Every Persona 3 Social Link Ranked

[@FunkyGhost37]

The core of why P3's S Links are seen less favorably as 4 & 5's is because in 3 you're basically just enabling the hell out of these peoples' problems, before they come back to bite them, and then go "Damn that's crazy. [RANK UP]"

[@sjk8495]

Easily my biggest issue with Kaz's social link and why I consider it my least favorite, even worse than Nozomi's social link. I don't see Joker stooping to that low, and future Persona games better not have similar social links.

[@EM-xw1dm]

@@sjk8495 oh lord kazushi’s social link frustrated the hell out of me. JUST GO TO THE DAMN HOSPITAL!!

[@sjk8495]

@@EM-xw1dm Hence why I despise it more than even Nozomi's since at least with that one, you don't really encourage his toxic behavior via your responses.

[@colorfulmoth]

Yeah, that's my main issue. I'm glad they switched from "say what the social link wants to hear" to "be a reasonable friend"

[@sjk8495]

@@colorfulmoth I know on my side, as someone who played P5R and P3R, I remember the P5R confidants far more than the P3R social links. It also helps that with some of the P5R confidants such as Hifumi, Chihaya, Sojiro, and Iwai, handling their Mementos requests doesn't automatically fix everything for them since in their confidant stories, they still have an issue or two to confront such as Hifumi's mother's cheating scandal, the aftermath of the downfall of Chihaya's boss, and so forth.

[@RuuneYT]

If Akinari isn’t in the top 5, I’ll join the Doom Syndicate

[@ProvBackup]

Top 5? Nah he should be in the top 3

[@asomelord]

If Akinari isn't #1 I will do the same

[@SMA2343]

Akanari is number 1 of all time. Then when you met his mother. I’ll be fair I cried a long time. Especially when she said “I’ll do everything. Everything that Akanari couldn’t. I’ll eat the finest foods. Travel to exotic places. And when I met him I’ll have so many stories to tell him” or even the “I’m so glad to have been your son.”

[@donovanlocust1106]

You mean Strega?

[@MAROKARTS]

I have good news

[@Tommedian]

The Tanaka social link is basically a simulator for being the cricket in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

[@AlneCraft]

"YOU'RE AN IRREDEEMABLE MONSTER!" "Oh what took you so long?"

[@leithaziz2716]

"I Hate Talking Animals" Good thing he hasn't met Morgana.

[@Mediados]

The only reason Tanaka even talked to Makoto is because his naivety personally bothered him.

[@leonardchurch814]

Junpeis social link in P3P is such a massive twist into how I would have expected his route to go. When I played it I was kinda shocked how much of a bro he was to FeMC, actively going out of his way to protect her and find whoever it was selling pictures of her. Genuinely the sweetest thing I’ve seen in a social link.

[@toonzach2870]

Junpei and Roger (my name for the P3 mc, iykyk) are like friendly rivals, while I could imagine him and Kotone acting like a couple of dudebros.

[@emilravn3291]

Femc and Junpei seem more like best friends than Makoto and Junpei does

[@DRAG0NSPIRIT10]

@@emilravn3291 When I was playing through Reload it honestly felt like Yukari was my buddy/bro, rather than Junpei.

[@vtubermissingno]

As someone who played 3 portable femc blind recently I was devastated when i found out you couldn't date junpei. But with how incredible his relationship with chidori was? That was worth it.

[@lancerguy3667]

I think the gender really makes the difference for Junpei here. With Makoto, there’s a machismo and self loathing thing going on as he has to contend with his inadequacy toward Makoto’s “I’m you, but better” energy in the party’s dynamic. He doesn’t feel like he and FeMC are trying to fill the same role in the party, so he can just vibe.

[@AMTRAX]

Aight #16 ain’t bad~! I had a lot of fun voicing Hidetoshi in Reload, so I’ve been looking forward to this video. Have a nice week, man!

[@chrisrose4703]

oh shit, it's him

[@osakadioh]

aint no way lmao

[@Gintoki_Freecss]

Holy shit!

[@Ashtonyss]

You certainly elevated his link for me. Thank you!

[@AyAylinJJ]

You gotta see Hidetoshi in femc route! He's so cute

[@LinkleMcA]

Fun fact, the #1 social link is canon when you consider that the only way it can be referenced in later games requires the main protagonist to have completed it fully. Best P3 social link is also required completion.

[@thevioletbee5879]

I just assume any non-branching social link is canon.

[@Jimmylikehalo]

When is it referenced? I actually didn't know

[@LinkleMcA]

@@Jimmylikehalo If I recall correctly it is referenced in Kanji's social link. I'll do a few line breaks to avoid spoiling for others. Essentially, he overtly references the Pink Alligator book and the only way that gets written and published requires the social link to be completed.

[@EpslionBear]

​@@LinkleMcAthere's a second reference. In P4G, Nanako also has the book for homework in her Social link.

[@imgayyyy2213]

@@EpslionBear Actually I think Nanako had the book for homework in Adachi's social link, he offers to help her with it, but yeah.

[@lckaboom6810]

54:24 I’m so glad you acknowledged this; the amount of times Yukari’s link absolutely breaks my heart knowing the ending is insane. Like, she spends literally the entire conversation on 3/4 talking about their future together if you do her romance route.

[@RilesIsTall]

When the ending of P3R happened, I was absolutely crushed purely because of how it would impact Yukari. She was who I romanced and she genuinely might be my favorite romance option in any Persona game purely because of how you dating her impacts her. She lost her dad. She doesn't talk to her mom. She has friends, sure, but no one she's close to to that level. And then she falls in love with a guy. And she gets closer to him than she's gotten to anyone in her life since her dad died. She starts talking about her future with this guy and they make plans together. AND THEN THAT GUY FUCKING DIES. I cried so hard over how that would impact Yukari and while I haven't gotten to play The Answer yet, I know you'll see that on full display and I need to see it.

