Ive been running through chars and rpacticing with them to see who I like best, but I cant say I feel anything about anyone. How can you tell when you know who you want to use? I know its a sort of 'feel' thing, but like I said, I cant tell and I dont show any superiority in performance from one to another in MP.

If you don't feel any more or less comfortable with any of the characters, I would say you could just pick one or two and spend more time with them. More time = better skills with that character.

Don't go online 'til you find your main and sub. If your new to fighting games, like myself, playing online can be absolutely brutal.

But I dont know -how- thats the problem. As I said before I have no real performance differences amongst the roster aside fro mbeing worse at two of them.

@Hokucho: So either:

1. Pick a character at random
2. Pick a character based on aesthetic/personality preferences

Don't see why it has to be so complicated if your skill is the same will all of the characters.

Learn what is special about them, and see if that matters to you

I use Kanji because i like Kanji, but i'm good with Chie and Akihiko. You seem to have the same level of skill with everyone, so use a character you like in a personality perspective.

If you've played P3 or P4 choose your favourite character from the ones available. If not, choose who you think looks coolest. Go into training mode, learn how all of their normals and specials work. See if you can create some of your own basic combos before heading into challenge mode and then arcade to practice what you've learned. Once you've got a better grasp of your character take them online and practice the stuff you've been learning.
 
You need to pay attention to what kind of player you are and what type of character best suits you. If you're playing a rushdown character but find yourself playing more defensively and waiting to punish your opponent, then switch to a zoning character. 
 
Basically, play the game more. Try out the different modes and just see who fits the best.

I just tried characters until I found a couple I was able to get the hang of quickly or wanted to learn. Maybe try playing challenge mode with a few characters, see how they play? Certainly helped me decide on mine.

I go by feel. Going into the game Yosuke wasn't even on my radar.

I'm Mitsuru, sub Charlie. My brother is Brosuke sub Elizabeth.

If you don't feel a particular affinity to any characters playstyle then just pick whichever character you like the most cosmetically.

Found my main. Naoto. Just beat 4 ranked matches in a row, two of which were Cs (I was currently F)

The way I found my mains was I basically I liked Chie from P4 so I used her as my main. And then Shadow Labrys to me was described to be most similar to Carl Clover from Blazblue so I picked her for that. And as I learned her I really liked how she felt. I still think I suck with both characters though .-.

But I want to like pick everyone up because I like them all xD

I just do it by if I like them or not - storywise then maybe gameplay wise :p

Just try out all characters and see which ones are comfortable for you to play with.

Then take him/her to training mode and practice.

Then go online and get some practical and matchup experience.

@Hokucho: Don't let the alphabet rank fool you. It matches you by level.

I know Hokucho found his main, but maybe this will help others coming in looking for theirs.

I have many many hours logged in Persona 4 and have hated Yosuke for every minute of every hour. That being said, he is my favorite fighter to play in P4A. I played through his story because I wanted 100% completion and immediately dug his play style. I main Yosuke, sub Akihiko. I've been told that's a bad call because they're both (mostly) close range, and although deep down I know they're right when they say that, I just can't help myself.

It really comes down to what you prefer. I really like the speed that Yosuke and Akihiko have. If you're good (I'm not) you can get in and get out without you're opponent really knowing what has happened (This is more Yosuke than Akihiko, he's fast, but he's not THAT fast).

If you're more in to ranged combat you might take a look at Naoto, Aigis, Yukiko, and to some extent Teddie

If you want someone who is fast but also really powerful, Mitsuru, Charlie, Chie, Labrys, and Shadow Labyrs are your best bets.

If you're just looking to beat the hell out of people and don't care that your character moves like he's wearing Goku's weighted training clothing, Kanji is your character for slow, brutal justice.

From my experience, Elizabeth is just a monster. If you know how to use her well, no one's going to stand a chance against you.

All of this stuff was purely from my perspective and the way I've played. It's possible that I've been doing it completely wrong (I've only had the game for a couple of weeks after all). Anyway, hope this helps someone along the way. Jeff talks briefly about some play styles in the Quick Look they have here on the site if you'd rather catch some info from there and pretend that silky baritone is directed specifically at you.

@CityName said:

Shadow Labrys (and I assume regular Labrys, but I have not played her at all) are your characters for slow, brutal justice.

Shadow Labrys is slow?

@FluxWaveZ: I based that entirely around Brutal Impact (Normal Labrys' version) having a 2 second charge time. I probably should have taken her other moves into account. I wouldn't call her super fast, but you're right, she's definitely not slow. I guess I oughtta do some editing.

