Edwin Crump
If you have recently released the best entry in your franchise, filled out the roster with multiple spinoffs and are still (hopefully) working on the next entry, what do you do?
This is the situation publisher Atlus has found themselves in. They have filled the gap between Persona 5 Royal, released initially in 2019, with ports such as Persona 4 Golden, collaborations such as Persona 5 Strikers, and explorations into new genres like Persona 5 Tactics, released earlier this year. But their most recent project, Persona 3 Reload, is by far the most ambitious yet.
It is an entire remake of Persona 3, originally released for Playstation 2.
It brings it up to modern standards where it fits in right next to Persona 5, right down to its stylings and flair. In other ways it hues close to the original – there’s no mention of most of the new elements the ‘FES’ revamp brought to the table, and there’s no female lead as per Persona 3 Portable on Sony’s PSP handheld console. Instead, it is the best version of the original entry released yet.
While it may be a disappointing overall package to some, what Atlus have done to modernise and refresh the game brought me right back into why I love Persona games so much.
Despite the obviously missing elements of the Persona 3 universe, this new version is not a simple upscale and re-release of the Playstation 2 game. The changes to the game are vast, starting first with the graphics. Rebuilt entirely in Unreal Engine 4, Persona 3 Reload incorporates the design elements so brilliantly done in Persona 5, featuring the green and blue colour tones of the original.
While it isn’t entirely faithful, I think it looks great – modern and fresh while keeping intact the atmosphere and vibe of the original PlayStation 2 release. Running at what looks like 4K and a steady 60FPS on console, it feels bold and dynamic.
Unfortunately the dungeon crawling aspect of Persona 3, perhaps it’s weakest part, hasn’t seen the level of updates and polish that I would have hoped for. Unlike the bespoke dungeons of Persona 5, which were expertly handcrafted and had a real sense of progression and drama, Persona 3’s equivalent, Tartarus, is still mainly empty, boring floors of generic green. There’s not that much to differentiate your time in each section, though each bunch of levels has been given a slight theme which is a welcome change.
Fortunately the combat has seen some major upgrades, again inspired by Persona 5. You can now hand off your attack, all-out attacks have been introduced, you now control all party members (thank goodness), each party member now has a unique ‘ultimate ability’ (a la the limit break mechanic in Final Fantasy games) and there are other quality of life upgrades that moves the experience eerily close to the Persona 5 experience. Combat is still based on the same format of learning enemy weaknesses and using your abilities to combo them into submission, and the transfers from later games make this easier than ever.
I’m sure the 3D models for most of the enemies/Personas have been copied straight from Persona 5 to Shin Megami Tensei V to Soul Hacker 2 and now to Persona 3 Reload. While there’s nothing wrong with them, I did feel a bit of a sense of deja vu after so many releases featuring the same models.
There have been significant updates to the social side of things too, with new side stories with your party members – something that was curiously absent in the original. They’re not quite the same as normal social links, presumably because this would have required fundamentally rebalancing the entire social side of things, but they are a welcome addition that gives more foundation to the friendships you share with those in your dorm.
So fundamentally this is a fantastic way to play Persona 3. For the most part, it unquestionably eclipses the original release. But unfortunately it can’t truly be called ‘definitive’. Without ‘The Answer’ DLC from Persona 3 FES and the option to play as ‘feMC’ from Persona 3 Portable, there will still be contention about the ‘true’ or ‘complete’ way to experience what Persona 3 has to offer. It would have been great to see the PSP game included in the package for example, and at least there are rumours that The Answer DLC may be coming as future content.
And while it is great to see Persona 3 Reload release on so many platforms on Day 1, it is a bizarre omission to exclude the Nintendo Switch – where recent Persona re-releases have always felt extremely comfortable. I have mentioned only a few of the upgrades in this re-release, and it is obvious so much care and attention has been taken in replicating and intelligently upgrading many aspects that wouldn’t feel quite as contemporaneous if they were left untouched for a modern release. It is truly exciting that Persona 3 has this new lease on life, and I hope it continues to expand to reflect the entirety of the Persona 3 experience.
Released: February 2024
Rating: PG
Platforms reviewed: Xbox Series X|S
Genre: JRPG
Developer: P Studio
Publisher: Atlus