[@ivanpalomo1586]

Same here, the scene of her at the end invitung you to eat with her mom ouch that hurts

[@lckaboom6810]

⁠​⁠@@RilesIsTall Yes, exactly. It fucking hurts! I do like how The Answer focuses on her; she gets good catharsis and a pretty happy ending, all things considered. And to go a step further, P4 Arena shows that she’s doing well for herself and has good strong friendships with Aigis and Mitsuru. But it’s impossible to shake the thoughts of what could have been.

[@grammy_hnng]

dude yukari sweep, also you can accidentally be gay with her in p3p because of a translation error

[@Antasma1]

I always took issue that what she does in The Answer only works if she was the canon romance option

[@brandonhughes4076]

Akinari's social link, in my opinion, is the magnum opus of the social link system. It does everything a social link should do. It lets the player feel like they're having an effect on the character, while also letting the character develop with independence. It ties into the game's themes incredibly. It has the perfect amount of emotional weight. It just does everything right, from beginning to end

[@AceCaster]

I am overjoyed that someone can appreciate Saori's social link this much. Her story in particular is one that just hits extremely hard as a female player, and honestly she's my greatest reason to have mourned the FeMC option getting axed from Reload. Getting to know her, befriending her, seeing her struggles and sorrows, then helping her reach a version of herself she's happier with is honestly one of, if not my favorite experience in gaming stories ever. Genuinely had to take a moment and breathe once I read her letter in March

[@gravityemblem8931]

Saori is one of my top three fictional characters EVER. I just relate to her so deeply

[@TheMinecraftMan757]

The FeMC mod for Reload is looking lovely. Maybe they'll integrate Saori at some point!

[@longforari]

Seriously she's slept on so hard and i think that link alone is why so many people love the FeMC and want the more female protagonists. P3P put so much effort in showing the casual lecherous behavior guys and girls alike show towards women that men don't have to deal with by playing as a girl. That kind of immersion needs to exist more in games that allow gender options that want immersion. Also I think this is one of the only (if not the only) social links about a girl in Persona that isn't centered on aher relationship with a guy changing her in some way or another. FeMC brings out Soari's confident, rule-breaking side and Saori brings out FeMC's protective, proactive side and it's entirely because of their solidarity together as women. It also goes a far way in making Toriumi look better (not to say her being flawed through her Link is bad per se) by letting us see how her lax view of the job can benefit students (also helps that in that timeline she's not oogling her student).

[@ansonprydejr.1432]

23:24 I think Ryoji's SL is more meant to show Kotone's depression that she keeps tucked away, and not wear it on her sleeve like Makoto does. Her dialogue options are a drastic tonal shift from her usual, and I think that deserves some credit

[@GalaxyGod332]

While I love Akinari’s social link, his epilogue is what gets me every time. Ending his story with a final message. Not from him, but rather his mom. Her telling us that we should look after our loved ones and making sure that we let them know that we love them before they’re gone. It’s simple, yet a beautiful message I’ll always cherish.

[@voxatious3920]

I absolutely agree. I cried 4 times during my playthrough of Reload. Talking to Akinari's mom was the 3rd time

[@LinkDing]

1:09:05 that's not just an expression, that's a real thing cat's do. They do it because they don't want their corpse to attract predators to their families. Of course that's not gonna happen because modern times and all. But hey, that cats are trying to keep you safe in an extremely sad way.

[@LinkleMcA]

Yeah. It's really sad if you own a cat and they do it. You don't see them for days and it's tragic. Sometimes, though, the cat chooses somewhere they consider safe instead like near the beds of those they sleep with.

[@mrcat4508]

My brother find our cat in his closet he was shocked and my other brother who took care of the cat the most cried for days Edit: its another reason 2020 is the worst year

[@nachohangover5104]

It's even true of big cats. One wildlife photographer said he's spent decades taking pictures of big cats. Never came across one of their corpses unless it was killed by another animal.

[@BusterCorp]

Editors Note for The Ken Segment: I dont think I could've handled editing another G Tier Entry after the Wii U Battle Mode segment. Thanks for sparing me James.

[@havvomusic]

Lmao

[@SupMonkey]

168 Likes and only ONE comment??? Let me change that 😎😎😎😎😎😎

[@TheFolklorist]

I really wish Fuuka's link went more into her being nerdy and tech saavy.

[@ShinDSER]

Still best girl though!

[@Antasma1]

It’s cute seeing her try, but at least they delve into it a tiny bit in the epilogue

[@exodosthesoulbanish]

It would of been fun if we got her to start an engineering club

[@GoopVideos]

After 9 weeks in development, hopefully, it’ll have been worth the wait!

[@zuppoblitz6627]

Goop do you think EmpLemon will ever complete his YTP Tennis with MasterJoJ?

[@tom9841]

GOURMET SWEEP

[@revolvingworld2676]

It was definitely worth the weight

[@wumbocookies9015]

1:07:37 HOLY SHIT DID YOU ADD THAT HSM BAD LIP READING REFERENCE??? i haven't thought about that video in YEARS, literally one of the funniest things i've ever seen posted to youtube, thank you so much for reminding me of it

[@aunteggmaniac]

timestamps: 28th: Kenji (2:04) 27th: Nozomi (3:54) 26th: Pharos (6:43) 25th: Ken (7:55) 24th: Mitsuru (11:19) 23rd: Fuuka (14:39) 22nd: Bebe (17:34) 21st: Koromaru (20:11) 20th: Ryoji (21:49) 19th: Junpei (23:32) 18th: Tanaka (25:59) 17th: Rio (28:28) 16th: Hidetoshi (30:36) 15th: Mamoru (32:37) 14th: Mutatsu (37:29) 13th: Chihiro (39:58) 12th: Bunkichi & Mitsuko (42:33) 11th: Kazushi (44:36) 10th: Akihiko (46:50) 9th: Keisuke (48:30) 8th: Yukari (52:21) 7th: Maya (54:52) 6th: Yuko (58:07) 5th: Shinjiro (1:01:02) 4th: Maiko (1:05:16) 3rd: Aigis (1:07:37) 2nd: Saori (1:12:05) 1st: Akinari (1:15:51)

[@omarrangelchavez8937]

And the woman with white hair? Forget her name lol

[@m4y013]

​@@omarrangelchavez8937 no that's all of it

[@Emily12471]

So i am booing him for three reasons Or just one boo three times as loud

[@sjk8495]

@@omarrangelchavez8937 Elizabeth? She doesn't have a social link in P3, so she doesn't qualify for the list.

