Persona 3 is now 20 years old. The seminal RPG by Atlus is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a few announcements, one of which being the news of Persona 3 Reload, the remake of Persona 3, hitting 3 million copies sold worldwide, three years since its release.
A new drawing by original character designer Shigenori Soejima has been released, commemorating this milestone.
The original Persona 3 was released 20 years ago on July 13, 2006, in Japan, with an English release in North America the year after in 2007, and in Europe another year after that in 2008. Released late in the PS2 life cycle in a post-PS3 world, P3 defined the style and expectation for the RPG series since: a year playing as a high schooler in Japan who along with some friends, engage in school and after-school activities that involves dungeon crawling, defeating Shadows and controlling the powers of a Persona, all delivered in a stylish presentation.
(The first three Persona games before it are also cool, but still has that slightly sinister aura as any Shin Megami Tensei spin-off game back then had. It was P3 that really broke through to the mainstream gaming consciousness.)
The remake, Persona 3 Reload, first released back in 2024, reimagining the same plotline and experience of the original but now with visuals, UI, and gameplay mechanics for a new modern audience, or fans who would prefer a fresh take on the same game they loved.
New Persona 3 Music Video: Persona 3 20th Anniversary Remix
As part of the 20th anniversary celebration, Atlus released a new 20-minute music video featuring new arrangements of select Persona 3 tracks, mixed by DJ VaVa (the DJ for “PERSONA LIVE TOUR 2024 -more ahead-“) with pixel art visuals by Motocross Saito and directed by Arito Chida.
The Persona 3 20th Anniversary Remix music video is designed to be played in the background: a Persona 3 lo-fi mix to chill and study to, if you will.
Persona 3 Reload 50% On PlayStation Store
On top of all that, Persona 3 Reload is also on sale on the PlayStation Store (PS4/PS5) for 50% off, from now until July 29. While there are plenty of fans who are Persona fans that engages with franchise through its many multimedia avenues (there’s a Persona 3 manga, anime, concert, stage play, to name a few), this is good chance for those who haven’t played Persona 3 Reload, or those looking to beat the larping allegations, to grab a copy.
In Malaysia, the discounted price for Persona 3 Reload is (going) down (now) to RM99.50 for those with a PS Plus subscription.
Following Persona 3 Reload, a remake of Persona 4, Persona 4 Revival, will be coming out next year. The next mainline Persona game, Persona 6, has also been announced.
Persona 3 Reload is out now on PS4, PS5, PC (Steam, Microsoft Store), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. Check out our review of the game here. A free demo is available.