My first experience with Persona 3 was playing FES over the summer break I had from college. I had played Persona 4 and 5 prior to that, so I went in expecting a game that was roughly the same atmosphere and feel. I was completely shocked to find a game whose cast were all experiencing such deep grief and regret in their own ways. FES has its fair share of problems, but I couldn't pull myself from the addictive gameplay loop that it established, and I blew through the game in a week. I remember watching the ending on a hot summer night with a fan blowing against my back as I bawled my eyes out at one of the most optimistic, heartfelt endings I've experienced in a game. I didn't sleep much that night because I was sitting up thinking about my own life, it just shook me so deeply. So naturally, I'm very emotionally connected to this game.
Fast-forward a few years to the announcement of Reload. I was so excited, as I had been around for the first round of Yukari leaks that people totally thought were fake, but ended up being early Reload footage. I was so interested in the initial footage, but in the back of my mind I was a little nervous. All of the press releases about this game looked fantastic, but they didn't really capture the spirit of Persona 3, at least not to me. The game looked very vibrant and bright, and the music was beautiful. It was a stark contrast from the dark and muddy original, whose music reflected the unsettling tone in some places. I was a bag of very mixed emotions about the remake. I have been burned with these sort of remakes before, so I crossed my fingers and held my breath.
My birthday rolls around and it just so happens to be a couple days after Reload released, so I got a copy for that and I was ecstatic. I popped it into my PS5, and I felt all of my worries wash away. There was a ton of new content to entice me as a returning player, as well as a myriad of quality of life features that made the whole experience feel streamlined into a really polished game. The same bleak vibe persisted, even in light of the new aesthetic of the game, which made me feel much better about the new coat of paint.
Of the new features, Theurgy is the clear standout to me. It essentially replaces the fusion spell mechanic from the original, but spreads the love to the entire cast. These animations feel like a love letter to each character, incorporating an aspect of their personality or design, and they're all great eye candy. For the protagonist, they basically just dropped the fusion spell list into his theurgies, and it allows for a lot more variety. It feels viable to use some of the earlier fusion spells late into the game now, as it doesn't require having a handful of shitter personas on hand to pull them off.
Other sweet changes include QoL teleporter changes from portable, new side stories for the boys in the party, and fully voiced social links. All of these culminated in a more enjoyable experience for me, but didn't really trample the vibe of the original game. I felt this way about most all of the changes, voice actors included. I was iffy on the new voice cast at first, but I grew on them as I played, especially after I realized all of SEES' original voice actors got recast into supporting roles that act like mentors to the new SEES members. That was a nice touch by Atlus. This along with revamped AMV cutscenes were a huge difference to me, I really appreciated some of the new changes.
One change I wasn't in love with was the change to the musical themes. For the most part; the music was untouched, but a very noticeable change was the lack of "Burn My Dread" prior to the final fight. This was a kind of sour note for me, as I felt the impact of starting and ending the journey with the revisited song was such a cool touch in the original game. I wish this was somehow kept in, but I understand that with the new opening changes were made.
ENDING SPOILER PARAGRAPH, SKIP IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED
After a week of spending all of my free time devoted to this game, I finally got to that same ending that broke me. I was especially worried about this, as this was what cuts me the deepest. The powerful message of making the most of what joy you have in life and finding a purpose that makes it worth living, despite all of the hardships that you encounter is such a great moment, especially when it's being told by Aigis, a character who has such a struggle with her own sense of humanity and consciousness. Her realizing such a profound and human notion despite being a machine is so so moving, especially given the loss she experiences. The new ending doesn't change this; but instead chooses to invoke the imagery of spring, and the changing season alongside her monologue. I loved this change, as well as the better incorporation of SEES in the ending. I still felt just as devastated the second time around; which I was very happy about, as funny as that sounds.
This game is what remakes should strive to be; I know that some people were upset with the lack of some P3P features, especially FeMC. But I felt like this game not only beautifully captured, but furthered the original game to heights I couldn't have dreamed of. If Atlus ends up adding "The Answer" as DLC too, I will be even happier. But as it is, this will go down as one of my favorite remakes of all time.
Fast-forward a few years to the announcement of Reload. I was so excited, as I had been around for the first round of Yukari leaks that people totally thought were fake, but ended up being early Reload footage. I was so interested in the initial footage, but in the back of my mind I was a little nervous. All of the press releases about this game looked fantastic, but they didn't really capture the spirit of Persona 3, at least not to me. The game looked very vibrant and bright, and the music was beautiful. It was a stark contrast from the dark and muddy original, whose music reflected the unsettling tone in some places. I was a bag of very mixed emotions about the remake. I have been burned with these sort of remakes before, so I crossed my fingers and held my breath.
My birthday rolls around and it just so happens to be a couple days after Reload released, so I got a copy for that and I was ecstatic. I popped it into my PS5, and I felt all of my worries wash away. There was a ton of new content to entice me as a returning player, as well as a myriad of quality of life features that made the whole experience feel streamlined into a really polished game. The same bleak vibe persisted, even in light of the new aesthetic of the game, which made me feel much better about the new coat of paint.
Of the new features, Theurgy is the clear standout to me. It essentially replaces the fusion spell mechanic from the original, but spreads the love to the entire cast. These animations feel like a love letter to each character, incorporating an aspect of their personality or design, and they're all great eye candy. For the protagonist, they basically just dropped the fusion spell list into his theurgies, and it allows for a lot more variety. It feels viable to use some of the earlier fusion spells late into the game now, as it doesn't require having a handful of shitter personas on hand to pull them off.
Other sweet changes include QoL teleporter changes from portable, new side stories for the boys in the party, and fully voiced social links. All of these culminated in a more enjoyable experience for me, but didn't really trample the vibe of the original game. I felt this way about most all of the changes, voice actors included. I was iffy on the new voice cast at first, but I grew on them as I played, especially after I realized all of SEES' original voice actors got recast into supporting roles that act like mentors to the new SEES members. That was a nice touch by Atlus. This along with revamped AMV cutscenes were a huge difference to me, I really appreciated some of the new changes.
One change I wasn't in love with was the change to the musical themes. For the most part; the music was untouched, but a very noticeable change was the lack of "Burn My Dread" prior to the final fight. This was a kind of sour note for me, as I felt the impact of starting and ending the journey with the revisited song was such a cool touch in the original game. I wish this was somehow kept in, but I understand that with the new opening changes were made.
ENDING SPOILER PARAGRAPH, SKIP IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED
After a week of spending all of my free time devoted to this game, I finally got to that same ending that broke me. I was especially worried about this, as this was what cuts me the deepest. The powerful message of making the most of what joy you have in life and finding a purpose that makes it worth living, despite all of the hardships that you encounter is such a great moment, especially when it's being told by Aigis, a character who has such a struggle with her own sense of humanity and consciousness. Her realizing such a profound and human notion despite being a machine is so so moving, especially given the loss she experiences. The new ending doesn't change this; but instead chooses to invoke the imagery of spring, and the changing season alongside her monologue. I loved this change, as well as the better incorporation of SEES in the ending. I still felt just as devastated the second time around; which I was very happy about, as funny as that sounds.
This game is what remakes should strive to be; I know that some people were upset with the lack of some P3P features, especially FeMC. But I felt like this game not only beautifully captured, but furthered the original game to heights I couldn't have dreamed of. If Atlus ends up adding "The Answer" as DLC too, I will be even happier. But as it is, this will go down as one of my favorite remakes of all time.