Persona 3 Portable’s Switch Version Ends The Protagonist Name Debate

Persona is arguably the most popular JRPG title in the gaming industry at present. Since 1996, the spin-off franchise of Atlus’ Megami Tensei has ruled the JRPG market and given us some fantastic games. A big reason for this domination is the amount of freedom Persona games afford to the players. 

Deciding the name of your layer character is a part of the privileges of Persona titles. But, it brings up a mystery in the Persona franchise: what are the canon names of the protagonists in the games? Now, the Persona 3 Portable release has ended a long-standing debate about the names of the player characters in the title.

Faz on Twitter broke this news to the masses with a screenshot. In this image, you can see the new Nintendo Switch version of the game with text on display. We can clearly see the names of the male and female protagonists in this text.

The name of the male player character is “Makoto Yuki” according to Persona 3 Portable canon. Concerning the female player character, “Kotone Shiomi” is the name of this protagonist, according to the text. Hence, as this is a new version of the game, we know for sure these are the canonical names of the characters. 

KOTONE SHIOMI PERSONA 3 CANON NAME REAL pic.twitter.com/IG1N9l3txc

— Faz (@ScrambledFaz) January 18, 2023

As a result of this news, a very old debate in the Persona community will end. You see, the name of the male protagonist in the Persona 3 canon has been up for debate. This is because of a discrepancy in the manga name of the character.

Minato Arisato is the name of the male protagonist according to the Persona 3 manga adaptation. However, anime movies, various video game appearances, and spin-offs list his name as Makoto Yuki. So, this has been up for debate in the fan base, with both sides having evidence on their side. 

Over the years, overwhelming support has been lent to Makoto Yuki for the name of the male character. But, fans of the Arisato have never let go and stuck with the name Persona 3’s manga adaptation has. Now, this 2023 re-release of Persona 3 Portable confirms once and for all what the name of the protagonist is in the canon. 

Obviously, it is disappointing for some fans to see that Arisato is not the actual name of the protagonist. But this is the latest version of Persona 3, and Atlus would know about this debate. Hence, maybe it’s time for the Arisato fandom to lay down arms and accept the Yuki alias.

Roger fans in shambles rn pic.twitter.com/HKwgJRsLAY

— 13 Lorentinels (@VXMasterson) January 18, 2023

This confirmation is also nice because the lead character has had several names since 2006. One internet photo names him as “Roger” which isn’t the favorite of any fan, or so we hope. “Kevin” has also been a popular meme in the community, but we thank God it’s not the actual name. 

We can also battle Makoto Yuki in the Persona 5 DLC Battle pack, lending more credence to his name. So, it is 100% assured now that this is the canonical name of the Persona 3 male protagonist. But we bet everyone will still insert their own name instead of using this default one. 

You can play Makoto Yuki and experience his story with whatever character name you like right now. Persona 3 Portable has come out on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PC. Hopefully, you will have fun playing as any lead you like. 

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