It takes a little while to get the ball rolling with this game because it gets stuck on a focus of introducing it's cast members in it's first half while being a bit too mysterious for it's own good IMO - but man, when it picks up it picks UP. It's got an absolutely amazing story filled with some surprisingly fantastic fanservice for anyone who's played any previous Ys games.

Taking as long as it did sure was worth it though, because the cast is great and the combat's fantastic, the worldbuilding is surprisingly enticing and the movement options that slowly open up as you add more members to your party feel SO good.
I have also joined the ranks of the Adol understanders now. Sure, the whole "silent MC because he's retelling the story without painting it with his own perspective" thing is admittedly interesting but still does exactly that; not really make him stand out as a character.
Until this game, that is! Oh man, its plans for him intrigue you as soon as the intro, and I'm proud to announce they didn't fumble that one bit. He's so good.
So yeah, despite the meat of the story taking it's sweet time - it's just a fantastic game on all fronts honestly! It more than makes up for that despite my doubts about halfway through. I had a great time with it.

Never thought a game would make me yell "YOOO IT'S THE FUCKIN BAT FROM YS 1" in the middle of a boss battle but here we are!
What a ridiculously charming experience it was.

I'm not gonna use this review to express my thoughts on Persona 3 in general, as I think that should be rather evident but instead I wanna talk about everything this remake does both right and wrong for me in comparison to FES.

More than anything, I really miss the ludonarrative harmony FES was indeed more often than not rather infamous for.
There's a lot of it gone that's probably for the best - like automatic romance links and the jealousy system that came with it, but man do I miss Tactics being the way they were before P4. I get that they didn't want to spend too much time implementing those in P4 and P5 (essentially making it a hassle to use because of how barebones it was) but it was such a ridiculously layered system with surprising amounts of personality that I'm genuinely sad to see it being nigh unusable in a Persona 3 remake.
Right off the bat, it's the exact same as it was in every game since P4; all tactics are unlocked from the start and they're not a lot. We've got Act Freely, Full Assault, Conserve SP, Heal/Support and ofcourse Direct Commands. And that's it.
Persona 3 placed great importance on portraying the other SEES members as seperate entities, going as far as making the tactics unlock over time the longer the group spent together and I don't know man, that stuff was genuinely magical to me.
It set P3 apart in such an unconventional way, and I get that it wasn't for everyone but once you got the hang of it I genuinely thought that system was fantastic. All of its quirks, like Yukari being programmed to be more selfish with her healing if necessary and what not really made them feel like their own characters.
Persona 3 and FES gave the player additional tactics after the second, fourth and fifth Full Moon - Knock Down, Same Target and Attack Fallen.
And Knock Down in my opinion, is the major loss here. Early on, I did my best to do what I could with the Tactics system as it is now but found myself having to use Minato's (I'm an oldhead and that character unironically saved my life so I'm not calling him anything else, bear with me here) SP far more often than I should. Junpei would trial-and-error a fire weakness, get it right, see the exact same enemy standing right next to the one he downed and just slash that same enemy again instead. It's not great, and it's definitely something that made me have to look for other things to appreciate in this game.
Of course, that's not all bad - especially for a game with as many revisions as Persona 3, I think it's good that each of them stands out in their own way.
In a way, I'm really glad to have that feeling of "Man, I wanna go back to FES and experience it like that again someday".
I just wish it wasn't through the game incentivizing me as to how I SHOULD be playing by making my preferred option far, far worse. I imagine they're completely incapable of shifting and using Theurgies as well - so yeah, that just further proves my point.
I've gotten quite used to the trend of Tactics being a husk of its former self, but I was certainly hoping that wouldn't be the case in a Persona 3 remake when that's the one game where it was purposefully designed around it, and that was done so well. It's a damn shame.

My other major gripe is the Rewind mechanic - because yes, I am gonna be that guy that says it goes entirely against its themes (because it does!).
In reality, it's not as ridiculous as it seems, because it is essentially just making autosaves of previous days anytime you save but like.. there's such a dichotomy between adding quality of life changes and actively popping up Hey Your Actions Have No Consequences By The Way in a game that literally starts up with Memento Mori.
They could've added this to the game as is without actively needing to tell you about it, and anyone who'd need to make use of it would still find it while people that wouldn't still think as hard about how they should spend their time as they should. Even if simply saving before any choice is always a possibility, popping up a feature like that genuinely makes a massive difference on your mentality approaching choices like that, in my opinion - and it certainly shouldn't have a place in Persona 3 of all things.

