Saddest Deaths In The Persona Games

Those who have never played Persona 3 before or who haven’t played since it launched in the West on the PS2 in 2007 may be a bit shocked by the remake, Persona 3 Reload. There are a ton of main and side characters that bite the bullet. It’s a dark game that doesn’t end on the highest of notes without saying too much yet.

The other games in the series, namely Persona 4 and Persona 5, have had their fair share of untimely deaths too. How do these deaths stack up on the sadness meter? Let’s go through the series' tragic history.

Spoilers Ahead for all versions of Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5

8 Chidori

Persona 3

Chidori is the one death on this list that can be prevented, but it is still tragic. It’s one of those video game things that may escape players without a guide though, because of how involved it is. Also, saving her doesn’t amount to much, so it’s a bit more impactful for Junpei as a character to lose someone he loves.

Chidori sacrifices her life force to heal Junpei after he gets shot by Takaya. It’s a noble gesture that leads to Junpei and Chidori’s Personas fusing together to create something even more powerful.

7 Ryoji Mochizuki

Persona 3

Ryoji is a late addition to the game once players defeat The Hanged in Persona 3. This will level up the Social Link for Death, that young child, who later becomes a new teen at the high school, aka. Ryoji. Smart players would have realized something was wrong based on the way Aigis looked at him, and because it felt too late to add a new “good” character to the story.

Ryoji turned out to be Death incarnate, but he wasn’t trying to fool anyone. He had amnesia and, even after realizing his destiny, he was sad about having to bring about the end of the world. It made his death in the final boss fight with Nyx just a bit more depressing.

6 Kunikazu Okumura

Persona 5

Kunikazu was Haru’s father in Persona 5 and one of the evil adults messing up Japan with his Palace. Like all candidates for Palace raids, the Phantom Thieves just wanted Kunikazu to confess to his crimes, which he tried to do.

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However, during his press conference, Kunikazu has a heart attack. This sends Haru into a spiral as she loses her father and blames herself for his death. It's hard to watch, especially becasue the player can't say for sure that Haru didn't have a hand in her father's death. Did the Phantom Thieves go too far? No, it was later revealed that it wasn’t their fault, but that’s a case for later.

5 Saki Konishi

Persona 4

Saki is a teenage girl who goes to the same school as the other kids in Persona 4. She’s someone Yosuke is interested in dating, but just before he gets the courage to ask her out, she dies a horrific death. It’s sad considering she was just starting to open up to Yosuke too, and, unlike another love interest, Chidori from Persona 3, there is no saving Saki.

Her death does mean something though, and it springs forward the Investigation Team's case and directly helps them solve a murder. Saki can at least rest easy knowing she inadvertently helped stop a killer. Plus, players can learn more about Saki in Persona 4 from her brother, Naoki.

4 Wakaba Isshiki

Persona 5

Wakaba was Futaba’s mom in Persona 5, and she is the reason that Futaba locked herself up, because losing her mom was too shocking. She just wanted to shut down in her room and scroll the Internet in safety. Later, it’s revealed that her mother’s death wasn’t an accident, and was a planned hit because her research uncovered information she wawsn't supposed to see.

It’s a bit messed up that Futaba had to help face her mother’s monster form in her Palace, but it was all part of the healing process, and in the end, it helps Futaba move forward with her life and join the Phantom Thieves full-time. If only therapists could help guide people through Palaces to solve their grief through turn-based battles in reality.

3 Goro Akechi

Persona 5

Goro was a teen detective in Persona 5 who was helping the police track the Phantom Thieves down. He set them up in the guise of justice, befriending his fellow teens, but secretly, Goro was helping the real villain of the game. Even after his plan backfired because of the bond he made with the gang, Goro still sacrificed himself for them to get away.

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It’s another noble death but it's hard to forgive the crimes he committed for his father. Goro does technically come back in the epilogue for Persona 5 Royal, but that content is officially non-canon, and he eventually goes away.

2 Shinjiro

Persona 3

RPGs tend to like killing party members because it has more impact on the player, as it can mess with gameplay styles and leafve a gaping hole in the party structure. Probably the biggest one happens in Final Fantasy 7 and even though the character’s death has been memed to heck and back, it won’t be spoiled here.

What will be spoiled is Shinjiro’s death in Persona 3, who, like Junpei, jumps in front of a bullet fired by Takaya. His sacrifice saves Ken from death, but it also messes him up inside because Ken wants to kill Shinjiro too. Ken felt Shinjiro was responsible for his mom’s death, which Shinjiro inadvertently was, but not on purpose. Shinjiro sacrificing his life for Ken's is difficult for the surviving teen to process.

1 Makoto Yuki

Persona 3

What’s more impactful than killing a party member like Shinjiro? Killing the leader of SEES and the main character of Persona 3. Makoto is the canon name given to the main character in this game, but it doesn’t really matter what he is called. Makoto dies peacefully in Aigis’ lap, so at least that is something.

Makoto’s soul basically seals Nyx back in whatever dimension it came from. Persona 3 FES, the expansion to the PS2 original release, had Aigis and the others try to revive Makoto, but they couldn’t do it, knowing that it would unleash more evil if the seal was broken.