Persona 5 gets a ton of praise for being the pinnacle of an already critically-acclaimed JRPG series, with a great story and addictive combat. There’s plenty to like about this game, thanks to a brilliant art style, jazz music, and a ton of content to play through. Likely, fans won’t discover everything until their third or fourth playthrough.
While fans are divided on which entry is their favorite, there’s no doubt in our mind that Persona 5 has the best social link system in this series. The writing and characters are subjective, but in terms of actual gameplay, 5 has the best one by a mile.
For those unfamiliar with Atlus’ Persona series, these are JRPGs set in high school where bonding with friends and acquaintances is just as important as grinding. Starting with the third game, social links represent a type of Persona in the game. When you raise your ranks with other social link characters, they result in stronger Personas that you can summon in battles.
Leveling up a social link in Persona is an investment, as it adds more sub-stories for players to complete. This can often result in some of the best writing you’ll see in these games, as the backstories of these characters can be pretty gripping. However, beyond stronger Personas and story gratification, completing these doesn’t change the gameplay dramatically.
Enter Persona 5.
Unlike the other two games, completing social links not only leads to better Personas and knowing a cool story, but also unlocks gameplay mechanics. These start off pretty basic, but gradually evolve into must-have QOL improvements that make this game so addictive.
Leveling the social links for party members like Ryuji and Makoto gives them more abilities in battle. They can help other members recover from status ailments, down foes that the player failed to kill, and even make negotiating for Personas a little easier. Some of them also have unique gameplay mechanics, like Yusuke making skill cards and Futaba randomly healing the party.
click to enlarge
+ 2The NPCs have much greater benefits and are worth going out of your way for. As we mentioned earlier, these start pretty basic, like Doctor Takemi giving you discounts for healing items or Sojiro teaching you how to make coffee that refills your SP. But these also increase in usefulness as the game goes on.
Hardcore Persona 5 fans will tell you that your teacher Ms. Kawakami is the best social link and should be leveled up ASAP. They’re correct, as she not only has one of the best stories in the game, but also helps you recover from Palace and Mementos outings. Usually, doing one of these will prevent you from leveling up other social links at night, but Kawakami will ensure that you have more time to spend with friends.
It only gets better, as Hifumi Togo will give you the ability to switch party members mid-fight. This might sound like a basic ability in most RPGs, but none of the Persona games had it beforehand. Hifumi finally gives you this ability, and it's why she should also be prioritized.
click to enlarge + 2Making sub-stories inform your gameplay and, in turn, make the game better is what this medium is all about. When done perfectly, gaming and storytelling can combine into a special kind of art form. Persona 5 does this really well, especially with the social links, and that’s why it has the best one.