Persona 3 Reload Review (PS5) | The Best Version Of Persona 3

Persona 3 is often considered as the true starting point of the beloved Persona series, because it's here that the distinguishing features of the JRPG were introduced. Namely the social links, calendar system, the dramatic storytelling and of course the banger music.

Both new and long-standing fans eagerly desired a proper version for newer consoles and the PC. And then the time had come: In 2023, out of nowhere, Atlus accidentally leaked the trailer of A REAL Persona 3 Remake on their Instagram account, followed by the official announcement in an Xbox Showcase.

But is it even worth playing the remake? The original was already so great, and there was Persona 3 Portable, which was also ported to current consoles and PC.

To cut to the chase: Yes, it's worth it. Whether you entered the series with Persona 5 or have been a dedicated fan since day one. Persona 3 Reload combines the charm, darkness, and gameplay flow of the original with the modern look and feel of the latest entry in the series. 17 years after the release of Persona 3 FES, it's finally here: the best version of Persona 3 you can play.

Persona 3 Reload Review | The Bottom Line

• The story and the overall setting are dark and captivating, even though the story initially struggles to get going.
• Good work-life-fight-balance: the gameplay is diverse and provides the player with the opportunity to set their own focus.
• The battles are satisfying and allow for different strategies; various difficulty settings provide room to tailor the game to individual preferences.
• QoL Improvements, known from Persona 5, make the battle and fusion system much more fluid than in the original.
• There are plenty of possibilities to pass time during daytime; however, these parts could use a little more interactivity.
• Graphically, P3R has only the best to offer. Both the 3D animations and the anime sequences are a feast for the eyes.
• Unfortunately, Dungeons are procedurally generated for the most part, but look dope
• Not only original P3 songs have been new recorded and rearranged, but there are also completely new tracks, that are also bangers.

We Need To Destroy The Dark Hour – Plot And Tone

I will outline only the beginning of the story in this review to avoid spoilers.

Persona 3 tells its own story. You don't need to have played any of the other titles to understand it. Well, at least as far as the story allows you to understand things.

You are thrown into the city of Tatsumi Port Island as a transfer student, and your character is just as clueless as you are. However, he doesn't seem to mind that there are blood puddles everywhere and coffins set up. It's just an ordinary Tuesday night for him.

From now on, you live in a dormitory where you are greeted, as is customary, by a teenage girl with a drawn firearm. Fortunately, you can clarify the misunderstanding; you're not a burglar, just a regular high schooler... or are you? Something seems off. Doesn't Japan have very strict weapon laws? Why are teenagers running around with guns?

The next day is spent at your new school, getting to know classmates and teachers, just normal teenage everyday life. However, your nights are much more bizarre. Your dormitory is attacked by monsters, and you discover that you have the best qualifications to defend yourself. You are just one headshot to yourself away from unleashing your inner power. With your Persona, you give those creepy creatures a good beating.

The witnesses of this spectacle, your roommates, are impressed and promptly recruit you. They are part of a self-established organization called S.E.E.S. (Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad), whose mission is to investigate the so-called Dark Hour, the 25th hour of the day.

It is only accessible to a handful of people, while the others lay idle in the coffins that we saw earlier. This hour causes people throughout the city to become apathetic mourners with suicidal tendencies. And no one wants that.

To get to the bottom (or rather the top?) of the mystery, you navigate through the Tartarus at night, a seemingly endless tower that can only be entered by you during that Dark Hour.

The rest, you have to find out for yourself.

Here it becomes clear what I mean, when I say that the start of the story is a bit bumpy. Initially, you don't know exactly why you're going into the Tartarus. The fact that lives are at stake if you refuse the task is mentioned only in passing.

Also, the fact that our character tumbles into an existing group that is a few steps ahead makes it somewhat challenging to get hooked from the beginning. The advantage of being thrown into the story is that things get going relatively quickly. You are faced with the current situation and now have to take sides yourself, all the while trusting these people blindly. I can see the appeal in that, even if it took me a while to get hooked myself.