[@thatll-do7606]

I just got back from my sister's funeral, and man. Akinari's link hit extra hard today, in the most oddly comforting way

[@anerdwithamic]

I’m so sorry for your loss…

[@thatll-do7606]

Thanks, it happens, but damn

[@skulllatte3352]

It makes me SO happy to see the love for Shinjiro and Saori’s social links, two amazing stories that a lot of people don’t get to experience because of not being interested in the FeMC route. Saori, Shinjiro and Akinari’s routes perfectly encapsulate the themes of P3 to me. Wonderfully executed in a short period of time making you fall in love with these characters, making their departures hit so, so hard. Seeing more people fall in love with a game that changed me so much, especially some of my favourite characters makes me so happy :) One of the major themes about Persona 3 is irrevocably about death. But to me, another major theme is life itself. The game asks you, “you have a finite time on this world - how will you spend it?” And while I think all the social links revolve around this theme, those three do it amazingly.

[@blakefisher296]

Ok but in defense of Bebe’s link, it was so simple that it looped back around to being interesting (for me anyway). He’s so silly, I NEED to help him make a fancy dress to save him from being forced to go to France.

[@EM-xw1dm]

@@blakefisher296 EXACTLY i loved bebe’s link so much i thought it was the funniest thing.

[@newsystembad]

_No one_ deserves being forced to live in France. 😭 Except the Quebecoise, since wanna pretend to be French so bad

[@BaronBadLuck]

I love Bebe, but the Kimono looks like a mish-mash of random fabrics to me at the end

[@mercurysnake274]

I think Mitsuru’s link is slightly better in Kotone’s route, as there’s somewhat of an extra layer to the whole arranged marriage bit, with Mitsuru questioning if “she’s” ever going to be needed by the Kirijo Group, referring to her as a person, and not just the fact that she’s a woman. I still agree that it’s not the most engaging social link out there but that makes it slightly more interesting imo

[@kaitlynmorgan8097]

What sucks is that the ideas for fuuka getting into electronics more by making a club and exploring bebe's grief with his uncle dont come up until the last day of the game. Those really should've been the focus of the links

[@sunstormnova]

Something this video doesn't go into (and I don't blame Schaff for not knowing about it, I only found out by chance) is that in Saori's epilogue scene, you find out that when she was younger she dated someone who ended up killing himself, and she blames herself for it, claiming she pushed him into a corner. What's more, her parents also blamed her, so sent her abroad for two whole years as punishment, with the only way she could find solace being to pray for his soul at a church. I can't put into words how much of a shock it was when I discovered it. I already loved her social link, but wholly christ, no wonder she was so passive when we first met her. What a horrible thing to happen to anyone, especially someone as young as her.

[@turbobist2889]

10:29 Feels weird hearing schaffrillas say the f word, but without dolphin noises

[@alexmills9223]

Agreed.

[@SuperPlaytendo]

Not even Mario Kart 8’s battle mode and Megamind VS The Doom Syndicate made him drop an uncensored F bomb.

[@homerunhitter9024]

It really fits the fact that they really let you groom a minor for some fucking reason.

[@mobster503]

you know shit is getting serious when there no funny censor sound effect

[@turbobist2889]

​@SuperPlaytendo Not even Nukie(A movie so awful it made him cry from how bad it was) made him drop an uncensored f bomb

[@veebehamfil]

You perfectly described the problems I had with Mitsuru's Social Link! I personally prefer it in the FeMC route because it at least gives us closure on her struggles as a woman in a male-dominated society to the point where Mitsuru starts questioning her femininity instead of just simply being like "im a sheltered rich girl experiencing things i haven't" then segwaying to "oh hey i am in an arranged marriage and i don't like it but i'm conflicted." Like yeah it's impossible for her to open up to Makoto about that specific struggle, but the more natural part of her character shines better with Kotone to listen to it. Also Rank 8 made me cringe somewhat even though I was cheering for her to tear that guy apart. Randomly declaring she wants to be with Makoto now and forever felt out of character but in an off-putting way instead of the "oh she's awesome" way, if you know what I mean...

[@BrownCharlie1]

If Kenji really wanted to date his teacher, then he should've became a Persona protag

[@catloaff]

You missed the difference in Mitsuru FEMC route link where after she revealed her fiance she lamented about how women in the Kirijo family is only meaningful after they got eloped, that alone made the link so much better for me. In male route she only got embarassed because she liked the protagonist lol, they didn't change it on Reload either

[@LinkDing]

The only thing about removing Kendo as a club activity choice that I dislike is it takes away from the cool bit of background detail that most SEES members gain their weapon proficiency from a school club or sport they're interested in. This of course meaning Makoto gets his sword proficiency from being apart of the Kendo club

[@donroxas]

Hey, so I just finished this video. My grandpa died this summer, right before I bought Persona 3 Reload, and seeing your analysis of Akinari’s social link made me cry much more than I thought I would. I loved his social link from the get go, but your analysis was perfect. I loved my grandpa, and since he died, I learned a lot from what he told us on his deathbed. One of the last things he told us was « I am a happy man », and God it may be the most important thing I’ve learned in my life. Much like Akinari and the pink alligator, the last thing he did brought so many things to the others, but the pink alligator didn’t know it. My life has been changed since he died, I appreciate the little pleasures in life more often, I smile more often, I’m happy more often, because I want my life to end like my Grandpa’s : surrounded by my family, with a smile on my face and knowing I am a happy man. Thank you for this analysis. You’ve brought up words I needed to hear, and I’m so grateful for this.

