This review contains spoilers
(Major spoilers in the middle of the review both for the original game and FEMC content, if you clicked this you prob know already but just in case)
Initially posted this over halfway through my play-through of the FEMC route and I wanted to write my thoughts down on it, excluding base PS2 P3 this was the only version of P3 The Journey I hadn't beaten before in some capacity but I honestly had a lot of fun playing it.
The FEMC stuff brings a really unique twist and charm to the game, both in simple things like presentation and the few new tracks but also interactions with the cast in general are kind of shifted as a result too. The FEMC-new social links are really cool and the two new characters have really solid links, Saori (FEMC Hermit link) sweeps the originals easily and Rio (FEMC Chariot link) also has a pretty good one, most of these honestly way better than most of the PS2 ones, fleshing out the other party members with full social links is really cool too. There's also some differences in the other links like the female party members when you pick FEMC and some of the dialogue that's presented is more interesting than their initial versions. I honestly really liked the Shinjiro stuff, although I know people are fairly iffy on how completing his S-link affects one of the most major scenes in the game, I think Akihiko still has a really strong development from it although it's presented in a different manner and Shinjiro doesn't really get a happy ending either (he doesn't come up onscreen again except for NG+ after being put into a coma instead of dying, and it's implied even if he does wake up he'll die soon due to the suppressant use anyway), I don't think it is as impactful as the pure shock in the original and the scene with Akihiko after but it's a nice twist on it for people who have already played the original. That being said I think it mostly ends up as nice extra content for people who have already played the game, I don't think the major Shinjiro thing really spits on the game too much or something even if the original is more impactful but after beating it I definitely would only tell someone to go through with FEMC if it wasn't their first time ever playing P3.
From what I've seen too, I'm not sure why you would pick Male MC over FEMC unless this was the only version of the game you're able to play for some reason, most of what keeps this version afloat from being something that would just be a novelty port at this point lies in picking her IMO.
Alot of people have criticized Portable's VN style in cutscenes and such and while I do think it makes a few important scenes delivered a little awkwardly the VN scene/map style really fits a game like this and makes for an interesting experience playing it, the city map is much simpler and faster to navigate than other versions as a result too.
(Long ramble about gameplay stuff)
IMO I prefer the gameplay systems in FES and I don't really like some changes like fusion spells working as cards you get from the antique shop instead of special skills (also making them limited use even if they're easier to acquire in a sense). The battle mechanics are updated to P4's also and I don't really like things like the dizzy system or Ma- skills giving you a one more on a weak hit even if you didn't hit every enemy. I know most people probably prefer things like that not being in the game and the dizzy system is there to prevent cheese strats but I feel like changing them got rid of some of the unique identity in P3's gameplay compared to it's future games, and how being downed worked in P3 was also a double edged sword because both enemies and the party wasted a turn getting back up where as in P3P, if you get knocked down dizzy is usually not much of an actual worry for the party ironically, and you just get back up instantly on the next turn making getting a weakness hit a lot less punishing. Skills like Re Patra are also rendered bordering useless/way more niche as a result of that. Some party members are buffed or have differences in what they learn too, the most notable one is Aigis where Orgia mode is really REALLY good in Portable and although she is computer controlled only during it still both physical and support skills have no cost making her pretty much extremely broken in normal encounters (and bosses if you strategize) and legit almost never running out of SP during long scale grinding, not using HP with phys during it too means she is usually an absolute monster. Stuff like this overall makes the game easier than FES but the earlier chunks can still get challenging at least especially compared to newer Persona games, I just prefer how the PS2 versions work even without direct control (although that's also a nice option to have in this game). For what it's worth I still had a blast playing it but I don't know if I would replay this for gameplay reasons, it depends on if Merciless ends up harder than PS2. (And I know there is also extra postgame content)
To add onto this section after beating the game it definitely gets very possible to get nutty broken after a point (I was also playing on Hardmode for reference). I was pretty much obliterating almost everything by the time I was at Tartarus block 4 and able to beat The Reaper and get to Lvl99 in Monad before even beating the game (although you do have to go more out of your way for those last two things though anyway.) Skill cards I feel like kind of trivialize getting good builds but there is still some effort you have to put into acquiring the really good ones anyway so IDK. Something I wasn't aware of until later in the game also is that even early on you can pick up items from the school (limited sale but 3 are stocked each Saturday in-game) that set you back to Good status from Tired which kind of trivializes that system entirely, I'm pretty sure it's completely impossible to actually get Tired while exploring Tartarus anymore unless a party member is KO'd and you return to the entrance without getting revived. It just seems weird to me they would even keep the system at that rate when it's pretty much next to pointless. Once you hit January you also get an extra dungeon (seperate from Monad) that lets you replay against stronger versions of old bosses and eventually Margaret as a super superboss which sounds like some pretty cool post-game content, I didn't give it too much of a look but that's a really cool addition.
I think pure content wise this is probably what I would consider the definitive version of P3 The Journey ESPECIALLY if you're looking to replay 3, however I think as an initial experience and for the main story (and gameplay-wise as a personal preference) FES clears this out of all the originals. If Atlus waited a few years and this game was on the Vita instead it'd probably be really godly but we're in the PSP timeline so I'd just say it's pretty good, a worthwhile check for more hardcore fans of P3 or just Persona/RPGs in general.
