PERSONA 3

Story

Persona 3 begins with the Protagonist transferring to Gekkoukan High School, and moving into a dorm in the city. After learning of his ability to summon a Persona, he is asked to join SEES, and is eventually elected its leader in combat. Additional members join SEES over time, all students attending Gekkoukan: Junpei, who had only recently discovered his ability to summon a Persona; Akihiko, whose arm injury prevented him from fighting; and Fuuka, who replaces Mitsuru as the team's support member. After awakening to his Persona ability, the Protagonist is transported to the Velvet Room, which its proprietor, Igor, says is a realm between "dream and reality". Igor explains to him that his Persona ability is special: he is the only member of SEES capable of wielding multiple Personas in battle. In-game, the Velvet Room is where the player may fuse two or more Personae to create a new one. Igor also encourages the Protagonist to meet people and form bonds with them, known as Social Links. According to Igor, the power of his Social Links will determine his potential in combat.

On nights when the moon is full, the city is attacked by a Shadow more powerful than the ones found in Tartarus. After several of these incidents, Mitsuru is forced to reveal to the team the origin of Tartarus and the Dark Hour. Ten years earlier, the Kirijo Group, a research company founded by Mitsuru's grandfather, began amassing and containing Shadows. They studied and performed experiments on them, in order to harness their power. However, the experiments went awry, allowing the Shadows to escape and assemble into twelve larger creatures. Each is affiliated with one of the twelve Major Arcana. SEES's leader, Shuji Ikutsuki, informs them that, if they were to defeat all twelve of the greater Shadows, Tartarus and the Dark Hour would disappear forever.

As the year continues, the group adds two more Persona-users to their team: Ken and Koromaru. While vacationing in Yakushima, Junpei, Akihiko, and the Protagonist encounter Aigis, who had recently escaped the laboratory where she was kept, despite having been deactivated for years.For reasons she cannot explain, she has a need to be near the Protagonist, even breaking into his dorm room at night to monitor him. Aigis is also enlisted in SEES. It is revealed soon after that Shinjiro accidentally killed Ken's mother by losing control over his Persona; during an altercation between the two, Takaya threatens them both at gunpoint, when Shinjiro throws himself in front of his revolver, saving Ken's life and leading to his own death. After defeating the twelfth and final Shadow, SEES learns that they had been mislead by Shuji Ikutsuki. By destroying the greater Shadows, they have freed parts of a being known as Nyx, which will bring about the end of the world if it is fully restored. Nyx, or the "maternal being", is the creator of Shadows; she is drawn to Earth by The Appriser, or "Death", a Shadow of the Death arcanum. SEES encounters The Appriser disguised as Ryoji Mochizuki, a recent transfer student to Gekkoukan High School.

The Shadow experiments performed ten years earlier created the Death Shadow, albeit in an incomplete state. Aigis, unable to defeat the Shadow, sealed it inside the Protagonist, who was a child at the time. By defeating the twelve greater Shadows, the Death Shadow was recreated. Its purpose is to "usher Nyx into this world", bringing about the extinction of the human race. Ryoji insists that Nyx cannot be defeated. However, he offers SEES an alternative: if they were to kill him, their memories of the Dark Hour and Tartarus would vanish, allowing them to continue life unaware of their impending death. Aigis, who now realizes why she wanted to protect the Protagonist, begins to believe that she is useless. She urges SEES to kill Ryoji, as they cannot defeat Nyx. Through encouragement from her friends, however, she gains the resolve to join with SEES as they attempt to fight Nyx.

On December 31, New Year's Eve, the player must decide whether to kill Ryoji. If he is killed, the game skips to Graduation Day, with SEES's memories of the Dark Hour, Tartarus and Nyx are erased, allowing them to live the rest of their lives in ignorance and Nyx exterminates humanity. If he is spared, then the game continues, and on January 31, SEES ascends to the roof of Tartarus to face Ryoji, who has transformed into the Nyx Avatar. At the end of the battle, he shrugs off the damage and Nyx continues to descend to Earth. As this is happening, the Protagonist is summoned to the Velvet Room, where Igor reminds him that the power of his Social Links would determine his potential. The Protagonist hears the voices of his friends encouraging him. The strength of his Social Links grants him the power of the "Universe", allowing him to seal away Nyx from humanity. The world returns to normal, though the memories of the past year are lost to the members of SEES. However, Aigis and the Protagonist retain their memories. On Graduation Day, the two go to the roof of the school, where the members of SEES had promised to meet should they stop Nyx and live to see their graduation. It is here that Aigis thanks the Protagonist for giving her a purpose in life: protecting him. Meanwhile, the other SEES members regain their memories, and run out of the graduation ceremony to join the other two.[citation needed] Shortly afterwards, he closes his eyes. The protagonist's fate is revealed in The Answer, included with the FES version of Persona 3.

