One of the things that keeps players returning to the Persona series is the classic, slice-of-life feel we’ve come to know and love, and Persona 4 Golden delivers on this in spades. You play as Yu Narukami, a teenager with access to the Midnight Channel during his year away from his hometown, and dating comes naturally.

RELATED: Persona 4 Golden: Achievement/Trophy Guide

The dating sim aspect of Persona titles offers you the chance to date one (or more – we won’t tell) of the available singles in Inaba. Meet these ladies at Yasogami High, make some friends, and choose your favorite of the Persona 4 romance options.

Updated on August 31, 2023 by Gabrielle Castania: With Persona 4 Golden porting to modern consoles earlier in 2023 and taking the world by storm once again, we wanted to come back to our ranking of the best romance options in Persona 4 to expand it a bit. In addition to new links throughout, we've expanded our list to be sure we're also including Persona 4 Golden's best romance options as well.

8 Yumi Ozawa

One of the aspects that seems to have stayed behind in older Persona titles was being forced to choose between one character or another to represent an Arcana, locking yourself out of getting to know the other character until subsequent playthroughs. The culture clubs you can join at Yasogami High fall into this theme, with Yumi being your social link in the Drama Club.

Her social link is a rather tragic one, watching her cope with her family life and some rather complicated feelings. We want to help Yumi, of course, but it kind of feels like she has enough going on without us. Add to that that her romance option doesn’t unlock until the final scene of her social link, and it, on the whole, leaves a bit to be desired.

7 Ayane Matsunaga

The other choice for your Sun Arcana in P4G, Ayane Matsunaga will play the role instead of Yumi if you opt to join the Music Club instead of Drama. She’s a very bashful underclassman who flourishes through her relationship with Yu, regardless of its nature.

What keeps Ayane this low on our list is that her entire social link feels completely platonic right up until the conversation to decide the nature of it. At least with the other girls, there’s some sign of interest before they’re your girlfriend, but not Ayane. It also doesn’t help that she looks almost as young as our adoptive sister…

6 Naoto Shirogane

Naoto feels an interesting choice for your protagonist to end up with, considering how canonical her romantic ties to Kanji are throughout the game. While it’s never explicitly stated that they end up together, we still feel a little weird stealing who feels like our friend’s girl.

RELATED: Most Shocking Moments In Persona 4 Golden

In addition to that, Naoto’s romance doesn’t trigger until her Rank Eight scene, which is pretty late in a social link that we barely have time to start working on before the end-game begins. Naoto’s a great detective and a solid friend, but maybe that’s where she’s best for Yu.

5 Chie Satonaka

The spunky little spitfire that keeps the Investigation Team going in their toughest moments with her pep and humor, Chie is widely regarded online as the game’s “best girl,” and we’d have to agree – she’s a cutie!

But, Chie is another social link where it feels like her bond with Yu isn’t a central focus. Naturally, she’s here to hang out and tags along diligently with the group into new investigations, but Chie’s social link, even when it leans more romantic, still feels a bit too much like a friendship.

4 Yukiko Amagi

The stunning heiress of the legendary Amagi Inn, a central attraction in Inaba, Yukiko is one of the first friends Yu makes when he begins attending Yasogami High. The game’s first dungeon is expressly centered around rescuing her from feeling like she’s stuck waiting for a “hot stud.”

And it’s definitely sweet to free her from such a feeling! When you take her on as a boss fight, you snap her from the spell and help her choose the path for her future on her own terms. And if Yu just happens to be a “hot stud” later on, then who are we to stop fate?

3 Ai Ebihara

We know - this pick might be a little contested, because Ai can be a bit difficult sometimes, shall we say. From the start of her social link, she’s not exactly the easiest character to digest, routinely approaching you with snark and, sometimes, what feels like outright disdain.

RELATED: Persona 4 Golden: How To Unlock All Endings

But Ai’s romance is one of the more unique in Persona 4 Golden, and the Persona series overall. At Rank Six, you’ll have the option to pretend to date Ai, and doing so actually locks you out of actually dating her a few ranks later. She wants someone who likes her for her – so hold off until you can date her for real.

2 Marie

Persona is renowned for adding a bonus character into the remastered releases of the Persona games, and Marie was our fresh face in Golden. Her social link is tethered explicitly to the remake’s bonus dungeon, making the Aeon social link something of a must for returning players.

And while Marie can be a bit acidic when you first meet her, getting to know her unlocks a world of inner turmoil and purpose no human could understand. You can still unlock the bonus content if you prefer a platonic relationship, but it’s hard to look past how intriguing Marie is when you get to know her.

1 Rise Kujikawa (Lovers Arcana)

Rise, the J-Pop idol looking for a quiet life outside the spotlight when she returns to Inaba, almost feels like the default romance option for Yu in P4G, with her consistent flirting sure to grate the nerves of any of the other ladies you may have chosen.

But it’s hard not to give her the top spot when she’s so damn cute. Persona 4 Golden didn’t hold back when it came to the motives of its dungeon rulers, with Rise’s arc focused on her figuring out how to be a teenager again instead of just a sex symbol. She can call us “senpai” as long as she wants.

NEXT: Most Heartbreaking Moments In Persona 4 Golden