We’re getting more and more remakes/remasters each year, and while some of them introduce more drastic changes compared to the originals, like Resident Evil 2 or Final Fantasy VII Remake, others follow the source material much more faithfully, like Dead Space. Persona 3 Reload falls into this latter category.
The most prominent change is, obviously, the graphics: the environments, the characters, the battles – everything looks beautiful (well, as beautiful as an anime-styled JRPG can get), and I especially loved the anime cutscenes (luckily, there are quite a few this time). The gameplay was also tweaked a bit here and there, but don’t expect anything huge, of course: the turn-based battle system is the same as it always has been in the franchise, focusing mainly on enemy weaknesses and teamwork. The Theurgy skills are a nice touch, though, they’re all quite spectacular. As for the social part, we get a few new scenes with some characters, but otherwise, the only real difference here is that almost every important scene is fully voiced now.
Moving on to the story: no surprises there if you played the original game, the plot and the dialogues are almost exactly the same, often word by word. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is a problem, but… Well, I know I’m not going to be popular with this opinion, but I never really liked the ending of P3 (OK, OK, let’s not sugarcoat this, I hate it), so maybe they could have added at least an alternative route that you can somehow reach…? Without going into spoilers, expect a few tragic twists and a downright depressing atmosphere in the last act, with topics revolving mostly around the inevitability of death.
Another thing that was a bit disappointing for me was Tartarus, the place where you’ll spend most of your time. This seemingly never-ending tower is still as monotonous as I remembered it, at least that’s how it felt to me. The same corridors over and over, sometimes with new colors and a bit different layout as we’re moving up… Sure, occasionally we get a Monad Door with some optional mini-bosses, or a rare enemy, but still, reaching the top felt like an eternity. Was there really no way to shake things up a bit more here?
Nevertheless, the fun characters, the superb soundtrack, and all the activities you can do to improve your social stats and links, not to mention collecting/fusing all the Personas, were all still great. Even though we don’t get to play as a female protagonist, like we did in Persona 3 Portable, I’d still say this is the best version of this title yet. If you’ve never played any of the older iterations, then you’re in for a real treat – and if you have, then you can relive this bittersweet adventure, and maybe do things a bit differently this time around.
The most prominent change is, obviously, the graphics: the environments, the characters, the battles – everything looks beautiful (well, as beautiful as an anime-styled JRPG can get), and I especially loved the anime cutscenes (luckily, there are quite a few this time). The gameplay was also tweaked a bit here and there, but don’t expect anything huge, of course: the turn-based battle system is the same as it always has been in the franchise, focusing mainly on enemy weaknesses and teamwork. The Theurgy skills are a nice touch, though, they’re all quite spectacular. As for the social part, we get a few new scenes with some characters, but otherwise, the only real difference here is that almost every important scene is fully voiced now.
Moving on to the story: no surprises there if you played the original game, the plot and the dialogues are almost exactly the same, often word by word. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is a problem, but… Well, I know I’m not going to be popular with this opinion, but I never really liked the ending of P3 (OK, OK, let’s not sugarcoat this, I hate it), so maybe they could have added at least an alternative route that you can somehow reach…? Without going into spoilers, expect a few tragic twists and a downright depressing atmosphere in the last act, with topics revolving mostly around the inevitability of death.
Another thing that was a bit disappointing for me was Tartarus, the place where you’ll spend most of your time. This seemingly never-ending tower is still as monotonous as I remembered it, at least that’s how it felt to me. The same corridors over and over, sometimes with new colors and a bit different layout as we’re moving up… Sure, occasionally we get a Monad Door with some optional mini-bosses, or a rare enemy, but still, reaching the top felt like an eternity. Was there really no way to shake things up a bit more here?
Nevertheless, the fun characters, the superb soundtrack, and all the activities you can do to improve your social stats and links, not to mention collecting/fusing all the Personas, were all still great. Even though we don’t get to play as a female protagonist, like we did in Persona 3 Portable, I’d still say this is the best version of this title yet. If you’ve never played any of the older iterations, then you’re in for a real treat – and if you have, then you can relive this bittersweet adventure, and maybe do things a bit differently this time around.