I suppose I should preface this with an explanation of my relationship with Persona 3. When I was around 11 years old I was very suicidal. I was also an avid gamer and I would play any game I got my hands on and my brother gave me his old PSP which had a copy of Persona 3 Portable on it. I spent many, many hours playing through that game more times than I can count. It felt like everything about it was made for me specifically. The story was so profound and emotional while being almost laughably simple, we’re going to die so be happy with your life. I have so many memories of what it was like to experience everything the game had to offer for the first time. I would sit on the title screen for hours just so I could listen to Soul Phrase over and over again. Persona 3 Portable means the world to me and it shaped my outlook on life. Fast forward a few years and I get my own PC, I can finally play FES. I had watched a few of the events on youtube but this would be my first time fully experiencing Persona 3 FES, the version most people say is infinitely superior. I understand why they say that but as a clinically depressed lesbian, Portable means so much more to me.. I’ve heard so much hate for The Answer I was honestly hesitant to play it but my god, I can’t imagine FES without The Answer. It’s such an incredible exploration of grief and just how much it can destroy even the most established bonds. I firmly believe that anyone who says that The Answer ruined the ending of the original or that it’s a forced conflict genuinely didn’t understand The Answer. Persona 3 Portable is my favorite game of all time, but I’d say FES is a very close second. They didn't really change much of the story so there's not anything to really say on this part but they dumbed down a lot of stuff and the new VAs don't deliver on a lot of scenes so I think this is the worst way to experience the story for the first time (except for the movies). This one might be the most controversial take I'll have, they ruined a lot of characters and I don't like the new voices. I really don't like Yukari's new voice, Aigis doesn't even sound robotic anymore which make the final conversation less impactful, I don't think Akihiko's new voice it's too deep and gruff, Mitsuru sounds way too old, Junpei's VA is really overacting to the point where he almost screams every line, Fuuka's voice sounds too basic and she lacks her goofy charm, Ken's voice is good but I'd say I like the original more, I'm not sure if I like Shinjiro's voice more than the original but it's really good. One thing that concerned me before the game came out was an interview with the developers and they said they wanted the characters personalities to line up more with how they were in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax which is notorious for it's terrible characterization of the P3 characters. Reload honestly didn't even add that much considering what it took away. There's link episodes to replace the social links we got for the male party members in P3P, but there's like 2 for each character so it doesn't even begin to make up for the loss of their social link. I did really like the Ryoji link episodes though, they were very good, not as good as the social link but I'm okay with that considering how good the link episodes were. Reload added so many things to just make the game piss easy. You can pay money to increase the number of rare shadows or strong shadows in Tartarus, and in Tartarus you can get multiple cards from shuffle time and even cards that let you double the social stat points you receive, and you can work part time jobs that give you money and raise multiple different social stat points and you can use the computer in the lounge to learn how to automatically ambush any enemy in Tartarus no matter what direction your facing and you can very easily outrun and outmaneuver the shadows because after like 5 seconds of chasing you they disappear. Also in case you didn't want to think for even a second they tell you where to go to complete all of Elizabeth's requests. It's a shame since the original had a lot of challenges and things you had to engage with the game in its entirety to get through. Honestly the devs are extremely lazy. They said they wanted to remake the experience of the original P3, not FES or Portable, but that was just an excuse so people wouldn't complain about the missing content because they still cherry picked a bunch of FES and Portable content to put in the game but not the ones that would take effort. There's no FeMC, there's no The Answer (yes I know it's going to be DLC but I'm talking about the game as it released), there's no Margaret secret boss, there's no boss rush thingy from Portable (I don't remember what it's called) there's no Shinjiro, Akihiko, Ken, Junpei, Ryoji social link (link episodes are not a replacement). It's missing a lot of big stuff, but also a ton of small details like in Akihiko's 10/5 resolution, in the original he pounds his hand on the stage while talking to Shinji, in Reload he doesn't. In Aigis' 12/30 resolution they're all sitting instead of standing so Aigis doesn't fall to her knees and have her friends both literally and physically pick her up which was a beautiful moment. Also on the topic of resolutions, I dislike how it goes to a black void and the Persona does an attack like move it just takes you out of the moment. The original had incredibly directed and stylized hand animated cutscenes that Reload replaced the majority of with 3D modeled cutscenes that look terrible. I do not like the 3D models, I think the Persona 3 Dancing models looked better. Though the cutscene that are actually animated do look beautiful even if they lack the direction of the original (especially the opening cutscene, they ruined it). Now onto the music, I do not like the remixes. Some are on par with the original but the majority do not compare. They superficially added various instruments and components to the songs that needlessly over complicate them while also changing the lyrics, this is most egregious with Changing Seasons and almost ruins the song for me. I think overall the instrumentation is worse (as evident by Iwatodai Dorm and Mass Destruction), in some tracks this is more subtle like with Unavoidable Battle, but it’s still noticeable. However, the new tracks are incredible. Full Moon Full Life, It’s Going Down Now, and Color Your Night save the entire soundtrack, genuinely some of the greatest Persona tracks in the entire series and the lyrics really coincide with the game on such a deep level, one lyric that stayed with me as I played the game was “Stop living dead when your heart’s beating still” from Full Moon Full Life. I like the new gameplay, it was pitifully easy on normal but it was fun enough. Theurgy attacks are broken and can delete any boss in one turn with the right set up (which I accidentally did for the last phase of the final boss). I don’t like how they made fusion spells theurgy attacks now and you don't even need to have the personas in your inventory. They also took away almost all of the tactics options from the original and you can't see the entire turn order further straying from the strategic gameplay of the original. If I were to give my final thoughts I would say this is my least favorite version of Persona 3. It's a terrible remake, but even a terrible Persona 3 is still and incredible game. Still one of the most impactful and emotional stories even with everything holding it back, and I'm glad people are enjoying it. It's something that everyone should experience.

