There are nine playable characters in Persona 3 Reload, but not all of them are equally powerful. Based on the original version of Persona 3, Reload brings all nine of its original party members to a brand-new remake for a new generation. However, it leaves out two potential party members from its prior re-releases: the female protagonist Kotone Shiomi from Persona 3 Portable, and Metis from Persona 3 FES‘s exclusive epilogue, The Answer. Playable characters are recruited automatically as the story progresses, and Persona 3 Reload‘s Social Links can help level them up outside combat.
Besides the protagonist, who can take on multiple Personas at once, each Persona 3 Reload character has a single Persona, completely exclusive to them. As a result, each character’s power ranking is primarily judged on their Persona’s abilities. The efficiency of their Persona throughout different regions of Tartarus must also be considered. Reload‘s new battle mechanics, especially Theurgy, are also part of the equation. Theurgy grants each character extra-powerful skills once its gauge is full. With all that considered, these are the playable characters in Persona 3 Reload, ranked from weakest to strongest.
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9 Junpei Is Only Good For One Thing
Persona: Hermes
Sorry, Junpei. After Yukari, Junpei is the second SEES member to become available as a playable character. As a result, his battle mechanics are some of the easiest to understand: put him in front of a Shadow, and hit it hard. Junpei wields two-handed swords and the Persona Hermes, who specializes in Physical skills with the occasional Fire spell. However, his over-reliance on Physical attacks makes Hermes one of the weakest Personas in the game, especially at higher levels of Tartarus where exploiting elemental weaknesses becomes vital to victory.
Junpei isn’t totally useless – when Physical damage is called for, Junpei can certainly dish it out. His damage-dealing Theurgy skills, Hack n’ Blast and Blaze of Life, are powerful, if not terribly unique. However, he’s quickly outpaced by other Strength-based Personas, making him the least effective SEES member in Persona 3 Reload.
8 Shinjiro Is Stronger Than Junpei, But Still Limited
Persona: Castor
Junpei and Hermes’ physical strength is put to shame the moment Shinjiro joins the party. Backed up by his Persona Castor, Shinjiro deals stunning amounts of Physical damage with each and every one of his moves. In particular, the combination of Power Charge and any Physical move can deal double the normal damage, with the one caveat being that this synergy takes two turns to activate.
Unlike Junpei, Shinjiro only has moves of a single element, but he more than makes up for that in sheer attack power, especially with his Theurgy skill Bleeding Fury. Unfortunately, Shinjiro is only available as a player character for a very limited time. It’s nice to have him while he’s around, but he doesn’t last long enough to be as useful as most of the other SEES members.
7 Ken Is Versatile, But Weak
Persona: Nemesis
Recruited midway through Persona 3 Reload, Ken can summon the Persona Nemesis and wield spears. He lacks the physical prowess of Junpei and Shinjiro, but his greatest strength is his flexibility. Nemesis can use both Light and Electric-elemental skills from the very start, both of which only get better as Ken levels up. Light skills have limited applicability – they’re mostly instant-kill moves with low chances to hit, which can mean a lot of wasted SP. Electric, however, is a much more common weakness, and is useful throughout the game.
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Ken also has access to powerful healing skills: Diarama (heals one party member’s HP) and Recarm (revives a downed ally). His Theurgy skill grants him powerful attacks when his SP is low. But he doesn’t excel in either role – he’s neither the best DPS nor the best healer. If another party member isn’t available, or the player is exploring a new area and doesn’t quite know what skills they need, Ken is a decent choice. However, other playable characters fill both of Ken’s niches more effectively.
6 Koromaru Is Indispensable (At Times)
Persona: Cerberus
Koromaru is a stray dog first befriended by SEES support member Fuuka. Eventually, it’s revealed that Koromaru has a Persona of his own: the aptly canine Cerberus. Cerberus’ abilities are mostly either Light or Dark, which means Koromaru suffers from some of the same problems as Ken. Many of his skills are instakill attacks, which have low chances to hit. However, there are a few areas of Tartarus where Dark-weak enemies abound, so Koromaru is basically required for completing those floors quickly and efficiently.
Koromaru can also use certain high-level Fire-elemental attacks, making him useful even when he’s not exploiting enemy weaknesses. His Theurgy skills include a powerful Dark attack, along with the ability to double all allies’ physical damage on the next turn. He doesn’t have the greatest stats, but he can hold his own, and he’s a vital part of the party in certain sections of the game.
5 Yukari Is Persona 3 Reload’s Best Healer
Persona: Io
The first member of SEES to become playable alongside the protagonist, Yukari is present for the entirety of the game. And the party’s going to need her, because Yukari is the most effective healer in Persona 3 Reload. Her Persona Io can take on some of the most powerful healing skills in the game: Mediarama to restore HP to the entire party, Recarm to revive them, and a full set of debuff-removing spells to deal with anything Shadows throw at the party.
