Lost Judgment is incredible. Yakuza 0 is likely always going to be my favorite RGG title, but Lost Judgment takes the cake for their best game.

The Combat was an incredible step up from the first game. I did have some issues with it towards the end... mainly with how slow the animations are; I wish this game had better cancel animations, especially since they clearly want you to dodge/parry and not button mash, but it's very satisfying to play otherwise. The detective mechanics were still present, but they felt a lot more toned down, and they were also just less present in the main campaign.

I didn't do much of the side content, but I liked what I did more than the first game. Amasawa was a genuine delight and I'm interested in doing the side content purely for more interactions with her (if they do make a third game, I hope she gets at least a cameo). Dance stuff was cool too.

The story wasn't as strong as the first game, but it was still good imo. It's a lot more personal, and while messy at times, it really stuck with me. I have a lot of thoughts on the central theme, but I really do love the message it sends.

The characters were great too. All of the returning characters were great. Hoshino did kind of get relegated to comic relief (a shame because he was my favorite in the first game) but he was still enjoyable. I loved how they expanded on the friendship between Saori and Yagami. I like how Sugiura was integrated too; he's no longer heavily connected to the emotional core of the story, but his dynamic is great imo. Kaito is HIM, love than man. Higashi was an excellent blend of genuinely cool and dorky af. Mafuyuu was sadly not all that present (another shame because her dynamic with Kaito and Yagami was cute) but it was still neat seeing her again; and Genda was solid too. I liked Tsukumo's increased role too.

The new characters were pretty excellent too. Sawa-sensei is not a character I expected to care about as much as I did, but I really liked her. I dunno, I just have a soft spot for characters that care so much. She’s someone who’s suffered a lot and carries such a large burden on herself, but she’s still a genuinely good person who tries so hard to fight in whatever way she can. I felt like genuinely empty inside when she died because she only ever tried to do good and she was killed simply because she cared too much. I wish we got more than just the rooftop scene, but it was enough to convey what I needed to know about her. Another minor character who I completely loved was Tesso. He’s just a delightfully chill character and I loved all of the “Anaki” stuff. Another character architype I have a soft spot for (the character who is super chill and just follows their gut feelings). The antagonists in this game were also incredible. Soma is such a slippery son a bitch, but I can’t help but admire how much of a shit he is. He’s not quite Adachi level (plus Adachi has the whole paralleling Yu thing going on) but he’s such an effective villain; I hated that man, but I loved hating him. And I mean, where do I begin with Kuwana. He is a fantastic antagonist. He’s completely justified in wanting to seek justice for victims of bullying, especially because of how they’re failed by the justice system, but murdering bullies is just not productive. I thought Yagami’s words during the trial were really impactful; you can’t go around enacting your own justice, it’s the job of the law to bring justice. The law in its current state is not saving those who need saving, so it’s the job of its creators and those who enact it to fix that. I don’t think Kuwana is wrong for how he feels, and I mean he very clearly does regret his lack of action before, but he’s only caused more issues than he’s solved. You can't keep redefining "justice" so it serves your own actions. I don’t condone Kuwana, but I do understand him. He’s a fascinating character, and he really did make me rethink my own thought process; I like characters who do that.

Lost Judgment is far from a perfect game, but it’s pretty damn close and it had a pretty big impact on me. I know there are some complications with continuing this IP, but I really hope RGG is able to work things out and bring us a new Judgment game because this series is so fucking good.