Protagonist
Persona: Orpheus (オルフェウス Orufeusu) and Orpheus Telos (オルフェウス･改 Orufeusu Kai) of The Fool Arcana, the Wild Card (ワイルド Wairudo), Thanatos (タナトス Tanatosu) of The Death Arcana, Messiah (メサイア Mesaia) of The Judgement Arcana

The protagonist (主人公 Shujinkō, lit. "protagonist" or "hero") of Persona 3 is the character named and controlled by the player. He moves into the dorm in the introduction of the game, learning of his ability to summon a Persona when the dorm is attacked by Shadows during the Dark Hour. Mitsuru asks him to join SEES and he is later elected the team's leader in combat. The Protagonist is unique among his cohorts in that he has the ability to carry multiple Personas and switch between them during battle. He is also the only character with access to the Velvet Room, in which the player is able to fuse together multiple Personas together to create a new, more powerful one. Over the course of the game, the player is challenged to manage the Protagonist's day-to-day schedule as he attends school, takes part in extracurricular activities, and spends time with classmates and other characters. Igor, the proprietor of the Velvet Room, encourages the Protagonist to form Social Links with people, as they will determine his potential in combat.Within the simulation elements of Persona 3, the player is able to form Social Links with characters in-game, each represented by one of the Major Arcana and granting various bonuses during Persona fusion, increasing the player's proficiency in battle.

The Protagonist is an orphan; his parents died ten years prior to the events of Persona 3, which sees him returning to the city he grew up in. In December, the player learns that a Shadow known as "Death" (デス?) was sealed in the Protagonist as a child by Aigis, who was unable to defeat it herself. The Death Shadow was able to lead the Protagonist to twelve other greater Shadows; by defeating them, The Appriser was created, a being which summons Nyx to the world to bring about its destruction. SEES battles The Appriser on the roof of Tartarus, but are not able to stop Nyx's descent to Earth. The Protagonist enters Nyx and is able to seal it using the power of the Social Links he formed over the past year. While able to seal away Nyx from humanity, the Protagonist dies after the battle and his soul becomes the Great Seal. In Persona 3 FES, during the events of The Answer, SEES is led to the Great Seal the Protagonist formed, which is under attack by a creature called Erebus. In Persona 4, it is revealed that Igor's assistant Elizabeth left her position to find a way to rescue the Protagonist from his fate as the Great Seal.

The initial Persona of the Protagonist is Orpheus, although through the power of the Wild Card he has access to over 150 different Personas, with major ones being Thanatos and Messiah. In Persona 3 Portable, Orpheus can also transform into Orpheus Telos. As he or shee works with SEES, the protagonist builds up the Social Link for the Fool Arcana (愚者 Gusha), which symbolizes the beginning and infinite possibilities of the journey ahead of the protagonist. When the protagonist decides not to kill Ryoji Mochizuki, the Social Link of the Fool Arcana changes into the Judgement Arcana (審判 Shinpan), which symbolizes the end of his journey and looking back at what has happened. The final Social Link the protagonist attains is the Universe Arcana (宇宙 Uchū), a card from the Thoth tarot that replaces World Arcana (世界 Sekai), symbolizing the full awareness of the protagonist's place in the world.

He is voiced by Akira Ishida in the Japanese version of Persona 3 and Yuri Lowenthal in the English version. In the manga adaption of Persona 3, the Protagonist is named Minato Arisato (有里 湊 Arisato Minato). And is portrayed as a teenager often tired or drowsy, who likes to eat and cook food. Soejima took longer to design the Protagonist than any other character, as the game's other characters would be made to complement his design. Soejima wrote in Art of Persona 3, "Initially, he looked more honest, like an ordinary, handsome young man. But, I worked to achieve greater ambiguity in his expression."In Persona 3 Portable, released on the PlayStation Portable in 2009, an option was added to control a female protagonist, voiced by Marina Inoue in the Japanese adaptation, and Laura Bailey in the English adaptation. This selection alters several aspects of the story, various Social Links, and background music. It also changes the design of the player's first Persona, Orpheus.

Junpei Iori
 Junpei Iori (伊織 順平 Iori Junpei)Voiced by: Toriumi Kosuke (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English)
Persona: Hermes (ヘルメス Herumesu) and Trismegistus (トリスメギストス Torisumegisutosu) of The Magician Arcana

Junpei Iori is the Protagonist's best friend, though the two often find themselves at odds. Junpei is a poor student who plays the class clown in order to mask his insecurities. His chosen weapon is a two-handed sword which he wields like a baseball bat. Junpei's Personas excel at physical attacks and party buffs, and can also cast fire magic.

