You enter the dormitory once again after a long day, the gang welcomes you back as the night lingers over the choice of either your squad returning to the Labyrinth to uncover its secrets OR using the dorm’s only computer to register yourself to get a Beef Bowl bento that’s exclusive to VIP customers. All in front of the Beef Bowl king, Akihiko, watching you do it.
Persona 3 Reload is a fascinating game that helps expand upon its previous versions that had come out over the last decade or so, mixing it into one that fits the newer games’ stylish flare whilst bringing back that charm that P3 brings which is unmatched even to this day.
So, what changed and how did it improve upon the originals? We shall see.
Presentation
When you boot up the game for the first time, it greets you with the newly designed opening theme that sets the new tone and vibrant colors of Reload quite well. It has the styling that you might expect, after the incredible design philosophy that Atlus has shown in Persona 5.
The UI looks amazingly sleek, the sound design feels like a step up from its predecessors and it runs at 60 fps on all platforms, a big bonus considering this is the developer’s first time using Unreal Engine. My only gripe with this is that the Motion Blur is baked into the game and couldn’t be turned off, a small misstep in a pretty good first attempt.
And what about the music and voice cast, you say? Well, the new cast does their characters pretty good justice as they lend their soul towards this group of found family that is the SEES squad. A fun tidbit to note is that the original cast of Persona 3 is also here as well, now playing as the older adults who will help your squad during the course of the game.
Music-wise, the main Persona composer Atsushi Kitajoh, and singer Lotus Juice return for some new arrangements of the Persona 3 Soundtrack that does feel very Modern Jazz-ish alongside a new vocalist, and the majority of the P3 soundtracks has been remade, which might be a hit or a miss for long-time fans but personally, I feel it has its own identity and stand quite hand-in-hand with the original composition.
All in all, this new remake of Persona 3 has nailed it, in terms of personality and presentation.
Gameplay
Persona 3 Reload sticks true to its turn-based combat roots, with some elements taken from the fifth game with how it feels slick to play and how combat flows quite well, It includes the Shift mechanic that makes everything quick and snappy, which is much-needed for the long grind of Tartarus and it’s hundreds of floors. Besides that, all of the staples of the series like Fusion Personas, and All-Out Attacks are here as expected and boy do they make it more stylish as well.
The Dark Hour now includes some additions that help alleviate the monotonous grind before any Full Moon events in the form of randomized mini-quests that include, defeating high-level enemies or Golden Shadows to picking up items that could help out the party members with better gear or revival items, this on-top of the Request that Elizabeth gives out when you visit the Velvet Room, it’s quite of a busy time now in the dungeon.
For the Side-B of the game, the School Life aspect also gets a fresh coat of blue paint to compliment the new main course, with the majority of the social links returning (with the exceptions of Shinjiro’s and Theodore’s because those are exclusive to FEMC), though it does take inspiration of the P3 movies choices as well, with some choices that were in the original game, has been taken out for a more straightforward experience.
But that doesn’t stop there, there are more interactions with your teams in the dorm now too, with them able to cook and even study together when exam season closes in, it’s a neat touch that helps flesh out the gang more than ever before.
Content
If you have played any of the Persona series over the years, then you can expect the game to be packed with content that will leave you engaged from start to finish, which might take some casual players around 60 hours when all is said and done. And that doesn’t include the New Game Plus mode that lets you carry over all the cards that can help you level up more powerful Personas.
Really, P3R is amazing in terms of stuff you can do, it’s a solid RPG that doubles as a good stepping stone into the series.
Personal Enjoyment
As someone who loved Persona 3 as a whole, it is quite nostalgic to return to Iwatodai and meet back up with the SEES gang almost a decade later, coming back to the music tracks like “Street Of Memories” and “Memories of You” hits like a truck nowadays and just playing Reload after years of not touching P3P (baring a quick test on the recently released remaster last year), it just like coming back home after a long semester away, all the troubles just flows away as you climb up Tatarus like the old days. And that’s how I like it, truly.
Verdict
Persona 3 Reload is making something already incredible and polishing it some more, towards something that the new generation would appreciate with how amazing everything looks and feels. Atlus knocked it out of the park once again and I highly enjoyed my return to the Persona series with this remake.
Played on PC, Review Code provided by Publisher.
Persona 3 Reload
The game already had something already incredible and then Atlus decides to polishing it some more, towards something that the new generation would appreciate with how amazing everything looks and feels.
- Presentation 9
- Gameplay 9.5
- Content 9
- Personal Enjoyment 10