This has always been my favorite Persona game, so I'm stoked that this remake is getting so many new players to experience it for the first time. That being said, although the game itself is incredible, I would say that in terms of being a remake, this is only good, not great.
Visually, there's not much to complain about. The opening animation and UI are arguably the cleanest so far in the series. I thought that a lot of the new 3D cutscenes were better than their 2D counterparts, with only a few exceptions. Every block in Tartarus has been upgraded to actually look interesting and unique. I just think that some areas feel off aesthetically, such as the dorm lighting, or are ugly to look at, such as the beach in Yakushima.
The music is where this remake falls off the most in my opinion. Having no option to toggle the original soundtrack is a baffling decision. The new singer lacks the power that Yumi had in the original ost, so a lot of the songs just feel underwhelmingly sung, if that makes any sense. She sounds fine in the new songs, but I think that those ones just lack the distinct Persona 3 feeling -- you can tell that a different composer worked on them.
The new voices are fine. Although I do prefer a majority of the old voices, these new ones really do still fit the characters. The only one I dislike is Aigis's, not because of the voice itself, but because of the direction. In the original games, she sounded like a robot at first, but became progressively more human as the game continued. In this one, she already sounds very human from the beginning, so it's sad to see that element of her development taken away.
They also amped up the difficulty of a lot of the fights, which made the combat a lot more fun. Specifically, the fights against Strega were some of my favorites. In the original games, they were way too easy to beat, so I was very satisfied to see Jin and Takaya shifting to each other, Chidori's fight becoming a trial to survive long enough, and Takaya busting out a theurgy during his final stand. I also like how much more screen time they get in this game, even if Takaya's arguments are completely braindead.
I like the inclusion of linked episodes for the male party members, but it hurts how a lot of them include stolen content from femc's links with them. With confirmation that The Answer is coming as DLC while femc has been sidelined once again, it's hard not to be bitter when her inclusion could've finally made a single complete version of the game. Overall though, I had a blast playing this. You get the most enjoyment out of it when you stop thinking about would could have been, if only Atlus cared a bit more about this game.
Visually, there's not much to complain about. The opening animation and UI are arguably the cleanest so far in the series. I thought that a lot of the new 3D cutscenes were better than their 2D counterparts, with only a few exceptions. Every block in Tartarus has been upgraded to actually look interesting and unique. I just think that some areas feel off aesthetically, such as the dorm lighting, or are ugly to look at, such as the beach in Yakushima.
The music is where this remake falls off the most in my opinion. Having no option to toggle the original soundtrack is a baffling decision. The new singer lacks the power that Yumi had in the original ost, so a lot of the songs just feel underwhelmingly sung, if that makes any sense. She sounds fine in the new songs, but I think that those ones just lack the distinct Persona 3 feeling -- you can tell that a different composer worked on them.
The new voices are fine. Although I do prefer a majority of the old voices, these new ones really do still fit the characters. The only one I dislike is Aigis's, not because of the voice itself, but because of the direction. In the original games, she sounded like a robot at first, but became progressively more human as the game continued. In this one, she already sounds very human from the beginning, so it's sad to see that element of her development taken away.
They also amped up the difficulty of a lot of the fights, which made the combat a lot more fun. Specifically, the fights against Strega were some of my favorites. In the original games, they were way too easy to beat, so I was very satisfied to see Jin and Takaya shifting to each other, Chidori's fight becoming a trial to survive long enough, and Takaya busting out a theurgy during his final stand. I also like how much more screen time they get in this game, even if Takaya's arguments are completely braindead.
I like the inclusion of linked episodes for the male party members, but it hurts how a lot of them include stolen content from femc's links with them. With confirmation that The Answer is coming as DLC while femc has been sidelined once again, it's hard not to be bitter when her inclusion could've finally made a single complete version of the game. Overall though, I had a blast playing this. You get the most enjoyment out of it when you stop thinking about would could have been, if only Atlus cared a bit more about this game.