Junpei becomes a member of SEES near the beginning of the game. Akihiko finds him crying in a convenience store during the Dark Hour, and does not realize that he has the potential to call a Persona until Akihiko tells him about it. His decision to join SEES is a swift one, and Yukari is dismayed when he immediately moves into their dorm.

Initially, Junpei fights because "playing hero" makes him feel like less of a loser. He uses his place in SEES to prop up his low self-esteem, neglects his classwork, and snaps at the Protagonist out of jealousy over his unique Persona abilities. Junpei only becomes more serious after he meets the Strega member Chidori. They fall for each other, and though she continues to fight SEES, her feelings for Junpei eventually come into conflict with her loyalty to Takaya and her fear of death. When Takaya fatally attacks Junpei, Chidori uses her Persona powers to save his life at the cost of her own.

Junpei becomes a focused and determined young man after Chidori's death. It's possible to revive Chidori in the FES version of the game, if certain requirements are met.

In Persona 3 Portable, Junpei becomes the Social Link for the Magician Arcana (魔術師 Majutsushi), representing action, initiative, and immaturity, when the player plays as the Female Protagonist. Junpei's relationship with the Female Protagonist remains strictly platonic, because of his feelings towards Chidori.

Shigenori Soejima has stated that Junpei is "the most important character when it comes to getting the player to buy into the story," because he is the major character who looks and acts the most like a normal teenager.

Akihiko Sanada
 Akihiko Sanada (真田 明彦 Sanada Akihiko)Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Liam O'Brien (English)
Persona: Polydeuces (ポリデュークス Poridyūkusu) and Caesar (カエサル Kaesaru) of The Emperor Arcana

Akihiko is the mature and confident captain of his school’s boxing team, as well as a senior at Gekkoukan High. He is a hard worker who balances a high GPA with near-constant training. Since Akihiko is a boxer, he uses gloves and claws in battle. His Persona can be used to cast electric magic and debuff spells. He cannot fight for the first part of the game, due to injuries received during the Dark Hour.

Akihiko was one of the three Persona users who originally founded SEES, alongside Mitsuru and Shinjiro. He and Shinjiro were close friends as children, having grown up in an orphanage together with Akihiko's now-deceased sister Miki. However, one night when the two were chasing down a Shadow, Shinjiro’s Persona went out of control and an innocent bystander was killed: Ken Amada’s mother.

After the incident, Shinjiro left SEES and his friendship with Akihiko became strained. The two only reconnect when Ken joins SEES, and Akihiko convinces Shinjiro to rejoin the group in order to protect him.

When Akihiko realizes that Ken only volunteered for SEES as a means to get revenge on Shinjiro, he tries to save both of them from making grave mistakes, but he arrives too late. Though Ken lets go of his vendetta, Shinjiro is fatally shot while protecting him from Takaya. In the end, Shinjiro’s way of facing death head on gave Akihiko the courage to carry on in spite of all his losses. Akihiko is determined that Shinjiro's death not be in vain and to be just as fearless in the face of his own mortality. He is the character that is the least upset and conflicted about the impossible odds of fighting Nyx.

In Persona 3: FES, a door which shows Akihiko's past reveals why the Evoker looks like a handgun. When Mitsuru first asked him to join her in fighting Shadows, she decided to create an Evoker that would grab his attention, leading to the Evoker's gun shape.

In Persona 3 Portable, he is the Social Link for the Star Arcana (星 Hoshi), representing a glimmer of hope, but only when the player plays as the Female Protagonist. In his Social Link he expresses his deep memory towards Miki. With the correct choices, Akihiko will fall in love with the Protagonist.

He also appears in the non-canonical anime Persona -trinity soul-, which takes place in an alternative universe of the Persona 3 world. 10 years older, he seemingly has lost the ability to control his Persona.

Shigenori Soejima had wanted to create a "cool upperclassman" when Akihiko was developed with "an impressive aura about him".

Akihiko has been confirmed as a playable character in Persona 4 Arena, which takes place over two years after "The Answer". Akihiko went to college after graduating high school, but he was more interested in perfecting his punch. He traveled the world in pursuit of becoming stronger and returned to Japan after receiving an invitation to the tournament from Mitsuru. Being a boxer, Akihiko is a close-range fighter that specializes in rushing opponents. Being less self conscious than he was in Persona 3, he now fights shirtless with a cape tied around his neck. His Persona in the game is Caesar. His nickname in the ring is "The Strong-Fisted Protein Junkie" (剛拳のプロテインジャンキー Gōken no Purotein Jankī).