Honestly, I have so much to say about this game but also so little. In short, this game is just another shitty compilation game. It's not some genius remake-sequel concept that Remake's ending teased... it just truly a bad remake. They glitz everything up with pretty graphics, epic cutscenes, and top-notch voice acting (and I mean, if there's one aspect this game nails... it's the voice acting because everyone is perfectly cast). But that all exists to hide how shallow this game really is. It's not just that this isn't as good as the OG, it also misunderstands what the OG was trying to convey in literally every big story beat. Genuine, heartfelt moments are ruined with over the top cutscenes that take you out of the moment, horribly timed and useless lore dumps, and long, flashy bossfights that take away from the sentiment of the moment. And it feels like they get worse as the game progresses. Like, I thought they messed up the Corel section by turning the tragic story of Dyne and his decent in madness into this Hollywood-ass "last stand" because godforbid our actions have consequences, but then Cosmo Canyon is somehow even worse. Red finding out the truth about Seto is one of the most poignant moments in the OG, but this game cannot let a moment breathe... they have to introduce this stupid as Gi Tribe nonsense to take you out of the moment. And then there's the ending... please don't get me started. It's so fucking awful. Not only is Aerith's actual death scene completely ruined because the writers couldn't help but do some fuckshit till the very last second (which btw, as a newcomer is probably gonna be so confusing) but they follow-up it up with so many long as fuck bossfights that you end up completely forgetting that she even died at all. And it's funny, because Jenova would've been a perfectly good final boss. I mean, every party member participates, there are multiple phases and it's a very fun fight... but nope. This is an FF7 game, which means we have to end on a Sephiroth fight.. and wait, there's more! Because this is a compilation game, we need Zack to be there and he has to epic and cool. In what is the most fan-fiction moment in the game, Cloud and Zack teamup to fight Sephiroth. And then Bizarro Sephiroth shows up because why not and we get what is probably the most irritating fight sequence ever before ending on another Sephiroth fight where... get this: Aerith shows up. Now, the fight itself was quite fun. But having Aerith shows up is so terrible on a narrative and thematic level, it's not even funny. It's just so bad, I'm kind of baffled. I really hate what they do with Cloud at the end too. The OG had a pretty honest and caring depiction of mental health, but in this game, Cloud just goes anime psycho and now we get Aerith's ghost parading around like she's Hannah fucking Baker. It's just so stupid. And you know, throughout the game the only thing I could ask is why? What as the point in doing all that shit at the end of Remake is Rebirth was going to be the same game anyway? Why remake the same game but 80x longer? Why add these dumb puzzles? Why am I doing any of these sidequests? Why does this game exist?

There are some merits to the game. The combat is genuinely really fun. Hard to remember that at times since the game throws so many bosses at you that I just get tired, but this combat is fun. The customization is fun. A lot of the mini-games are pretty enjoyable, as it the world exploration... until Chadley shows up. Seriously, I didn't have an issue with the guy in Remake because you could pretty much ignore him, but he just doesn't go away in this game. You cannot move around the world without his bothering you. Who thought that was a good idea?

I can certainly see myself returning to this game to finish up the stuff I left behind, because when I ignore the story, I actually do quite like it. The Gilgamesh stuff was really fun and I do want to see it again and I'd like to finish some of the other side content. It's the reason why I don't think this game is a 0/10, but this game is so frustrating. It butchers FF7 so hard. Nothing they add to this game means anything. It all exists for fanservice and that lack of artistic merit bothers me so much that it just muddies the whole experience. I think this may legitimately be my new least favorite video game of all time, and that sucks because I really, really wanted to like this game.

Holy fuck.... this game is actually peak Persona. Full disclosure, I am a massive Persona 3 fan. FES is not only handedly my favorite in the series, but it's also just my 2nd favorite game of all time. I have a massive attachment to the characters and themes of that game, and I'm highly critical of any reiteration of it. While Portable and the Movies were solid... they didn't come close to what vanilla/FES gave. So while I was excited for Reload, I was cautiously so... and then my expectations were completely blown out of the water. Spoilers Ahead.


UI/Graphics: Unsurprisingly, this is the one aspect that I knew the game would improve upon greatly. P5 is a game I am kinda mixed on, but it has easily the best menus in any game I've ever seen... that is until reload came in. Blue is already just an amazing color, but the whole water aesthetic makes sense considering the importance of the moon in P3. It also just looks snappy af. The graphics are also better than P5 imo. The models look really good and all of the pre rendered cutscenes are excellent, though I won't lie, I still prefer a good deal of the og ones. Like specifically the opening cutscene and Makoto's awakening. There's a certain chaotic energy that fit the vibes of the og... and it's just not there in Reload. That's kind of a personal nitpick. I also kinda miss the PS2 chibi models, but that's more the nostalgia speaking.