Nevertheless, the dark tone of the story is very gripping and it gains momentum as it progresses. The fact that our protagonists shoot themselves in the head, overcoming the most challenging obstacle life has to offer, gives the story a certain dramatic and serious quality. They do this, by the way, to unleash their Persona, and that happens a lot; so if you get triggered by that, consider yourself warned.

The characters may seem clichéd at first glance, but one of the great strengths of the Persona series is how it subverts these clichés. Each character, in addition to the obvious monster battles, has their own personal struggles to overcome. And you decide at what pace you uncover the hidden stories.

Nothing Beats Getting Actual Combat Experience – Gameplay

The gameplay in Persona 3 Reload is pleasantly diverse. So diverse that you never realize how many hours you've actually been playing in one sitting. If you're tired of one aspect of the gameplay, just switch to the next, and BAM, another 2 hours have passed.

My typical gaming session looked something like this: I start the day, of course, with a trip to school, where one of my classmates talks to me about some recent event so that I don't forget it. Passing by, I overhear others talking about the opening of a new store in town. I'll check it out this afternoon. But first, I have to shine in class by answering the math teacher's question about logarithmic spirals.

After school, I quickly check if I got some text messages on my flip phone (Yes, flip phone. It's the year 2009, after all), and indeed, the annoying guy two rows behind me asks if I want to go for ramen again. No, not interested. Instead I head to the city, briefly stop by the police station to organize new firearms. Surely won't be noticed. Then, it's off to the new bookstore, and I immediately make new friends with the quirky old couple. Something seems to be weighing on their minds. I'll have to follow up on that later.

Back at the dorm, my S.E.E.S.-friends ask if I want to go to Tartarus today instead of studying. I quickly check what the other players have been up to today, using the online function (which doesn't require you to pay for online services btw). 69% are already Level 10? Well then, training it is today. Off to the dark tower, there are some shadows to slay.

Once you're in Tartarus, you don't get out that quickly, so make sure to bring some patience with you. I notice I just need one more level to fuse a new Persona. I've always wanted a unicorn! While fusing, I see immediately that I can make something even stronger from the unicorn and two other Personas. Now I just have to quickly get the third Persona, and here we go! What? It's 1am in RL already? Damn, I have to work tomorrow. Let me just clear another level – oops, a Boss fight. Guess I have to quickly finish that...

There is indeed a lot of stuff that can keep you busy, but don't worry: You are introduced relatively quickly to the basic functions, such as the general combat system or the activities during daytime, and over almost the entire game, you consistently gain access to new features that are gradually explained. You also gain more access to new areas, side characters, and, of course, new dungeons with stronger enemies.

The most interactive part of the game is likely the turn-based combat. Here, you need to figure out each monster's weakness to exploit and which attacks you need to protect yourself against. Your character can, similar to a certain monster-collecting game, access various types of Personas, while you are also able to command your S.E.E.S. teammates in battles yourself or let the AI take over.

Your lineup changes throughout the entire gameplay, and with the help of the Fusion system, you can develop stronger and stronger Personas. Thanks to some quality-of-life improvements, the menu navigation for both aspects, combat and Fusion, is faster and more efficient than in the original Persona 3. This even turns the somewhat dull grinding sections a fun pastime.

The Tartarus itself is divided into different sections called blocks. Each block consists of several floors that become available gradually. Therefore, you can only explore the Tartarus up to a certain point in the story. If you've explored the currently available area too quickly, there are always side quests for which you can tackle already cleared levels again. The rest of the time, you spend on typical teenager stuff.

The gameplay during the day is more akin to a visual novel, even though you can move relatively freely within the various locations. Here, primarily interpersonal stories are told, and your three main character traits – Academics, Charm and Courage – are improved, to open up more possibilities, areas and characters to discover.

Personally, I felt the game was lacking a bit in interactivity during those passages. Most of the time, you click through dialogues (that are very well written and voiced), occasionally choose one of three response options, whereas your decisions won't have a significant impact on the course of the story. They only influence how likable your counterpart finds you. Especially when performing a part-time job or when playing at the arcade, I would have appreciated some mini-games to make the activities a bit more engaging.

