Persona 3 Reload

🎭 PERSONA 3 RELOAD IS A MASTERPIECE THAT CANNOT BE DEFINED MY WORDS, NOR THE NUMBER OF REVIEWS OVER TIME 🎭 I would not consider this a review of sorts, but a perspective from the heart and a personal opinion of my experience in the game. Be it as it may, instead of reviewing the game I just want to prepare those players that are either new to the game, or fans of the series. I've been thinking it out for hours way before finishing the main story, and honestly I can't really find the exact words to write. It's been quite a ride, which took some months for me, and there is so much to say about the game. For me, it's about experiencing it all, little by little, in order to fully enjoy and see why this game is so peak. I want to mention some points here and there, because honestly Reload has too much to offer, but realistically speaking time is of the essence, and either if you do not waste it, it will probably be hard for you to experience it all in just one playthrough. SHORT STORY SHORT/ MY STORY WITH PERSONA SERIES: My first Persona game was Persona 4 on the Playstation 2, and probably my most hours into a classic game during my younger days. Over 100 hours of gameplay for me since I was getting stuck casually and was so new to party-based games. I never truly played P1 and 2, nor ever felt that interest to this day, but asides the Final Fantasy games Persona has been my second fave. I also played Persona 3 FES after Persona 4 since back then I did not acquire it beforehand. I can vouch for the remake being absolute cinema. There are some differences between both games that I remember and will list those here: ✨ NEW THEURGY SYSTEM: This is like the ultimates for your characters which load up with time while in combat and using your Personas. Compared to the first game where you could use "Fussion Spells" on your protagonist and the requirements were more complex, this time around everyone on your party can exploit those after unlocking them. Remake really prioritized the whole team in Reload, which makes it more enjoyable and interesting. In classic Persona 3, you could not control anyone else but Makoto so here you'll be able to fully experience other characters and their abilities, animations, elements, ultimates. Tho you can't use anyone else but Makoto as leader, considering it's tied to the story and the protagonist has that important role throughout the game. So, do not expect to free-roam as your fave Waifu or Husbando. ✨ FREEDOM TO CONTROL AND USE ANY OF THE CHARACTERS: Compared to the classic P3, in this game you will be free to choose the characters you want in your party, and as I said above experience all of them depending on which skills you have active, who's the healer, DPS, that sort of stuff. BUT, I'm not going to spoil...But keep in mind one specific team-based character (not the protagonist) is fated to fall in the story, be aware of this when getting attached to anyone. After that character faces his destiny, feel free to return to your favoritism. ✨ NO FATIGUE ISSUES: In the original P3, exploring too much exhausted you and your team and you eventually had to stop. Which made the game far longer than it was. Now you can keep grinding floors using items and return whenever you want. This makes the game longer just by your own will and enjoyment. ✨ TWILIGHT FRAGMENTS: This is honestly a great addition to the game that will keep you motivated each run in Tartarus (98% of the game's exploration takes place here) . Basically this is some sort of currency found or rewarded casually used for certain events and to open chests. Chests includes items, skins, and or weaponry and armor. If you're looking to hunt down each outfit, you can check out this guide on Steam for the full information: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3167000177 ✨ FULLY VOICED: Compared to the clasic P3, Reload has a lot of voice acting both for the main characters and side characters as well, specially on moments like Arcana events which are of high importance, there is spoken dialogue which makes everything more lively. ✨ BONUS LINK EPISODES: In Reload you will be able to form social links with male characters from your S.E.E.S team, compared to the classic game where only female links were possible. This helps you understand more about them, their origins, their purpose, and what type of guys they are. ✨ PLENTY OF SIDE ACTIVITIES: When not going into battle, as days pass you will be free to enjoy and decide what you want to do on your free time, while not having a deadline of any sort due to the plot. The game does limit you from time to time, so chose wisely what you want to do. -These are some of the changes I valued most, but I can also confirm there's some that might have gotten the community to rage from time to time. Some skins were taken down, some music tracks not featured, and the protagonist is only able to wield one weapon. Of course, I'm the type of gamer that plays to enjoy them, not to criticise and see the negative side of things. But not everyone