Reviews from

in the past


ok so i need to clarify some things before i talk about the game.

my first experience with persona 3 was on youtube with persona 3 FES (just your average persona fan amirite :P) after i found out there is no actual definitive way to play persona 3 (this was before reload was even announced)

so ill talk about my experience with the story and presentation first with FES and the gameplay with portable. don't worry! i will eventually play persona 3 FES to make things fair, just letting you know!

review start below

holy hell this game was an experience, the story, tone, and atmosphere was such a drastic difference having played 4 and 5. and i love it!! it makes sense as this is the first evolution of the franchise after the persona 2 games so it still contains some of the Shin Megami Tensei DNA. the characters are also really good! very different dynamics compared to 4 and 5. the ending is also the most bittersweet right up there with the royal exclusive ending!

i played the game on the vita with portable as my first gameplay experience so everything was downgraded for the psp to a more visual-novel style with the daily life aspect, if you played FES id recommend going with the female protagonist to not feel like you're playing a worse version of the game. tartarus is very boring in terms of it being an actual dungeon, barely anything changed as you progress but as i said in the p4 review i can deal with it. gameplay however was pretty good! same experience with p4. the soundtrack is AMAZING! every persona game's soundtrack is phenomenal so this game was no exception! lotus juice and yumi kawamura are such legends!

the social links are mixed for me, some are really good! and some are just eh, tho none of them are actually bad or anything!

overall i highly recommend persona 3 and id recommend experiencing reload before any of the other versions!

Me tocara volverlo a jugar, pero es bastante bueno la vdd

My first MegaTen game and easily one that I will always remember it fondly because of its themes,cast and soundtrack. Despite the many gameplay flaws it has I still enjoyed it a lot nontheless.

Le daría una estrella por ser el responsable de que me prendan los dispositivos electrónicos. La ÚNICA RAZÓN por la que le doy 4.5 es porque incluyeron a mi novia Saori, el cual es el mejor social link de la franquicia y no estoy abierto a debate.

no matter what people say i will NEVER hate you femc. i will forever miss having a female protag in persona
this is my favorite out of all persona games, it just brings me a lot of comfort. the themes of death and fate are just immaculate, each character adding so much depth to the overall message of the story... a piece of art. truly
ive played it fully twice, and i cant wait to play it once again!


Fiquei low level no endgame por nn querer farmar xp por causa do tartarus

Sadly the worst persona i ever played, I known the ending for ages and this destroyed my experience for sure. But anyway i feld empty playing this game, I always rush in tartarus so I was waiting 2 ingame weeks for more stuff coming. In other personas you dont feeld that, you had a lot to do while in 3 it feels empty.

Si os pegáis un tiro no vais a invocar a vuestra persona lo digo por experiencia

played a month of this but its a shit adaptation

I honestly don't know if this game deserved the 4 stars i gave it, but some part of me said it did, so... there you go.

This game made me realize that most JRPGs, no matter how good, get boring after like 60 or so hours, i can only get excited by hitting weaknesses and critical hits on randomly generated rooms for so long. So, i do think the game drags on just a bit, but the ending is quite good, so i can mostly forgive it.

one thing i thought was pretty bad was the social links with any of the main girls, yuko's is the exception but all the other ones feel like "oh man, your're such a nice guy, i love you now", most of that coming from the fact that the protagonist is mostly silent, with you getting some amusing dialogue options every once i a while. It's still something i can forgive but it did feel dull, oh and also, Aegis' social link was really good, although a bit fleeting feeling due to it only being available for a brief period at the end, but at the same time, it also felt mandatory to the story, to see her growth and why she becomes important later.

The other social links were actually pretty good, with my favorite being the gourmet king, some really nice writing and ideas with them in general.

the middle of the game was something i didn't enjoy too much, it's when most of the characters are introduced and it feels like they're throwing too much shit your way at once, thankfully this does technically make it so these characters have wayyy more screentime than they'd have otherwise, which does make them more interesting, even if it makes one specific part of the game a little bit lower quality feeling.

the final boss fight is a bit too long, but it was ok, if not a bit lame and unfair at times.

overall, i don't regret the time i spent with this game. it was... good.

some emotional beats fall a little flat bc of the psp format but i still think the combat is solid and the female protag is an AMAZING addition that I wish more persona games had!