[@celestee2264]

As someone who's dear grandpa also passed away but didn't get to hear his final words, your comment really moved me. I know my grandpa was happy with the life he led. Right now I'm going through a stressful time so I'll borrow a bit of your experience and try to smile more for his sake.

[@krowking123]

Man, I’m so pumped for GOURMET KING TO TOP THE STANDINGS LETS *FUCKING GOOOOOO*

[@thisisaterribleargument_but]

HELL YEAH BROTHER GOURMET SWEEP

[@Not_Alanius]

But for real as a Gourmet King apologist I am *very* glad he wasn't in last place...u-uhh I mean LESSGO GOURMET KING SWEEPS

[@OrigamiAhsoka]

Ummm

[@AyAylinJJ]

I love Hidetoshi soo much especially in femc route. When he confesses to you but doesn't act on it cuz he wants to be better for you. Wish you had mentioned this

[@Laurmachi]

Hidetoshi is tragic as he's not romance-able by the FemC. Like half of Kotone's romance options die, while another is Ken. Can we just have some normal romances for once for this girl? Whatever, Akihiko is sweet enough.

[@blakefisher296]

Your options are: A meathead Dead guy Death guy Guy whose girlfriend is dead so you can’t actually date him Child Robot A one night stand with a god-like being Aaaaaand that’s it have fun

[@AlexDayz]

Yea the balance for the romance options is P3 is wacky. Most of MaleMC and FemC options are party members, with only one or two being non-party. Future games have a pretty good balance between the two, especially Persona 5

[@infinitypercival5958]

Making Ryoji a romance option felt like a big mistake too. They should've just kept Keisuke as the Fortune Social Link's character and romance option.

[@subzer0girl313]

You might not be able to romance Hidetoshi, but he does confess his love for FemC if you talk to him in the epilogue.

[@lautael5299]

And he even admits he's fallen for you! Argh

[@boshman11]

Going in here with the intent to write an Akinari comment and immediately seeing a ton of them is heartwarming And Schaff's ranking is right

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

Mechanics aside, I adore Aki’s link. It’s such a beautiful, heartwarming and endearing link. Watching Akihiko fall in love with you and open up to you about his struggles, insecurities and past trauma while opening his heart to you just is so adorable. And yes he is a dumbass when it comes to genuine human emotions but it’s because he’s been so focused on being strong that, as he says himself, he didn’t care about anything else. And watching him learn how to become human again by falling in love with you and being with you is just so sweet. It definitely made me absolutely adore Akihiko and why he’s my favorite character in the game.

[@Armydillo62o]

Oh? What’s that? My opportunity to gush about Persona 3 Portable? Well, since you offered. I absolutely love the way Yukari treats the FeMC compared to the male protag. Yukari is my favorite P3 character, and to see her so friendly and open to you right out of the gate, because at that point in the game she just really wanted a girl her age that she could be friends with, made my heart melt. I feel like it really added not only layers of texture to Yukari herself, but really reinforced the idea that FeMC is not just a genderswapped protagonist. This isn’t Skyrim: people in the real world WILL treat you differently depending on gender. And I love how consistently P3P nails that. Mitsuru, while still aloof and a bit hard to approach, will take your side more and backs you up whenever Junpei says something dumb. Or how Junpei is *completely* different from what you expect because he doesn’t feel like he should do his usual bro routine. All of SEES and ESPECIALLY Aigis are so well characterized already, and it’s so cool how changing the protag’s gender isn’t this minuscule thing, but drastically affects how her life goes. Especially in high school. Also, on Saori, the “girl who’s an outcast that doesn’t get into the romance affairs of her peers but ends up being the subject of nasty rumors?” Let’s just say there’s a pretty popular fan-canon that makes me VERY glad she was not in the male route, much less dateable. Also how did you not mention MY BOY THEO

[@miviekat4380]

i wish you talked about the friendship route of Aigis's social link on Reload, i think it gave that social link more points, especially because she takes a photo with you, which she couldn't on the day when everyone thought they ended the Dark Hour, and what she says on that rank, it made me so emocional

[@sjk8495]

Yeah that platonic ending made her social link fantastic for me and gives her badly needed character development.

[@The_Pikaboi]

Still think the best part of Akinari is that Messiah mimics Akinari's pose from the original game. You saw him realise his meaning, and that moment inspires Makoto own meaning

[@pippyharrison9745]

As someone who's only played femc route (but watched all the male links), Mitsuru (femc) is my favourite social link, and Mitsuru (male mc) is my least favourite. In the femc version, she talks more about how she feels that as a woman, she's not seen as a person but a vessel to be married off. I think of her rank 6 event all the time. In comparison, the male version just feels empty, and the rank 8 event comes off more like "I won't marry my fiance cause I'm in love with the protag." than "I won't marry my fiance cause I have the strength to stand on my own." It's brought up how much Ryoji and Akihiko feel like dating sim links, but tbh my main issue with most of the male protag links with female characters is how they all fall for the protag really quickly and make it so obvious it's annoying. I know this comes from the fact that the romances in the original P3 started way earlier, but Yukari being like "I wouldn't mind you buying me flowers" in like rank 2 is insane. Anyway femc romances are better cause they pander to me. Anyway, I'm really glad to see Saori so high. She and Rio portray female friendship in really different ways, and they both resonate with me super hard.

