Persona 3 is commonly known as the darkest entry in its collection, and inside two minutes of beginning it turns into clear why. Persona 3 Reload, remake of the 2006 traditional, opens similar to its earlier variations: with a distressed younger woman slumping to the ground as she makes an attempt to work up sufficient nerve to position a gun towards her temple. It is a surprising scene, made much more distressing when our protagonist is greeted by that very same woman as he walks into his new faculty dorm. Her disposition doesn’t betray what she was presumably doing simply moments earlier than, as she greets him in an enthralling, albeit barely alarmed, method. But, like Persona 3 as a complete, there’s extra to the state of affairs than each we as gamers, and the protagonist, can see.
Past a grim exterior is an attractive balancing act–one that rigorously weighs rigidity and reduction, love and loss, thriller and determination, and that aforementioned macabre nature towards an unrelenting gentle. It is solely becoming, then, that almost 20 years later, developer Atlus has chosen to revisit Persona 3 in an effort to rebalance its gameplay as masterfully as its themes. Persona 3 Reload triumphs in doing this, delivering an unforgettable and emotionally resonant story alongside improved visuals and brilliantly re-strategized fight. Whereas not fairly as transformative as its identify may indicate, Reload efficiently modernizes the Persona collection’ best and most relatable story.
In true Persona style, our story begins with an unnamed protagonist transferring to a brand new highschool: Gekkoukan Excessive. Whereas each the college and the seaside metropolis of Tatsumi Port Island really feel comparatively unassuming at first, it would not take lengthy for him to find the Darkish Hour–an eerie and almost undetectable time frame that exists simply after midnight by which murderous shadows are unleashed upon the world. Quickly after, he learns that his fellow dorm mates are literally members of the Specialised Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES), a secretive faculty group hellbent on preventing these shadows utilizing the facility of persona.
After a shadow assaults his dorm, the protagonist discovers he additionally has the facility of persona and might use a gun-shaped merchandise known as an Evoker to summon forth bodily manifestations of his psyche to fight–much like Yukari, the woman proven within the recreation’s opening scene. He then joins SEES as its fight chief, helping Yukari and fellow group members Akihiko and Mitsuru in eliminating massive shadows and recruiting much more members to the trigger.
And but, risking his life night time after night time would not cease our hero from having different tasks as properly. Whereas nights are mainly reserved for preventing monsters at the hours of darkness tower of Tartarus–the recreation’s seemingly infinite dungeon–it is as much as you to resolve how he manages his days. Between courses, crushes, laptop video games, and golf equipment, there are many choices to select from. These two features–turn-based fight and time management–form the core gameplay loop for Persona 3 Reload and work together with each other carefully. Once you elevate your social hyperlinks throughout the regular hours of a day, for instance, you and your personas develop stronger within the Darkish Hour. Conversely, while you discover Tartarus and take down the massive shadows that emerge every full moon, you get to see the results of your actions unravel in the true world.
For me, fight turned extra of a chore than the sport’s social sim component in Persona 3’s earlier iterations, however Reload manages to maintain each components partaking, and neither of them outshines the opposite drastically. Once I grew bored with belting out karaoke alone in an try to lift my character’s braveness, exploring Tartarus’ labyrinthine flooring supplied some much-needed psychological stimulation. Once I received my ass handed to me in a battle for which I used to be greater than just a little under-leveled, finding out for midterms was, someway, a welcome reprieve. The important thing to this profitable back-and-forth lies in a few of Reload’s good additions, with the fight aspect seeing essentially the most dramatic of those enhancements.
On prime of latest spells and personas, Reload provides two new programs to Persona 3’s fight: Shifting and Theurgy. For many who have performed Persona 5, Shifting will come naturally, as it’s merely the Baton Move system with a brand new identify. This offers you the power to move your flip to a different one in all your get together members for those who hit an enemy’s weak point, subsequently awarding strategic pondering with damage-dealing combos. Theurgy, alternatively, offers gamers a strong trump card within the form of final talents that always bypass enemy weaknesses or enhance your group’s subsequent string of assaults as soon as a personality’s Theurgy gauge is crammed. Every character’s Theurgy means, in addition to their necessities for filling up their gauge, fluctuate based mostly on their normal preventing type. Yukari, for instance, grows extra highly effective the extra she heals her teammates, in the end unlocking a strong wind-based transfer that bypasses any enemy resistances.
Collectively, these mechanics make fight extra fluid, extra enjoyable, and, to be sincere, quite a bit simpler than it was in Persona 3. Certain, you could be exploring dungeons which can be way more simplistic than the flashy, themed ones seen in Persona 5, however issues do not feel stale due to drastically improved fight. That mentioned, do not take that to imply preventing lacks any resistance. Loads of monsters nonetheless put up a battle, so you will nonetheless get completely wrecked for those who go right into a battle with out pondering via your persona fusions or bringing alongside a single get together member who can solid just a few buffs or debuffs. Amrita sodas stay vital and frequent Monad floors–bonus flooring with a single, extra-strong enemy that primarily change the unique video games’ Monad Depths–keep issues difficult. Moreover, there are two issue modes above regular to accommodate these feeling notably feisty.
