Persona 3 Reload and the massive Persona franchise are gems among RPGs. Each game’s combat system is not only fast-paced, engaging, and extremely entertaining, but the game also does a good job of integrating character development with combat. The game’s Social Links and Trusters system is key to this.
Social bonds are relationships that the player character builds with a specific subset of NPCs in the game. These include other characters fighting alongside the player/protagonist, classmates at school, teachers, and people in whatever town the game takes place in.
Rather than simply functioning as story elements that combat-oriented players can ignore, Social Links are an integral part of maximizing the power of the player and their team. Teammates become stronger as you level up their Link in most games, and reaching the final of the 10 stages of Social Link is the only way to unlock several powerful Personas certain.
Of course, not all Social Links are created equal, and there are many different ways to compare them. How engaging the character is, how interesting the storyline Link follows, and how much Link is available in the game are all factors. For this article, I want to focus less on the gameplay/convenience aspect of Social Links and more on the stories each Link offers and how powerful it is in the broader context of the story.
This is extremely subjective, and that’s the problem; there are objective ways to find out which Social Links are most valuable in terms of the Personas they unlock or how well they support optimal gameplay. That was done to death. What I want to do here is rank the Social Links and Link Episodes (which are similar narrative arcs but for the boys on the main character’s team) in a way that I know will realistically cause less Most people think I’m an absolute idiot and don’t understand the game. Feel free to burn me. (Persona 3 Reloaded details revealed)