
Answer: The Tarot cards in the Persona games mean a few things. For one, they can mean the Persona themselves and the category they are in, like the Hanged Man or Devil Arcana. They can also represent characters, such as in the case of the Aeon or Hierophant Arcana.
The Persona Arcana Is the Key
The crux of the Persona Tarot cards is to celebrate the brilliant Arcana system that Atlus has implemented. With it, players are able to enjoy the various Personas and characters that exist across the series. From the Personas themselves that you are able to fuse to the characters you can bond with, the Arcana system is embedded so well into the games.
If it weren’t for the Persona Arcana system, though, there would be almost no reason to play the Persona games as they wouldn’t be so complete and synergized. It is for this reason alone that you shouldn’t stop by only buying or browsing the various Persona-themed Tarot cards that exist.
You should also take a peek at our previous breakdown of the Persona Arcana in its fullest. This will let you know about all of the face cards that exist in the Tarot deck you might be buying soon and how each of these faces connect to the various characters that you meet throughout the Persona series.
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