This page introduces you to the PLAYABLE characters in Persona 4. NPCs will be introduced in another section.
THE MAIN CHARACTER
The Main Character is one whom you give a name to at the beginning of the game. He has no preset name. He is the character you will be controlling and playing during the course of the game.
At the start: Your parents have recently gone on a work-related trip, which will last for a year. Since you need to continue through school - being a second year high-schooler - they send you to a smal rural town known as Inaba. You are sent to live with your uncle Dojima and his small daugher Nanako.
You begin a normal high school life at the local high school. Here you meet with Chie
Satonaka, Yukiko Amagi, and Yosuke Hanamura. Through these three you learn of the mysterious thing known as the Midnight Channel. It is said that if you watch the television at Midnight on a rainy night that your soul mate would be revealed. You promised Chie that you would do this on your first rainy night on Inaba.
On a rainy night soon after you come to town you watch this 'Midnight Channel' and something strange happens. Indeed, a woman appears on the screen -- and not only that, but you are able to stick your hand into the television!
The next day you tell your friends of these things and they laugh it off as a joke, however, you later head to the Electronics Department in the local mall and what do you know? You ARE able to stick not only your hand into the television, but your whole body as well!
With both Chie and Yosuke, you venture into the Midnight Channel.
Your days as a 2nd year are spent venturing into this mysterious place and figuring out what kind of connection it has to the real world. All the while you are also a normal high school student - you make friends, attend classes, go on school trips, and even take part time jobs to earn some extra cash!
Chie Satonaka
Chie is a young girl who is in the same class as you. She is one of the first people you befriend and also is the one who introduces you - and all your other friends - to the Midnight Channel.
She's an outspoken tom-boy who enjoys Kung-Fu movies. She also joins you in the investigation of the mysterious TV World.
In battle, Chie is more strength oriented. She is weak to fire attacks but strong against ice attacks. She has mostly physical oriented skills, such as rampage, skull crusher, and power charge. She does have a couple ice skills, but the best one she gets is Bufula, thus her magic will probably only be used to knock down opponents weak to ice. She also has decently high agility which means her turns will come first most of the time.
If you decide to advance her social link, you will be able to create stronger personas of the Chariot Arcana.
Yosuke Hanamura
Yosuke is another classmate of yours who becomes a good friend. He, along with Chie, are the first people to join you in your fight against the Shadows in the TV World.
Yosuke is the son of the Manager at the local department store - Junes. Many people in town think ill of them since Junes has taken customers from the local stores. This also means Yosuke has a pretty hard time making friends with his peers, thus Chie, Yukiko, and you are probably his first friends in town. Though, he also does seem to get along with Saki, a young woman who works part-time at the Junes Food Court.
Yosuke is more of a "balanced" character, which means depending on the situation, he can use either physical or magic types of attacks effectively. His stats are pretty balanced when compared to other members of the Investigation Team. He uses wind based magic - but this also means he is weak to thunder based spells.
If you decide to advance Yosuke's social link, you will be able to create stronger personas of the Magician Arcana.
Yukiko Amagi
Yukiko is another one of your classmates. Her best friend is Chie and the two of them are always seen together at school. Yukiko's family also runs the Amagi Inn, which is said to be the hidden treasure of Inaba. The Amagi inn is a very hot local attraction which features an amazing hot spring!
Yukiko is also a very beautiful young woman - which can be seen by the amount of people who admire her from a distance. Even so, Yukiko has claimed to never have had a boyfriend, regardless of her popularity with the opposite gender.
In battle Yukiko, no doubt, will take the role of a magician. She has powerful fire-based spells and great healing spells. Most of the time she will act as the party healer. She does not have any physical based attacks. Her strength is quite low, however, her magic is very very high. She is weak to ice based attacks but strong to fire.
If you decide to advance Yukiko's social link, you will be able to create stronger personas of the Priestess Arcana.
Kanji Tatsumi
Kanji Tatsumi is a first year student at the high school you attend, however, he hardly ever shows up for class. Known as a "bad boy" he is linked to various gangs around town. Recently he had been seen on the local news, being linked to "motorcycle gangs."
Kanji's mother runs the textile shop in the shopping district. If you ask around in this area, all the old men and women claim that Kanji use to be such a sweet boy. In his spare time, Kanji likes to sew and do various crafts but takes up acting tough in order to seem more manly.
Kanji is the most powerful, physically, in the party. He has the higest strength, but he also has the lowest magic. He uses thunder element spells, though, most of his attacks are strength based. He has very high HP but low magic.
If you decide to advance Kanji's social link, you'll be able to create stronger personas of the Emperor Arcana.
Rise Kujukawa
Rise is first seen in the anime cutscene at the very beginning of the game. She is the woman who is advertising Calorie Magic. Having said this, Rise is an idol. She's gaining popularity in Japan and is loved by high-schoolers everywhere. However, due to an accident, Rise recently decided to give up acting for the time being and return to Inaba - her hometown - to work at the Tofu Shop her family owns. Needless to say, all of Inaba becomes excited over this.
Rise doesn't actually battle with you in the TV World, however, she assists you. If you've played Persona 3, you know her role well. Her role is much like Fuuka's was in the previous game. She'll help aid you in attempting to scan the enemy weakness. Rise, does, however, level up just as you do. As she levels she will gain more skills to aid you in your fight against the shadows.
If you decide to advance Rise's social link, you'll be able to create stronger personas of the lovers arcana.
Naoto Shirogane
Naoto showed up in Inaba soon after the second murder took place. He's a very skilled detective who is very motivated to find the killer and solve the case. However, he's also very young and not taken too seriously by his peers at the police station.
Known as the "Detective Prince," Naoto has gained some popularity in Inaba. He has a reputation for being very skilled despite his young apperance.
Later on in the game, Naoto decided to attend school with you, and thus, things become a little more interesting with the young detective.
In battle Naoto is quite interesting. The detective uses various instant-kill skills and has physical skills. He has a good balance of stats, minus endurance. In later levels you will find that Naoto does not have the endurance that the rest of the characters has which makes him prone to being killed quite a bit easier.
If you decide to advance Naoto's social link, you'll be able to create stronger personas of the Fortune Arcana.
