There are so many different characters in Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth. You are going to have 25 characters from Persona 3, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4, and Persona 5 with you. Each one is going to have different movesets that might make them better or worse in certain situations. Odds are, you are going to like a few much more than others, and perhaps use them more as a result. We’ve already gone over taking your first steps into the game. Once you get further, you might start wondering who would be best for each role.
Since Persona Q2 is an Etrian Odyssey sort of game, you want certain roles represented in your party. One person should be acting as a healer. Another should be your mage. (Considering how important exploiting elemental weaknesses can be, having two mages may be wise.) You also want two physical attackers, with one or both also being rather tank-y, so they can take a hit and protect the people in the back rows.
When it comes to physical attackers who could also act as pretty decent tanks, there are certain people from each game that can fit. With the Persona 3 cast, the obvious choices are ones who were known for being beefy in the original game: Aigis, Akihiko, and Shinjiro. All three have high strength and endurance. If you want one who will act faster, then go with Akihiko. He’s not as “tough” as Shinjiro, as his health and defense will be a bit lower, but his speed is higher. Shinjiro is better for survivability, since his health is higher. Both of them are short-range characters, while Aigis is ranged. When it comes to Persona 4 characters, Yu and Kanji are the good attackers who can take a hit. Both attack at a shorter range and have similar attacks. The hero has a little more SP for special attacks and has better speed and luck, but Kanji has more health. As for Persona 5, it comes down to Ryuji and Haru. The two character’s stat spreads are rather similar, with the difference being Ryuji has more health and Haru ends up with a higher magic stat, in case you want to occasionally have her use a Psy skill.
When it comes to elemental abilities in Persona Q2, you ideally want to form a party where everyone has a different elemental skill they can focus on and use. But, you also want to have some people who act strictly as mages. Certain people are best suited for this kind of “life.” The best Persona 3 mages are Mitsuru and Yukari. (Big surprise.) The former is great with ice skills, and the later focuses on wind abilities. I would say Yukari is a better fit for a party, since she uses a ranged physical weapon and you can stow her away on the rear line to lob spells at enemies. With Persona 4, your mages are Naoto and Yukiko. Both have ranged weapons, which is fantastic. Yukiko’s magic stat is higher, but Naoto’s faster. The former focuses on fire spells, while Naoto can be casting Eiha, Kouha, and Megido-family skills. Ann, Makoto, and Morgana are the Persona 5 characters who can really deal some great magical damage. Since Ann and Morgana can both easily tuck away in the rear ranks with their normal attacks, they might be ones who could be favored. However, since they are fire and wind-based characters, like Yukiko and Yukari, people might want to compare stats before picking which people should stay or go.
Then, there are the supporters. Certain people come in and feel like designated healers. Ann and Morgana are the first two you get. Ann gets skills like Dia, Diarama, and Mediarama to heal and ones like Patra and Me Patra to dispel ailments. Morgana is the better of the two at healing though, as he has skills like Dia and Mediarama, but also gets the incredible Mediarahan and the Samarecarm that can heal and revive an ally. Teddie and Yukiko step in as the Persona 4 healers. Teddie is good at patching people up with moves like Media, Mediarama, Samarecarm, and Amrita. I would prefer Yukiko, as she can get Media, Mediarama, the lesser revive skill Recarm, and Samarecarm. As for Persona 3, well, its represented healers aren’t all that good. Ken can have skills like Diarama, Diarahan, and Samarecarm, but none have the “me” prefix that indicates they would heal the whole party. Yukari gets Media, Mediarama, Amrita, and Recarm, but she doesn’t have the full revival skill Samarecarm.
Basically, people will have a lot of tough decisions to make. Think of it as Sophie’s Choice, only with Persona. You can make multiple preset parties to choose from, which can help. Plus, as you gain familiarity with certain dungeons, you’ll see that you need certain elemental types for different runs. Plus, people are doled out in such a way that you start with Persona 5 characters, then add in Persona 4 and Persona 3 cast members. Some people might have a slight edge over others, but you’ll be able to analyze better when you start testing out your own tactics.
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth is immediately available on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan. It will arrive in other regions on June 4, 2019. In case you missed it, we previously talked about the Persona 3 Portable heroine’s role, character interactions, the general ambiance, how this game makes the Etrian Odyssey formula feel more approachable, and talked about the original characters present here.
