Why does Persona 3 Reload’s protagonist have such a hard time finding love?
It may not be a prerequisite for game completion, but Persona 3 Reload (much like other titles in the franchise) encourages players to enter a special relationship with another character. While there are two potential romantic partners the protagonist can choose from that aren’t Persona users, the majority of the game’s romance options are members of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES). These main cast members come with strict prerequisites should players choose to deepen their relationship with them, which makes one wonder how difficult Persona 3 Reload’s protagonist has it when it comes to romance.
High school romance for a Persona user is tough
By deepening Social Links with certain characters, Persona 3 Reload’s protagonist will unlock the option to romance them. Players have to reach a Social Link of 9 to enter a relationship with someone and can do so with multiple characters at the cost of possibly harming their Social Link standings. There are technically 6 romanceable characters: Fuuka Yamagishi, Mitsuru Kirijo, Yukari Takeba, Aigis, Yuko Nishiwaki, and Chihiro Fushimi. It is implied that a seventh character – the Velvet Room attendant Elizabeth – can be romanced, but this only takes the form of moments that she and the protagonist share as players complete her requests.
Yuko and Chihiro’s Social Links can be progressed naturally by interacting with them (though Yuko’s Social Link has to be unlocked by progressing Kazushi Miyamoto’s Social Link first), but most of Persona 3 Reload’s romanceable characters require the protagonist to be of the highest rank in a certain Social Stat to unlock their Social Links. Fuuka’s Priestess Social Link requires a maxed-out Courage Social Stat, Mitsuru’s Empress Social Link needs a maxed-out Academics stat, and Yukari’s Lovers Social Link can only be started once the protagonist has a maxed-out Charm stat. Aigis is a special case, as her Aeon Social Link can only be unlocked if players choose to defy Nyx and go for Persona 3 Reload’s good ending.
Most romances in Persona 3 Reload require a lot of work
Getting all Social Links to their maximum rank in Persona 3 Reload is no easy task as it requires a good amount of planning and time management. Since the game only has a set number of days, players must carefully choose when to have the protagonist perform certain activities. Progressing a Social Link or two is easy enough but, juggling activities that increase Social Stats makes it feel like players really are living the life of a Japanese high school student who yearns to be accepted. Whether it be working part-time at a coffee shop to increase Charm and Courage, playing quiz shows at the arcade to increase Academics instead of studying, or choosing to fight the incarnation of Death – Persona 3 Reload’s protagonist has to go through a lot of hoops to talk to the girls he finds interesting.
Not only that, but there isn’t a lot of payoff once he enters a relationship. Unlike its sequels Persona 4 and 5, Persona 3 Reload’s romantic relationships pretty much end as soon as they start. There are a couple of heartfelt scenes that the protagonist can be a part of by spending time with his significant other as well as a Christmas date to look forward to, but these activities are few and pale in comparison to something like Persona 5’s relationships, where there are multiple instances to bond with your romantic partner.
The end result may feel superficial and short-lived, but Persona 3 Reload seems to be intent on making the protagonist work for his romantic happy ending. He does not seem as charismatic as the protagonists from later games, but he certainly tries his best to be attractive to those he wants to be involved with.
