The protagonist is a character from Persona 3, a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. In the game, the protagonist is an orphan who transfers to Gekkoukan High School in Iwatodai City and discovers a phenomenon called the Dark Hour during which supernatural entities called Shadows roam freely. After awakening an ability called Persona, the protagonist joins their classmates in forming the Specialized Extracirricular Execution Squad (S.E.E.S.), dedicated to eliminating the Dark Hour and the threat of the Shadows. In the original release of Persona 3 and the updated versions Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Reload the protagonist is male; for Persona 3 Portable, Atlus added the option to play as a different character, who is female, to provide more options to returning players and attract a female demographic.

Persona 3, released outside Japan as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus that is the fourth main installment in the Persona series, which is part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2006 and in North America in 2007. It has received several enhanced re-releases and ports: Persona 3 FES, an extended version featuring a new playable epilogue and other changes, was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2007 and worldwide in 2008. An abridged PlayStation Portable version, Persona 3 Portable, was released in Japan in 2009, North America in 2010, and Europe in 2011, and ported to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023. Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the core game for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, was released on February 2, 2024.