shares this perspective. Lastly I want to talk about two things of utmost importance: BONDS MATTER: Persona series is all about creating relationships and strenghtening yout inner Persona. Each bond you form, each person you meet, makes you into the person you are. And how you treat them, see them, make them see you and think of you, is what will help you get stronger in order to fight the evil that tries to corrupt this world. There will be a lot of character events, moments, calls for help, ect that you will be free to prioritize. Of course some of these events (Arcana) are of critical importance if you want to grow your Persona and or are using many at the same time. Each Arcana is like an element, and Personas each have their own card. There is a way to experience all links, and complete them all thanks to guides out there, but keep in mind all links matter towards the end of the game. Each character link tells a story, each person you help will eventually owe you one in the end. I merely maxed a few since I had no idea this was a time-limited thing, but if you want to experience the ending as intended, you should not ignore them. There are also special events that will appear sometimes and if you don't pay attention, you will not be able to finish those. Some events are tied to the characters themselves, and their endings are also rewarding fruits. Also, some events might change the story drastically near the end. So it's better you pay attention to those (!) moments. By the end of the game, you will understand why bonds matter. And what an epic, beautiful ending. NOTE: The game has two endings, in moments of decision-making pay attention and save your game. You might get the bad ending if not careful. THE STORY DOES NOT END THERE: While I am yet to play Persona 5, expecting to buy Persona 4 Revival, and the sixth game TBA as well, Persona 3 story does not end in this game itself. You should get the Aigis DLC as well in order to experience a follow-up story of what happens after the end of the main plot. I know this of course, thanks to some investigation but truth be told I still need to play the said content later. Also, Persona 3 story continues on Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax which connect to Persona 3 and Persona 4 as well. Just buy Persona 4 Arena Ultimax on Steam if you want to experience even more lore since it includes all content, after the Reload DLC. Also, after some digging it's probably a fact Persona 4 Revival (remake) will not include all content so buying Golden might be a good idea for the full experience. TO RESUME: This game is art, or it was for me and still is. Make sure to enjoy every moment, max all you can, experience all bonds and events, and discover everything you can. Once you reach the end, you won't be able to return back in time much, unless you save a lot. This game should be crowned Peak King.

Play P4G or P5R instead if you're not looking for a game that takes you out emotionally after finishing it. P3R has the deepest message of the three and can be VERY HEAVY. It will hit you differently depending on who/where you are in life and is worth playing with a few caveats. This is the only persona game I won't replay, while I've replayed P4 (4x) and P5 (3x). The game does very well in making gameplay feel like your life that is full of suffering: - First few hours is great much like 4 and 5, and then it becomes a tremendous chore. Climb up a tower for 2-3 hours at a time, watch the story unfold at a snails pace (but with banger soundtracks). - Middle of the way, watch the story get better, but you're still doing the same thing, meeting an uninteresting bunch of characters who are written just to teach you different lessons via their social links. The main cast is great, but not very memorable at this point in time. If you get past those two phases, suddenly the game opens up and hits you left and right with life lessons, emotional messages, and things you won't soon forget. Your party members become complex, character development of the main cast becomes apparent, while all this time you're still suffering in the game climbing a procedurally generated dungeon, fighting the same enemies recoloured, and bonding with the least interesting cast of characters (outside of your party members) among the 3 games. On top of that, you're suffering even more because of what is unfolding. They nailed the last 33-50% of the game, and the ending message is something to think about. As someone who could not play P3P due to how outdated the systems are, I appreciate being able to finally finish this game after dropping P3P twice due to how horrid the early game story and pacing are. I would still heavily recommend P4G or the Persona 4 Remake, and Persona 5 Royal if you are new to the series. Those leave you wanting more despite the sadness of finishing them, have better pacing, combat and music, and just generally lighter and more interesting. Leave P3R until you feel cold inside and want something to kickstart your beating heart again.

