Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth builds on the concept of the first game and expands the crossover with characters from Persona 5, connecting heroes from three different games in one dungeon crawler. A group of students finds itself trapped inside strange movie worlds referencing various film genres, from horror to westerns, and must fight their way out through labyrinths full of puzzles and battles. Two brand-new characters created specifically for this entry also join the party, serving as guides for players unfamiliar with previous Persona games.

The combat system again builds on turn-based battles with Personas and exploiting elemental weaknesses, this time enriched with new mechanics such as special abilities tied to individual movie worlds and an improved labyrinth navigation system. Hand-drawing the map on the bottom screen remains the basis of exploration, though compared to the first game it guides the player more and reduces the demands on orientation. The graphics combine the characteristic Persona style with colorful, cinema-themed stylization for each world, and the music was once again handled by the team around Shoji Meguro and Atlus's sound studio, with each movie world getting its own distinctive musical theme.

New Cinema Labyrinth came out near the very end of the 3DS's life cycle and was received as a fitting farewell to both the platform and the spin-off series, even though some fans missed a sense of novelty compared to the first game. Once again, the careful work with humor and the chemistry between characters from different schools and generations was a widely praised element. Even so, it is praised for its generous content, the elaborate interactions between characters from three Persona generations, and for managing to offer a still-fresh experience on an aging handheld. Today it is regarded as a dignified full stop on the JRPG era of the Nintendo 3DS.