Persona 3 Reload Social Link Guide: Complete S-Link Walkthrough, Unlocks, & Answers
The original version of Persona 3 was the one to establish the Social Links system, and as such it's no surprise that the mechanic makes a firm return in Persona 3 Reload. Alongside battling shadows in Tartarus, a key part of your time as a member of the SEES gang is to build friendships with those around you via the S-Link system - and in doing so, you'll unlock more options for the RPG battling at the center of the adventure.
Staying on top of all social links on offer is challenging - some are compulsory, some are missable, and almost all of them can be optimized in order to get better results. That's what this Persona 3 Reload Social Link guide is for; it's a gigantic base from which you can hop into dedicated walkthroughs for each S-Link character in the game.
This guide is a comprehensive helper for the social link system, with each page complete with a list of how to unlock & start each social link and how to rank up quickly with the correct dialogue options, including for romanceable characters.
- This guide and the pages it links to have been designed to be spoiler-free, but it will contain minor spoilers in the form of S-Link identities.
- These walkthroughs are designed for Persona 3 Reload; if you're playing another version, try our version for Persona 3 Portable.
Persona 3 Reload Social Link guide: How S-Links Work
The heart of this guide are the individual social link walkthroughs for each of the characters in the game - which you can find by scrolling further down. Before you hit that, here's some key points about the S-Link system (which some might also think of as Confidant Cooperations) to understand:
- Social Links have to be unlocked. Some of them occur naturally as a result of story or in-game calendar progression, while others need to be directly initiated by player action. Some of them are quite obtuse and difficult to start, and several are outright missable - but each of our guides explains how they're all unlocked.
- S-Links advance from hanging out. Each time you spend time with a friend, it grants experience points to a hidden stat which governs when each social link ranks up. The links max out at rank 10.
- Dialogue options make you advance more quickly. When spending time with S-Links, choosing dialogue options that they like will grant bonus EXP; this will help you to rank up more quickly. These guides give you all of the right choices.
- Friend availability varies. Different people are available on different days and at different times of day. This means it's imortant to schedule your time effectively to ensure you can spend the required time with each character to max rank them all. Our individual S-Link walkthroughs help with this, but if you want a step-by-step guide, we have a Persona 3 Reload Max Social Link walkthrough too.
- Always check your Persona stock. You get an EXP bonus to your hangouts if you have a Persona of the matching Arcana in your current stock. So to hang out with Yukari, who represents the Lovers Arcana, you should have a Lovers Persona with you - and so on.
- S-Links give less rewards in Persona 3. Reload has been changed a lot to bring it more in line with Persona 5, but don't expect the larger S-Link rewards like new abilities in battle - primarily, progressing S-Links only gives you continuing storylines and Persona Fusion bonuses.
- Newer fans will know them as Confidants. In Persona 5, the developers switched the terminology, and these bonds of friendship were changed to be called Confidant Cooperations. In Persona 3 & 4, however, they're known as Social Links - S-Links for short.
Romanceable Characters from S-Links
Romance is something of a staple of Persona at this point, but as an older game, Persona 3 keeps it simpler than most - and given that this version doesn't have the female protagonist, it's even simpler still.
The protagonist does have a few romance options, however: He can turn his relationships with Yukari, Mitsuru, Fuuka, Chihiro, Yuko, or Aigis into full-on relationships. You do this by simply pursuing their social link, at which point later on there'll be a clear branch between platonic and romantic routes.
It's important to mention that in previous versions of this game, you were forced to enter into romantic relationships in order to grind each social link to rank 10. This has thankfully been changed for Persona 3 Reload - you'll have a clear choice, and be able to progress each S-Link with a friendship-only option instead if that's what you prefer.
We've got a separate short page just about romances if you want to know more about how Romance works in P3 Reload - which is a little different in Reload to past Persona 3 versions.
Persona 3 Reload Social Link Choices & Walkthrough guides
Kenji Tomochika social link guide (Magician)
Kenji is the first friend you'll make in Persona 3 Reload, your first proper Social Link, which arrives in mid-April. This guide will help you to rank up that S-Link fast, helping you to navigate your relationship with this young man who is... just a little obsessed with chasing older women.
Fuuka Yamagishi social link guide (Priestess)
Representing the Priestess Arcana is Fuuka - a vital member of SEES. She might not join the squad, but she's your navigator when you're deep in Tartarus. This guide will help you to max out her S-Link, which is difficult to unlock, and also explain how you can romance her, if that's your intention.
Mitsuru Kirijo social link guide (Empress)
Mitsuru is a motherly figure of the group, keeping everyone in control and in check as a defacto leader of the SEES squad. She's a romance option too, if you wish - all you have to do is rank up her Empress Arcana S-Link and pursue her - which our comprehensive guide will help you to do.
Hidetoshi Odagiri social link guide (Emperor)
Hidetoshi seems like the sort of school-obsessed teacher's pet that you probably don't want to be friends with - but as you'd expect, there's more to this guy than first meets the eye. You'll learn what, exactly, by ranking up his S-Link, which our guide will help you to do in a snap.