[@nonagon7385]

I watched some of the femc social links on KZbin because I don’t have time to play P3P rn but still wanted to know what they were like, and Mitsuru’s rank 8 hits so much harder there, and I noticed that without even having played the game. I don’t think it could’ve been carried over at all into the male route in Reload but I wish the platonic only route in Reload tried harder at it regardless

[@solidskullz5736]

Akinari, Chihiro, and Mitsuru are probably my favorites. Akinari leaving something behind before the end, Chihiro learning to stand up for herself, and Mitsuru learning that not everything should be determined by her status

[@lenaflower2916]

I think this kinda highlights how much more personable Femc is (at least when compared to Door-kun). I will never get over that she legitimately has a romance with Aigis and the incredible bond she forms with Junpei, Yukari, Rio, and Saori. If Atlus (by some miracle) brings her to reload or makes another female protagonist, I hope they keep the energy and personality she brings. She’s also one of only 2 queer persona protagonists so maybe that’s why she so much funner to play as…

[@ArcaneSeason4]

Akinari made me feel something a game had never made me feel before when I played Persona 3 FES for the first time about a year ago His story made me forget that I was playing a game and simply being told a story, it just felt so *real* to me. Every time Sunday rolled around, I would rush to the shrine in genuine, real fear that any one of these hang-outs could be the last time I saw him, and that any one of these weeks could be the one where he would be gone. And that alongside the ending and the epilogue in march cemented it as one of the greatest stories I've ever experienced in a game.

[@Raincally]

A real solider for ranking the changed social links on P3R instead of the original, glad I'm not the only one who thinks it's a decent remake.

[@TheRawyan]

I know righttt

[@thoreoau]

A lot of people love P3R especially for that reason, you're definitely not in the minority. I think most of the criticism towards the game comes from its art direction.

[@Raincally]

@ I beg to differ tbh, the art looks gorgeous in this game rather than the original.

[@thoreoau]

@@Raincally It's just a matter of preference, but that's where most of the criticism has been for the remake. Art is inherently subjective- it doesn't mean the negative opinions on its direction are invalid.

[@therealsebastiandebeste6223]

That is the most cold take in existence A couple KZbinrs making videos about how they like the atmosphere and animated cutscenes of the original does not make your opinion controversial

[@nonagon7385]

I feel like this is the first time I've watched a ranking video where I disagreed with so many rankings but at the same time agreed with so many of the positives and negatives you brought up. I guess we just weigh everything differently. Funny how that works out. Akinari being at the top does not surprise me at all. It is far and away the only time I've played through a social link and could immediately grasp how it was one of the most special stories I've ever experienced, and how well it connects to the themes of Persona 3 as a whole plays no small part in making Persona 3 my favorite game of the franchise.

[@AMx5327]

I would give more credit to Yukari's slink in regards to how it ties to the main story, or specifically her character development. In the first half of the main story there's some emphasis on her relationship with the protagonist, as you only unlock her slink after that moment in yakushima, making her slink a direct continuation of their relationship, also as you pointed out her dialogues in rank 8 not only foreshadows her in Episode Aigis, but is also a parallel to how her mother dealt with her father's situation. It adds another interesting layer to an already great character.

[@morningcoffee4384]

12:05 It's even funnier when you actually go to the summer festival and movie festival with her, makes it so she forgets everything about it by December

[@longtomax2981]

Short term memory loss ig

[@infinitypercival5958]

That one frog from Meet the Robinsons: "I'm just not so sure, how well this plan was thought through."

[@linklegend7536]

Yeah as everyone else is saying Akinari is just insane. Legit made me sit there in the end thinking about life and tearing up it's so beautiful

[@chrispyynugget1537]

27:56 Tanaka and von Karma from Ace Attorney would get along so well with converting people to prosecutors.

[@CR0WLAS]

While not the most important, the fact that Aigis is one of the only gay romance SLs in the entire franchise easily boosts her so much for me. I was so surprised when I found out I could still romance her as the FemC!

[@Romapolitan]

I think it makes sense. I don't see any reason why Aigis would personally seperate Love between genders since she had to learn what love and friendship is in the first place. It's not like (or probably not) she has any sexual attraction towards the MC (which in real life some times might be the issue). At least not in conventional way. It sort of mostly romantic, even if her rank 10 scene implies the same amount of intimacy. Meanwhile the other characters do have preconceived notions of what love is and how they seperate it between boys and girls. And with the time period the game plays in, it wouldn't be unusual for them, even if they were also attracted to a different gender, not to want to explore those other attractions further.

[@milliegirl2005]

He being a romantic option for both protagonists is why I consider her the definitive romance option

[@johans3164]

I mean...she is a robot. She dont care

[@MannicMannix]

THE CONTINUATION OF THE SANDWICH SIX

[@Dragon_640]

FUCK YEAH!

[@IsaacV24]

Literally the only reason I’m here! I’ve never played a Persona game and yet I’m watching just because of the sandwich arc!

[@fofuracebola]

Ruth Lemos?

[@Glasshouse828]

Anyone else skip to that section to see what the next countdown would be and ignore the rest of the video?

[@markerikson7423]

This sandwich could use some meat. Let's check THE MENU

[@vincent207]

Junpei has always been da man. And his social link with FeMC only solidified my love of him.

[@BlueTomorrows]

VERY happy with Saori at #2, it might be my favourite social link in the entire series. I do want to say that a big part of what grabs me about it is the queer subtext that you can take out of it (part of the reason it would be so much worse with a Male MC). The whole thing of Saori being a loner who fails to understand the romantic relationships of her peers and ultimately feels embarrassment and shame over how she feels, only to finally be able to open up and accept how she feels love through the comfort of another woman. This is further reinforced by Saori finally finding love for someone but not wanting to tell you who it is, her heart being broken by the fact that their relationship could never work out. I've seen some people theorize about who this person is supposed to be and there are some interesting ideas but my immediate gut reaction was thinking that it's FeMC. I'd also like to point out the same thing in Aigis' FeMC route (kinda surprised you didn't mention at all that FeMC can romance her and it's still the only proper queer romance option in the series). Her struggle with feeling like her love for you is invalid and could never be reciprocated definitely takes on a different tone when you're both women. I feel like I would have mentioned all this stuff, but other than it was a very good video. I'm mostly just happen to see them at #2 and #3

[@banbanthebandit4002]

Glad to know I wasn’t the only one reading Saori as queer. There’s really not nearly enough conversation about it but that’s likely cause there’s not enough people who even played her game to begin with. Which is a shame cause in her entire link there’s a lot about her that goes unsaid, leaving it to the player to come to their own conclusions which is very unique for social links as most of them are very much upfront with what the link is all about, there’s so many ways to read and understand her character but not nearly enough of it is talked about and that should really change but sadly most people will just play Reload or Fes and never know of the perfection that is Saori’s social link.