Worst version of the game by far, but the femc route is worth experiencing for the extra content if you enjoyed the base game.

This review contains spoilers

i feel like i shoulda played the other versions first but i really wanted to play as kotone so p3p was my first experience.
i mean it’s alright it’s nothing too bad nor that good tbh. i really hated that lil plot twist with ikutsuki. pissed me off so much i dropped the game for like 4 months lol. i picked it back up though and it’s not as bad as i made it out to be. i love bittersweet endings and this one definitely goes up on the list for the ones i love.
even when i wasn’t playing it though i listened to the soundtrack cuz it was such a vibe. annoyed tf outta my friend cuz anytime i was listening to it i felt the need to let her know and get her to listen aswell.

Persona 3 Portable é algo que eu fico muito confuso, sim eles fazerem >Persona 3< rodar em um portátil fraco que nem o PSP é algo surpreendente, mas realmente valeu a pena? Eu quero começar falando o quão esse jogo é FEIO, é sério eu aumentei a resolução no emulador pra ficar mais bonito, mas esse jogo normal é horrível, tudo serrilhado e horrendo, o original também era um pouco mas esse aqui é sacanagem.
Agora pra falar do elefante na sala, a remoção de cutscenes é recriar algumas ingame é algo que causa mais problemas que benefícios, primeiro que que nem eu falei, esse é horrível nativamente, combina isso com o fato que o PSP não é tão potente faz as cutscenes que usam os modelos infame são horríveis, o awakening do makoto é algo muito foda de Persona 3 (Original, vai se fuder Reload) e nesse jogo ficou horrendo, o suspense, atmosfera e TUDO sumiu, parece que os desenvolvedores só recriaram a cutscene de memória sem reassistir o original pra ter uma referência de como ela era, agora pras cutscenes que não foram recriadas ingame, elas são do mal a pior, todas as imagens parece que tão na pior qualidade possível e tem só uma descriçãozinha merreca pra explicar o que tá acontecendo pro jogador, tem coisas no endgame que são importantes e nesse jogo é só uma linha de texto e cagam pra tudo.
Partindo pra gameplay, começando no jogo de dia, é...legal? É o suficiente pelo menos, o problema de ter fotos com qualidade ruim ainda existe no overworld e nas imagens de fundo dos social links ainda é um problema mas pelo menos os social links continuam normais, eu ainda prefiro modelos 3D do que uma visual novel mas é o jeito.
Agora partindo pra dark hour, algo que eu gostei muito é que agora os party member NÃO SAEM do time quando você volta pro primeiro andar do tartarus se eles estiverem nocauteados enquanto tu explorava o tartarus, outra coisa legal é que agora (oficialmente) os party members não são mais controlador por IA (ainda dar as mesmas opções de tática pra quem quisesse jogar com IA e não controlando os personagens seria legal mas não botaram no jogo uma pena), agora o combate nesse jogo é...meh eu digo isso por que ele agora tem o estilo de 1 more "moderno" de persona 4 (e 5, 3R etc) que eu não sou muito fã, essa mudança fez esse jogo ficar MUITO fácil e dá pra exploitar mais do que dava no original.
Agora a adição do Portable mais importante, a FeMC, ela é legal.
É isso galera obrigado por lerem a review tmj

Agora falando sério, ela é legal de se ter e eu até que gostei de alguns social links novos dela (alguns são chatos ou potencial desperdiçado) (a Saori é minha favorita) mas honestamente eu não vejo muito hype nela, eu tô me repetindo muito mas é, eu só acho ela legal no máximo, talvez eu não seja o tipo de pessoa que criaram a femc pra então talvez eu não ache tão foda, mas é isso.
Em geral o portable foi uma experiência...legal? Pra mim eu não vejo muito motivo pra jogar ele ao invés do FES ou até o Reload, tem muitas coisas que ele peça e acho que mais coisas que peca que coisas que ele faz certo, eu não diria que se você jogar só essa versão você vai "PERDER TUDO DE PERSONA 3 VOCÊ VAI TER UMA EXPERIÊNCIA INCOMPLETA!!!1!!1!11" Mas que você não vai absorver tanta coisa que nem as outras versões você vai, eu queria muito gostar mais dessa versão já que Persona 3 é um jogo que eu acho muito foda, mas nesse estado que ele ficou eu acho impossível eu gostar muito dele.