Other than that, Yukari can deal some damage with passable Wind-elemental skills, or a wide variety of bows. Her Theurgy skills add an even more powerful Wind attack, and can double allies’ magic damage on the next turn. She doesn’t have the highest HP or defense, but with her healing skills, she’s likely to remain in the party’s regular rotation until the very end of the game.
4 Aigis Is A Vital Support Character
Persona: Palladion
Where Yukari is responsible for healing and de-debuffing, Aigis excels at buffing the Persona 3 Reload party. Her Persona Palladion’s full moveset includes the entire suite of -kaja skills, each of which raises a particular stat for one or multiple allies. Interspersed with those are some half-decent Physical attacks, and one or two high-powered healing moves.
Even apart from her Persona, Aigis herself has some decent stats. She’d be in the top three if it weren’t for her lackluster Theurgy skill, Orgia Mode. Once Aigis activates her Theurgy skill, she deals a ton of damage to all enemies at once, before going unresponsive and refusing to take commands until she cools off. Still, she can work well in a variety of situations, and is all-around an excellent ally to have.
3 Mitsuru Is A High-Damage, High-Agility Caster
Persona: Penthesilea
Mitsuru first serves as SEES’ navigator, issuing commands from the sidelines until Fuuka takes over. But as soon as she joins the party, players will wonder how they ever managed without her. Specializing in quick slashes with her fencing épées and Penthesilea’s Shadow-shattering Ice skills, Mitsuru is one of the best DPS characters in Persona 3 Reloaded. She also has access to a couple of healing skills, and can inflict status effects like Charm and Panic on enemies.
With Analysis, Mitsuru can reveal the weaknesses of unfamiliar Shadows, which makes her indispensable when exploring new areas of Tartarus for the first time. Her Theurgy skills are just more powerful versions of her regular spells – not terribly interesting, but still pretty useful.
2 The Protagonist Is Persona 3 Reload’s Wild Card
Persona: Various
As is the case in many party-based RPGs, it’s not much of a surprise to see the protagonist of Persona 3 Reload near the top of the power rankings. He has the unique ability to summon multiple Personas – up to six at the beginning of the game, and up to 12 by the end. He does this by collecting them in games of three-card monte (or “Shuffle Time,” as Persona calls it) after certain battles, collecting whichever Personas he selects from a randomly shuffled deck.
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As a result, the protagonist of Persona 3 Reload can be whatever the player wants: a healer, a tank, a DPS, or all three at once. It’s generally best to make him a jack of all trades, filling in gaps in the party comp as needed, and having access to as many different elements as possible. His Theurgy skills depend entirely on which Personas he’s collected, fused, and equipped, so he’s a truly customizable character, and excels in any role.
1 Akihiko Is Persona 3 Reload’s Best Playable Character
Persona: Polydeuces
Akihiko is first introduced alongside Mitsuru as a founding member of SEES, and he clearly has the experience to back it up. A trained boxer, Akihiko deals some of the party’s highest physical damage without even using his Persona. And when he does summon Polydeuces, it’s a whole different story: with access to a complete arsenal of high-damage Electric skills, and one of the most impressive stat spreads in the entire game, Akihiko is easily the strongest playable character in Persona 3 Reload.
Akihiko does have access to a few buffing or healing skills, but he likely won’t need them. Like most DPS characters, his Theurgy skills are also focused on elemental attacks, allowing him to do what he does best: damage, plain and simple. His stats are well above average in every category, which means he can take as much damage as he dishes out. It takes a while to recruit Akihiko, but once a player does, he’s bound to stay in the party until the final fight.
Regardless of their placement on this list, every Persona 3 Reload character brings something to the table. There’s a time and place for every single one of them – even Junpei’s basic Physical skills are excellent in the early levels of Tartarus, and against certain weak bosses. While synergy and party composition are important, perfect optimization isn’t always possible because the player doesn’t always know what to expect. As a result, it’s best to experiment with different characters and party comps in order to beat Persona 3 Reload.
Persona 3 Reload
Announced during the Xbox 2023 Showcase, Persona 3 Reload is a full remake of the original classic released on PlayStation 2. Persona 3 follows the protagonist as he moves into a new student dormitory, only to become soon swept up in a dark, world-consuming mystery. Discovering he is one of the few that can experience a secret hour of the day filled with danger, he must step up and utilize his hidden power to push back the shadows of the night.
- Franchise
- Persona
- Platform(s)
- PC , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S
- Released
- February 2, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Atlus
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Genre(s)
- Action , Life Simulation , RPG
- ESRB
- M
- Prequel(s)
- Persona 2: Innocent Sin , Persona 2: Eternal Punishment , Persona
- Sequel(s)
- Persona 4 Golden , Persona 4 Arena Ultimax , Persona 5 , Persona 5 Royal
