As Atlus shows off Persona 4 Revival‘s fully voiced Social Links, some fans are convinced that the devs are also teasing the addition of a male romance option thought to have been cut from the original JRPG.
The character in question is Yosuke Hanamura – protagonist Yu’s first friend and party member, and one half of a non-canon pairing that’s been popular for the best part of two decades now. In Persona 4 and its Golden re-release, Yosuke and Yu become very close over the course of the story and their strictly platonic Social Link, but some datamined cut voice lines previously led fans to believe that the devs may have planned for it to be possible for the two to have become more than just friends.
As showcased by Persona content creator Faz in the video below, the unused (but fully voiced) dialogue goes as follows: “I focused all my attention on the murders to avoid having to confront myself. So long as I don’t try, nothing will change, even if we catch the killer. Right now, I’m just plain old me, and I want to do what I can with everything I got, with you guys. I never knew I had such heat inside, so I… I want to become someone who can proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Don’t go. I like you. … Don’t make me say stuff like that.”
While it’s up to interpretation, the delivery of those lines definitely implies there could have been a romantic connotation, and many are hopeful that this could surface properly in the upcoming remake – something some believe Atlus is now teasing. Over the last couple of days, Atlus posted a selection of Social Link clips from Revival in a video shared across its social media accounts, leading the post with the caption: “‘If someone had to see that, I’m glad it was you.'”
That’s a line from one of the conversations with Yosuke – you can hear Revival’s voiced version in the video itself – and while it might not mean much on its own, some are intrigued that Atlus is pushing that particular Social Link into the spotlight. “COME ON ATLUS THIS HAS TO MEAN SOUYO. RIGHT. RIGHT,” one fan questions, referencing the pair’s common ship name.
“If someone had to see that, I’m glad it was you.”Experience fully voiced social links in Persona 4 Revival, coming February 18th, 2027!Which character are you looking forward to chatting with most? pic.twitter.com/4i2tRhq70LJune 14, 2026
“They used Yosuke’s line on the caption. They are hinting a Yosuke romance route,” another speculates, while another asks, “WHY HIS QUOTE HMMMMM.” Meanwhile, another simply declares: “ATLUS! MAKE YOSUKE ROMANCE ROUTE REAL AND MY LIFE IS YOURS!”
And, as fans have previously pointed out, if Atlus were to add a romance route for Yosuke, it could theoretically add new context to some dialogue that’s aged very poorly in 4 and Golden. As one puts it, “Atlus has a once in a lifetime chance to completely recontextualize and VASTLY improve Yosuke’s character by confirming his homophobia to be a projection of his insecurity and internalized homophobia.”
It’s dialogue like this that I’ve been wondering how Atlus will handle when it comes to the remake – I’ve personally been speculating that it’ll likely just be cut entirely, even if a Yosuke romance route is added, but we’ll have to wait and see.
As for our chances of a Yu and Yosuke romance, I don’t think this specific Atlus post is the hint some want it to be, but given the old cut content, I’d like to think there’s still a possibility. We don’t yet know how Persona 6 is going to shake out in any capacity, but we do know it’ll feature romance, and locking players down to purely heterosexual relationship options like we’ve seen in Personas 3 through 5 would certainly feel like a dated decision, despite the fact that it wouldn’t be a first for the series (just look at Persona 2: Innocent Sin).
With that in mind, it’d also be a good opportunity before then with Revival to update one of the older games with something many felt it was missing, and, let’s face it, after years of shipping, Atlus is definitely aware of the demand.
Persona 4 Golden Chie actor is “deeply grieving” being recast in Revival: “Thank you for sharing the journey with me.”
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