I was originally going to write a very long review but instead I'm going to keep this as simple and to the point as I can.
For a whole year now I've been struggling with a quarter-life crisis and a fear of death caused by several things like a health scare, the deaths of loved ones, uncertainty about my future, and more personal reasons I won't get into. Throughout that past year, said fear of death has grown into borderline thanatophobia, to a point I am sometimes afraid of even leaving my home out of fear something may happen to me or others. "We only have so much time in life so live your life to the fullest" is something I've heard again and again but it's a mentality that's easier said than it is to apply. It's not like I can just wake up the day after hearing it and go "Okay, I feel better now!" But something about Persona 3 Reload, about the way it presents it, about the way it says it, just really, really clicked with me in a way no other piece of media with that message has since I played Majora's Mask for the first time nearly fifteen years ago. I bawled my eyes out during the ending. Not just because it was very touching, but even more than that because a whole year's worth of fear and anxiety I had been bottling up came pouring out, and it felt like those worries were being lifted from my body. Yes, I'm still afraid of death (as I said it's not like I'll get better in a single day), but after sitting on my experience with the game since beating it a week ago, I can say this game's answer to my biggest fear has given me newfound resolve to continue moving forward and keep changing myself for the better. This game has seriously impacted my outlook on life and I am so grateful to everyone who worked on Persona 3 Reload, as well as the original Persona 3, for helping tell me what I needed to hear. Tomorrow is a hope, not a promise, so please take care of yourselves. Life is such a precious thing.
For a whole year now I've been struggling with a quarter-life crisis and a fear of death caused by several things like a health scare, the deaths of loved ones, uncertainty about my future, and more personal reasons I won't get into. Throughout that past year, said fear of death has grown into borderline thanatophobia, to a point I am sometimes afraid of even leaving my home out of fear something may happen to me or others. "We only have so much time in life so live your life to the fullest" is something I've heard again and again but it's a mentality that's easier said than it is to apply. It's not like I can just wake up the day after hearing it and go "Okay, I feel better now!" But something about Persona 3 Reload, about the way it presents it, about the way it says it, just really, really clicked with me in a way no other piece of media with that message has since I played Majora's Mask for the first time nearly fifteen years ago. I bawled my eyes out during the ending. Not just because it was very touching, but even more than that because a whole year's worth of fear and anxiety I had been bottling up came pouring out, and it felt like those worries were being lifted from my body. Yes, I'm still afraid of death (as I said it's not like I'll get better in a single day), but after sitting on my experience with the game since beating it a week ago, I can say this game's answer to my biggest fear has given me newfound resolve to continue moving forward and keep changing myself for the better. This game has seriously impacted my outlook on life and I am so grateful to everyone who worked on Persona 3 Reload, as well as the original Persona 3, for helping tell me what I needed to hear. Tomorrow is a hope, not a promise, so please take care of yourselves. Life is such a precious thing.