Your party member choices are incredibly important in a game that expects you to delve deep into numerous dungeons, so that’s the subject of our article today. We’re going to detail the 5 that we consider to be the very best choices for your budding shadow slaying team. Whilst these aren’t exactly rules you must obey – Persona Q2 is nothing if not malleable – you’ll certainly have an easier time with the following characters. Were the original games’ choice of 19 usable characters not enough, Q2 ups the ante by giving you a positively huge list of 28, whilst once again giving you limited information about which of these will function well in each role.
5. Akihiko
In Persona 3, the game from which he makes the jump, Akihiko plays a strong and aggressive member of your team. He’ll often be first to throw himself into dangerous situations despite being somewhat of an older sibling alongside Mitsuru. Seeing him mature further is a pleasure in P3 and he turns into a character with more depth than you’d expect.
Much like in the original Persona Q, in which he also made our top 5 list, he doesn’t really get much in the way of growth outside of being eager to delve into danger. It’s a nice way to push the player forward, but expecting more is a quick route to disappointment. Good thing his battle performance is even better than the original. He again plays like a physical powerhouse and again comes with the ability to have his abilities or attacks duplicate themselves. His high stats mean these skills will always hit hard, and whilst physical attacks were ever so slightly re-balanced in Q2, he’s the ideal option for someone to buff up. Perhaps with a critical modifier or some such?
Party Benefits
- Very high Strength and Endurance, ideal for the front row.
- Single target Elec spell coverage.
- Good selection of physical skills.
- Access to the excellent Charge skill.
- Has a chance to duplicate his skills.
Advertisement
4. Joker
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or perhaps you’re allergic to having inordinate amounts of style pushed into your eyes, Joker is the main character of Persona 5. In that game he plays the part of a newly arriving student with a rather unusual past, having been charged for a crime he seemingly did not commit and expelled from his previous school. This is more exposition than we’re used to in a Persona title, though he still essentially functions as a window for the player to peer through.
None of this history translates into Q2, in which he becomes an even more transparent player character, albeit one with the ability to answer questions in a comical fashion at times. To be fair, we’d have no idea how to write this history into a game about watching spooky cinema films either. In battle we tend to put Joker in the back row, which may seem unusual at first. He doesn’t exactly seem like a supporting magic user, and we’d agree were it not for one thing: Rebel/Revolt Vanguard. What this does is vastly increase the critical chance of an entire row, which is stupidly powerful when targeted at a front row full of strong physical attackers. Try it once and you’ll never go back. Oh and bear this in mind when considering our next options…
Party Benefits
- Well balanced statistics all round.
- Access to powerful Gun skills.
- Learns single target Curse spells.
- Ability to buff the critical of an entire row is very useful in the late game.
3. Akechi
It’s hard to go too deep into the character of Akechi without providing spoilers for Persona 5, the game from which he originates. Suffice to say that he’s a complex and layered character that you’re likely to love and hate in equal proportions and at different times. Very little of this translates into Persona Q2 and if we’re honest we were surprised to see him here, despite the early announcement that P5 would feature. His character essentially revolves around being a straight investigative type, though he does get a little exposition towards the end of the game which we appreciated.
Akechi is the second character that we’d recommend you feature on in the back row of your party. He will be able to assist you by providing some good damage, especially with his group targeting Bless attacks, but his main benefits are in debuffing the enemy – Debilitate and Sleuth Insight will leave them bereft of defences and bound in multiple ways, ready for the rest of your team to tear them a new one.
Party Benefits
- Very well balanced statistics, skewed in favour of magic slightly.
- Incredible late game skills, Debilitate and Sleuth Insight.
- Access to powerful Bless spells.
- Good physical skills.
2. Mitsuru
Hailing from Persona 3 and er, Q, Mitsuru is one of the more mature students in your troupe. In her mainline game she took the form of a guiding hand, contrasting the over eager, relatively young members of SEES. There she experiences a good deal of development in which she learns to overcome her trust issues whilst retaining her sensible, sibling guidance.
In Persona Q2 she gets even less screen time than the original, which unfortunately means you’re unlikely to get any development outside of the occasional conversation-slash-disagreement with other members of the team. The larger team and the early game domination of the story by the Persona 5 cast means she’ll feel even more tertiary than ever. Happily she’s well worth bringing into battle. She has some unique abilities, not least that she can inflict some severe damage to your enemies by taking advantage of their elemental weaknesses and utilising her Queen/Empress Pierce skill. She’ll do great damage and easily inflict binds, which is all you need from the back row.
Party Benefits
- High Magic, Speed and good Strength.
- Learns the remarkable Queen/Empress Pierce skill.
- Powerful single target Ice spells.
- Great at inflicting Binds, thanks to Bind Arts+.
Advertisement
1. Kanji
If we’re honest, we nearly picked Aigis again as our tank/physical front liner, and we were all but giving in to that urge when we noticed that Kanji seems to have been significantly improved in this sequel. He has his origins in Persona 4, in which he plays a fantastically complex character. His overtly masculine tone and behaviour is a front for his secret love of more feminine retreats and hobbies. Throughout the title his story revolves around the slow reveal of this and his eventual acceptance of well, himself. It’s tastefully done for such an old game.
Strangely enough a small amount of this does actually seep through to both Q and Q2. He’ll occasionally get a small jibe from his team mates, and whilst this does completely ignore that he becomes more comfortable with his desires, it’s nice that they don’t just ignore this side of him. Taking Kanji into battle is to discover that he is an incredible tank, one that’s easily on a par with Aigis’ performance in the original. In one skill he’ll raise his own defence whilst protecting the entire party which, when combined with his very high defensive statistics, mean you’ll never have to worry about physical damage when he’s around. He can also put out some big damage with a combination of his damaging physical skills and his super high strength. He can even push out some good debuffs, making him a perfect all round front line party member.
Party Benefits
- Highest Strength and Endurance in the game.
- Excellent defensive skills in Machismo Wall & Barrier.
- Access to single target Elec spells.
- Powerful debuff skills in Armor Destroyer and Weapon Crusher.
More Persona Q2…
100% Completion Infographic | Persona Q2
Just how much time have we given to this series? Seriously, we have a real problem with the Persona games. Well alright, not so much a problem, more of an infatuation. What would you do when faced with a game that squishes the cast of 3 whole Persona games, whilst also be based around the…
The Best Accessories For Every Character | Persona Q2
It’s not unusual for an accessory, a Persona game accessory at least, to completely change the performance of a single character. In the original Persona Q, there were accessories that switched stats around, potentially completely changing a unit into something else. These exist in Persona Q2, but the game has expanded to feature far more…
The Best Armour For Every Character | Persona Q2
In a Persona game, grabbing the right set of gear for your team members is crucial. In Persona Q2, much like others in the series, your elemental vulnerabilities are baked in with your equipped persona, so your choice of armour will be limited in its influence to your defence rating. Not only this, but advanced…
Categories: Persona Q2, Top 5