Fans have already modded the most questionable romance out of Persona 3 Portable HD

by Alex Donaldson on 21 January, 2023

Well, that didn't take long. Persona fans have already taken it upon themselves to mod the new PC release of Persona 3 Portable - to remove one of the most controversial elements of the game from play.

It took less than 24 hours from when Persona 3 Portable was first released, but a new PC version of the 'No Ken Romance' mod which was previously available on PSP is already up on modding site GameBanana.

The Ken social link was always a hugely controversial element of Persona 3 Portable. Added for the handheld release as one of the new female protagonist's exclusive social links, the relationship the female lead can strike up with Ken proved unsettling to many, who noted that the relationship felt like the 17-year-old protagonist of P3P was grooming the 10-year-old Ken.

Considered most egregious, however, was how the S-Link storyline could culminate in a 'romance' between Ken and the protagonist. That's what this first version of the mod does: it outright removes the dialogue option late on in the S-Link which allows it to become a romance, locking out the romantic version of its final phases, plus some later scenes associated with that path.

While it was always possible to turn Ken's advances down, this mod ensures that taking up his offer isn't even an option you can select accidentally.

In future, the mod's creator promises a rewritten version of the Ken social link that removes and replaces other related aspects of the social link. But for now, this version of the mod is out as a 'simple' placeholder, and can now be downloaded and installed if you prefer.

The scenes with Ken have become a well-known meme over the years, with female protagonist cosplayers even posing being arrested at conventions in reference to the storyline. Removing the romance from the game was consistently one of the most popular mods for Persona 3 on PSP, alongside mods that allowed for a wider range of same-sex romances for both protagonists. P3P's mod scene was fairly extensive for a PSP game, and it's likely this is just the first mod of many.

Potential creepiness aside, Persona 3 Portable is a pretty great port of an admittedly slightly compromised version of the game. If you're planning to play it, be sure to check out our extensive Persona 3 guides - which includes a full and comprehensive Persona 3 Portable social link guide.