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Persona 3 was at all times the perfect one. Persona 3 Reload, the from-the-ground-up remake of the 2006 supernatural, social sim-driven RPG, simply eliminates any doubt. A whole visible overhaul, new mechanics, and new music all reinforce what made the unique a stellar, poignant, and radical recreation for its time. Nonetheless, Reload is greater than only a prettier model of an previous recreation; It’s the best-realized model of an iconic story that spotlights a number of the magic that Atlus hasn’t fairly lived as much as since.
Persona has at all times been about high-school college students preventing supernatural forces, however P3 was the progenitor of the life-management parts which have change into central to the franchise. Reload is a captivating technique to revisit a second when Persona was extra in contact with its roots as a Megami Tensei subseries and nonetheless establishing its personal distinctive identification. The remake is a testomony to how far the sequence has come and the way far it nonetheless has to go.
Broadly, Persona 3 Reload’s story is unchanged. You play as a switch scholar named Makoto Yuki (or one other title of your selecting), who begins attending Gekkoukan Excessive Faculty within the coastal metropolis of Iwatodai. As soon as there, Makoto is confronted with a supernatural phenomenon referred to as the Darkish Hour, a mysterious interval after midnight by which most individuals transmogrify into coffins. Makoto and a handful of his classmates stay cognizant throughout this time and are in a position to transfer by way of the world freely, and they’re able to summon Persona, or dwelling manifestations of their inside psyche. The group makes use of this energy to battle malevolent monsters referred to as Shadows in hopes of ending the Darkish Hour totally. Whereas the setup is identical, every little thing has been utterly remade, and it appears to be like, sounds, and performs fantastically.
Reload is a case examine within the “this appears to be like like how I imagined it as a child” phenomenon of remakesr as a result of this recreation appears to be like gorgeous. The riffs on Persona 5’s fashionable menus, attractive coloration palettes, and smooth transitions make the sport look really fashionable Persona recreation whereas sustaining the sport’s distinctive visible and tonal identification. It doesn’t really feel like something’s been misplaced in smoothing out the perimeters of an previous recreation for a contemporary viewers, it looks like a contemporary realization of what made it particular within the first place.
Persona 3 is difficult in each its fight and narrative themes, and it’s simple to overlook that because the sequence has change into extra in style and fandom-facing. The turn-based, elemental weaknesses-driven fight is dense and strategic with out having to depend on gimmick fights like Persona 5’s bosses do. These days, Persona tends to fall into the identical lure Pokémon does, the place a number of fights are nearly discovering the proper elemental weak point to poke at till enemies die, however Persona 3 balances enemies who can take up, resist, or replicate sure talents, in addition to use standing results and predictable behaviors to ensnare me in a battle. The Theurgy system, a brand new mechanic that provides every occasion member a singular, final potential, carry new layers to the previous system.
One battle I went by way of throughout the Darkish Hour actually drove this residence for me. I used to be confronting a shadow who may take up all bodily assaults, permitting it to heal with every punch or slash of a sword. Thus, my group needed to depend on magic assaults to take it down. Nonetheless, it additionally was in a position to inflict Rage, making it in order that I couldn’t management what my occasion did for a flip or two. By the point I regained management, it had utterly healed itself by manipulating my occasion into attacking it.
This wasn’t even an enormous, climactic battle, however I don’t bear in mind a number of moments like this in my playthroughs of Persona 5. I feel I’d forgotten how difficult Persona video games might be. These modifications have made Persona 3 extra distinct in the long term, nevertheless it’s not the one means current entries haven’t fairly lived as much as the sport that set Persona on its present path.
Going again to Persona 3 after years of Persona 4 and 5 spin-offs makes it actually obvious how the sequence obtained caught up in a components. Makoto and the remainder of the SEES’ story is refreshing to revisit as a result of its setup and payoffs nonetheless really feel singular. The occasion stands out as a result of, in contrast to their Persona 4 and 5 counterparts, they aren’t dropped by the plot after their designated chapter. Their tales are intertwined in ways in which make every of them essential somewhat than coming off like afterthoughts within the second half of the sport.
Persona 3 Reload feels extra in tune with simply how a lot the sequence’ followers would develop to latch onto its occasion members and social parts with out compromising narrative weight or integrity. A few of this comes from hangouts you possibly can have along with your occasion members, corresponding to making tea with the usually walled-off Mitsuru and studying extra about her wealthy upbringing, or watching previous boxing matches with resident jock Akihiko. Every of those has each a tangible profit when it comes to offering assets for a dungeon crawl, or bolstering social stats like my braveness, allure, or teachers. I’m most enamored by Persona 3 Reload when it finds methods to let me spend time with characters I already knew and cherished however typically didn’t get to simply hang around with one-on-one with out it being excessive stakes.
These informal encounters are a number of the finest components of Persona 5, so seeing them applied here’s a welcome addition. However it’s not simply the small stuff that makes Reload really feel like probably the most well-realized model of this recreation’s solid. The remake additionally goes out of its technique to appropriate one of many authentic recreation’s biggest sins by creating full social link-style arcs for the male occasion members.
Within the authentic, the boys of SEES didn’t get to take part within the social parts that turned the sequence customary, until you have been enjoying Persona 3 Moveable’s feminine important character route, which is lacking from Reload. This time round, Akihiko, Junpei, Ken, Shinjiro, and even the canine Koromaru all get new “linked episodes”storylines authentic to the remake, which allow you to actually get to know every of those characters on a brand new stage. It’s far and away the perfect a part of Reload.