I had some interest in this game when I heard about it, but I didn't know anything and I never delved any further, but then I heard someone say it was a lot like and took inspiration from Silent Hill which is my favorite horror series and, at the time, Silent Hill 2 being in my top 5, I instantly picked it up on Switch. I didn't even know it was top down. It's rare I finish a game in less than a week because I'm very slow and take breaks often but I got every ending in 4 days. The first ending I got was Memory, and it broke my heart in a way I can't describe. I was Elster, I sacrificed everything for her, she was the only reason, and she's not there anymore, she's not who I was searching for. Ich bin wieder ich, aber du bist nicht mehr du. Perhaps, this is hell. I never even got to know what the promise was, what was so important that I would dive through hell just to see her once more? The Promise ending. They took my shattered heart and made me dig my nails in and rip it apart. There isn't much to say about the Leave ending I mean it's what you'd expect. The Lily ending is an interesting one, obviously meant to mirror Silent Hill 2's Rebirth ending, it's the most cryptic out of the bunch, blurring the line between symbolism and reality, it exists in this state of liminality which is very prevalent in this game, and something that many people don't get about the Silent Hill series, always on the edge of something, always teetering on the line of reality. I honestly don't have anything bad to say about the game, it took what I love about Silent Hill, specifically 2, and make it exponentially more personal to me, as a lesbian. You don't see something like this very often, a story so delicately crafted and so unassuming about a love between women in a survival horror game, it means the world to me and it's why I am so able to put myself in there. I love the use of classical music, though I'm very disappointed that none of the tracks that use classical music are a part of the soundtrack on Spotify. I honestly have zero complaints about this game, I've seen people say they didn't like the Nowhere section but that was actually one of my favorite parts, it reflected how demented everything has become not only through the environments, but by throwing you into rooms with upwards of 5 enemies, which in a survival horror game is a significant amount, some of the enemies are even previous bosses and those Kolibri that disrupt all your senses and are meant to disorient you as much as possible. Another thing it takes from Silent Hill is how it uses horror. There aren't really that many jump scares, the horror comes in the form of dread and panic. You never know what's beyond that door, you never know when you're going to healing, or ammo, you never know if you'll be able to return, and all that is exemplified in the last section of the game, Rotfront, when the meat starts blocking you off in real time. This game is everything I could want in a survival horror game, the retro future aesthetic, the almost cosmic horror, the love story, the heartbreak. I haven't mentioned it yet but this game has so much intrigue. There are so many unanswered question and things left vague and up for interpretation it's like everyone has their own version of events and reasons why everything is happening and that is absolutely perfect for a game like this. The experience is so easily ruined when everything is explained to you and I'm so glad they treat you with respect and let you figure everything out on your own. This game has made a significant impact on me.
It's time to go home.

