Persona 3 is a beloved JRPG that captured hearts with its unique blend of school life simulation, social links, and turn-based combat. Now, Persona 3 returns in the form of Persona 3 Reload, a remaster for modern platforms. But is it worth revisiting this 117 hour classic, or does it pale in comparison to its stylish successor, Persona 5?
In this 2000 word review, we’ll cover everything you need to know, including:
- A nostalgic trip down memory lane
- Exciting new activities and social links
- Enhanced graphics and quality of life improvements
- Rough edges that show the game’s age
- Verdict: is Persona 3 Reload worth playing in 2024?
A Nostalgic Trip Down Memory Lane
Persona 3 Reload sticks closely to the original PS2 release from 2006. You play as the silent protagonist Makoto Yuki, who transfers to Gekkoukan High School and quickly becomes embroiled in a hidden world of Personas, Jungian manifestations of the human psyche.
By shooting yourself with an Evoker during the “Dark Hour”, you and your party members can summon Personas to do battle against corrupted Shadows in the mysterious Tartarus dungeon. The classic turn-based combat still holds up well, with players exploiting enemy weaknesses to gain extra attacks.
An Unforgettable Story and Cast
The melancholic story and themes of death and existentialism remain largely unchanged. Familiar faces like the stoic hero Makoto, the bubbly Fuuka Yamagishi, and the playboy Junpei Iori make their return with the excellent English voice cast intact.
The unforgettable ending is sure to hit fans right in the feels again, so get the tissues ready for the emotional finale of Makoto’s year-long journey facing the mysterious Fall.
Mementos from Persona 5
Persona 3 Reload imports the procedural dungeon Mementos from Persona 5, offering a nice change of pace from scaling Tartarus. With its winding paths and vibrant red aesthetic, Mementos brings welcome visual variety and better rewards for grinding and completing requests.
New Activities Bring Added Life Sim Depth
Beyond the main story, Persona 3 has always shined in its addicting life simulation gameplay. Persona 3 Reload adds considerable depth with the new “Bond Activities” system. These optional mini-events allow you to spend more time with party members and social links, unlocking new abilities, story scenes, and other concrete rewards.
Strengthen Social Links with Bond Activities
Bond Activities range from heading to karaoke with Junpei to enjoying a quiet picnic at Naganaki Shrine with Aigis. With over 50 new events added in Persona 3 Reload, you’ll gain more insight into the main cast while powering up your Personas faster via strengthened links.
These expanded social events add heartwarming moments to the journey, fleshing out Makoto’s relationships beyond brief cutscenes at school or the dorm. Even bit characters like Bunkichi & Mitsuko have special events that make it feel like SEES are true friends.
Expanded Social Links and Romance Options
Beyond your party members, Persona 3 Reload expands several existing social links as well, including the jock Kazushi Miyamoto and the head of the health committee, Yuko Nishiwaki. These characters can even become new romance options, with relationship levels going higher than ever before.
Replay value gets a noticeable boost with expanded narrative paths as you optimize social link priorities or pursue new romantic interests across multiple playthroughs.
Enhanced Visuals with Modern Convenience Upgrades
While thePersona 3 cast looks better than ever at 1080p/60 FPS, the remaster’s visuals probably won’t blow you away compared to the stylish UI and animated menus of Persona 5. Still, the enhanced resolution makes exploring familiar locations like Paulownia Mall and Gekkoukan’s classrooms a treat.
Quite a few quality of life upgrades borrowed from recent Persona titles have been implemented as well, including:
- Skill inheritance for fused Personas
- Party member control and tactics settings
- Easier-to-navigate menus and UI
- Skip animations and double speed options
These convenient features make playing through the 80+ hour main story far less frustrating, as veterans know all too well. Tedious elements like getting sick or fatigue from Tartarus grinding have also been tuned down or removed to pick up the game’s pace.
Rough Edges That Show the Game’s Age
While nostalgic fans will be thrilled to revisit Persona 3’s emotionally charged coming-of-age story, it’s impossible to ignore the game’s antiquated design.
Dungeon exploration is still rather tedious, with lots of mundane floor climbing across randomly generated levels of Tartarus. Enemy encounters also remain constant instead of avoidable on the field, although reload times between battles are nearly instant now.
Difficulty Tuned Down Too Much
Series veterans will likely find Reload almost too easy, with HP/SP restoring accessories unlocked from the start and skill shuffle/inheritance making your Persona team overpowered fairly early on. Even the secret post-game boss doesn’t put up too much of a fight compared to prior versions.
Consider playing on Hard mode if you want battles to require more thoughtful tactics and resource management. Just don’t expect the brutal challenge of titles like Shin Megami Tensei III or Persona 2 Innocent Sin.
Dated Presentation
While upscaled to 1080p, Persona 3’s visuals still feel dated compared to the slick anime production values of Persona 5. The dungeon design is fairly monotonous, with blocky textures looping over hundreds of floors in Tartarus.
The pacing also feels sluggish by modern standards, with drawn-out dialog scenes that lack voice acting outside of cutscenes. Users accustomed to Persona 5’s snappy UI and combat animations should temper expectations when returning to Persona 3’s era.
Verdict: An Essential Persona Journey
Even with its rough edges, Persona 3 Reload is easily the definitive version of this landmark JRPG. The excellent additions of Bond Activities, social link expansions, and various quality upgrades make this 80 hour journey even more compelling for veterans while lowering the barrier for newcomers.
Players yearning for polished combat systems or extravagant production values won’t find that here. But fans hungry for more of Persona 3’s melancholic story, rich characters, and addictive fusion loop need look no further. This reloaded journey is essential for understanding modern Persona.
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