Persona 3 is undoubtedly considered one of the most acclaimed JRPGs, being the title that arguably placed the franchise on the map outside of Japan. However, considering the title came from the PlayStation 2 era, it is a bit hard to recommend the title to newcomers, especially since the franchise has managed to achieve mainstream success ever since the release of Persona 5.

This is where ATLUS took the big decision to do a full remake with Persona 3 Reload, which is already considered one of the most anticipated games of this year. Prior to the official release of the title, we were given the opportunity to try out the game, and here are our brief impressions of the title in its early hours.

What’s Different in Persona 3 Reload

Before getting into the meat of things, some may be curious about why Persona 3 Reload ended up being developed, and how it differs from all its previous versions. While the game comes in the form as a full remake with various changes to make it more accessible for both newcomers and veterans of the series, Persona 3 Reload does not include some of the main contents offered by Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable, such as “The Answer” prologue which continues the story after the ending, as well as the option to play as the female protagonist.

Fans of the series might not consider this remake as the “definitive” version considering the exclusion of the two aforementioned main content, but the developers have made it clear that the game’s development focuses on the original game.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the developers had cut out all the most important content, because apart from the two that was mentioned earlier, Persona 3 Reload can still be considered a definitive version that also brings in a variety features from the previous two versions, an example being the fan-favourite Aigis social link, on top of various of new improvements to add more flavour to the game.

The Gang’s Back Together

Persona 3 Reload brings us back to the iconic setting of Tatsumi Port Island, where the protagonist had just transferred into Gekkoukan High as a second year high-school student. But instead of living out your typical teenage life, you are greeted with the “Dark Hour”, a mysterious phenomenon that triggers a hidden period of time at midnight which is dangerous to ordinary people, and is related to the Apathy Syndrome that reduces its victims to a vegetative state. The Player will then join the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad or S.E.E.S., a club that aims to eradicate the monsters called Shadows and get behind the mystery behind the Dark Hour.

The story progression for Persona 3 Reload is exactly the same as with the original title, with the exception that every scene of the story and dialogue has been reworked to add in more weight, be it from conversations between characters, to some of the more intimate moments.

Everything feels so much better considering that we can appreciate the emotions that the characters are portraying, this is especially true for the new cast of voice actors for the English dub, who all played their characters perfectly.

Visual Feast

If there’s one part that makes the game truly feel like a remake, it’s definitely the upgrade in the visual department. Unlike our initial impressions that sees this title more or less a rehash of Persona 5, Persona 3 Reload comes with a more impressive improvement that is arguably considered the best of all ATLUS games in terms of visuals so far.

One of the more notable highlights would be the 3D character models that have more realistic proportions, but also have a depth of detail that is quite impressive. That paired with the atmosphere, environment and facial expressions of the characters are just a visual feast to the eyes.

The overall quality of the presentation has received a major overhaul, especially the lighting which in some places make it look stunning, an example being exploring Tartarus. However, the lighting in the game isn’t always consistent, as there were still some places that seemed flatter or bland, such as the overly bright interior of the Iwatodai Dorm or the Port Island Station in the afternoon. Regardless, the game still looks absolutely gorgeous, and we were even more amazed to find out that similar attention was also given to the animation quality for the cutscenes.

In terms of animation, the most impressive part is in the main story cutscenes that are presented in a way that feels like watching a movie, coupled with smooth motion capture and very expressive acting, even for a game with anime-styled graphics like this.

From a first glance, while the graphics might seem similar to Persona 5, Persona 3 Reload looks much better and acts as a sneak peak at the new quality standards that we can expect from the series going forward. When it comes to the art direction and over the top stylistic UI that Persona is known for, even though the game also improves in this aspect, you can see that they’re trying not to go too overboard with it as to not make it too different from the original game.

Burn That Dread

While we’ve already covered this part from our impressions of the demo version of the game during Tokyo Game Show 2023, after having more time to properly sit down and try out the game, the combat in Persona 3 Reload is just addictive.

In most parts, everything plays out the same where you’ll still spend a lot of time exploring Tartarus and engaging in the classic turn-based combat with the focus of finding your opponent’s weaknesses. But Persona 3 Reload brings in new implementations that make combat feel more fresh, notably with the new Shift system that’s akin to Baton Pass from Persona 5. Each character is equipped with their own Persona that has different specialties, except for the protagonist who has the special ability to use the powers of many Personas.

What makes the combat of Persona 3 Reload so different is how smooth the flow of gameplay is in every moment, from exploring the dungeon, to battling Shadows. The movement of the animations and the responsiveness of the controls greatly contributed to the fun that we had. In addition, seeing the stylish transitions between menus and UIs in the game further amplifies the fun factor.

Impressions So Far

For players who are a big fan of Persona 3, what this remake brings is exactly what they might have hoped for. Unlike Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal which emphasised the selling point of new original content, Persona 3 Reload was developed with a focus on further refining the form of the previous series.

Some might consider this to be less innovative, but at the same time, it’s exactly what’s needed to truly bring the most authentic Persona 3 experience with modern quality standards.

Persona 3 Reload will release on 2nd February for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam.

Persona 3 Reload

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Atlus

Release Date: 2024-02-02

Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Dive into the Dark Hour and awaken the depths of your heart. Persona 3 Reload is a captivating reimagining of the genre-defining RPG, reborn for the modern era with cutting-edge graphics and gameplay.