Nevertheless, the Social Link system is once again very intriguing. You can choose which main and side characters you want to build a bond with. This, in turn, strengthens the corresponding Personas you use in Tartarus. So, this aspect is not only designed for your drama-thirsty and love-longing heart, it also feeds your power-obsessed and destructive side that desires nothing more than the obliteration of this wretched pack of shadows :)

Oh, and yes, there are plenty of romance options!

Disturbing The Peace – Graphics, Leveldesign and Music

Persona 3 Reload is a real visual delight, especially when compared to the original, which is already 17 years old. It was time to do something good for this fantastic game, and Reload has definitely achieved that.

The characters are no longer trapped in childlike chibi bodies, which supports the game's seriousness. Every somewhat important character you can talk to has, alongside their 3D model, beautifully drawn portraits, dynamically adapting to the dialogue. Throughout the game, both 3D animated cutscenes and the universally beloved anime sequences are intertwined. Speaking of anime: In combat situations, we are occasionally treated to a lit mix of 3D and drawn animations. Even after many hours of gameplay, I still enjoy it every time.

Furthermore, the wonderful visuals are not overshadowed by boring loading times. While there are interruptions, they look very stylish, so I’m fine with that.

This brings me to the new design of the user interface. Three words: Cool, modern, iconic. The quality of life has been improved here too. For example: Your phone is your friend. Newsletters that would annoy us to death in real life act as a kind of shortcut here, allowing you to quickly warp to locations where something is happening.

Okay, I admit, sometimes they annoyed me in-game as well, but the benefit outweighs the annoyance in this case. This way, you don't have to click through three different menus to target the right location and on top of that you don't have to remember where again Aunti Emma's flower shop was.

I mentioned the short loading times. To be fair, there isn't much to load in the first place. The visual design of urban locations is chic but nothing special. NPCs are scattered everywhere, and you can talk to some of them. However, don't expect much variety. I especially felt somewhat awkward in the nightclub. There were "dancers" on the floor. Without animations. Only the interactable partygoers happily wiggled their limbs, while the rest stood in static position with raised arms. Well, as a minor, I shouldn't be there anyway.

The level design of the dungeons is more exciting. Unfortunately, it's a mix of procedurally generated labyrinths and pieced-together modular level sections. The focus here is more on style than substance. However, if you enjoy combat more than tricky puzzle passages, it shouldn't bother you much. The visual design is particularly noteworthy and it changes with every new block of the Tartarus you enter, which could take you a couple of hours.

What Persona 3 Reload shines in, as expected, is the magnificent soundtrack. For the remake, the already well-known tracks from the original were re-recorded and rearranged, giving them a more modern sound without losing their original vibe. Personally, I prefer the new female lead voice over the one of the original.

But it gets even better: we not only get familiar tunes, but also get to enjoy entirely new tracks, that also are complete bangers. As I read in a YouTube comment once: It's cool that with every new Persona album, a game is released. But seriously, it's impressive how each Persona installment simultaneously caters to a different music genre while maintaining its own distinctive vibe.

Verdict

Persona 3 Reload is the best version of Persona 3 that you can play. However, this is not a big surprise. Persona 3 FES was released in 2007 for the PS2 and, of course, no longer keeps up with today's technical and graphical standards. Also, in terms of gameplay flow, there was room for improvement. Persona 3 Portable was exactly what the name describes: optimized for the PlayStation Portable, which is why its port for newer consoles and PC was only semi-well received by fans.

Persona 3 Remake does everything right that it can do right: the look and feel, quality of life improvements, and respecting the story of the original. I have enjoyed my first 29 hours of gameplay so far. I had little to complain about, and when I did, I was always aware that this is essentially a 17-year-old game in a new guise. Sure, this masterpiece could have been given more interactive content here and there to keep up with more modern RPGs, but overall, the gaming experience is diverse and exciting. Especially the serious tone and interesting characters mixed with a certain self-awareness displayed by the game (you're regularly treated with meta-gags about video games) make the game poignant and engaging.

Regardless of whether you're a newcomer or a longtime fan of the franchise: You will enjoy this game and you should definitely play it.

Rating: 87/100