Is it pathetic that I only discovered Persona now, and due to my sentiment that nothing good is coming out in the next few months short of Gran Turismo 5? 
 
Anyway, I have Persona 3 Portable now, and I want to know, what suggestions would you give me on progressing through the game (i.e. what choices to make/links/what to do and when)? I absolutely adore this game, and it is in good contention for my favourite JRPG of all time.

Is it pathetic that I only discovered Persona now, and due to my sentiment that nothing good is coming out in the next few months short of Gran Turismo 5? 
 
Anyway, I have Persona 3 Portable now, and I want to know, what suggestions would you give me on progressing through the game (i.e. what choices to make/links/what to do and when)? I absolutely adore this game, and it is in good contention for my favourite JRPG of all time.

Endurance Run...?

You should have gotten the PS2 version!

As a general strategy, it's a good idea to spend every waking moment that an s-link is available upping your s-links. When none are available, start focusing on one major stat-boosting activity at a time (usually the best choice is the for-pay arcade at Paulownia Mall, or the different food places at the strip mall type area during the day).  Stats (charm, etc) unlock other s-links, so they're still necessary to raise quickly.
 
If you're actually looking to max out all s-links, you have to follow a pretty rough and strict schedule. I wouldn't suggest trying because it kind of sucks the enjoyment out of the game. There are enough uninteresting characters you can just skip talking to altogether (the problem is that you lose out on the uber powered persona you get as a reward for maxing s-links, but none of them are truly necessary to have for beating the game on normal difficulty).  I personally think it's best to focus on members of your team just because their stories are far more interesting (and you want to get to know the people you're fighting with!).
 
You'll probably have an easier time getting more stuff done if you get as much done in Tartarus as you can in a single day for each cycle of the moon. That means leveling up and beating each miniboss/ completing all quests for the month all in as close to one trip as you can manage. The reasoning behind it is that there really is no penalty for getting tired by overworking yourself if you don't actually need to go back to Tartarus anyway, and it frees you up for another evening of s-linking or stat boosting if you don't have to spend that time going back into the dungeon. The disadvantage is that it can get really boring spending so much time in the dungeon at once, and you'll probably have to make multiple trips due to some added missions later in the game. 
 
Besides that, though, my greatest suggestion is to just play the way you want to play and have fun. Turning into an almost MMO-like grind to get everything perfect sucks the fun out of the game. 

Don't worry too much about how to progress through the game. Just enjoy the experience whichever way you want.

" Don't worry too much about how to progress through the game. Just enjoy the experience whichever way you want. "

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" Don't worry too much about how to progress through the game. Just enjoy the experience whichever way you want. "

This.  Going for the most efficient route or anything would have ruined my experience going through Persona 3 FES/Persona 4.  I assume you're playing on Normal?  If so, just grind occasionally and don't do stupid stuff instead of going for some S.Links and you'll be fine. "

" Persona 3 is definitely not a game that you can take lightly. I learned that the hard way. "

" @natetodamax said:

" Persona 3 is definitely not a game that you can take lightly. I learned that the hard way. "

I took Persona 3 FES lightly without knowing what I was doing for the most part and I did just fine.  I did follow a certain plan of action from time to time, but I still did what I wanted to do for the most part and I hung around with people randomly. "

" @FluxWaveZ said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" Don't worry too much about how to progress through the game. Just enjoy the experience whichever way you want. "

This.  Going for the most efficient route or anything would have ruined my experience going through Persona 3 FES/Persona 4.  I assume you're playing on Normal?  If so, just grind occasionally and don't do stupid stuff instead of going for some S.Links and you'll be fine. "

Persona 3 is definitely not a game that you can take lightly. I learned that the hard way. "

" I don't think you can permanently mess up any of the social links either. "