Ken Amada
Ken Amada (天田 乾 Amada Ken )Voiced by: Megumi Ogata (Japanese), Mona Marshall (English)
Persona: Nemesis (ネメシス Nemeshisu) and Kala-Nemi (カーラ・ネミ Kāra Nemi) of The Justice Arcana

Ken is an elementary school student capable of summoning a Persona. His mother was killed two years prior to the events of Persona 3 by a Persona-user, although the death was officially listed as an accident. He moves into the dorm in July, when it is discovered that he is a Persona-user, and later joins SEES as a fighter. In August, he learns that his mother was killed by Shinjiro Aragaki, a former member of SEES, who briefly lost control of his Persona. In October, during a full moon, Ken lures Shinjiro to an alley behind Port Island Station, intending to kill him and avenge his mother. However, Takaya, a member of the group Strega, intervenes, revealing that Shinjiro will soon die anyway due to his use of Persona-suppressant pills, and that Ken was planning to commit suicide after killing Shinjiro. Takaya resolves to kill both of them first, but his revolver shot is blocked by Shinjiro, saving Ken's life. Ken briefly runs from the dorm following the incident; after being encouraged by Akihiko, however, he gains the resolve to return to SEES, and his Persona changes form.

In battle, Ken wields a spear. He chose this as his weapon because it would compensate for his lack of height, although his height makes the spear more difficult for him to use. Ken is the Social Link for the Justice Arcana (正義 Seigi) in Persona 3 Portable, representing the knowledge of what is right and wrong, if the player is controlling the Female Protagonist. However due to the significant age difference between the two, the female protagonist must have Rank 6 Courage (Max) to ignore this social taboo and the possible resulting social backlash. His Social Link is heavily edited in the English version.

In designing Ken, Soejima focused more on his appearance than his characteristics. He believes the shorts Ken wears give him a "nostalgic" look in contrast to the modern setting of Persona 3, noting in Art of Persona 3 that "kids these days hardly ever wear shorts." Because the character's design is focused on the idea that he is a young boy, Soejima jokingly wrote Ken's name as "Kid Amada" on concept sketches.

Koromaru
 Koromaru (コロマル Koromaru)Persona: Cerberus (ケルベロス Keruberosu) of The Strength Arcana

Koromaru is a dog capable of summoning a Persona. He was the dog of a priest who maintained a local shrine, before the priest was struck by a car and killed. Ever since his owner's death, Koromaru walked the same route he did with his master every day, by himself.In July, he is found injured by the shrine during the Dark Hour, having summoned a Persona to defeat a Shadow attacking the shrine. Several weeks later, he joins SEES as a fighter, and is given a special collar which allows him to control his Persona. Aigis purports to be able to understand Koromaru, although during the events of The Answers she expresses difficulty in doing so. In battle, he uses Fire- and Darkness-based magic. In Persona 3 Portable, Koromaru is the Social Link for the Strength Arcana (剛毅 Gōki), representing passion, self-control, and power with reason, if the player is controlling the female protagonist.

Shinjiro Aragaki
 Shinjiro Aragaki (荒垣 真次郎 Aragaki Shinjirō)Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai (Japanese), Grant George (English)
Persona: Castor (カストール Kasutōru) of The Hierophant Arcana

Shinjiro is a Senior at Gekkoukan High School and a former member of SEES. Two years prior, while the group was hunting a Shadow, he briefly lost control of his Persona, resulting in the death of Ken's mother. This prompted him to quit SEES. Shinjiro is a childhood friend of Akihiko, who continually asks him to forget the past and rejoin SEES. He continually refuses the offers, only returning to fight when he learns that Ken has joined the team as a Persona-user. When Shinjiro is lured by Ken behind Port Island Station to be killed, he accepts the death of Ken's mother as his fault, saying death is what he deserves. However, Shinjiro warns Ken that if he kills him, he will "end up like me...Even if all you have now is hatred, one day you'll regret it." Takaya, a member of Strega, intervenes and attempts to shoot Ken, instead hitting Shinjiro, who sacrifices himself to save Ken. Before he dies, he tells Ken and the rest of SEES, "This is how it should be". At his funeral, it is learned that Shinjiro rarely attended school and was generally not well known among the student body. During the final confrontation with Nyx, the Protagonist hears Shinjiro's voice cheering him on along with the voices of the living SEES members saying "Alright, let's do this".

In battle, Shinjiro attacks with blunt weapons. He is forced to regularly take special suppressant pills to properly control his Persona, at the cost of his health. Shinjiro represents the Social Link of the Moon Arcana (月 Tsuki), representing a source of fear and false illusions, in Persona 3 Portable, if the player is controlling the female protagonist. At the end of the Social Link, the Protagonist find's Shinjiro's watch that he lost. The watch will deflect the fatal bullet, allowing Shinjiro to survive the October 4th event, but remains hospitalized for the rest of the game. In a New Cycle, he is able to break out of the hospital on the final day of the game to be with the Protagonist.

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