ThePersonafranchise has many characters that generate debates among fans over “who’s the best protagonist” or “who’s the best romance option.” Then there are the “mascot characters”, who are usually nonhuman characters commonly used to promote new content for thePersonaseries.
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While it seemsPersona 3’s mascot character, Koromaru, is well-liked by the majority of fans, opinions onPersona 4’s Teddie andPersona 5’s Morgana are more divided. Some fans enjoyed Teddie’s bubbly personality while others preferred the more serious Morgana.
9Better Social Link: Both
The good thing about Teddie and Morgana’s Social Link/Confidant is they progress with the story. This saves gamers some in-game time tobuild up other Social Links/Confidants instead.
Even if players neglect the other IT/Phantom Thieves', Teddie and Morgana guarantee that there will be at leastoneSecond Awakened Persona, or, in the case ofPersona 4 GoldenandPersona 5 Royal, a Third Awakened Persona by the end of the playthrough.
8Better Persona & Skills: Morgana
Morgana has Zorro, which will awaken to Mercurius, and then Diego (Persona 5 Royal). For Teddie, his Kintoki-Douji awakens to Kamui, and then Kamui-Moshiri (Persona 4 Golden). Stat-wise (without any modifiers), Kintoki-Moshiri and Diego are mostly the same, but Kintoki-Moshiri has better Endurance and Magic at level 99, while Diego has better Agility and Luck.
Kintoki-Moshiri gains the special skill Kamui Miracle, which is a luck-based Support Skill. For example, Kamui Miracle can either restore its team’s HP/SP, or it can restore the enemies' HP/SP. As such, it’s not the most reliable skill, and many players will forgo it for Ice Amp or one of Teddie’s healing spells. Diego gains Miracle Rush, which is a medium Physical-damage withhighchance of Crit that damagesallfoes. Additionally, Morgana gets the healing skill, Salvation. So, between the two, it’s likely gamers will keep Morgana for their final team while benching Teddie for Yukiko or even Yosuke.
7Better Human Form: Teddie
Despite Morgana’s insistence that he’s human, he’s not. Morgana takes the appearance of a regular house cat outside the Metaverse. He was given a temporary human form in the false reality inPersona 5 Royal, but it’s shown thathis appearance took inspiration from a male modelthat Ann saw on TV. Once Morgana breaks free of the false world, he remains a cat for the remainder of the game. Luckily, he’s more accepting of it this time around.
Teddie gained a human body after defeating Shadow Teddie. To be more specific, he grew a human body to be closer with the IT. After this, Teddie is able to go outside the TV world. Unlike Morgana’s human form, Teddie’s appearance wasn’t based on someone else. More importantly, Teddie can easily swap between his bear suit and human form whenever he wants.
6Better Friendship With Protagonist: Morgana
Teddie looks up to the protagonist, referring to him as Sensei even in the spinoffs where Yu has an established name and personality. Yu is there if Teddie needs advice or if he needs to voice his insecurities, but his less-serious personality means he’s not the best advisor on the team.
In the beginning, Morgana serves as a mentor to Joker. He teaches Joker how to craft Infiltration Tools and is quite knowledgeable about Palaces. While he still has his own securities, Morgana is constantly by Joker’s side, compared to Teddie who spends the first quarter of the game in the TV Worldbefore living with Yosuke. Morgana’s reason for being with Joker is because of Joker’s status as a silent protagonist. He essentially serves as Joker’s “voice.” Because of this, it gives the impression that Joker and Morgana are much closer than Yu and Teddie.
5Better Role In The Story: Teddie
Both Teddie and Morgana are tied to the TV World/Metaverse, but it seems Morgana has spiked more controversy than Teddie. While Teddie has his self-doubts, he doesn’t get much of a character arc to himself outside his Social Link. By Rank 10 of the Star Social Link, he comes to terms with who he is and where he belongs. Meanwhile, some fans were very displeased that the Okumura arc inPersona 5ended up being more about Morgana than Haru. Fans agree that Morgana had some baggage, but many felt it should have beenHaruconfronting her father’s Shadow, not Morgana.
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Additionally, while both Teddie and Morgana go missing, Morgana’s absence essentially robs the player of several in-game days that would havebeen better spent ranking up Confidants. However, Joker’s inability to do anything without Morgana forces players to go from Point A to Point B and literally chase him down in Mementos. The fight between Morgana and Ryuji, which was the final push Morgana needed to leave the Phantom Thieves, was not well-received. Some fans think Morgana (and theteam) owed Ryuji an apology for every bad thing he said, while others believe Ryuji was harsh on Morgana the minute Futaba stepped up to the plate.
4Better Chemistry With Their Team: Morgana
Teddie, unfortunately, doesn’t have a very memorable relationship with the IT. He’s close to Yosuke and Yu, but his relationship with the girls is very copy-paste. He talks about scoring with Chie, but he also wants to score with Yukiko, and then he feels the same about Naoto and Rise.
Morgana has a strong relationship with the first three Phantom Thieves - Joker, Ryuji, and Ann. While he has a major crush on Ann, he affectionately refers to her as “Lady Ann.” He even forms a strong bond with Haru, who he meets after abandoning the team during the Okumura arc. InPersona 5 Royal,this is reflected in Morgana’s Showtimes, in which one he shares with Ann and the other Haru.
3Better Relationship With The “Best Friend”: Teddie
Morgana and Ryuji butt heads the minute they meet. Many of Morgana’s lines as Navigator usually have him talking down on Ryuji if he misses a target or is inflicted by a status effect. While this negative relationship dials back midway through the Okumura arc, the entire first half of the game doesn’t paint Morgana and Ryuji’s relationship in a positive light. As much as Morgana gives Ryuji a hard time,Ryuji gives it right back- especially when Futaba joins. However, they still care for each other, and their relationship has improved tremendously byPersona 5: Strikers.
Once Teddie arrives in the human world, he needs a place to live. Yosuke and Teddie argued frequently, but it’s Yosuke who Teddie ends up living with. From there on, they work together at Junes and Yosuke even buys Teddie a cellphone to keep in contact with the rest of the IT. Unlike Ryuji and Morgana, Yosuke and Teddie get a combined attack (Junes Bomber) inPersona 4 Golden.
2Better For Exploring The TV World/Mementos: Morgana
Teddie doesn’t have the special ability to turn into a vehicle, meaning the IT is stuck exploring the TV World on foot.
In Mementos,Morgana transforms into a busto make dungeon crawling quicker and easier. Coupled with Ryuji’s unique Confidant ability inPersona 5 Royal, players can easily drive over enemies if they’re a high enough level.
1Better Comic Relief: Teddie
Morgana has his silly moments, butthe serious tone ofPersona 5doesn’t leave much room for the goofy humor that was inPersona 4. Most of the time gamers will be laughing at Morgana is if when they’re given a chance to “button mash” Morgana’s head.
Morgana is a much more serious character than Teddie, meaning he’s not going to be as clumsy as Teddie or purposefully riling up his teammates. Teddie is much clumsier and more naive than Morgana, which can lead to some humorous moments in-game.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimaxis available on PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC whilePersona 5 Royalis available on PS4.