Gameplay/Dungeon Design: My thoughts on the gameplay are complicated. I understand why they made changes from the original; more specifically removing the fatigue system and giving you direct control. It’s just not convenient for the modern audience, and this game was not really meant for me; my only real issues with FES were with the social sim aspect, and even that wasn’t to big of a deal to me since it did tie in with the themes of the game… so I get trying to appeal to the masses, but the fatigue mechanic held a lot of importance in the narrative. Without yapping too much, it’s important to understand how straining it is to summon a persona in this game. There’s a reason Yukari struggles so much with it in the beginning, and after summoning his persona, Makoto is so exhausted he passes out for over a week. It’s supposed to feel like a daunting task to climb Tartarus in the beginning, but as you gain more firepower and get stronger, the fatigue mechanic becomes less of a big deal. It adds a lot to the experience, so it’s a tiny bit of a shame, but I do feel like Reload adds some new mechanics that show off the emotional ties of persona summoning. Party controls on the other hand… look, I know most people are just going to use direct controls, but if any game were to have actually good party AI, it should have been this one and it sucks that they didn’t even try to improve tactics; like the AI cannot use the shift mechanic (a key mechanic in this game) and while they do use theurgies, they do not act to properly fill their gauge conditions. Mods can help with this, but the base game should have at least implemented those with tactics. As for the actual gameplay, it’s pretty fun. I really enjoyed trying out different team compositions and seeing who synergized the best. Theurgies are broken, but it’s a fun system to engage with and I like them a lot more than showtimes. My first playthrough was on hard mode, and I thought it was pretty easy. I finished a Merciless run not too long ago, and while parts were more challenging, Siegfried completely takes any challenge away from the game. It’s not as poorly balanced as P5R and you do have to go out of your way to completely break the game in half, but after October I just didn’t feel challenged by the game at all. As for Tartarus itself, I’m kinda mixed. They spice things up with Monad doors, and I do appreciate the extra bosses, but in general I still much prefer the dungeon design of the P5 palaces. I’m happy they kept Tartarus’ structure faithful (with blocks & guardians) but there is an inherent disadvantage of randomized dungeons. I still think this game is fun, but FES wins the combat war.

Music: It's good. I was kind of conflicted with the new vocalist at first, but she grew on me as I got more accustomed to the game. I still prefer old Mass Destruction and nothing will ever top og Memories of You, but I think I prefer this version of Changing Seasons (the random French is missed though) and the nighttime song is excellent. Most of the other reload tracks are also great. I still prefer og Memories of the City as well as When the Moons Reaches Out Stars and Deep Mentality, but every other track is more or less the same/better (Deep Breath Deep Breath gets better each version I swear).

