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I love the Persona series. I’m a bit sad that the serious nature of the first few games were dropped (the Joker killings of Persona 2 was pretty chilling) but Persona 3 (and by extention, Persona 3 Reload) was pretty decent, along with the other main entries in the series.
I don’t really love the numerous offshoots (such as Persona 5 Tactica) but I don’t really mind them either. Still, if I had to pick a Persona game to remake, I would’ve asked for a redo of Persona 2. The two games that make up the second part of the series are awesome, and since only Innocent Sin was translated to English, I’m still awaiting to play the other part!
…Yes, I know I can just play the fan translations…but I’m lazy to download and patch.
Anyways, SEGA or ATLUS has decided that we get to have a Persona 3 remake instead.
Did that bet pay off?
Read on to find out!
What is Persona 3 Reload?
Persona 3 Reload a slice of life turned based JRPG.
It’s developed by ATLUS, with publisher duties handled by SEGA. It’s available right now on the PC, Playstation and Xbox consoles.
Our copies of the game were awesomely provided by SEGA! Thanks so much guys and gals!
So what’s up with Persona 3 Reload?
It’s a remake of Persona 3, a game in ATLUS’ premiere RPG franchise (though one can certainly argue that’s Shin Megami Tensei).
The original was released in July 2006 and since then, there have been numerous ports and enhanced upgrades to the game over the years. Persona 3 Reload though, is the first remake of Persona 3, not an enhanced versions like the rest.
You step into the shoes of Makoto Yuki, a new transfer student to Gekkoukan High. While initially just a regular transfer student, it’s shown that Yuki is able to perceive the Dark Hour (a secret hour that triggers at 12 midnight) and able to summon Personas (magic avatars that take on the forms of various deities and mythical creatures).
During the Dark Hour, normal people are transformed into coffins and monsters, known as Shadows roam the world. It’s also when the Tartarus, a huge towering building, appears and takes the place of the Gekkoukan High building.
Yuki is recruited to join a special team of Persona users to explore the tower and try to put an end to the Dark Hour.
So yeah, that’s pretty much the basis for Persona 3 Reload.
It’s the same plot as all the versions of Persona 3 with some quality of life changes thrown in. However, this version of Persona 3 is a remake of the original, so a ton of extra content that were present in the different versions of the game (particularly the content from the FES version) are missing.
Do I miss them? Yeah. I never did get to try playing as the Female MC in Persona 3, or the extra content epilogue in FES (which is quite sizeable). I’m hoping that ATLUS will be bringing that over in the future in the form of an expansion DLC though.
Other than that, this game is Persona 3 but updated for the modern taste.
In fact, it weirdly feels like a Persona 5 spin-off, except with the color usage being predominantly blue instead of Persona 5’s red.
That’s not a bad thing per se but it does make Persona 3 Reload lose some of its personality, at least UI wise. Gameplay-wise, the game is similar to the original, with a ton of quality of life additions to make the whole experience slicker.
You still have to build social links, you still have to budget your time to level up your stats, you still have to delve into dungeons at the end of the day to advance the plot and get stronger. It’s nothing new…or rather, nothing new to the game since Persona 3 is where all those gameplay elements originated from in the first place.
It’s the new quality of life additions though that makes Persona 3 Reload a much more superior game than the original.
My favourite has to be the shortcut menu you can call by hitting LB. It allows you to shortcut finding an exit to the map screen to get around the world map. So damn efficient! It saves a HUGE amount of time, even with the reduced loading in the remake.
There’s a similar function in battles too (except this time it’s mapped to the RB).
Incidentally, battles are now much faster to begin and still focused on knocking down enemies (by exploiting their weaknesses or through critical hits) and then dealing massive damage via the All-Out Attack
If you’ve figured out the weakness of an enemy, hitting RB automatically highlights the spell (or a similarly relevant item) you can use to trigger it. It even automatically highlights the optimal tag partner who has the relevant skills if you’ve in the One More phase!
These two additions alone are major time savers and everybody should use them to the fullest.
That’s not to say they’re all there is to the new stuff.
Battles are now enhanced with special Theurgy skills (super powered moves that requires the new Theurgy meter to be filled before they can be used), there are now extra character events (with your fellow S.E.E.S. members) that give you permanent stat buffs, the stupid fatigue system (wherein characters get tired the more you explore Tartarus) is FINALLY gone for good and best of all…YOU CAN NOW REWIND TIME!
Missed the Sunday morning TV show that allows you to get awesome stuff? Rewind! Missed a slot to put in the lukewarm taiyaki in the fridge? Rewind! Messed up a social link event? REWIND! Rewinding lets you restart recently passed days to redo whatever you want with no consequences!
Visually, the game’s gotten an overhaul too. Characters now look realistic, instead of the low resolution character blobs from the original game. Tartarus areas are now much more interesting (and creepier) to explore as well. Even the Personas themselves have gotten a visual rework, to be more in line with how they look in Persona 5.
Top it all off with a blazingly smooth framerate (not that considering that the game isn’t that much of a resource hog), and you get a great remake. Maybe not the definitive version of Persona 3, but certainly one of the best.
Weirdly, the music doesn’t really hook me.
I’ve always been partial to Persona 4’s soundtrack the most so that’s not a really big surprise. I still love the Velvet Room theme, but that’s mostly the same for all the games so that’s not really a win for the soundtrack. I even prefer Persona 5’s jazzy tunes over Persona 3’s more hip hop/pop leanings but that’s just a matter of personal preference.
Honestly, the music’s fine.
It’s been fine for all of ATLUS’ Persona games. I just don’t really like it cause the music’s not from genres I usually listen to. Now that I think about it…I really hope ATLUS makes a Persona game with a power metal and rock soundtrack. A sound like The Black Mages, but done with the usual ATLUS touch would be kick ass!
The Bottom Line.
Is Persona 3 Reload the definitive version of Persona 3?
Nope. It’s not.
It sadly doesn’t include content (some sizeable, some minor) from all of the other versions of the game released after the original.
Does it matter?
For the most part no, but ‘The Answer’ and the Female Main Character do offer up a ton of content that does matter, even if the Female MC isn’t canon.
It’s great that ATLUS has gone to lengths to make the game more modern and some quality of life improvements (such as the shortcuts for navigation and battles) are insanely awesome. Still, I do feel some of Persona 3’s personality’s been lost in the drive to make the UI more in line with modern Persona titles, Persona 5 especially.
At the end of the day though, Persona 3 Reload is a great remake that is just shy of greatness. I really hope ATLUS is working on the missing content as DLC because their inclusion would make this version of Persona 3 the best of all.
TLDR:
A great remake that’s just a bit short from being the definitive version of Persona 3.
The Good:
- New quality of life additions (like rewind and shortcuts) make a great game even better.
- The character and Persona models are much better.
- Smooth framerate and super fast loads.
- Fun battle system.
- Decent story.
The Bad:
- Missing Female MC and FES content.
- UI feels too much like Persona 5, just in blue instead of red.
- The music is hit or miss, depending on your taste.
Salehuddin Husin, EIC
Sal's been in the industry since the early 2000s. He's written for a ton of gaming and tech publications including Playworks, Hardwarezone, HWM and GameAxis. Recently, Sal served as a juror for the Indie Game Awards at Taipei Game Show 2020. A geek and hardcore gamer, Sal will play everything, on any platform.
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