[@shadowsofvalentia]

@@BlueTomorrows aigis is technically the second queer romance in the whole series (although social links don’t exist in p2 tatsuya in innocent sin does get the option to start a relationship with a few of his party members after a story sequence and that includes another man) but i just love how they make aigis say that she knows femc should be with a man because that just really gives it the extra layer of reality existing in the patriarchy T_T also huge agree on reading saori as queer too their friendship felt so intimate to me. I love saoriham

[@NutsNBolts-fv9kx]

Haven't watched the video yet, but all I'll say is Akinari has the honour of making me not only bawl my eyes out at the end of his social link, but also during the beginning and middle

[@Mikura39]

It’s interesting seeing you talk about how cheesy FeMC’s romance with Ryoji and Akihiko was (appreciate you liking Akihiko and find it cute though) and made fun that it felt like a dating sim game but for the romance with the girls, you simply just say you love romancing them and praise. This ain’t a diss or anything but it always astonishes me how different boys and girls see things sometimes.

[@maxmeidl4909]

37:04 if tomatoa does NOT get shown or even mentioned in moana 2, then I cannot wait to see schaffrillas’ review and get to see tomatoa yapping on to moana about how he was left out of the sequel.

[@kaylaHat]

Would be extremely in character

[@voltingmaster5458]

The one redeeming quality about Gourmet King is that he’s available every day of the week and he’s available when there’s no school, meaning if you’re doing a social link run, it’s always best to save him for the end.

[@debishvebishwish4839]

And it was implied from her letter that Saori’s first love was her uncle, he feels guilty so he off himself. Her parents blamed Saori for his death.

[@GoldandBold]

You know Schaff gets serious when there aren't any dolphin noises over swears

[@geminialchemist2441]

Shinjiro is one of my favorite Social Links, so I’m glad he made it so high on the list. I’ve always been a defender of him surviving, mostly because I still think it fits with the theme of P3. Everyone always says Persona 3 is about the inevitability of death, but to me, there is a second part no one every mentions. It’s about the inevitability of death, but choosing to live on despite that. Akinari is dying of an incurable disease that wracks his body with weakness, but still hangs on until he can finish his storybook. SEES chooses to go against Nyx despite that being an incarnation of death itself. The MC fights on every. Single. Day. After the final battle to keep their promise to their friends to meet on the roof after the graduation ceremony, despite being a dead person walking. It’s a story about knowing death is coming, maybe tomorrow in a freak accident, maybe decades from now of old age, and marching on and living, even when it’s hard, even if it means reaching out and getting help to find the strength to keep going. Shinjiro doesn’t reach out. He doesn’t fight on to live in a scenario where he doesn’t bond with the MC. He accepts his death, and meets it. That pocket watch is us giving him a reason to continue, literally giving him more time. Or, at least, that’s how I’ve always interpreted the themes of P3. It does kinda mess with the scenes afterward, where he was supposed to die. Been a while since I played portable, but if I remember right, there was a chance he wasn’t ever going to wake from that coma, which served as a somewhat acceptable stand in for death. Had this been a possible scenario in the original release, they might have been able to write around him surviving a little better. But I don’t think him surviving ruins the story or the character. On a related note, I also like being able to save Chidori, though having two characters having similar fake out deaths be so close to each other does feel like a cop out, and the writing for Chidori surviving is even worse than Shinjiro. But I feel it sticks with my take on the theme, since Chidori only survives if you encourage Junpei to keep visiting her at the hospital, and giving someone who gave up on life a reason to want to keep living.

[@shadowsofvalentia]

@@geminialchemist2441 that’s a good way to think of it :)

[@egbertmilton4003]

Plus, the deaths of Shinjiro and Chidori are way more contrived in the base game than their survival. Like Jesus, these people don't even bother to try and heal them with the magic Personas they have access to during these moments, especially when neither killing blow is instantly fatal.

[@PlayerOne.StartGame]

This French Hate must stop Damien. The Bebe defense squadron will not let this slide.

[@PikaBoz]

2:07 oh brother, Kenji S T I N K S!!!

[@ShawdowMayroOG]

34:26 THE SHAFFRILAS SANDWICH SIX ARC

[@Seussenshmirtz]

Only time I skipped TO the ad Not shitting on the content. I just don't care about persona

[@jonathanboutell8767]

100% with you

[@octaviogalicia8179]

The reason I came for the video

[@mysteryhd888]

Yep, same here. I just don't play Persona and I don't want to miss the peak arc

[@Mikura39]

Regarding Mitsuru’s Social Link, I personally prefer it in FeMC’s route. The plot’s the same but Mitsuru questions her birth as a woman because of the bias of the system she’s in, which I thought was really interesting to explore in comparison to the male route.

[@justgwen33]

I’ve been waiting for this!!