Social Links: just better in every way. I mean, the sheer addition of voice acting just adds so much more personality. I've always liked the Old Couple and Maiko, but they still felt sort of dry until the remake. Actually hearing the tones of their voices makes them feel so much more alive and it also kind of makes me care about their problems. Despite playing P3 like 84 times before this, I guess I never registered just how sad these links were, but hearing these characters cry or feel anxious just reels you in a lot more. Akinari was already perfect, but the addition of audible coughs and his softer voice just brings so much more. All of the girls SLs vastly improved too with the addition of optional romance. Chihiro always felt really shallow and kinda creepy to me, but a few lines about her fear of men relating to her experiences with her father gave so much depth and some of the off-putting moments (like the part where she said she had dreams about us) were changed and made so much more charming. Same with Yuko... these small changes emphasized the character's actual story and issues over being a dating simulator where they just revolved around Makoto. In the og, I feel like Yukari and Aigis were the only ones who balanced a "natural" romance with Makoto and an SL story that explored aspects of their characters (and I think that's because they just naturally had established chemistry with Makoto in the story). I think P3P added more to both Fuuka and Mitsuru since in the FeMC route they focus more on what bad cooking/lack of social awareness meant for their arcs, but Reload brings that and more to the table. Also, all of the SEES party member links were great. Akihiko was the one I was the most worried for, and it has some rough moments, but I overall did like it. We get to see firsthand how much his sister's death impacted him and why he pushes himself to such lengths while training. Sure, this stuff was mentioned in the story, but we never got to explore it to the extent we should of. I thought it was sweet to see how much Aki admires Kurosawa (even if he is a cop lmao). And the addition of him being adopted by a wealthy couple (something that was in his conceptual character bio) was really nice imo... it's nice to see that he has great parents who love him, but it doesn't take away from any of the pain/trauma he has. Him having great parents kinda adds to the guilt he feels over his sister's death and the way Shinji lives now. Speaking of depth, I loved seeing how much Akihiko admires Makoto as a leader.. it explains so much about his behavior in the Answer. Junpei, Koro, and Shinji all had excellent SLs in P3P, so I was un-shocked by the quality of their links here. I liked learning about the senpai trio's origins and really liked seeing how much involved Mitsuru was. I feel like they didn't explore the relationship between the three senpai in any of the P3 media out there, but the three of them really were a team and it just meant something to me that it was that way. I think Ken had a good SL in P3P... but unfortunately some creepy dev decided you should be able to romance the child and that kinda overshadowed the good aspects. But he's got such a sweet bond with Makoto and dear god that one event where he wants to buy Mitsuru tea just melted my heart. The only problem I had with Koro was the fact that he is not a real dog and I cannot physically squish his face, so incoherently squealing at the tv will have to do. Junpei probably had the weakest one, but I feel like that’s because he’s so strong in the main story, there wasn’t much too add.

Characters/Story/Theme: It's basically the same as FES, so that means it's peak by default. None of the changes really impacted the narrative, so I don't have much to add here. The stuff with Takaya was kind of intriguing... Strega is still kind of underwhelming since they basically drop that plotline after 10/4. I still feel like they could have explored more of the whole "experimentation" thing, but this game took me over 90 hours... it did not need to be longer. Strega is not the main focus here, it's SEES and they are perfect. Yukari, Junpei, and Aigis were all perfect in FES imo. They had amazing backstories, connected to the themes very well, and felt complete by the end of their arcs. Mitsuru and Shinji were also quite good, but they felt a tad disconnected, however I feel like the exploration SEES past added more to them. While I liked Fuuka and Ken, I feel like after their respective arcs were done, they didn't have much reason to stick around in SEES other than them having personas (or maybe I just hated their English VA performances), but the small additions to their links made me appreciate them. Koro's expanded bond with Makoto also gave so much depth to him, which is insane considering he doesn't actually speak. Akihiko is an odd one to tackle… he’s up there with Yukari as my favorite, and he has some of the strongest moments in the story, but I always felt like they could have done more with his character, and they didn’t really do that in Reload, which is a bit disappointing. They did nail all of the moments with him that they needed to nail though. Yeah, Persona 3 is still incredible and that ending had me sobbing as usual. I can easily recommend this to a newcomer (I might refer them to some of the og cutscenes though).

Misc: The english dub is pretty good. My first playthrough was in Japanese because I let changes heavily distract me and I wanted my first reaction to not be impacted by stuff like that. But I did my NG+ in english, and while I do miss some of the old voices, I think the new cast does a great job. I'm still not big on Ryoji. He's certainly more intriguing than before, and I enjoyed how fruity he was, but he still feels less like a character and more of a plot device; I think Aigis does his schtick way better. That said, his linked episodes are really beautiful. Elizabeth is as fun as the og and I appreciate that her quests are now focused less on fetch quests and more on world exploration.

Overall, I am happy with how Reload turned out. It’s not a replacement for the original, but I feel like the developers more or less got it, and if you haven’t played P3 yet, then I think this game does a good job of conveying everything the original did. Best remake I’ve played in a while :)