Pharos

Pharos is an important figure revolving the events of Persona 3.

Appearances

 * Persona 3 / FES / Portable: Major Character, Death Arcana Social Link
 * Persona 3 (Manga): Major Character
 * Persona 3 The Movie: Major Character
 * Persona 3: the Weird Masquerade -Ao no Kakusei- / -Gunjou no Meikyuu- / -Souen no Kesshou-/Chapter 4: Ai no Seiyaku/Final Chapter: Hekikuu no Kanata e
 * Persona 3 Em: Minor Character

Design
Pharos appears to be a young boy with short faded black hair, blue eyes and a pale complexion. He has a mole under his left eye, and wears black-and-white striped pajamas with sandals. The black-and-white stripes evoke a prisoner uniform, likely symbolizing Pharos being imprisoned within the protagonist.

In the manga adaptation, Pharos bears a strong resemblance to Minato.

Personality
Pharos is lonesome and curious. He initially suffers from amnesia, and doesn't introduce himself by name until June. He seems to know about the Dark Hour, Tartarus, Shadows, the large Shadows that appear every Full Moon (which, when defeated, will restore his memories and the knowledge of his true role as Nyx's Appriser), "the Fall." In the female protagonist's route, he seems to have a little affection and attachment to her.

Persona 3
Pharos appears as a young child; he is first seen upon the arrival of the protagonist in the dorm, where he gives the protagonist a contract, prompting him to sign his name. It is later revealed that the contract that Pharos had the protagonist sign allows the protagonist to access the Velvet Room, with his reasons and purpose unknown. He is shown to have a certain understanding towards the Shadows, and upon the protagonist's first attempt of summoning his Persona, Pharos can be seen smiling in front of the protagonist, encouraging him to fire the Evoker.

Pharos is shown to be residing within the protagonist's psyche, where he shows up only within the period of the Dark Hour. Pharos can only be heard and seen by the protagonist. Pharos constantly speaks of "the Fall," and often reveals vague hints of the Dark Hour's nature, along with the "ordeals" every full moon. At one point Pharos requests the protagonist to be his friend, allowing the protagonist to forge the Death Social Link.

As SEES destroys the Shadows that appear during Full Moons, Pharos slowly regains parts of his memories. It is not until the destruction of the final Shadow that Pharos' memory is fully restored and he is reminded of his role. He shows up the next morning, where he bids farewell to the protagonist, saying that it is time for their parting and that he would treasure the conversations and memories they've created.

Pharos' nature is later revealed. In the year 1999, when the experiment utilizing Shadows being conducted by the Kirijo Group was interrupted by Eiichiro Takeba, Death was forcefully ripped apart from his components, and escaped towards the Moonlight Bridge. Once there, Aigis, the last remaining anti-Shadow weapon that survived Death's rampage, engaged the Shadow. However, even in an incomplete state, Death's potential was far greater than Aigis anticipated. In an act of desperation, Aigis sealed Death into a young boy, using him as a vessel to keep Death from re-bonding with his counterparts. The young boy, who lost his parents to a "car accident" caused by Aigis and Death's battle, is the protagonist.

Inside the protagonist, Death slowly assumed a human form, as well as subconsciously bringing the protagonist to Port Island, the place where Death was born. With the "emotions" and "feelings" the protagonist bestowed towards Pharos, he would later assume the form of an individual person, Ryoji Mochizuki after leaving the protagonist's psyche.

Persona 3 Em
In Persona 3 Em, Pharos briefly appears as a figure that is seen by the protagonist, but later disappears when another person draws near. When the protagonist looks into a window, Pharos replaces his reflection. This occurs during the daytime, outside of the Dark Hour.

He is also encountered before the final boss fight with Arche-Orpheus, where he appears to taunt the player.

Social Link
Pharos represents the Death Social Link. Unique from other Social Links, it automatically ranks up from time to time, regardless of whether the protagonist visits Tartarus or not (Pharos can only be interacted with during the Dark Hour). By defeating the Hanged Man Shadow, the final ordeal of the Full Moon, the Death Social Link will automatically maximize itself, bestowing the protagonist the ultimate Persona of the Social Link, Thanatos. Pharos does not grant the protagonist any item upon completing the Social Link, and the Social Link skips upward in rank four times.

In the female protagonist's Social Link in Persona 3 Portable, Pharos shows some affection for her whenever in conversation, with Pharos at times calling her "my dearest" before leaving. This is also said by Ryoji for the last time before leaving if the female protagonist lets him live on December 31st and has maxed out Ryoji's Social Link as lovers.

Gallery

 * Persona 3

Trivia

 * Pharos, like Ryoji, shares the same English and Japanese voice actor with the male protagonist.