A pesar de ser un powerpoint, es una buena experiencia aunque yo recomendaría reload como la versión definitiva 🥶

Good game but outshined by other Persona games. Portable has a lot of aspects that bring it down due to the software it was made for.

This review contains spoilers

(Major spoilers in the middle of the review both for the original game and FEMC content, if you clicked this you prob know already but just in case)

Initially posted this over halfway through my play-through of the FEMC route and I wanted to write my thoughts down on it, excluding base PS2 P3 this was the only version of P3 The Journey I hadn't beaten before in some capacity but I honestly had a lot of fun playing it.

The FEMC stuff brings a really unique twist and charm to the game, both in simple things like presentation and the few new tracks but also interactions with the cast in general are kind of shifted as a result too. The FEMC-new social links are really cool and the two new characters have really solid links, Saori (FEMC Hermit link) sweeps the originals easily and Rio (FEMC Chariot link) also has a pretty good one, most of these honestly way better than most of the PS2 ones, fleshing out the other party members with full social links is really cool too. There's also some differences in the other links like the female party members when you pick FEMC and some of the dialogue that's presented is more interesting than their initial versions. I honestly really liked the Shinjiro stuff, although I know people are fairly iffy on how completing his S-link affects one of the most major scenes in the game, I think Akihiko still has a really strong development from it although it's presented in a different manner and Shinjiro doesn't really get a happy ending either (he doesn't come up onscreen again except for NG+ after being put into a coma instead of dying, and it's implied even if he does wake up he'll die soon due to the suppressant use anyway), I don't think it is as impactful as the pure shock in the original and the scene with Akihiko after but it's a nice twist on it for people who have already played the original. That being said I think it mostly ends up as nice extra content for people who have already played the game, I don't think the major Shinjiro thing really spits on the game too much or something even if the original is more impactful but after beating it I definitely would only tell someone to go through with FEMC if it wasn't their first time ever playing P3.

From what I've seen too, I'm not sure why you would pick Male MC over FEMC unless this was the only version of the game you're able to play for some reason, most of what keeps this version afloat from being something that would just be a novelty port at this point lies in picking her IMO.


Alot of people have criticized Portable's VN style in cutscenes and such and while I do think it makes a few important scenes delivered a little awkwardly the VN scene/map style really fits a game like this and makes for an interesting experience playing it, the city map is much simpler and faster to navigate than other versions as a result too.


(Long ramble about gameplay stuff)
IMO I prefer the gameplay systems in FES and I don't really like some changes like fusion spells working as cards you get from the antique shop instead of special skills (also making them limited use even if they're easier to acquire in a sense). The battle mechanics are updated to P4's also and I don't really like things like the dizzy system or Ma- skills giving you a one more on a weak hit even if you didn't hit every enemy. I know most people probably prefer things like that not being in the game and the dizzy system is there to prevent cheese strats but I feel like changing them got rid of some of the unique identity in P3's gameplay compared to it's future games, and how being downed worked in P3 was also a double edged sword because both enemies and the party wasted a turn getting back up where as in P3P, if you get knocked down dizzy is usually not much of an actual worry for the party ironically, and you just get back up instantly on the next turn making getting a weakness hit a lot less punishing. Skills like Re Patra are also rendered bordering useless/way more niche as a result of that. Some party members are buffed or have differences in what they learn too, the most notable one is Aigis where Orgia mode is really REALLY good in Portable and although she is computer controlled only during it still both physical and support skills have no cost making her pretty much extremely broken in normal encounters (and bosses if you strategize) and legit almost never running out of SP during long scale grinding, not using HP with phys during it too means she is usually an absolute monster. Stuff like this overall makes the game easier than FES but the earlier chunks can still get challenging at least especially compared to newer Persona games, I just prefer how the PS2 versions work even without direct control (although that's also a nice option to have in this game). For what it's worth I still had a blast playing it but I don't know if I would replay this for gameplay reasons, it depends on if Merciless ends up harder than PS2. (And I know there is also extra postgame content)
To add onto this section after beating the game it definitely gets very possible to get nutty broken after a point (I was also playing on Hardmode for reference). I was pretty much obliterating almost everything by the time I was at Tartarus block 4 and able to beat The Reaper and get to Lvl99 in Monad before even beating the game (although you do have to go more out of your way for those last two things though anyway.) Skill cards I feel like kind of trivialize getting good builds but there is still some effort you have to put into acquiring the really good ones anyway so IDK. Something I wasn't aware of until later in the game also is that even early on you can pick up items from the school (limited sale but 3 are stocked each Saturday in-game) that set you back to Good status from Tired which kind of trivializes that system entirely, I'm pretty sure it's completely impossible to actually get Tired while exploring Tartarus anymore unless a party member is KO'd and you return to the entrance without getting revived. It just seems weird to me they would even keep the system at that rate when it's pretty much next to pointless. Once you hit January you also get an extra dungeon (seperate from Monad) that lets you replay against stronger versions of old bosses and eventually Margaret as a super superboss which sounds like some pretty cool post-game content, I didn't give it too much of a look but that's a really cool addition.

