Could’ve sworn I reviewed this already…oh no wait, that was the console port of P3P last year. This is the full on remake of Persona 3 I’ve wanted since the dancing spin off Dancing in Moonlight’s updated character models showed me that Atlus still cares about this game. Much like Akihiko, I’ve been waiting for this, so let’s get into it.
The main story hasn’t changed since the old version, so if you’re new to Persona 3 and need a primer, he’s my review of P3P from last year: https://thereviewingfloor.wordpress.com/2023/02/02/p3p-persona-3-portable-review/
Right then, no female protag in this one, so you’re the male lead Makoto Yuki (his generally accepted name; he doesn’t have an official one). One of the biggest and best new changes is a greater emphasis placed on interacting with the members of SEES. Male members still lack social links, but they have new “Link episodes” that act the same way, and you can now watch DVDs, read, study, cultivate plants and cook with every member of the team. They grant powerful new abilities and skills, but crucially they make SEES feel like a proper group of friends who love and care for each other. They grow closer through overcoming adversity over the course of the plot, but it’s in these optional side interactions that they show their depths. Akihiko is a warm, caring senpai when he isn’t focused on pushing himself to his physical limits. Ken is a kind soul who needs encouragement and gently pushing in the right direction; his grief over his mother and Shinji is seen as part of a whole character rather than just relegated to a handful of conversations. Yukari is more openly friendly from the get-go and Junpei worries that his life is directionless, and needs something to aim for. They’ve changed the way relationships work too, so it’s in line with P4 and 5 now; you choose whether or not a social link will turn romantic with a clear, explicit dialogue option at rank 9, so now you can actually be friends with girls. Rejecting Mitsuru’s advances causes her to take an entirely positive stance on the matter and talk about how you’ve helped her uncover, express and be true to her real feelings, and that by turning her down you’ve stayed true to yours; you end that social link as true companions with an unshakable friendship. Same goes for Yukari and Fuuka, and you can hang out with all three without them accusing you of cheating and reversing their social links. It takes the rock solid base of Persona 3 and adds a whole lot of depth to its characters, making it feel richer and more engaging as a result. Persona 3 is a beautiful, bittersweet tale of companionship and finding meaning in a life that inevitably ends; as the credits rolled on this new version I briefly wondered if I actually prefer it to Persona 5. It’s something that will require more consideration, but if you know how much I love Persona 5 (and Royal in particular), even raising the question is saying a lot.
Persona 3 portable took the important step of adding in direct control for each party member, and in that spirit, Reload has some major additions of its own. Healing in the lobby of Tartarus now requires a finite item also used to unlock chests, but you no longer get tired when exploring, so as long as you’re able to heal you can stay there grinding as long as you want. The post-battle “Shuffle Time” mechanic now includes major arcana, earned from boss fights and clearing out the Monad Passage side area, that offer a variety of buffs like increased all out attack damage, persona stat boosts and one I took advantage of to get Messiah; the ability to fuse personas five levels higher than yours. You don’t make money from fights now unless you get the coin arcana in shuffle time, but major arcana can let you choose more than one card at a time, and Tartarus is saturated with sellable items. Fuuka has a variety of skills like mapping out the entire floor and teleporting you back to the lobby, and each character has multiple “Theurgies”; special moves that do a lot of damage, ignore resistances and rely on a meter that charges in ways unique to each party member. In addition to these changes, the full moon bosses have been tweaked, for example Priestess has a move that accelerates the timer counting down, Wheel of Fortune is now dictated by the game, you don’t stop it yourself, and Hanged Man only has one statue now, not three. This collection of changes and new features gives the game that classic “Familiar, but new” feeling a lot of good remakes have; it maintains Persona 3’s satisfying combat, creepy atmosphere and level design and keeps things fresh for people who think they know what’s coming, while hitting all the right notes that made its source material so good. Also, as low as the first floor of Tartarus you’ll see familiar black feathers silently floating down from the ceiling; a foreboding hint at what’s to come.
That’s all good then, but what about the new voice cast, and the soundtrack? Well, I was worried the new voices might put me off but that’s not the case at all; everyone does a good job and many of them sound rather similar to their original versions. I’m not a fan of Aigis’ new thing of saying colloquial turns of phrase and then adding “As they say”, but it phases out as she steadily becomes more human. Aigis does a lot of the emotional heavy lifting, and Dawn M Bennett handles it well. The soundtrack, unfortunately, doesn’t come out so well. Some of the songs are the same, like The Battle For Everyone’s Souls, some have been re-recorded like Mass Destruction and When The Moon Reaches Out For The Stars, which both sound good but there’s something about the former that’s just a bit off. There are new songs like the ambush battle theme It’s Going Down and the gorgeous after school track Changing Seasons, and finally we arrive at Reginald LeDoux. Sorry, force of habit, I mean finally we arrive at Burn My Dread. The version of Burn My Dread that plays during the last fight in the old version is my favourite song in the game and one of my favourite songs ever. It’s been my ringtone for years now. The new one’s just not as good, and it did stifle my enjoyment of that last fight a tiny bit. It still got me; I was wiping away tears, but it could have been better.
So then, is Persona 3 Reload a good game, and is it a worthy remake? Yes, it’s excellent, and it’s absolutely the remake the original game deserves. A greater emphasis on the characters and far more opportunities to spend time with all of them, a bunch of gameplay tweaks and additions tied to the same great story, atmosphere, tone and combat of the original. Is it better than the original? Personally I think it is, but it shouldn’t overwrite it; both pieces should stand alongside each other, especially as there are apparently no plans to add the female protagonist from Portable. I love Persona 3, and I love what they’ve done with it in this new version. It’s a rich, emotionally satisfying experience and I’m so glad P3 is getting such love from Atlus. They’ve announced P3 FES’ “The Answer” is coming out in September as DLC, and I can’t wait, having never finished it but finding the whole scenario really interesting, and wanting to fight its final boss.
Also, right, before I go, this is the Persona game where I finally killed The Reaper. Twice. I don’t fear the reaper. Indeed, perhaps it is the reaper who ought to fear me.
By James Lambert
@jameslambert18
The Reviewing Floor 