Sidenote: Something about the Memories of You credits roll with crunchy PSP audio hits different, that ending will get me everytime even without a full cutscene behind it
Initially posted this over halfway through my play-through of the FEMC route and I wanted to write my thoughts down on it, excluding base PS2 P3 this was the only version of P3 The Journey I hadn't beaten before in some capacity but I honestly had a lot of fun playing it.
The FEMC stuff brings a really unique twist and charm to the game, both in simple things like presentation and the few new tracks but also interactions with the cast in general are kind of shifted as a result too. The FEMC-new social links are really cool and the two new characters have really solid links, Saori (FEMC Hermit link) sweeps the originals easily and Rio (FEMC Chariot link) also has a pretty good one, most of these honestly way better than most of the PS2 ones, fleshing out the other party members with full social links is really cool too. There's also some differences in the other links like the female party members when you pick FEMC and some of the dialogue that's presented is more interesting than their initial versions. I honestly really liked the Shinjiro stuff, although I know people are fairly iffy on how completing his S-link affects one of the most major scenes in the game, I think Akihiko still has a really strong development from it although it's presented in a different manner and Shinjiro doesn't really get a happy ending either (he doesn't come up onscreen again except for NG+ after being put into a coma instead of dying, and it's implied even if he does wake up he'll die soon due to the suppressant use anyway), I don't think it is as impactful as the pure shock in the original and the scene with Akihiko after but it's a nice twist on it for people who have already played the original. That being said I think it mostly ends up as nice extra content for people who have already played the game, I don't think the major Shinjiro thing really spits on the game too much or something even if the original is more impactful but after beating it I definitely would only tell someone to go through with FEMC if it wasn't their first time ever playing P3.
From what I've seen too, I'm not sure why you would pick Male MC over FEMC unless this was the only version of the game you're able to play for some reason, most of what keeps this version afloat from being something that would just be a novelty port at this point lies in picking her IMO.
Alot of people have criticized Portable's VN style in cutscenes and such and while I do think it makes a few important scenes delivered a little awkwardly the VN scene/map style really fits a game like this and makes for an interesting experience playing it, the city map is much simpler and faster to navigate than other versions as a result too.
(Long ramble about gameplay stuff)
IMO I prefer the gameplay systems in FES and I don't really like some changes like fusion spells working as cards you get from the antique shop instead of special skills (also making them limited use even if they're easier to acquire in a sense). The battle mechanics are updated to P4's also and I don't really like things like the dizzy system or Ma- skills giving you a one more on a weak hit even if you didn't hit every enemy. I know most people probably prefer things like that not being in the game and the dizzy system is there to prevent cheese strats but I feel like changing them got rid of some of the unique identity in P3's gameplay compared to it's future games, and how being downed worked in P3 was also a double edged sword because both enemies and the party wasted a turn getting back up where as in P3P, if you get knocked down dizzy is usually not much of an actual worry for the party ironically, and you just get back up instantly on the next turn making getting a weakness hit a lot less punishing. Skills like Re Patra are also rendered bordering useless/way more niche as a result of that. Some party members are buffed or have differences in what they learn too, the most notable one is Aigis where Orgia mode is really REALLY good in Portable and although she is computer controlled only during it still both physical and support skills have no cost making her pretty much extremely broken in normal encounters (and bosses if you strategize) and legit almost never running out of SP during long scale grinding, not using HP with phys during it too means she is usually an absolute monster. Stuff like this overall makes the game easier than FES but the earlier chunks can still get challenging at least especially compared to newer Persona games, I just prefer how the PS2 versions work even without direct control (although that's also a nice option to have in this game). For what it's worth I still had a blast playing it but I don't know if I would replay this for gameplay reasons, it depends on if Merciless ends up harder than PS2. (And I know there is also extra postgame content)
To add onto this section after beating the game it definitely gets very possible to get nutty broken after a point (I was also playing on Hardmode for reference). I was pretty much obliterating almost everything by the time I was at Tartarus block 4 and able to beat The Reaper and get to Lvl99 in Monad before even beating the game (although you do have to go more out of your way for those last two things though anyway.) Skill cards I feel like kind of trivialize getting good builds but there is still some effort you have to put into acquiring the really good ones anyway so IDK. Something I wasn't aware of until later in the game also is that even early on you can pick up items from the school (limited sale but 3 are stocked each Saturday in-game) that set you back to Good status from Tired which kind of trivializes that system entirely, I'm pretty sure it's completely impossible to actually get Tired while exploring Tartarus anymore unless a party member is KO'd and you return to the entrance without getting revived. It just seems weird to me they would even keep the system at that rate when it's pretty much next to pointless. Once you hit January you also get an extra dungeon (seperate from Monad) that lets you replay against stronger versions of old bosses and eventually Margaret as a super superboss which sounds like some pretty cool post-game content, I didn't give it too much of a look but that's a really cool addition.
I think pure content wise this is probably what I would consider the definitive version of P3 The Journey ESPECIALLY if you're looking to replay 3, however I think as an initial experience and for the main story (and gameplay-wise as a personal preference) FES clears this out of all the originals. If Atlus waited a few years and this game was on the Vita instead it'd probably be really godly but we're in the PSP timeline so I'd just say it's pretty good, a worthwhile check for more hardcore fans of P3 or just Persona/RPGs in general.
Sidenote: Something about the Memories of You credits roll with crunchy PSP audio hits different, that ending will get me everytime even without a full cutscene behind it