This is one of the funniest pieces of media I've ever experienced and the best part is I really can't tell if it's on purpose or not. The Clock Tower series seemed to take itself seriously and then this came out. Everything about this game is just insanity. The actual gameplay is pure jank but then the cutscenes are choreographed and animated like a professional play. Most of the time you're running away and hiding with no way to defend yourself besides holy water but suddenly sometimes you awaken to your divine magical girl powers and summon a sky rending bow to chain your enemies who are all serial killers. This is like the Scary movie of horror games and I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you. Thank you. Good bye, May. Good bye Mr. Norton. Good bye. Good bye. Thank you. Good bye. Good bye.

There aren't many games like this. Such a tight and streamlined experience that plunges you into mechanical (hehe) depth and let's you completely immerse yourself in this industrial, and decaying world. I've never had such a tailored experience before, the level of customizability is something I never thought they'd give me in a video game. There's just so many options, you're able to find your own comfort build and settle into the groove and play your way, and that's what's truly special about this game. I see a lot of people complaining that the only builds that works is lightweight shotgun or Gatling tanks, when that simply isn't the case. I found the perfect level of challenge and fun with a medium bipedal build with some mid game guns and a sword. PvP on the other hand, yeah you might want to find a meta build because they're are so many much more skilled players and they will destroy you. The story itself I found to be very fulfilling, but even more so was the way it told the story. You never see a human face, you never see a human, you see nothing much machines and weapons the entire game, you only hear voices. However, those voices are so uniquely powerful and are so important that you don't need to see their face, it also leaves a lot of things up for interpretation. I've said a lot of good things so far but I do have one semi important gripe, and that is the music. I dislike almost all the music in this game. It feels so generic big movie synth two note melodies woah look how awesome this all is, it's just so boring and uninspired. Also a lot of moments that I felt were big or important had very very quiet music or no music at all leaving things with no lasting impact when I felt they deserved it. Do not however that I said most, the true ending credits theme is so good, as well as some boss themes, but overall I was severely disappointed especially considering what the music of past games had. With all that said I can confidently say that this is one of my favorite games, the actual gameplay experience is like nothing I've ever played before and I'll always remember this.

I think this game is severely overrated. People may think it's forgotten but I hear so many people talk about how it's secretly the best Persona game and it's so dark and this and that so I had high expectations. What I found was the worst combat in any game I've ever played, a just decent soundtrack (in a series known for it's genuinely masterful sound work), and a story that seemed a bit nonsensical. The characters were pretty well written overall but I really didn't appreciate the kind of humor they went for, things like Lisa calling Eikichi "Undie boss" and the exaggerated loony toons esque animations for the character sprites, it really undercuts a lot of the potential connect I could've had with them. The game has a few really good moments but the amount of horrid gameplay and boring unfunny cutscenes and dialogues I had to go through almost didn't make it worth it. One thing that this game does very well are those 2D cutscenes, I think they're genuinely beautiful and usually are saved for very important and emotional scenes which only add to it. I wish I liked this game more but I don't think it really comes across as all it was trying to be. I'm hoping Eternal Punishment is worth it.

This was truly a unique experience, I've never played anything like it. From the very start hearing this almost light breakcore beat with entrancing vocals while scenes are carnage, birth, and longing are shown immediately brought me in. I love games that start immediately in the action and start your journey from there giving you the opportunity to fill in the blanks yourself. One thing this game does exceptionally well is the tasteful lack of explanation for the world. You simply exist in it and follow it's rules, you have no reason to ask why. You aren't told the backstories and motivations for each character because that's something you need to gather yourself by watching them throughout the story, the game doesn't treat you like you're stupid. Of course this is all for narrative reasons but still it's nice. The story itself is very interesting and quite metaphorical as is expected with SMT or SMT adjacent games. The whole atmosphere is great, the visuals are expertly stylized with Kaneko's art and the environments are desolate when desired and intricate when needed. The music as well, my god. I heard that this was the first game where they told Shoji Meguro that he could compose whatever he'd like and honestly I believe it because the music is so raw and ethereal and driven it really feels like it came from the soul. The characters were great, I especially liked Argilla and her Atma Avatar is very interesting. Another thing that really amplifies the atmosphere and the identity of this is the significant and deep Hindu influences, there's so much to learn and explore if you dive into the religion and mythology and connect it with the game. I did find a few scenes to fall a little flat with some wonky character writing and voice acting but that doesn't detract much from the overall experience and how I viewed the characters. That ending was certainly unexpected but welcome because I can't wait to play the sequel.