I watched a Let's Play of The Answer immediately after finishing The Journey. I wanted to see how it is and after a while I decided that I'll just watch the videos. The game seems hard and not too rewarding. I was annoyed by some story parts (Yukari, especially) and didn't want to waste so many hours fighting hard battles just to see those.
But I think you were absolutely right about not leaving it out completely. It was important to get a few answers about the protagonist and to see how the characters have to deal with his "death". I think the game could've been pretty sad and serious and I liked how Aigis found her own answer to the question of life. But the hard and long battles draw the attention away from that too much.[/Spoiler]

Have fun with Persona 4!
I won't play P4 in the near future, so I'm curious to find out if you will like it more than P3.

Temperance is the foreign student S-Link - if you really missed that it's really no big deal. That guy is super weird.

Well, if we're speaking of S-Link characters, Akinari would be my number 1 anytime. I also liked the old couple and Kazushi.

Do you have fun playing The Answer? I heard it's pretty grindy and hard - would you recommend playing it or will I be fine with just the main game?

Wait, Hermit is the Online Game, so I'm not missing that one - I somehow mixed it up with something else. And the Tower becomes available when you're at Rank 4 with the Hermit. So you just missed those two by deciding that the Online Game is a waste of time and that's probably true.
I, however, can't find the Devil S-Link, I have no idea how to get that. All the other missing links are from the female Party members I haven't dated yet, so that's fine.
Did you ever have one of your links reversed?

Edit: Wait, the Devil is the one you get through the Online Game. ... I am confused now.

It's just "probably" Chidori? I already liked her before she sacrificed herself (well, just look at my theme here ), but now I know for sure she's one of my favorite characters. I wasn't as sad as when Shinji died, but it was still pretty bad for me.

You're on 31st of January - isn't it the last day in the game? You will finish the Answer before I even finish the Journey, I'm sure of it. But I'll work hard to make good progress, so we can talk about everything in the game.

The Tower and Hermit S-Links are one of those I don't have as well. I think one of them pops up when you're spending time with the online game, but that girl was so annoying and I never worked on that link.^^

Hm, I think I like Akihiko and Mitsuru the most. I'd also say Shinji, but well, does he really count for that short time he was in the party? I guess Koromaru is the third one I'd mention here, he's just the coolest dog. But it's really hard to say, the party is pretty likeable overall.
For the non party members, I like Chidori and got really fond of Ryoji, although Aigis said he's dangerous. He has obviously something to do with Pharos, but I still need to find out more about it. I'm really excited about that.
Who are your favorites?