WithPersona 3 Reload , developer Atlus had a difficult project on its manus . The remake would need to introduce a foundational RPG to Modern audiences , ones who are intimate with two refined sequel that successfully make on everything it established . But that ’s only half the battle ; it would also require to remain faithful enough to the original that it would n’t rag up longtime fan . It ’s a difficult reconciliation act , but Atlus take the air that tightrope to make a win - win state of affairs .
As a remake , Reload ’s greatest strength is that it resists the impulse to steer a genre classic too far off course . There ’s a reason why the sidereal day - to - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. and every night dungeon creep complex body part first seen inPersona 3carried over toPersona 4and5 : The tractableness to determine how you spend your day offers an constitutional good sense of freedom that many other franchises have stress to replicate . There was no ground to dramatically overhaul that gameplay loop withReload . rather , Atlus doubled down on it while impart new activities , quality of spirit feature , and fighting systems to bring a touch of modernism toPersona 3 .
Even if it ’s not quite the best potential version of itself due to some miss content from its past translation , Reloadis the definitive way to experiencePersona 3 . It ’s a remake that will keep buff of the original happy , while bringing series ’ newcomers asmoother RPG experiencebuilt on the bones of one of the genre ’s good games .
Things are fine the way they are
What makesReloadshockingly faithful is that it does n’t try on to modernize every single aspect ofPersona 3 . It ’s still a turn - based RPG mixed with the societal simulator component that have always been an important part of the series — Persona 5 ’s Confidants even integrated them more into its scrap and donjon - crawl mechanics . Persona 3 Reload ’s Social Links do n’t have as direct an impact on battles , and are more about deepen its casting of part . It ’s a simple glide slope , but one that keep on the story - focused nature of the original release rather than retrofitting it intoPersona 5 ’s format .
It ’s an incremental , but powerful next step in building uponPersona 5 ’s New gameplay system .
While the cosmopolitan Clarence Shepard Day Jr. - to - twenty-four hours structure ofReloaddoesn’t differ much from the original , Atlus cleverly adds new nightly activities players can do and tone of life features that makeReloadfeel a touch more mod . When the sunshine sets and I ’m back in my dormitory , I can hang out with my teammates out of doors of Social Links . Rewards make socialisation worthwhile . Reading sci - fi book with Fuuka rent me advance my own knowledge stat , for instance . If players hang out with their teammates enough , they can unlock their Characteristic . These are newly added unequalled abilities that cater to each mate ’s posture and are an incremental , but hefty next step in building uponPersona 5 ’s modern gameplay systems .
After - minute haunt are new toReloadand a welcome way to dodge one of this remake ’s big omission : its missing protagonist . One ofPersona 3 Portable ’s marketing points was the alternative to meet as a female grinder , who came with totally different Social Links from the original ’s male protagonist . The manlike character only had Social Links with distaff teammates , while the female lead only had them with the guys on the squad . Reload ’s nightly resort let player cool down with the son ( and frank ) , which at least enchant part of the experience that ’s been lost by cutting the female lead .
To address the big elephant in the room : Reloaddoesn’t includePersona 3 ’s playable epilogue write up called The Answer , which was stick in inPersona 3 FES . mix that with the lack of the female protagonist , and the package does curve up feeling a touch uncomplete as a remake .
One small quality of life history addition I really take account is a fresh rewind feature . If you ’re not glad with some of your decisions , you may rewind up to about two days on the calendar and make over your activities . With this , I did n’t have to bank as heavily on multiple save files just in case I screwed up or if I just require to try out with my docket . It ’s a small , but impactful variety that ’ll be a lifeguard for anyone going for a utter playthrough of a long game .
Teaching an old dog new tricks
Reloadis just what I expected going in : Persona 3 , but withPersona 5 ’s gameplay upgrades . When hire with the remake ’s turn - based battle system , Reloadis much smoother than ever . When striking an enemy ’s impuissance , players gain an special turn . In the original , an extra turn can only be used by the character who activated it , which determine how many weaknesses they could strike . However , Reloadtakes notes fromPersona 5 ’s Baton Pass system , now called Shift . player can pass off an excess turn to a mate , which allows for much more strategic preparation than the original did .
Real thought croak into how Theurgies could give the heroes more lifetime .
