In the wake of the release of P3R, this version of P3 is usually skipped over unless you're playing for Kotone. It's a remastered game, so while the gameplay is a bit slower, it's fine. The slower pacing makes it more introspective and gives time to the characters, compared to the flashy grandiose of P5 that tends to leave its characters behind. The new perspectives through Kotone shine; compared to the original P3 SL that Makoto/Minato received, the other guys of SEES is revealed and a vulnerability not attached to romance is shown. If the attention to writing characters as people had continued with this level of attention to the later entries, I would have enjoyed those more. However, the sort of fetish/attachmemt Persona has towards age gap (pedophilic - of adults either hitting on teens or the option of the player character getting involved with adults and in P3P there is a romantic route with the child character) romances (I haven't played P1, but it is present in P2 as well) remains. Even if optional, it still leaves a sour taste. The overall story is the same, and criticisms of how some twists and characters utilized are still either left field or done cheaply, but overall I did like Kotone's SL writing more than Makoto's, and I'm sad that she isn't present in Reload. P3 engages with its themes of death, loss, and becoming better to continue living, moreso than 4/5 did. The school calendar system that was built for it compliments it well, and through it I saw how it held back 4/5, the latter especially.
The game uses a VN format, and it's a bit disconnected as the exploration from FES and Reload lets you get a bit closer to the verisimilitude of the setting.
I found this game at 9 but only played it nearly a decade and more later. It is a very quiet game, and I would also describe it as kind.