Technically superior to its origin in every conceivable way, this is probably the best remake ever made—I am thusly sweating to come up with reasons for why I still find the original P3 (namely FES) to be the superior entry. Perhaps I am too old and nostalgic, but the P5ification of characters and the art in general is probably the number one thing that I can point to as a detractor to the mood—this is despite knowing the new art is an absolute plus to many. The additions to combat (outside of direct commands) are generally negative and only serve to make the game easier, but even then I am not complaining much because the original game is not particularly hard.

This is all to say that Persona 3 Reload is still a masterpiece despite my complaints, and I think that for the more stable among is: this is the definitive Persona 3.

It doesn't make much sense to give this game a date, as I played it last year and it won me back again this year. Just perfect because of the way it's structured:

-easy to remember EVERY SINGLE card, so you never have that "wait, what happened?" moment. If you lose, you know why.
-always nice that you get more cards by improving your cards (Heartstone should learn...).
-perfect for any moment. In the bathroom? Snap! At work (on break or even while pretending to work)? Snap! While you have to wait for the bus? SNAP!

Simply THE phone game at the moment for me!

This was the first game that made me cry back as a kid because of the ending, and used to be my favorite game for many years. In fact this was the game that cemented me as a videogame fan.

I'm saying this because playing it nowadays feels weird. Unbalanced, ultra-decisive leveling system that discourages intelligent play, some barely designed dungeons and nonsensical characterization plague this game. The game is about appreciating the process of creation to make a commentary on the conflict between nature, spirituality and modernity, yet it doesn't evoke any reaction other than contemplating how pretty the game looks like. Why did Quintet make this a JRPG? Fuckin' Enix, you don't have to infect everything with Dragon-Quest-itis. It's lame because you can see the ideas right there: You're the active participant in the process of creation, and life flourishes, society is tainted by the loss of respect towards nature and spiritual values, and the overworld is our Earth.

At the end of the game you defeat Ragnara, which is pretty much the devil. And then you're going to disappear, but Divina (God) gives you the chance to spend your last day with your loved ones because hey, let's make the most of what is left from life, even if I don't have much due to some weird clinical condition, but let's be grateful for what God has already gifted me. Control is returned to you, and you have the best day of your life, you hug your mum and your best friend whom you adore, thank you Melina for always being there for me even at my lowest, I love you. You can play around, greet your neighbors. However it will have to be over. You look at the pond to think about the future, but there's no reflection. You can't live forever, and once you're sure you have done everything you wanted and accept that it's really over, you can lay off in your deathbed and have your final dream. You dream of being a seagull, the first being you ever encountered that could travel between continents, because flight is freedom in this game. You fly, free of the shackles of this world towards the sky, and look back and think about the creation you have helped bring forth in your final dream while the music insists on keeping on and you feel your life fading away, and it's this moment that you realize that you can finally be happy, because you know that having lived has been worth it.

I'm still alive two decades later though. Thank you.