Honestly, I like every character in 3 and 4 and thought they the character development is awesome. Each character was likable and had their own unique personality. I thought the humor is very good even though it may seem to be objectively not good. I think the real disconnect might just be the styles between Devil Survivor and Persona 4. You may enjoy 3 more because its darker than 4, 4 is the upbeat one out of the two. If you like visual novel games, I could suggest the zero escape series. The story and characters are really good in that too.
The humor is the reason I bought Persona 4 in the first place (that and something to smoothen the transition into other SMT games). Before buying a game, I tend to watch the first 3 episodes of a Youtube lets play to determine if the gameplay appeals to me. And Kinshikoora Morooka (the homeroom teacher) sold me on the game.
I have been hearing that a few times that I might prefer P3 but P3 has social linking, which is a massive red flag for me (even though the story I saw in the 2 movies showcased a more touching, darker story than P4). Sadly, what utterly destroyed my desire to play any more Persona games is the Social Linking aspect. I absolutely hated it in Persona 4, I hated it even more in Devil Survivor 2. And from what I hear SMT4 Final might have Social Linking as well, which in that case, I am not even touching the game. If true, I think I am done with SMT... shame, because the series had such a good run.
As for Zero Escape, @BrunoBRS repeatedly badgered me into Zero Escape. Between Akane, Bruno's Badgering and a plot with a heavy dose of garbage (Pseudoscience and even some hints of stuff you might see on the youtube channel Spirit Science). I cant really say I liked the game. In fact, it is probably my least favorite visual novel.
You could try Persona 1 or 2 EP / IS, im pretty sure those didnt have social links. I haven't tried them yet because they didnt have them and I like the character development from them :P. Its supposed to be darker, so it might be up your ally if you really are opposed to social links.
For Zero Escape... Why are you crushing all my favorite games T . T
Because I am a pretender to the throne of Lord of Hate.
Persona 2 was really good. It has aged, but its a good game nonetheless. What I am somewhat hoping with Persona 5 is that it will be a hybrid between 2, 3 and 4. Taking the best elements of each. I dont like Social Linking but a lot of people do, maybe they could be improved so I can like them too.
The concept of Social Linking is absolutely fine, telling microstories that are thematically connected to the main plot is a great way to build up the surrounding world. What I dont like is how the current mechanical implementation punishes you for roleplaying.
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