Bunkichi & Mitsuko social link guide (Hierophant)
A rarity not just in Persona 3 Reload but across the whole series, the Hierophant social link in Persona 3 Reload is a triangle - the protagonist and a married couple. This elderly couple run a store, and you can bring a little joy into their lives and rank up fast with this guide to all dialogue in their S-Link.
Yukari Takeba social link guide (Lovers)
Yukari can be considered the female lead of Persona 3 Reload - though inevitably some fans would debate that. She's really the protagonist's first major ally on the SEES squad, however, and one of the very first people you'll meet right at the top of the game. Once her Lovers Arcana S-Link begins, you'll be able to advance to rank 10 for fusion bonuses and also choose Yukari for a romance, if you want. This guide will help you with that.
Kazushi Miyamoto social link guide (Chariot)
Sports club buddies are something of a staple in the Persona series, and Persona 3 Reload is no different, with Kazushi the budding athelete that you get a chance to get to know. This S-Link guide will give you all the right things to say to unravel his storyline and hit top social link ranking in an efficient manner.
Chihiro Fushimi social link guide (Justice)
There aren't too many romanceable characters in Persona 3 Reload that aren't in the main playable party of SEES fighters, but the bookish student council girl Chihiro is one of them. She's your rep for the Justice Arcana this time around - a common Arcana you likely want the Fusion Boost for. This guide will give you all the right dialogue choices to secure that boost - or start a romance.
Maya social link guide (Hermit)
Persona 3 Reload takes the 'Hermit' Arcana at face value for this social link - as the Maya S-Link takes place semi-anonymously, entirely through a computer. For the Hermit Persona bonuses and to unravel the storyline - including the mystery of who exactly 'Maya' is - follow our guide.
Keisuke Hiraga social link guide (Fortune)
Getting involved in somebody else's family drama as part of a friendly social link is sort of a Persona staple, and Persona 3 Portable brings it with Keisuke, the Fortune Arcana Link. Hitting max rank here could be life-changing - and our guide lists all of the choices to make sure you make that happen.
Yuko Nishiwaki social link guide (Strength)
You'll first encounter Yuko as part of your school's sports club, where Yuko isn acting as a manager. She's another romanceable girl in Persona 3 Reload, but also is the Strength Arcana S-Link, making her a fairly important link to max out for Persona Fusion purposes. This guide will help you to befriend, max, and romance.
Maiko Oohashi social link guide (Hanged Man)
The youngest of the social links in Persona 3 Reload, Maiko is a sad little tale that is one of the S-Link storylines in Persona 3 Reload that we'd most recommend seeing to its conclusion. Our guide gives you all of the right choices to rank up your Hanged-Man link quickly.
President Tanaka social link guide (Devil)
They say that money is the root of all evil, and so what better person to represent the Devil Arcana in Persona 3 Reload than a greedy businessman? President Tanaka will be familiar to those who've played Persona 4 - and he's actually one of the more easy social links to miss out on entirely, but our guide helps you to start and then max out the S-Link.
Bebe social link guide (Temperance)
Everyone else you get to know in Persona 3 Portable an as S-Link is born-and-bred Japanese, but the Temperance link is represented by Andre Laurent Jean Geraux, aka... 'Bebe'. This social link can actually be missed very easily, but our guide will make sure you unlock and start it, ad then help you to get it to rank 10.
Mutatsu social link guide (Tower)
The Tower arcana can represent many things, but one thing it can represent is learned nature - and so it makes sense that in Persona 3 Reload it's represented by a worldly older man - a cigar-smoking Bhuddist Monk called Mutatsu. This is another difficult S-Link to unlock, but our guide helps you to start and then hit rank 10 efficiently.
Mamoru Hayase social link guide (Star)
A high courage stat is required to initiate a s-link relationship with Mamoru, which means it can end up being a late-game link to unlock. Our guide will help you to know when it's time, and then guide you through the dialogue choices that'll unravel this storyline and get you to rank 10.
Nozomi Suemitsu social link guide (Moon)
To be honest, not all social links are storytelling slam dunks, and that's probably the category we'd put poor old Nozomi Suemitsu into. However, you probably still do want the Persona Fusion bonuses for the Moon Arcana - and our guide will help you to rush through this S-Link storyline to nab them with no time wasted.
Akinari Kamiki social link guide (Sun)
Often cited as one of Persona's most memorable social link storylines from any game in the series, Akinari's s-link in Persona 3 Reload is not to be missed. Our guide will help you to get to know him quickly and hit rank 10 with what little time you have.
Aigis social link guide (Aeon)
This is an interesting addition for Persona 3 Reload. Reload is based off the original Persona 3, but the Aigis Link was actually added in later versions - and has been retained for Reload regardless. That makes sense given her importance - and Aigis has a full social link for the Aeon Arcana - and can become a romance, if you want some of that robotic lovin'. Our guide has all the dialogue choices you need.