There is no wrong way to experience Persona 3 - my beloved, my dearest, my all-time favorite work of fiction, favorite piece of media, and most relevant to this conversation my favorite video game. However, I think you could also do a lot better than Portable.
Persona 3 Portable is, in many ways, a superior game to Persona 3 FES. The combat mechanics have been refined and modeled off the success of Persona 4's battle system. The GUI and spritework has been touched up to be more appealing to the eye and (once again) appear more consistent with Persona 4's. The introduction of the female protagonist and her route's more chipper, upbeat tone when compared to the male protagonist's is much more palatable to the average viewer – for a third time, much in line with that of Persona 4. The female protagonist even has a new soundtrack heavily influenced by J-Pop, to contrast against the male protagonist's trip-hop and electronic backdrop.
And frankly, I think all of it works against the unique cohesion and artistic perfection that Persona 3 FES manages to achieve. On individual merits alone Persona 3 is not a terribly remarkable game; there are games that came before and after it that soar far above it in sheer fun factor, quality of narrative, depth of writing, graphical achievements and style – but Persona 3 stands out from any other video game I've ever played by merit of how all of these pieces interplay to form a uniquely coherent and interlocked game experience.
The protagonist of Persona 3 is characterized as near-silent, emotionless, withdrawn and disinterested. This ties into the game's cold and oppressive atmosphere (which ties into the grungy and low-fidelity production values most evident in the GUI and graphics), but also reflects his character trait of being fascinated with music ( that the original soundtrack is designed around, with certain leitmotifs being used at specific points to establish themes and perpetuate the game's recurring imagery of cycles). This characteristic disinterest is also the basis of the game's controversial "tactics" system, which in itself ties into the social link mechanic as an extension of how the members of SEES are individuals before they're pawns in a battle field, and rounds right back around to the theme of understanding and opening up to others.
Most of these things are absent outright in Persona 3 Portable by merit of either the protagonist being changed or the mechanics and graphics being shuffled around into an end product that only vaguely resembles the original release and lacks the unique cohesion that I find to be synonymous with the experience of Persona 3. There's really too many details for me to list off individually about what's changed and why I think it lessens the experience, considering I'm rambling from memory more than anything, but you get the idea.
Additionally, while I think the female protagonist is a fine character in her own right and there's valuable insight into an alternate perspective of the game's themes in her route and character development, I don't think that it was a good idea to put her into a story so purpose-built around the male protagonist and make so little changes to accommodate her. She gets new social links, sure, and a few cutscenes change, but there are aspects of the story (symbolism, writing, character dynamics and relationships, and even the entire design and concept behind a late-game character that I won't spoil here) that Atlus simply did not pay enough attention to during development to change in a way that would be as impactful or tightly-wound as it would with the male protagonist.
Again: it's my genuine perspective that Persona 3 Portable exists first and foremost as a means to market Persona 3 in a format more easily digested by those who are used to Persona 4, which I personally believe to be a far inferior work of art and a far inferior game.
And that's fine. Persona 3 Portable is still an excellent game, and if you go into it as your first experience with Persona 3 and need to hear its message, then it's very likely that it'll touch you very deeply and profoundly just as much as if you were playing the original release. Some people prefer the stark shifts in tone of the female protagonist or find her more bubbly and extroverted personality more relatable, which is wholly understandable considering that the male protagonist has a very unusual and understated personality defined by a rough, eerie exterior. Some people might emphasize raw fun over ludonarrative or not find the grimy aesthetic of the original release as charming as so many do.
Again, all of that's fine. No matter its form, Persona 3 is my favorite-ever game and favorite-ever piece of media, and likely always will be. But in my heart, Persona 3 FES will always be the definitive experience and the most unusually remarkable piece of media that you can get your hands on in the medium of JRPGs.
Persona 3 Portable is, in many ways, a superior game to Persona 3 FES. The combat mechanics have been refined and modeled off the success of Persona 4's battle system. The GUI and spritework has been touched up to be more appealing to the eye and (once again) appear more consistent with Persona 4's. The introduction of the female protagonist and her route's more chipper, upbeat tone when compared to the male protagonist's is much more palatable to the average viewer – for a third time, much in line with that of Persona 4. The female protagonist even has a new soundtrack heavily influenced by J-Pop, to contrast against the male protagonist's trip-hop and electronic backdrop.
And frankly, I think all of it works against the unique cohesion and artistic perfection that Persona 3 FES manages to achieve. On individual merits alone Persona 3 is not a terribly remarkable game; there are games that came before and after it that soar far above it in sheer fun factor, quality of narrative, depth of writing, graphical achievements and style – but Persona 3 stands out from any other video game I've ever played by merit of how all of these pieces interplay to form a uniquely coherent and interlocked game experience.
The protagonist of Persona 3 is characterized as near-silent, emotionless, withdrawn and disinterested. This ties into the game's cold and oppressive atmosphere (which ties into the grungy and low-fidelity production values most evident in the GUI and graphics), but also reflects his character trait of being fascinated with music ( that the original soundtrack is designed around, with certain leitmotifs being used at specific points to establish themes and perpetuate the game's recurring imagery of cycles). This characteristic disinterest is also the basis of the game's controversial "tactics" system, which in itself ties into the social link mechanic as an extension of how the members of SEES are individuals before they're pawns in a battle field, and rounds right back around to the theme of understanding and opening up to others.
Most of these things are absent outright in Persona 3 Portable by merit of either the protagonist being changed or the mechanics and graphics being shuffled around into an end product that only vaguely resembles the original release and lacks the unique cohesion that I find to be synonymous with the experience of Persona 3. There's really too many details for me to list off individually about what's changed and why I think it lessens the experience, considering I'm rambling from memory more than anything, but you get the idea.
Additionally, while I think the female protagonist is a fine character in her own right and there's valuable insight into an alternate perspective of the game's themes in her route and character development, I don't think that it was a good idea to put her into a story so purpose-built around the male protagonist and make so little changes to accommodate her. She gets new social links, sure, and a few cutscenes change, but there are aspects of the story (symbolism, writing, character dynamics and relationships, and even the entire design and concept behind a late-game character that I won't spoil here) that Atlus simply did not pay enough attention to during development to change in a way that would be as impactful or tightly-wound as it would with the male protagonist.
Again: it's my genuine perspective that Persona 3 Portable exists first and foremost as a means to market Persona 3 in a format more easily digested by those who are used to Persona 4, which I personally believe to be a far inferior work of art and a far inferior game.
And that's fine. Persona 3 Portable is still an excellent game, and if you go into it as your first experience with Persona 3 and need to hear its message, then it's very likely that it'll touch you very deeply and profoundly just as much as if you were playing the original release. Some people prefer the stark shifts in tone of the female protagonist or find her more bubbly and extroverted personality more relatable, which is wholly understandable considering that the male protagonist has a very unusual and understated personality defined by a rough, eerie exterior. Some people might emphasize raw fun over ludonarrative or not find the grimy aesthetic of the original release as charming as so many do.
Again, all of that's fine. No matter its form, Persona 3 is my favorite-ever game and favorite-ever piece of media, and likely always will be. But in my heart, Persona 3 FES will always be the definitive experience and the most unusually remarkable piece of media that you can get your hands on in the medium of JRPGs.