By comparability, the sport’s social simulation facet did not see many vital modifications on a mechanical stage. Essentially the most vital addition is the inclusion of fully-voiced night actions again on the dorm, which embody watching films with mates, group cooking, gardening, and brushing the world’s finest boy, Koromaru. On prime of killing time throughout the once-notoriously-dull evenings of Persona 3, these actions are a enjoyable approach to enhance your relationships and social stats, in addition to unlock new talents to your get together members. And better of all, get to see just a little bit extra of the principle solid’s character shine.
That mentioned, Reload could be disappointing to these anticipating a extra transformative expertise. Along with lacking vital, story-loaded options which can be in different variations, corresponding to P3P’s feminine protagonist and P3 FES’ bonus chapter, The Reply, Reload provides little or no new content material in comparison with Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal, so do not count on any new characters, areas, occasions, plot factors, or main quality-of-life enhancements outdoors of these dorm actions. Whereas I discovered myself a bit disheartened by the dearth of any newness, the latter turned a minor level of frustration for me, as I hoped for some minor changes to the sport’s calendar that might make maxing out each social hyperlink this time round much less of a Herculean effort.
Nevertheless, I am unable to deny it’s nonetheless completely definitely worth the effort, as Persona 3–and subsequently the very devoted Persona 3 Reload–contains some actually unbelievable characters and tales. Whereas not each aspect story is fascinating (sorry, Chihiro and Suemitsu followers), there are a number of that pack actual emotional punches and reinforce the sport’s central themes of affection, loss, and the way it takes one to know the opposite. Amongst a few of the recreation’s memorable characters are Hayase, a rival athlete who is determining tips on how to help his household and dwell his dream after the demise of his father; the aged Kitamura, couple who’re navigating the lack of their son and their outdated age; Maiko, a younger woman struck in the course of her dad or mum’s messy divorce; Mutatsu, a middle-aged monk who deserted his household, and Akinai, a person solely barely older than the protagonist who’s grappling with terminal sickness and isolation. Persona 3 Reload is full of memorable tales which can be each difficult and nuanced.
These themes are equally exemplified in Reload’s fundamental solid, however that does not imply that these characters are merely thematic stand-ins. Every member of SEES is multi-faceted, deeply-human, and brings their very own baggage and perspective to the get together. As such, they do not all the time see eye to eye with each other, making for some fascinating dynamics and alternatives for development. Specifically, I really like the connection between Mitsuru and Yukari, which begins off a bit tense earlier than rising into one of many strongest within the recreation. Whereas it could be pure to imagine that rigidity comes from pining after the identical man, it is such a reduction to put in writing that it is about one thing extra vital, and their coming collectively occurs because of them overcoming each moments of anger and despair collectively.
And but, this relationship is merely one in all many that’s deeply transferring, and is fully faraway from the interior struggles every character faces, corresponding to Yukari’s resentment in direction of her irresponsibly grieving mom or Mitsuru’s loneliness. Even the sport’s extra comedic characters like Junpei, or characters that might sometimes fill the sport’s “mascot” function, like Aigis or Koromaru, are all taken a bit extra critically and are allowed to discover their very own grief and mortality in lovely methods. There are valuable few video games that commemorate life and those who give it that means in a approach that’s as impactful as Reload, and even fewer remind us of the troublesome reality that all the things is gorgeous as a result of we’re doomed–and I am unable to consider any that do it higher than Persona 3 Reload.
All these tales and characters are additional elevated by spectacular voice appearing, now used liberally via the sport, and dramatically improved visuals that remodel the as soon as static-looking PS2 period recreation into one thing that rivals Persona 5 aesthetically. And but, it would not really feel as if Reload essentially seeks to emulate the latest Persona recreation, however moderately makes use of it as a leaping off level to increase its personal id. There is a distinctive fluidity to Reload that’s mirrored in its UI–a sense of depth and somber that displays each the principle character, the port metropolis he lives in, and even perhaps the sentimentality of the sport as a complete. Character portraits and animations have by no means seemed higher in a Persona recreation, and the Theurgy strikes inject a ton of character and spirit into battle. And in addition, they’re simply actually cool. I performed for near 70 hours and I nonetheless have not gotten bored with Mitsuru donning a Shiva-like demeanor as she snaps her fingers and freezes her opponents.
This fluidity and elegance additionally works its approach into Reload’s music, which options the return of Japanese rapper Lotus Juice (who has seemingly solely perfected his stream within the years because the authentic recreation’s launch) in addition to new singer Azumi Takahasi. The pair’s distinctive sounds work collectively fantastically on the sport’s new preparations of “Burn My Dread” and “Deep Breath Deep Breath,” which each someway retain all the stress they as soon as had whereas someway feeling only a bit extra groovy and mature. And it is now unattainable for me to think about Persona 3 music with out “It is Going Down Now” and “Colour Your Evening” coming to thoughts, which is only a testomony to how suiting and enjoyable each songs are. Sonically, Atlus stays robust to beat.
Merely put, Reload is the best solution to expertise Persona 3’s story, and Persona 3’s story is one properly value experiencing. Whereas it may not be the definitive edition–or even a remake in the identical vein as one thing like Persona 5 Royal–it accommodates sufficient modifications and upgrades to make it an especially worthwhile play for repeat gamers and newcomers alike.