[@jadesapphira4325]

Thank you so much for giving Kotone the respect she deserves, the more people remember her the better. Kinda funny the story about having an impact after you're gone was made real by how much the FeMC community keep her alive when Atlus ignores her. I love that the Aigis social link still ends in you, uhh, touching her robotic clitoris because that's extremely gay, same way iirc you can still get the same romance you have with elizabeth that MaleMc does which is cool as hell, makes up for Ken's social link i guess. Count your lucky stars that femc is actually able to turn down romance options, cause the malemc sure fuckin' couldn't. Im also glad Saori's link ranked so high, it's heart breaking what this girl goes through but i wosh ypu had talked about the letter you get during the epilogue where she lays her heart out to you cause it was too hard to say it out loud. It's tragic that she might not even realise you die soon after until months go by, after the letter talks about how she struggled with suicidal thoughts. Great video >

[@milliegirl2005]

HELL YEAH FEMC SUPREMACY 💖💖💖

[@TealTreeKangaroo]

Akinari and Saori being top two is just *chef’s kiss* perfection. I feel like the whole of the P3 community can attest that Akinari is a top 3 choice at LEAST, but seeing my girl Saori so high in the rankings really made me even happier. I agree with the comments that the whole link should not be done with a male mc though, as I think it’s not only better but *critical* that you play as a girl for her route. Not only that, but Femc’s personality is also very important for this route, in that her fiery spunkiness and lively attitude are on full blast and not just implied like most other parts of the story and most other links. And that personality is perfect for her to be a foil to Saori’s more quiet and pushover tendencies. So imo, not only could the route only work for Femc because she’s a girl, but also because she’s the type of girl that Saori can rely on. AND BECAUSE I CAN’T HELP MYSELF- I’m also gonna set myself up to get dogged on for this but…I don’t actually mind Shinji being in a coma, personally. I do agree that his death is the more poignant option, but a coma isn’t as bad as people think it is considering the story we’d been building with Shinji before this. I think the way it came about was contrived ngl, a pocket watch catching the worst of the bullet is Dumb, but the coma itself isn’t the issue for me. Rather, I like it because in the usual P3 playthrough, Shinji has basically already made peace with death. He knows it’s coming and he won’t run from it. But, in the Femc social link…he hesitates. Suddenly, he’s not as sure. Suddenly, he has *doubt* . And that doubt works so unbelievably perfectly in terms of him being in a coma. Because a coma is essentially the in between of life and death, an unknown of whether the selfish desire to keep a loved one alive would be worth it in the end or merely be prolonging their suffering. That doubt also works perfectly with the story immediately after this, where SEES has to contend with a swift death, or a drawn out, harder death, but the second option gives a minuscule chance of living. Kinda like a coma, no? Again, I also prefer him dying, but him being in a coma isn’t bad to me either, personally speaking. Ken and Akihiko’s stories are better with Shinji’s death, but again, I don’t think they’re negated with his living. And there’s an extra layer of tragedy there too, with the person who wavered Shinji’s resolve for death ultimately dying the moment they meet again. That’s just me though. (And also I agree with the people saying Mitsuru’s social link is just straight up Better in Femc’s route - still kinda eh but way better as a “woman in a “man’s world” story than what it is in vanilla.)

[@ShursGarden]

I can't agree with your saying Shinji's survival is a bad decision. Honestly I *prefer* it this way. If Shinji's dead, that's one thing. But if he goes in a coma, that's *every day* until he wakes up or dies that Ken, Akihiko, and the rest of SEES are waiting to find out what happens to him, which is its own kind of grief.

[@thanatoast]

The Femc/Ken stuff, the Maya link and literally all the adult female confidants in P5 make me think someone writing this series has a thing specifically for Younger guy x Older woman pairings and it's really uncomfortable. At least when Nanako or The girl from the shrine claim they wanna marry you, you're not supposed to take them seriously and aren't given an option to actually say yes. Femc just drew the short end of the stick for no reason.

[@Loner098]

...Or that the writer of said Social Links is a fan of taboo relationships...

[@thanatoast]

​@Loner098 If it was just taboo, you would expect to see it go the the other way, too, right?

[@mugonacid8628]

as a girl i 100% agree with your takes on Saoris link!! so happy she was so high on the list :D

[@KFishnan]

Your videos have been so good on social links thank you

[@danieltrevinoc]

I'm so glad you mentioned Yuko's VA, she was amazing

[@shiku6901]

10:09 Damn Tokusatsu overload, i guess there's an editor that loves it, and i'm all for it

[@cinnibunbun7389]

I honestly do really like the FeMC version of the Fuuka SL. It shows a different way of improving your faults by incorporating your interests. I also like how her reasoning for starting the cooking club is because she wants to thank the people who have helped her.

[@TonymeansAnthony]

Another banger sandwich six upload babyyy

[@jonasquinn7977]

To be completely fair to Kenji it’s fairly strongly implied that the teacher in question is at best inappropriately blurring the lines and at worst actively misleading him because she likes the attention. She brings him to her home to study, Ms Toriumi let’s slip at one point that she’s constantly bragging about a student having a crush on her and iirc in her role as the club advisor for one of the FeMC’s social links she makes a few comments about liking how much Kenji fawns over her. I also can’t help but find it kinda unlikely that Kenji was the one who got her in trouble since as far as we know he only talks about this stuff with the MC and never mentions it outside of social links, it’s more likely in my opinion that someone else noticed how inappropriate it was and reported her. All that being said, yeah Kenji is definitely an idiot and the fact you basically have to go along with his delusions to get through his otherwise fairly boring social link makes him pretty low tier.

[@ezephryix]

something was thinking on hidetoshi's social link is that i think the femc ver is slightly better despite being 90% the same, his motivation to change is partially because of his feelings for femc . the teacher who was supposed to endorse him says something about throwing things away for a girl, and iirc in rank 9 hidetoshi says something about being interested in femc but wanting to change first . a very small difference, but it makes his credit to the mc make a lot more sense imo

[@samplesimple0]

I feel like Tanaka’s donation did come from a good place and the reasoning he gave was a coverup, it’s a trope I like a lot for characters like him

[@Ashtonyss]

I dont know why, but i tear up at the end of all of these videos. Thank you, Schaff. Can't wait until you get to do persona 6.