Some of the more substantial gameplay additions involve its dungeon - crawl aspect . As was the subject in the original , histrion are tasked with explore a giant tower called Tartarus . Fuuka , as the squad ’s navigator , learns several fresh ability that make that unconscious process course more swimmingly . She can jam enemies so they do n’t detect the squad ’s presence , make it much sluttish to collect hoarded wealth . She can even scan the current floor and uncover the entire layout on the mini single-valued function . Fuuka ’s novel power get her be more directly involved with the gameplay than she ever was in the original , where she felt like a petty more than a comment lead .
Reloadalso introduce the young Theurgy organization , which give each fictional character an ultimate attack . As I made my way up through Tartarus , I would often hold on to my Theurgy gauge until I reached a mini - boss . It ’s a small , but impactful variety that gives players a nice power spate and can help reverse the tide in tough fights . I would loose all four of those attacks onto a miniskirt - boss correctly away to gain a huge head start in the battle . Sometimes , that was enough to just completely wipe out the mini - boss in the first turning . That ’s how powerful they are .
Theurgy attempt also allow each graphic symbol ’s personalities to shine , prove offReload ’s novel camerawork . Junpei trip in the middle of his Hack n ’ Blast onslaught , think over his role as the radical ’s mirthful relief during fight . It may be a system that ’s standard in RPGs today , but some actual thought went into how Theurgies could give the heroes more animation . I trust that they become standard auto-mechanic in the series go forth , which would give the remake its own signature tune design .
More than a fresh coat of paint
Along with modern gameplay plus , Reloadgives the game an entire makeover . Everything from user interface to music has been revamped . Tartarus ’ randomly generated floors finger more imposing than ever before thanks to sinister visual twist . Even at its bottom levels , its plain brick wall keep the claustrophobia of the original intact despite giving histrion more room to move around . Also , the black feathers that softly fall around your party as you cross the tug is a nice , yet premonition jot that foreshadows future story events . The higher I climb , the Samuel Wilder my surroundings are . The top floors are psychedelic , with black - and - white vectors that swirl around and made me feel like I was being eat up by some constitutional being within Tartarus .
The remake bring in a unexampled optic motif too , using water system as a reprise symbol . It givesReloadanother dimension of personality , mesh well with the tar black-market themes that the original is famous for . When I attract up the main bill of fare , the protagonist ’s head splashes onto the screen seamlessly . I never get trite of seeing it . The stem smartly pour forth into gameplay too . Fuuka ’s Theurgy summons a immense orb of water that squelch on her mate and buffet their stats . It ’s another little , effective way thatReloadreinvents Fuuka .
On the audio side , Reloadis as much of a treat as any entrance in the series . Persona 3 ’s soundtrack has a classifiable hip - hop look that separates it from other entering and comes good manners of Japanese rapper Lotus Juice . ForReload , the soundtrack has been rerecorded with mostly positive results . While the unexampled versions sound smashing , they do lack the rough edges the original edition had . The song do n’t vocalize as raw , which submit a bite of the music ’s raciness away . I like there was an option in the setting card to switch to their original versions , which recent remakes likeSuper Mario RPGhave implemented .
Reloadstands on its own merit to fork up an unbelievable RPG for entrant and longtime fans likewise .
While the old music is missing a bit of its edge , the fresh original tracks write forReloadare fantastic . Lotus Juice returned to spit some bars for the fresh tunes likeColor Your NightandIt ’s go bad Down Now . The former is an alternative track that plays while exploring the game ’s cardinal localisation , Tatsumi Port Island , at Nox . It features an cheerful pianissimo melody interlaced with Azumi Takahashi ’s beautiful vocals and Lotus Juice ’s nostalgic lyrics of teen wish for fun - filled nights to never end . The latter plays whenever players trigger an advantage on enemies . It mirror the normal struggle theme , Mass Destruction , include its volatile trumpets and “ baby , baby , babe ” lyric . It sounds like it could fit inPersona 5 ’s more wind - steep soundtrack , further bridging the opening between the two titles .
Persona 3 Reloadwas Atlus ’ chance to pull every single past incarnation ofPersona 3into one ultimate computer software . Atlus mostly succeeds here by update many ofPersona 3 ’s gameplay systems while staying amazingly faithful to the original . The overhauled artwork , art style , and rearrange soundtrack are all welcome additions that mostly fit right in with the original ’s mental attitude . Even with some miss feature that bar it from being the definitive agency to experiencePersona 3,Reloadstands on its own merit to deliver an unbelievable RPG for newcomers and longtime fans alike .
Persona 3 Reloadwas reviewed on PlayStation 5 .