I think pure content wise this is probably what I would consider the definitive version of P3 The Journey ESPECIALLY if you're looking to replay 3, however I think as an initial experience and for the main story (and gameplay-wise as a personal preference) FES clears this out of all the originals. If Atlus waited a few years and this game was on the Vita instead it'd probably be really godly but we're in the PSP timeline so I'd just say it's pretty good, a worthwhile check for more hardcore fans of P3 or just Persona/RPGs in general.

Sidenote: Something about the Memories of You credits roll with crunchy PSP audio hits different, that ending will get me everytime even without a full cutscene behind it

"bla bla bla no 3D, bla bla bla no The Answer, bla bla bla missing content (because no 3D)"
Yes, that's the flaw about Persona 3 Portable, I can't blame them too much because they fit P3 content into a portable game handheld. Is it really that bad? No, actually.

When they sacrifice something, they tweak the gameplay. Everything I said in Persona 3 FES review, they already fixed here. So many QoL updates in this version that I can't tell every single one in here.

Of course, you can't fully experience "SMT Persona 3" moment, but at least it covers you "what is happening in Persona 3".

No cutscenes but better gameplay... we take those, amazing game as always and the FeMC route adds a lot of flavor

a melhor experiencia se nao contar a gameplay


Gran JRPG de los 2000s, y mi primer Persona que he jugado, de verdad lo recomiendo a los que no lo han probado. Lo mejor del juego es el sistema de los personas y fusión de ellas, su historia (aunque arranca lento) es buenísima y deja un lindo mensaje sobre la vida.

Después de jugar al Persona 5 Royal pensé en los otros Personas que están en la PlayStation Store y había un pack con el Persona 3 Portable y el Persona 4 Golden, cuando estaba de oferta me lo compré. No me arrepiento de esa decisión.
Nada más empezar el juego vi a Kotone y pensé en lo genial que era y jugar con ella ha sido genial. He amado sus Social Links y la dinámica que tiene con los personajes.
Solo tengo palabras positivas para este juego y de agradecimiento, ha sido un gran acompañamiento, la ilusión de volver de la universidad y ponerme a jugar, levear en el Tártaro ... Este juego me ha ayudado mucho y voy a estar eternamente agradecido por ello. Sin duda lo recomiendo.

This counts as a REPLAY because I've played through P3P before. I definitely think that pre-remake, this was a viable option for people to get the jist of the Persona series, as most folks typically start by playing 3 and not 1 or 2 because that is where the series became a little less arcane. When you've played the original P3, however, you'll understand that the game was made "portable" by junking the cutscenes, the ability to walk around the environments yourself being traded for a more point-and-click navigation, and the game having less polished animation than that of the original. So some important things are being lost in translation. P3P is more of a visual novel than anything, but it made the game more accessible for other players at its time which is why I stand by the rating.

P3P added things such as a female version of the main protagonist which included some differences in Social Links between the male and female protagonist, as well as Persona's ability to give you skill cards after a certain point. P3P also omits The Answer which was available in FES following The Journey, but I feel as if enough people have covered this controversy to the point where I don't find it worth my time to give a take on that.

With talk of Reload being on the rise, there are differences between FES, P3P and now Reload. If you want to kind of speedrun the original source material for the remake, then I'd suggest playing through P3P before touching Reload, my review on that is a whole different ballgame.

smokes blunt

contains robot yuri. only Persona worth a god damn