So, you’re picking up Persona 3 Portable and wondering whether you should go with Makoto (the original protagonist) or Kotone (the heroine). Generally, both characters are great! Their two routes also are rather similar. However, there are some Persona 3 Portable differences between the male and female protagonists that are helpful to know going in.
1. Obviously, Your Avatar Looks Different.
This is a given, but if you choose Kotone you get a female avatar. If you choose Makoto, you get a male one. Some dialogue will be different as a result. For example, when Kotone is made leader of the group in Akihiko’s absence, there’ll be an aside about Yukari asking if Junpei is upset because she’s a girl. Their costumes when you get certain items also obviously are different too.
2. The Male and Female Persona 3 Portable Protagonists Use Different Weapons
This is a very minor difference. Makoto uses one-handed swords, while Kotone wields a naginata. So a male protagonist will start with a Rapier, while she’ll carry a wood stick. However, both of them inflict Slash damage and they have the same attack stat, hit rate, price/acquisition method as their counterparts. So the Rapier and Wood Stick both have 37 attack and 92 hit. Then, when you upgrade to a Gladius or Tsukushi Naginata, it will feature 39 attack, a 96 hit rate, and will be at the Paulownia Mall Police Station for 3,400 yen.
3. Orpheus Looks Different.
So, the Persona 3 Portable male and female protagonists’ signature Personas looks slightly different. Orpheus is white, blue, and silver for Makoto and white, red, and gold for Kotone. Kotone’s Orpheus also carries a heart-shaped harp. However, they are otherwise identical in terms of stats and skills. Each one will still eventually have Agi, Bash, and Tarunda and give you an Agi Skill Card.
4. Social Links Differ.
This is the big one. Kotone has a number of Social Links that are different from Makoto’s. She’ll also be able to pursue romantic relationships with characters like Akihiko and Shinjiro, whereas Makoto couldn’t. You also only get Junpei as a Social Link in the Kotone route.
These are Kotone’s unique Social Links in Persona 3 Portable.
- Akihiko Sanada: The Star
- Junpei Iori: The Magician
- Ken Amada: Justice
- Koromaru: Strength
- Rio Iwasaki: The Chariot
- Ryoji Mochizuki: Fortune
- Saori Hasegawa: The Hermit
- Shinjiro Aragaki: The Moon
Here’s a list of Makoto’s unique Social Links:
- Chihiro Fushimi: Justice
- Kazushi Miyamoto: The Chariot
- Keisuke Hiraga: Fortune
- Kenji Tomochika: The Magician
- Mamoru Hayase: The Star
- ”Maya:” The Hermit
- Nozomi Suemitsu: The Moon
- Yuko Nishiwaki: Strength
5. Kotone Can Pick Between Elizabeth and Theodore as a Velvet Room Attendant.
Makoto can always only visit Elizabeth and take her requests when in the Velvet Room. However, when Kotone heads to the Velvet Room, she can choose between Elizabeth or her brother Theodore. This also means Theo replaces her as an optional fight and uses different Personas than she does.
Persona 3 Portable is available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PSP, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
