[ad_1]
I fucking love Persona 3. On any given day I might say it’s my favourite entry in Atlus’ supernatural teenage life sim RPG collection, or on the very least tied with Persona 5 Royal. That’s why Persona 3 Reload, which remakes the 2006 recreation from the bottom up, is such a deal with. I spent round 45 minutes with the upcoming remake throughout a hands-on preview, and I’m intrigued by how new it feels whereas additionally unapologetically sustaining a lot of the PS2 recreation’s authentic construction. However my temporary preview additionally comes with one obtrusive caveat: I don’t suppose the music of this recreation wanted to be remade in any respect.
Persona 3 Reload is visually beautiful. It maintains the darkish, blue-and-black shade scheme with all of the manufacturing worth of Persona 5. That is good, as a result of extra video games ought to appear like Persona 5, and seeing how Persona 3’s visible motifs and themes are being modernized is thrilling. The unique PS2 recreation set a baseline for the franchise’s visible id, however Persona 3 Reload seems like idea artwork lastly realized and explored. It’s a visually beautiful recreation, with each spell, strike, and summon popping off the display screen with beautiful animation, stylized cut-ins, and deal with colours and contrasts. Persona 5 actually solidified the collection as a stylistic visible powerhouse, and seeing Persona 3 remade with these design targets in place is a delight.
What’s previous is new once more in Persona 3 Reload
Exterior of the visible overhaul, I used to be shocked at how intact Persona 3’s authentic recreation design pillars are in a remake almost 20 years faraway from the supply materials. For those who’ve come into the collection with Persona 5, it’s best to know forward of time Persona 3 didn’t have the crafted dungeons its successor did. As a substitute, the occasion travels by Tartarus, a seemingly neverending tower of procedurally generated flooring overrun by demonic shadows. Navigating Tartarus isn’t about puzzle-solving or following an overt plot. It’s a grind of climbing up the hornet’s nest and attempting to take out as many enemies as you’ll be able to on the best way. Finally, you’ll attain a barricade that stops you from shifting ahead, and that’s how you understand you’ll be able to’t do something till the following huge boss reveals up on the complete moon. In comparison with Persona 5, it’s structurally extra akin to the limitless, sprawling, procedurally generated Mementos than it’s to a Palace’s crafted design. For those who’re searching for a extra crafted expertise the place each dungeon has a definite vibe and plot beat, Persona 3 is just not that.
Whereas the argument may very well be made that this seems like a missed alternative, I don’t suppose Persona 3 Reload might have utterly restructured dungeons with out additionally upending how key Tartarus is to its story. The tower is an anchor to the plot that you simply return to each evening and whereas sure, it’s arduous and monotonous by fashionable requirements, that grind was a part of the youngsters’ bonding course of.You may’t restructure Persona 3’s dungeon design with out basically altering its story. Whereas I’ve solely performed a really small slice of a really giant recreation, I’ve a respect for a way intently it sticks to the supply materials whereas discovering methods to bolster components that want tweaking. Tartarus is simply too inherent to what Persona 3 is to alter.
However that brings me to issues which have modified. Persona 3 Reload has a wholly new voice solid, and whereas that deeply wounded me as a long-time fan of these authentic actors, I’m joyful to say the brand new crew understands the task. Zeno Robinson’s work as resident goofy dumbass Junpei Iori was a standout throughout my time with the sport, and I’m wanting ahead to listening to extra of everybody’s tackle these beloved characters. However the voice appearing isn’t the one factor that’s modified on the audio facet, and so now we flip our consideration to what was simply my least favourite a part of the demo: the brand new soundtrack.
Persona 3 has my favourite soundtrack within the collection, which persistently brings nothing however bangers. The place Persona 5 was closely influenced by jazz and funk, Persona 3 is far more embedded in hip-hop and J-pop. It’s obtained a bunch of songs which have caught with me, like the enduring daytime vibe of “When The Moon’s Reaching Out Stars” or when Lotus Juices’ punchy rap vocals are available in on songs just like the battle theme “Mass Destruction.” I used to be actually wanting ahead to listening to these songs as a backdrop to all of Persona 3 Reload’s visible splendor…however man, I’m not feeling the remade soundtrack.
“Burn My Dread” (Taylor’s Model)
It’s a phenomenon I’ve been feeling with Taylor Swift’s remade “Taylor’s Model” albums, which have been born out of a company dispute round who owns Taylor Swift’s music, however whereas they’ve introduced some nice new songs alongside the remade ones, a few of these new recordings simply aren’t doing it for me. The unique composition is there, and the gifted individuals behind the unique music are nonetheless taking part in and singing their hearts out, however its clearly re-recorded, and it doesn’t hit the identical method the originals do—the model of “Mass Destruction” that performs throughout battle made me grimace with its ironed-out combine and extra timid vocals. When every thing else within the recreation is getting remade from the bottom up, I perceive the inclination to re-record these songs. However I’m listening to those authentic variations now and so they nonetheless maintain up. Did Persona 3 Reload want to do that? I don’t suppose so, and I hope different songs fare higher within the remake course of.
Music apart, I’m actually intrigued by Persona 3 Reload’s dedication to the supply materials and realizing when and the place it must iterate on the PS2 recreation. There’s nonetheless loads of previous stuff lacking when it comes to content material from the Moveable and FES variations of the unique recreation that make its standing because the “definitive” version contentious, however on the very least, it seems like a worthy model of a stellar recreation up to now.
Persona 3 Reload will come to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Collection X/S on February 2, 2024.
[ad_2]
Source link