Sadly for everybody else you meet in Persona 3 Reload, there’s a stark hole in high quality between the brand new aspect tales and the previous ones. That’s in all probability the place Persona 3’s age reveals probably the most, even with a brand new coat of paint. A few of Persona 3’s authentic social hyperlinks are fairly stable, such because the aged couple who run a bookstore collectively whereas grieving for his or her misplaced son, or a younger man who finds consolation in Makoto’s friendship whereas he offers with a terminal sickness. However a number of them go nowhere, don’t provide satisfying dialogue selections, or fall into bizarre territory, like fellow scholar Kenji who’s making an attempt so far a trainer, and the sport clearly needs me to nudge him in that path. Don’t get me began on Maiko, the kid at an area playground who opens as much as you about an abusive residence life, and all of your dialogue choices allow you to do is be like, “That’s loopy,” and let her go residence.
The distinction in writing turns into most obvious once you examine the brand new tales for the boys with the previous tales for the ladies within the occasion. Every of those girls are well-rounded characters in Persona 3’s important plot, however their social hyperlinks are principally the identical as they have been again within the 2006 authentic. Whereas Akihiko and Junpei are coping with heavy storylines that really feel intimately tied to Persona 3’s themes of confronting loss of life and never falling into nihilism alongside the best way, Yukari, Fuuka, and Mitsuru’s arcs may have used a contemporary rewrite alongside their teammates. Aigis, the shadow-fighting android, continues to be a standout, however even her late-game revelations lack the identical gravitas.
Even when the social hyperlinks fluctuate in high quality, in any case these years, Persona 3‘s story feels simply as related because it did in 2006. Demise permeates each aspect of Reload. Some characters concern or embrace it, however the recreation’s complete ethos is about figuring out it’s hanging over us all. Hell, the members of SEES summon their Personas by placing a faux gun to their heads and pulling the set off. Demise in all its types shapes each second I spend in Iwatodai. If I’m not staring it within the face talking to a dying man in a shrine, I’m desirous about the specter of it as I head into battle.
However Persona 3, regardless of the motif and set dressing, was by no means actually about loss of life. It was about dwelling. We every reside by way of our personal hardships and battle for each second we get of this life, simply as SEES climbs up the unending, shadow-infested tower that seems within the Darkish Hour. Lots of Persona 3‘s social sim parts exist to bolster that life, nevertheless lengthy it lasts, is price preventing for due to the connections we share with others. Within the time since Persona 3 initially got here out, that’s solely change into extra obvious.
The world is completely different than it was then. Strolling by way of the streets of Iwatodai and seeing dozens of individuals overtaken by the mind-altering Apathy Syndrome feels completely different once you’ve lived by way of a pandemic that turned tens of millions of individuals right into a statistic to be routinely ignored. Experiencing the handfuls of types grief takes for every member of SEES and every citizen of Iwatodai is completely different once you’ve misplaced your father or your childhood canine. So the world has been endlessly modified, however so have I. The place as soon as I might need been an angsty loner who didn’t care if I lived or died, I now push myself by way of my despair as a result of I’ve individuals who elevate me up, and I attempt to elevate up in form.
There’s a section in Persona 3 the place the phrases “The ability of friendship surges inside you” seem throughout a battle as your pals cheer you on. That’s the mantra that carries me by way of the neverending onslaught of onerous instances. SEES’ journey confirmed me each type fatalistic nihilism can take, but in addition underlines that connection is what retains us shifting ahead. I didn’t really feel like I had a lot to battle for after I first performed Persona 3. However having one thing price dwelling for is all that retains me round as of late.
Possibly it goes hand-in-hand with how Persona 3 retains each member of its solid as an lively participant that it additionally feels extra thematically constant than the video games that adopted. Persona 4 posits itself as a recreation about accepting who you’re, whereas additionally primarily calling the onerous truths its heroes come to phrases with a section they’ll develop out of. Persona 5 needs to be all about preventing towards injustice in service of the little man, then places the identical victims it claims to be preventing for by way of comparable abuses, however by the hands of their buddies. By comparability, Persona 3 is at all times wrestling with what provides life which means when everyone knows it’s barreling towards an inevitable finish. That Reload manages to include what made its sequels particular with out falling into the identical traps speaks volumes about how robust the supply materials was and the way timeless it nonetheless feels to this present day.
Even when Persona 3 Reload reveals the unique’s age, I’m nonetheless amazed at how properly it holds up after not having performed it in over a decade. I’ll at all times adore Persona 4 and 5, nevertheless it does really feel like they realized a number of the improper classes from P3. The social sim parts stay the draw of the sequence, however regardless of the care these video games and their spin-offs put into creating a celebration price loving, it typically feels just like the video games themselves view them as transient. They’ve a devoted dungeon that focuses on them, however then they sway within the background till you hit them up for his or her break day, or the entire group is getting collectively for a trip or college journey.
In distinction, Persona 3 Reload feels prefer it’s realized all the proper classes in taking a double dip. Its authentic story retains everybody within the foreground, whereas new additions to the social sim parts bolster every of them to the purpose the place I typically really feel like they have been simply acquaintances up thus far. One way or the other, after over a decade of preventing, dancing, and dungeon-crawling spin-offs, I really feel like I’ve met the final word model of Persona’s finest solid.
To me, that’s what makes Persona 3 Reload the “definitive” model of Persona 3. There’s been a number of rightful criticism of Atlus doing an entire remake of a recreation that has at all times felt fractured throughout a number of variations. It doesn’t embrace the feminine protagonist route from Persona 3 Moveable or the playable epilogue from Persona 3 FES. (Even after throwing all this reward onto Reload, not together with FES’ further chapter nonetheless feels egregious.) However so far as SEES, their journey to finish the Darkish Hour, and the way the ability of friendship carried them by way of? Reload is the perfect model of this story, and solely makes me respect the daring steps it took much more.
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