Having completed Persona 3 Reload, I am confident that it is now the definitive way to experience Persona 3, especially with the The Answer DLC coming later. The added scenes and especially the fact that it's almost entirely voice acted makes it much more enjoyable than the sum of its parts. What I definitely wasn't expecting was how they managed to turn Tartarus from a boring slog into an enjoyable experience.

It's still Persona 3, a game from 2006 at its core so a lot of its elements show its age. Despite this, Persona 3 Reload manages to be my new favourite Persona game in terms of combat, presentation, and narrative experience.

Anyone who calls this a soul-less or effortless remake needs to take off their rose-tinted glasses.

Incredible story that still influences the themes of the series moving forward. I really loved the balance between light-hearted and serious moments within the story.

I'm thankful emulators exist because unfortunately the game is dragged down by its sluggish UI and slow battle animations even when fully skipped. While at its core the combat is similar to Persona 1 in that you are setting up auto battle commands, the gameplay itself is a significant improvement over it because of the removal of the horrendous grid battle system. Negotiation is also made less tedious because of the way better level gain curve and the existence of Free Cards.

Despite that, it's worth slogging through the less-than-stellar gameplay just to experience the atmosphere and story.