A spin-off series of the Megami Tensei franchise, Persona is a series of JRPGs developed by Atlus, blending together the modern and the paranormal. Focusing on characters capable of summoning reflections of their inner selves called Personas, the series has a loyal fan following due to its major focus on well-written characters and engaging writing. While the combat in the Persona franchise is a turn-based affair not unfamiliar with what one may find in a game like Final Fantasy, players are able to select which of their favorite party members to use in combat.
While many of these characters are known for their defined personalities and not all of these characters are equally useful in combat. So today, we're going to examine which party members in the Persona series are the least useful. As the reasoning that some of these party members are lacking directly relates to the plot of games in the series, we must preface that there are spoilers for numerous entries in the Persona series ahead.
10 Haru Okumura
Haru is one of the last party members the player gains access to in Persona 5. With access to psi and gun-based attacks, Haru has a decently high damage output. While far from terrible, there are simply more flexible party member options the player can use, as other party members have access to more worthwhile support options and buffing spells.
9 Morgana
One of the first party members available in Persona 5, Morgana is a support-focused character who has access to wind-based attacks and some of the best healing magic in the game. Unfortunately, Morgana is a bit of a one-trick pony, who while adept at healing, leaves much to be desired when it comes to both offense and defense.
Once the player gains access to Makoto, who has comperable healing with much greater offense and defense, there is little reason to continue to use Morgana.
8 Teddie
Teddie is the sixth party member players gain access to in Persona 4, unfortunately failing to excel in any area. While Teddie has access to healing and ice magic, his healing capabilities is laughable when compared to those of Yukiko. While his access to ice is nice, Chie also has access to ice magic while toting a consistently higher damage output, providing very few reasons to use Teddie
7 Ken Amada
One of the final party members players gain access to in Persona 3, in combat, Ken has access to light magic, electric magic, and some support magic. Unfortuneately, to say that light magic is underwhelming in Persona 3 would be an understatement, and as party members are controlled by an AI in Persona 3, the player can't control how frequently Ken will attempt to use it. Additionally, while the electric and healing abilities Ken has are each helpful, Akihiko has similar capabilities, but with better consistency and availability.
6 Kanji Tatsumi
Oh Kanji. Appearing in in Persona 4 as the fifth available party member, Kanji is a heavily offense-focused character capable of dealing substantial amounts of physical damage. That is, if he could land a hit.
With incredibly low magic and luck as well as mediocre agility, though Kanji's attacks physical attacks hit like a truck, they are often quite inaccurate. Additionally, while he has access to electric magic, due to having such a low magic stat, he will struggle to deal substantial damage with them.
5 Mitsuru Kirijo
On paper, Mitsuru should be one of the best party members in Persona 3. With a stellar magic stat and access to both ice and healing magic, Mitsuru should function as a magic attacker who can heal other party members in a pinch. Unfortuneately, there is one key problem: Marin Karin. One of the earliest spells that Mitsuru learns is Marin Karin, a spell that can charm enemies. As the player is unable to control Mitsuru directly, she will often waste her turns using Marin Karin, even on bosses that are completely immune to the charm condition.
4 Naoto Shirogane
The final party member that the player gain access to in Persona 4, while Naoto was greatly improved in Persona 4 Golden, she struggles to be useful in the original version of the game. While Persona 4 Golden provided Naoto with additional forms of elemental damage, in the original version of the game, Naoto primarily has access to light and dark magic, both of which are completely useless in boss fights.
3 Junpei Iori
Another party member from Persona 3, Junpei is a party member who is plagued with problems. With below-average accuracy and a low magic stat, Junpei struggles to deal damage with his fire spells while he'll struggle to land hits with his physical ones. As if that wasn't bad enough, due to plot reasons, Junpei is unavailable during numerous key boss battles, which is horribly inconvenient.
2 Goro Akechi
Despite having a solid spell list and useful access to light magic, Akechi is easily the worth party member in Persona 5. This is for one simple reason: he's only around for one dungeon. While he was made more accessible in Persona 5 Royal, in the original iteration of Persona 5, it's hard to call a character useful when they're only around for a single dungeon.
1 Shinjiro Aragaki
Like Akechi, Persona 3's Shinjiro has the unfortunate distinction of being the least available character in the game. Even when he's available, while Shinjiro has a high damage output and resiliency, he is hindered by his lack of an element, meaning he will be extremely unlikely to exploit an enemy's weaknesses. As a party member with limited availability and limited applications when he's around, Shinjiro is unfortunately the least useful party member in the Persona series.