If you want to work for counter hits and brutally punish for mistakes, Mitsuru & Akihiko.

If you like zoning, making your opponent play your game and annoying long pressure blockstrings, Yukiko.

If you like guaranteed mixups after knockdown and mindless offense, Chie & Charlie.

If you'd rather just mix people up without caring about safety, Aegis.

If you just kinda like to press buttons and like being good at mid range and air, Teddie & Labrys.

If you just want to guess right twice in the game and block the rest of it, Kanji.

If you don't like winning, Naoto.

@Vade: I'm sorry, but these descriptions are horrible. I suppose they're meant to be facetious?

@FluxWaveZ: Naoto one was bang-on.

I like great normals and great melee range. So I used Mitsuru and then moved to Teddie. Both are garbage for mixups but great at mid-range and Teddie is great at crossups.

@Brodehouse said:

@FluxWaveZ: Naoto one was bang-on.

But I win more than 50% of my matches with Naoto...

@FluxWaveZ said:

@Brodehouse said:

@FluxWaveZ: Naoto one was bang-on.

But I win more than 50% of my matches with Naoto...

You're you. You could win more than 50% of your matches playing with the controller upside down.

@Brodehouse said:

@FluxWaveZ said:

@Brodehouse said:

@FluxWaveZ: Naoto one was bang-on.

But I win more than 50% of my matches with Naoto...

You're you. You could win more than 50% of your matches playing with the controller upside down.

You two make me very sad.

(also more to the topic at hand, I picked my main based off who was my favorite character, who quite amazingly fit my playstyle fairly well. And I'm also nearing a 50% win rate...)

@TheFakePsychic said:

@Brodehouse said:

@FluxWaveZ said:

@Brodehouse said:

@FluxWaveZ: Naoto one was bang-on.

But I win more than 50% of my matches with Naoto...

You're you. You could win more than 50% of your matches playing with the controller upside down.

You two make me very sad.

(also more to the topic at hand, I picked my main based off who was my favorite character, who quite amazingly fit my playstyle fairly well. And I'm also nearing a 50% win rate...)

:/

It's not like I dislike her as a character or something. I was thinking about maining her myself before the game came out. But she's as gimped as Mitsuru is unfair.

@FluxWaveZ: Haha. I played Naoto quite a bit and every round is just working so hard for that SMP and you maybe get one chance because of her poor mixup. Her normals are also pretty terrible and traps kinda weak. I don't see winning a tournament with her or extended sets.

(Oh and I like her but she's pretty bad :P)

@Vade said:

@FluxWaveZ: Haha. I played Naoto quite a bit and every round is just working so hard for that SMP and you maybe get one chance because of her poor mixup. Her normals are also pretty terrible and traps kinda weak. I don't see winning a tournament with her or extended sets.

Despite her low health, Naoto is extremely fast. Her traps are not designed to deal damage, but to control the space and force your opponent to block if they attempt to pressure you. Her gun is designed the same way. Her Persona C attacks are really good, too. It's not all about the SMP.

If I had to, I guarantee you I could go pretty far—possibly even win—one of our community tournaments mainly playing as Naoto just by putting in effort to learn how to play as her correctly.

@FluxWaveZ: Well I can beat people who have no experience in the matchup fairly easily. However, you should see how fast my Naoto gets blown the hell up offline by this guy who practised the game couple months in the Japanese arcades. Naoto needs some serious dedication compared to other characters.

@Vade said:

Naoto needs some serious dedication compared to other characters.

And compared to Shadow Labrys?

@FluxWaveZ: No Slabby experience so I didn't put up a description. Seems like the same technical level as most Arc puppet characters.

@Vade said:

@FluxWaveZ: No Slabby experience so I didn't put up a description. Seems like the same technical level as most Arc puppet characters.

Shadow Labrys is the least played character in the game, behind Aigis. She requires the most dedication out of any character and is said to be the worst character next to Labrys. She is my main, and I have had a lot of success with her.

My point is that anyone can perform well with any character as long as they're willing to put in the effort. Naoto is much better than people are making it seem.

@FluxWaveZ said:

My point is that anyone can perform well with any character as long as they're willing to put in the effort. Naoto is much better than people are making it seem.

Yea you hit once, count carefully to 10, and convert a combo to like 5k to all your life in damage. It's still pretty nervewracking to play though.