Apart from that, my issues are pretty nitpicky; I miss having a narrator for what is now inner dialogue. I liked not being able to read Minato's thoughts, as it set him further apart as his own character (which he absolutely is) and I think having that layer of seperation from him was good. It made moments like "Yesterday was a terrible tragedy.. however, you must still go to school today." all the more shocking in my opinion because even before you witnessed everything about him in December you had those clear signs that there's certainly something wrong about how apathetic he is to all of it. I feel like not hearing it from himself added to that, but again, nothing too major. Still a really nice detail that set him apart, though.
FeMC also isn't included in this which I personally don't care for but I can see why that'd disappoint people. I feel like the Portable remaster was basically their attempt at making up for the fact that they didn't want to make such a major overhaul to both routes but instead decided to focus more on the original P3 experience which is fair, honestly.
Especially after playing through the game you realize how much effort that took, and despite the fanbase she has it would've set the game's release date back a pretty major amount. (And I figure it wouldn't be too enticing from a business perspective either, we all know how scummy they get with day 1 DLC already so I think hell would freeze over before we could expect that much content from them in a single game)

All of this lines up pretty well what I expected from the game honestly - Tactics being fully implemented again would've been fantastic, but considering how it's been treated ever since FES I figured it wouldn't be the case.
So, all that's left is hoping it makes up for it. Like I said earlier, I had to look for other reasons to appreciate this game with most of the ludonarrative harmony that made FES so magical to me gone - and I'm really glad to say those definitely exist!
Because oh man, the new content sure is good.

I LOVE what they've done with Tartarus. Twilight Fragments, a new resource gained through Tartarus itself and ranking up Social Links are used to fully heal your party's HP and SP in Tartarus for a price of 8 fragments, something I was a bit disappointed to see pre-release - but it's actually a surprisingly fantastic system due to it having multiple uses - the other being Twilight Fragment chests, at the cost of 1-3 fragments with said cost deciding how good the reward from its chest is. And what's in these chests is easily the best rewards you'll find in Tartarus.
That decisionmaking, combined with the fact that it's yet another way of incentivizing maxing out Social Links and making the most of the limited time you've got is SO good. It's a fantastic high-risk/high-reward decision that has made me appreciate climbing the Tower of Demise even more.

Theurgies are a welcome sight aswell - although a bit overtuned in terms of damage numbers, it's great to have a system that switches up the monotomy of Persona's combat, especially in long boss battles.
With the fact that it charges faster in different personalized ways for each character, it really guides you to making the most of your party's strengths, and what a reward for doing that right it is.
Incredibly cool animations and an attack (or utility!) that makes a massive difference anytime you use it. They feel SO good to use.
These also combine with the new activities at the dorm - because if you do one of the two activities each character is assigned to 3 times with them, they'll unlock (or upgrade) a new passive skill unique to them alongside their Theurgy. And these make a massive difference too! Really potent stuff that sets each SEES member further apart from eachother and really has you think about which ones you like bringing with you most.

The dorm activities writing-wise are a pleasant surprise as well; I figured it'd make the SEES dynamic a bit too chummy early-on or feel too lighthearted after heavier events, but they nailed it.
Early-on, it's very much a give-and-take thing especially with studying, where characters are generally like "Oh this benefits us both, so yeah sure" and after events like 4/10 you can't escape the gravity of the situation in these either.
Pleasantly surprised at how a studying event with Akihiko and Mitsuru a few days after for example actively had them being too distracted to focus on studying and Minato being the one to attempt to shake them out of that slump. It was really bittersweet.

What I mostly appreciate in this game though, is the Link Events that kind of make up for the fact that the male party members didn't get any Social Links outside of FeMC's route in Portable.
Because oh man, even as someone who generally likes their Social Links there (we don't talk about Ken's one, though) these are easily the best content these characters have gotten since the original game. It's all so incredibly good.
I really hope these are the future ideal for party member links because they work so well - they don't have to stick to a 10-part structure that sets up some alternative arc for the character outside of the story, you simply get to see more of their perspective and how they're dealing with the current problems at hand.
They're all written so incredibly well and immediately stopped me from worrying about whether they'd get the character writing right after how dirty some of these have been done in spin-offs.
Not only that, they understand Minato really well too; showing off just how kind and selfless he is, but also addressing how much of an issue it can be if he continues to be such a yesman and gives him more room to make choices for himself aswell. It's.. just some genuinely perfect stuff honestly, exactly what I was hoping to see from them and then some. I didn't think it was possible to make me like Persona 3's cast even more but holy shit, they sure pulled that off.