[@MonsterHunterxRWBY]

Honestly, it feels like Tanaka does actually have character development by the end, as his boasting begins to sound less and less genuine and more and more like him lying to himself that he is still the same heartless businessman he views as the way to keep yourself from becoming someone's lapdog. So he goes from total jerk to someone who cares but won't admit it. For example, the claim about convincing the orphans to pay him back feels a bit forced in an intentional way by the developers. Of course, I could be missing some things and he is definitely no saint.

[@StardustWhip]

I feel like FeMC's exclusive links, and many of her takes on the male MC's links, often have higher-quality writing than the original P3's links on account of having been written after the team's had experience writing two games worth of Social Links, but they're often held back by just the visual novel format they're stuck in. It's why I was so bummed out that she wouldn't be added to Reload, and why I'm waiting to play Reload until the FeMC mod's incorporated her Social Links. Then Koromaru can take his rightful place as the Best Boy with the best Link in the game.

[@lucymorrison]

honestly, even when the mod is finished i refuse to buy reload. Why would i give atlus money when they stripped the remake of my favourite part of it?

[@unknwnghst]

*Taking a deep breath* “DISTURBING THE PEACE-“

[@JediSteve-J3-]

LOOK INTO MY EYES

[@anerdwithamic]

NOW TELL ME THE THINGS YOU WERE BLABBING ABOUT BEHIND MY BACK

[@unknwnghst]

THE TENACITY-

[@mr.ginger183]

IT’S GOING DOWN NOW

[@4546Bean]

I HOLD ITS HARD TO BREAK DOWN

[@Crafty_boy70]

Never played Persona but you KNOW I still watched for that Sandwich arc!

[@Zajkong]

*Ahem* _I've been waiting for this!_

[@JinxTheLooneyToon915]

*SCHAFFRILLAS' PERSONA III: SOCIAL LINK* *THE SANDWICH SIX CONTINUES*

[@valeriedure2341]

i completely agree on the placement of saori. the scene of the female teachers coming together and sticking up for her in the face of the rumors made me cry

[@unknownbyself]

The whole Tanaka SL is one of my all-time favorites, but the part that sticks out the most is the random threats he makes at you. They're so hilariously petty and deranged that I can't help but love them. "If you tell anyone about this, I'll come by your house and ring the doorbell every night at midnight!"

[@jameslawrence617]

10:30 Him dropping an f bomb and it not being censored feels illegal somehow

[@josueayala1249]

1:09:02 as someone who had a cat growing up out in the country, I can confirm that my cat when he was at a ripe old age, he went up to the door to be let out, and walked slowly away into the brush to find a place to lie down. It was the last time I saw him alive. Sad as hell.

[@BugsyFoga]

Major props to Schaff being pretty consistent with these persona social link rankings

[@crazyjack3653]

Kinda funny how labrys got a special mention in the persona 4 video but metis doesnt even get Name dropped in this one. Altough metis being forgotten was kinda Atlus' Motto for over a decade, so i cant blame him.

[@sushyhacecosas]

i just noticed this guy uploads everytime i have to go to my psychologist, that's kinda cool :]

[@ChexieMyx]

About halfway through now, and I gotta say it’s fascinating to hear about Social Links like, for example, Hidetoshi’s, with the context of being someone who only ever plays FeMC. It’s just like, a lot of ‘oh yeah, I get you, I understand’ but then something that doesn’t sound quite right pops up that tweaks you and you go ‘wait what I don’t remember that’ Maybe I’ll play as the male main character one day, to live the subtle differences.

[@juliova2315]

Rank 9 IN THE FRIENDSHIP ROUTE i just can't stop laughing

[@ivanquote1807]

I haven’t played Reload yet, but one of my least favorite things with FES was the lack of a friendship route with most female characters. Like rank 4 onwards you automatically start dating them. If you don’t wanna start two timing everyone, that leaves a huge chunk of links you can’t finish.

[@Kuperman1291]

Someone dug out a note in a magazine about Persona 3 not too long ago (unsure when the note is from, but them finding it again) that the Pink Alligator story was published by Mitsuru after finding it in the MC's rooms after his passing, the notebook had no name written on it but the story was meaningful enough to publish it, so it became a famous story in-universe, but the author is unknown, which really brings everything full circle a whole game later.

[@fannie255]

I can't tell you how happy I am to see somebody talk about Saori. Admittedly I first played p3p and fell in love with her social link close to 8 years ago and have never been very involved with the persona fandom, but i was always frustrated that she never seemed to get the love she deserved. I remember moments from her story so vividly to this day- especially the letter she sends you after you complete her social link.

[@myplantsaidno]

I greatly appreciate Saori being number 2 because she’s great of course but mannnn you only scratched the surface with her. There’s a lot hidden in her social link (particularly when you last hear from her in March at endgame) that makes her story significantly more tragic.

[@LemonnNote]

I feel like Shinji surviving October 4th is almost as sad as him dying if you think about it more. He wakes up from his coma after Kotone dies, and he, like everyone else, doesn't know Kotone is going to die, too. So I imagine that after he wakes up, he expects to see Kotone there, but she isn't. I just have to wonder how he feels, knowing that he couldn't be there in her last moments.

[@ItsEmrld]

WHERE THE HELL IS THE FREE BIRDS REVIEW?! He hasn't mentioned it at all and we need you to talk about the movie where they go BACK IN TIME TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING TO GET TURKEY OFF THE MENU again

[@Caan-dn1jb]

I would say the crush the teacher has on the MC is the weirdest adult/young relationship in the franchise, because in the other games, the MC interacts directly with them, but here they dont show much besides she being your teacher, so she develops a crush on you offscreen, so she most likely is into you because of your looks

[@fulgatus]

SAORI APPRECIATION WE LOVE TO SEE IT and yes... as a female player her social link really hits hard

[@jcplays5831]

23:49 🤣🤣🤣 we all know what he meant by that comment