The Persona franchise’s Social Link mechanic is what truly separates the series from other games in the JRPG genre. Needing to balance dungeon-crawling gameplay with daily life segments where players need to bond with various characters in the city is what madePersona 3unique at the time it was first released.
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With this in mind, an obvious question is raised. Which Persona 3 Social Link is the best? These were Atlus’ first attempts at this mechanic and while many are fantastic, others are not. While ranking these can be hard, if the player judges them based on factors like their writing quality, how unique they are, and their unlock methods, the following list of the best Social Links can be formed.
The Hermit
Persona 3’sHermit Social Linkis very unique as it is the only Social Link in the series where the player never comes face to face with the person they’re bonding with. Instead, the player and Maya interact solely through the MMO the player can play in their room. This Social Link is filled with old-school internet lingo and emoticons that bring out a sense of nostalgia for older players and leads to many funny interactions as you grow closer to Maya.
Unfortunately, Maya must rank low on this list due to who is behind the keyboard: Isako Toriumi, the protagonist’s teacher. The online flirting Maya does with the player takes a much darker turn when this is taken into account, and although the Social Link is rewritten slightly in Persona 3: Reload, it isn’t enough to save her placement on this list.
14Kenji Tomochika
The Magician
Next up on the list is the very first Social Link players unlock in the game: Kenji of the Magician Arcan, starting a long tradition of The Magician Social Link being the first players unlock in every Persona game. Kenji’s bond conversations are also the simplest in the game, in order to ease players into this new gameplay mechanic.
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In a complete mirror to Maya’s Social Link, Kenji’s portrays the story of a high school boy pining after his teacher. While this doesn’t go into creepy territory like Maya’s Social Link, it doesn’t get uncomfortable as Kenji’s lies force the teacher to switch districts and leave, making Kenji a very unlikable person who falls low on this list.
13Nozomi Suemitsu
Nozomi, also known under the self-proclaimed title Gourmet King, represents the Moon arcana and immediately throws the player for a loop just tobegin his Social Link.The player needs to know various trivia about the mall’s restaurants and give him an odd morsel to even begin his Social Link. Unfortunately, the writing during his bond conversations is only barely worth the ordeal to unlock it.
The Gourmet King’s Social Link ranks very low on this list due to its unfocused nature and little payoff. With various plot points like the scam cult, Nozomi being untrustworthy, and other elements just not mixing well enough together to be an enjoyable read. Nozomi may be the Gourmet King, but he isn’t the king of this list.
12Hidetoshi Odagiri
The Emperor
Next up on the list is the Social Link of the Emperor Arcana: Hidetoshi Odagiri. While Odagiri’s Social Link can be started fairly early in Persona 3, he’s gained a reputation as many players forget to start his Social Link outside the student council room. Chihiro (another student council member) being available at the same time certainly doesn’t help him.
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Aside from the forgetful nature of his Social Link, the actual events within it do very little to endear Odagiri to the player. His strictness over the school dress code and other various sleights don’t make for the most engaging of characters and place him pretty low on this list.
11Keisuke Hiraga
The Fortune
Persona 3’sFortune Social Linkmay be one of the most forgotten Social Links in the franchise, with his largest effect on the player base being a meme that compares his appearance to a specific Nintendo YouTuber. Sadly, the writing and character arc present within his bond conversations isn’t good enough to save him from this fate, making him a below-average Social Link.
For many players, Keisuke’s social link isn’t something they experience in full, but rather something they begin with just to unlock Fuuka’s Social Link and then never interact with again. That kind of doomed forgetfulness curses Keisuke’s Social Link to be placed low on this list.
10Mamoru Hayase
Next up on the list is the Social Link representing the Star Arcana: Mamoru Hayase. The unlock method forHayase’s Social Linkis one of the most unique in the franchise as it requires the player to be a high enough rank in the Chariot Social Link before a specific date in the game.
The content in Hayase’s Social Link is about as interesting as the unlock method. The tale of a boy who must give up his dreams to support his family is a brutal one, but one that strikes close to home for many adults and is the type of Social Link story that could only come from Persona 3. If you have already cleared the conditions to unlock it, you’re able to’t go wrong with spending time with Hayase.
9Kazushi Miyamoto
The Chariot
Kazushi Miyamoto holds the honor of being the very first sports-related Social Link in the Persona franchise, a tradition that each subsequent sequel would uphold. His story about wanting to continue running for as long as he can despite his serious leg injury is expertly written and one of the better early-game Persona 3 Social Links.
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Sadly, despite being a shining example of an early-game Social Link, Kazushi only places in the middle of this list due to several other characters in the game outclassing him. So while he has no inherent flaws, he just isn’t special enough to top this list.
8Bunkichi and Mitsuko
The Hierophant
Persona 3’sHierophant Social Linkis unique in that the player doesn’t bond with a singular character, but rather two people, the old couple who owns the local bookstore: Bunkichi and Mitsuko. This old couple is available to talk nearly every day to nearly every day of the game, which ironically means the player should wait until later to interact with them in order to focus on characters who aren’t always available.
While the bond conversations in the Bunkichi and Mitsuko Social Link are well written, and they are nice characters, there isn’t much about their Social Link that truly makes them stand out from the crowd and, thus, they must be ranked in the middle of this.
7Chihiro Fushimi
The Justice
Next up on the list is Chihiro, the Social Link representative of theJustice Arcanaand the first romanceable Social Link that the player is able to unlock. Chihiro’s bond conversations tell a great tale of a girl who slowly expands her social boundaries thanks to the player and, unlike several prior Social Links on this list, she doesn’t have any baggage that makes completing her Social Link uncomfortable.
Of the romanceable Social Links in Persona 3, Chihiro unfortunately ranks in last place due to her reputation for having her romance creep up on players and lock them into it. (This doubly applies to the original Persona 3 where players could not say no to romancing a girl.) So while her Social Link is greatly written, this reputation she has among the fanbase places her lower than she would have otherwise been.
The Temperance
Bebe’s dialogue may be difficult to read at times due to his strange French accent, but that doesn’t stop his Social Link of the Temperance Arcana from ranking high on this list, as Bebe brings to the table something that very few other Persona 3 Social Links do: intentional comedy.
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Watching Bebe not understand Japanese culture can be very amusing to watch, especially when the game allows you to feed into this understanding by telling Bebe the wrong things to say in various situations. While other Social Links may bring out various emotions in the player and thus rank higher, having a good laugh with Bebe is still a fine way to spend your time in Persona 3.