So yeah, despite my gripes with it I think this game is absolutely fantastic.
It doesn't hit me in quite the same ways FES did, and due to that I think FES specifically will always be my favorite game because nothing quite clicks for me in gameplay and story integration like that game does - but I'm really glad this game manages to stand on its own two feet despite what it lacks in comparison by more than making up for it.
If you're a sceptical Persona 3 fan who wasn't sure Atlus could ever reach those heights again like I was, rest assured - it's still an absolutely incredible experience. Just in its own, fantastic way!

As someone who started with Like a Dragon 7, hearing from long-time fans that the series generally didn't focus on being all that interconnected despite having its overarching narrative blew my mind.
You're telling me they knocked it out of the park like this, in a way I've hardly ever seen before on essentially their first try? Holy shit dude. It's incredible.

Not only does it follow up on LaD7 incredibly well, by the time the protagonists split up and form their own parties, it manages to be such a fantastic love letter to Kiryu's entire journey as well.
And sure, this might seem like it doesn't mean much coming from someone who didn't witness any of it; but honestly, that's exactly what makes it so impressive for me.
Without feeling like an overblown or elongated trip down memory lane, it manages to make him reminisce about just about everything he's been through so damn well at such a critical point in his life that it left an impressively emotional impression despite me not having much knowledge of these events, because he's such a ridiculously charismatic character.
That blends into this game in many ways; even newly introduced characters have so much respect for his legacy that it shapes their entire story influence in ways you wouldn't expect, impressing you even further.
It making him this endearing for me already, I can't imagine how it'd be for long-time fans. Gotta be some of the most cathartic fanservice I've ever seen, and it's done so damn well.

Ichiban continues to be the absolute best aswell; the story starts off pretty slow and meticulously, focusing more on the two new party members, Tomizawa and Chitose; and the effect he has on them, much like with the original cast - is yet again colossal. He's the best, man. Nothing but good in his heart, and it makes you fall in love with him all over again.

The impact both of these characters have on the story is phenomenal, and this.. might just be the best implementation of dual protagonists I've ever seen? Genuinely can't think of any examples where it amazed me as much as this game did.
They're both so involved that it doesn't feel like either's ever left out, even when you're ping-ponging between two different parties. The stakes mean so much to both of them, and that's done so damn well. Really impressive stuff.
Much like LaD7 (and previous entries, I'm sure!), this game manages to balance the inherent goofiness this series love to have with an incredibly poignant and emotional story that I absolutely adore.

On a gameplay front, it's also a major improvement from it's predecessor - which is great to see. I didn't mind it's gameplay all that much, but it was definitely a little stiff and janky in some ways.
Adding movement during to turns to allow you to angle AoE attacks or group up with your party to get in range for buffs and healing is SUCH a welcome change. Not only that, it plays around with said movement options in a lot of fun ways - like adding combo attacks if you're close to teammates (both in bond levels and combat range), or back attacks that are guaranteed crits. It allows you to line up your abilities so much better, and gets you thinking what angle's best for your regular attacks too.
You can even knock back enemies towards allies and have them follow-up on it; so yeah, there's a lot to do with it and it adds so many layers to the combat as a whole. Makes for one of the most fun turn-based games I've ever played, honestly.

All that to say - this game is fucking incredible. Genuinely can't think of things that remotely bothered me during my playthrough, it's been such a blast.
As I mentioned, it is a bit on the slow side - but exploring Hawaii as the most endearingly goofy protagonist I've ever seen known as none other than Kasuga Ichiban more than makes up for that, so I didn't mind that at all myself.

I get the feeling there'll be plenty more Like a Dragon games in store for Ichiban even if Kiryu understandably bows out; and I'll be there for them no matter what. But man, I'm gonna be impressed if they ever manage to top this one for me.
It's such a fantastic story that implores you to live on, no matter how deplorable you think you or the world might be - because the only way you can change that is to keep going.
You'll always worry about things you can no longer change - you might regret them or be angry at yourself about them; that's life.
But as long as you keep going, life will always throw a few open doors your way.
And so I'll gladly do just that.