Persona 3’scast of characters forms one of the most iconic RPG parties in gaming history. Each character gets a good amount of the story dedicated to their personal character development and they’re all useful in combat. Your own personal final boss parties will almost always be different from each other.
Every Mainline Persona Game, Ranked
The Persona series is a beloved staple in the JRPG genre, and here we rank the main games from worst to best.
This raises a question, though: Which party member in this game is the best? With an excellent party, choosing who is better than the others can be extremely difficult. Still, if one were to analyze characters based on factors like their Persona skill, how long they’ve been in the party, and their role in the plot, then the following list of ranking the Persona 3 party members can be formed.
10Shinjiro Aragaki
Only Available for Summer
Placing at the very bottom of the list is Shinjiro Aragaki. While Shinjiro is a great party member to use as he is a killer when it comes to physical attacks, he, by default, needs to place last for one simple reason: He’s only in the party for about one month of game time.
While Shinjiro doesn’t do anything as drastic as betray the party, like Akechi fromPersona 5, various events happen during the Fall of Persona 3 which cause Shinjiro to permanently leave the party. If he were around any longer, he could have placed higher on this list, but as things stand he must guard the bottom.
9Ken Amada
Small in Stature and SP
Following Shinjiro on the list is the one who caused him to leave the party: Ken Amada. While every party member in Persona 3 specializes in a specific type of magic, not all of those types are made equal. Ken’s light-based skills are great for players who want to take a gamble during normal enemy encounters, but their use becomes even more limited against bosses.
If anything, Ken is more useful in a healer/buff distributor role than any sort of attack role. However, it’s hard to consider him when several other characters outclass him in that category. With no real advantages outside his small niche, Ken must rank low on this list.
8Akihiko Sanada
More Than a Meat-head
Next up on the list is Akihiko Sanada, a character who had a lot of depth in the original Persona 3 before getting reduced to a protein machine in various spinoff games. While Akihiko is a great character in the story of Persona 3, when judging him as a party member, he sadly trails behind the rest of the team.
8 Best Personas in Persona 4 Golden
Among the many Personas in Persona 4 Golden, these 8 are so overpowered that they’re almost a guaranteed win condition.
The Persona franchise has always included party members who specialize in physical attacks and minor electricity, but more often than not, these party members get outclassed by either other party members or the protagonist themselves. Akihiko was sadly the first in this trend, so while he is excellent for the early game, he doesn’t have much place in an end-game party and must fall low on this list.
7Yukari Takeba
The Resident Healer
Placing seventh on the list is the first party member the player recruits in the game: Yukari Takeba. Yukari plays a very vital role in the early game of Persona 3 as the team’s main healer. Unlike Akihiko prior in this list, Yukari is never truly outclassed by any other character in this regard. If you want to remain healthy, call upon Yukari.
The only reason Yukari falls low on this list is because of how long it took the Persona fanbase to warm up to her. During the 2000s, Yukari frequently received hate for her attitude and role in The Answer. While fans have begun to warm up to her and appreciate hersocial linkin recent years, she must sit comfortably low on this list for now.
6Junpei Iori
Should’ve Stuck to Baseball
Following Yukari on the list is the party member who joins directly after her: Junpei Iori. While Junpei’s battle kit may not seem useful at first with his weak physical attack and fire magic, the number of enemies in Persona 3 who have a weakness to fire allows him to see plenty of use in the game.
What truly places Junpei above several other party members on this list is his role in the story and what comes of it. His odd romance with Chidori is very endearing and the drama that comes with her being a member of Strega is one of the best arcs in Persona 3. With these plot details and his use in battle in mind, Junpei places just above the middle of this list.
5Mitsuru Kirijo
The Marin Karin Caster
Next up on the list is the ice queen of Gekkoukan High: Mitsuru Kirijo. While Mitsuru starts the game in a navigator role similar to that of Futaba in Persona 5, she’ll fully join the party as a combatant by the end of spring. Despite not knowinghow to eat a burger, once Mitsuru joins the party she’ll immediately carry her own weight with powerful ice skills. Her naturally high SP count also ensures that the player won’t have to worry about her running low on spells often.
Is Metaphor: Refantazio Connected to Shin Megami Tensei/Persona?
Metaphor: ReFantazio comes from the minds behind Shin Megami Tensei and Persona. But are they connected in any way?
What unfortunately prevents Mitsuru from placing higher on this list is her second niche: status effects like Marin Karin. While these are a great asset for specific minibosses in Tartarus, they are very situational compared to the skills that other party members have. So, while her magical attacks rank her as more useful than other party members, she must only rank at the halfway point on this list.
Deadly and Adorable
The next party member on the list got a fair boost in the rankings almost entirely because he’s the most adorable party member in the game: Koromaru! This dog joins the Persona 3 party during the game’s summer and immediately proves himself to be useful with a combination of fire, darkness, and physical attacks.
While his darkness insta-kill attacks fall into the same niche as Ken’s, Koromaru’s extra niches of having strong physical attacks as well as the ability to debilitate boss enemies make him a great end-game party member to have and a great fit for any final boss party. He’d rank higher on this list, but there are just a few party members who pull their weight better than him.
3Fuuka Yamagishi
Fears the Reaper
Placing third on the list is Fuuka Yamagishi. If being cute helped Koromaru’s placement on the list, then that same factor rocketed Fuuka to the top. While she may not actively participate in combat, Fuuka provides plenty of support to the party by analyzing enemy weaknesses and guiding the party through battle.
The Ten Best Personas in Persona 5 Royal, Ranked
These are the top ten personas in Persona 5 Royal.
There’s also an extra skill Fuuka has in the PlayStation 2 version of Persona 3 for players who wish to gamble during battle. As her Oracle skill, which the player can choose to activate, has a chance to either grant massive buffs/heals to the party or reduce them all to 1HP. This unique mechanic leads to plenty of memorable edge-of-your-seat encounters and places Fuuka high up on the list.
Fuuka would later go on to have the best outfit in Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight
Searching for The Answer
Placing second on the list is Aigis, the secondary protagonist of Persona 3 and main characterof The Answer. She not only got the entire FES box art to herself but also frequently represents Persona 3 in the Persona 4 Arena fighting games. This robot companion will be with you to the end and greatly represents the themes of Persona as a whole.
Aside from her fantastic role in the story, Aigis also shines as the best physical attack-focused unit in Persona 3. Activating her Orgia mode and unleashing her on groups of enemies can feel mindless in the best ways. Sometimes the best solution to a problem is simply to punch it very hard. Any player who has Aigis in their end-game party will have no issue chopping through boss fights, more than earning her this second-place slot on the list.
1Makoto Yuki
The Journey’s Protagonist
Topping off this list is, of course, Makoto Yuki, the protagonist of Persona 3 (also known in some media as Minato Arisato). Similar to the protagonists of Persona 4 and Persona 5, Makoto has the ability to use any Persona in the game. This grand ability makes him the most useful party member by default.
While being able to control your party members in future Persona games made the concept of the protagonist being moldable to any role you want not a full necessity, this was invaluable in Persona 3. If one of you party members didn’t make an action you vitally needed, you could pick up their slack yourself and save the team. This function and the personality it gives to Persona 3 make it extremely hard to argue that the protagonist belongs anywhere else on this list.
