Persona 3 is a great game, no matter the form, so I'll still give it a 4/5.
But as a remake I was pretty massively disappointed by this. It didn't do enough to improve on the flaws of the original (pacing, poorly written social links, time management elements being unbalanced, worst main antagonists in the franchise). It also felt less polished than P5R--weird lighting in certain areas, very empty backgrounds, missing several QoL things, etc. The cutscenes also lacked the direction of the OG and they made some very strange decisions as to when to use in-game cutscenes vs animated ones.
I did appreciate the new linked episodes, but that's really the only interesting thing this version brings to the table. Ultimately this is mostly just the original game with a shiny coat of paint.
By the end of it, I was not convinced that this was a necessary remake, especially since it fails at even being a definitive version with the lack of FeMC content.
But as a remake I was pretty massively disappointed by this. It didn't do enough to improve on the flaws of the original (pacing, poorly written social links, time management elements being unbalanced, worst main antagonists in the franchise). It also felt less polished than P5R--weird lighting in certain areas, very empty backgrounds, missing several QoL things, etc. The cutscenes also lacked the direction of the OG and they made some very strange decisions as to when to use in-game cutscenes vs animated ones.
I did appreciate the new linked episodes, but that's really the only interesting thing this version brings to the table. Ultimately this is mostly just the original game with a shiny coat of paint.
By the end of it, I was not convinced that this was a necessary remake, especially since it fails at even being a definitive version with the lack of FeMC content.