[h3]Background:[/h3] This is my first time writing a genuinely serious Steam review, one where I've put real thought into the experience, not just a quick thumbs-up blurb. Persona 3 is a game I deliberately waited to play. This series is one of my favorites, and I wanted to make sure I came to it at a point in my life where I could actually appreciate what it was doing, rather than rushing in. I got into Persona through Persona 5, emulating it on RPCS3 in 2019 because I didn't have easy access to a PS3 or PS4 and wanted to see what all the acclaim was about. It lived up to the hype completely, and I was hooked. From there I played Persona 4 (PCSX2), Persona 5 Royal (PS4), and Persona 4 Golden (PC) between 2019 and 2020, each on the hardest difficulty with a full compendium. I love this franchise, its themes, its gameplay, its characters, flaws and all. That love is exactly why I held off on Persona 3 for so long, and why I'm finally ready to give it the review it deserves in Persona 3 Reload. [h3]Story:[/h3] One of the most cited takes in the Persona community is that Persona 3 has the best story, Persona 4 has the best characters, and Persona 5 has the strongest gameplay. I agree that Persona 3 has the strongest themes and the most serious tone of the modern games, but the pacing has some real issues. This is a story I believe everyone should experience, but it can be a tough sell when the first 30 hours are so bare in terms of development. Compared to Persona 4 and Persona 5, which drop you into the action almost immediately, Persona 3 is very much a slow burn. The early game mostly consists of getting familiar with the Social Links, fighting through Tartarus, and trying to figure out what the Dark Hour even is. My biggest issue with this stretch is that, unlike in later entries, Persona 3 doesn't give you the "why" behind its characters, it's genuinely unclear for a long time why they're exploring Tartarus or what Tartarus even is. Once July rolls around, the story picks up considerably and a lot more characters get introduced. This slow start never bothered me personally; I loved developing Social Links and exploring Tartarus for their own sake. But I can see a new player to the franchise dropping what is ultimately an exceptional story before they ever reach the second semester, where it really comes together. None of this is meant to be too critical of Persona 3, though. The ending is easily the strongest in the mainline modern Persona games, and I don't think the others come close. It's enough to make a grown man cry due to the emotional weight of its ending. [h3]Characters and Social Links:[/h3] The cast of Persona 3 is very memorable, and I believe each character has its rightful place in the story. I won't argue they're the strongest cast in the series, but I genuinely enjoyed learning their likes, dislikes, dreams, and backstories. Each member of S.E.E.S. can hold their own in the story, it doesn't feel like they're inherently reliant on the protagonist (Makoto) to solve all their problems and guide the team forward. The Social Links, however, are a mixed bag. Some are among the strongest in the series, while others are downright uninteresting. I had experiences where an entire Social Link rank was just a few lines of dialogue. It's worth remembering this is the entry that introduced Social Links, and Atlus hadn't fully developed their methodology yet. Still, plenty of Social Links were genuinely entertaining, and the overall quality was high even with some stinkers in the mix (looking at you, Suemitsu and Kenji). [h3]Gameplay and Difficulty[/h3] When it comes to turn-based combat, Megaten delivers. One of the biggest drawbacks of the original Persona 3 (and Persona 3 FES) was the inability to control party members, which could be intimidating for many players. I understand the AI in those older games was quite good if you understood the tactics system, but the vast majority of players coming from the more modern games will appreciate the accessibility of controllable party members, seamless skill inheritance, and the Shift mechanic (borrowed from Persona 5's Baton Pass). One of the most noticeable new mechanics is Theurgy, at best a useful addition to the game, and at worst something that fundamentally breaks its balance. I played on Merciless, since I default to the hardest difficulty unless it's a mainline SMT game, which is brutal even on Normal. If you're a hardcore SMT player with experience in the mainline entries, this game will be a breeze even on Merciless. That's not to say I never died, I did every so often, but rarely in a way that actually mattered. The only times you'll find yourself dying if you know what you're doing are typically to an instant-kill move you weren't prepared for. And even then, there's virtually zero consequence unless you die to a random enemy in Tartarus (which happened to me only once in my entire playthrough). Die to a boss or miniboss, and you simply reload from the start of the fight which effectively removes any real stakes from the battle. Sadly, with every new Persona title the games tend to get easier, which is disappointing as a fan of hard-as-nails RPGs. I understand this critique is more relevant for players who enjoy the difficulty of these games, if you prefer a more laid-back experience, feel free to ignore it. For those new to the series, a bigger issue may be the elephant in the room: Tartarus. A large portion of the game is spent here, a randomized dungeon the player climbs with the goal of reaching the top. In my experience, you'll spend 4-5 hours every in-game month exploring it, and if you don't love turn-based combat, this will drain your enjoyment of the game. For most players new to the franchise, I'd recommend starting with Persona 5 instead, for its more engaging hand-crafted dungeons, Tartarus can feel monotonous to newcomers. Personally, I don't mind Tartarus. It breaks up the pacing of the life-sim half of the game, and I enjoy the turn-based combat on its own merits. That said, I recognize Tartarus is genuinely divisive in the community. Some people love it, some people hate it. Once you reach the mid-late game, you'll unlock a certain physical-based Persona that makes Tartarus effectively a brain-dead experience even on Merciless, thanks to its high critical hit rate, the only real threat becomes enemies that block physical attacks. It's worth remembering this is a 2006 game with a fresh coat of paint. Don't go in expecting the dungeon-crawling to match Persona 5 dungeons. [h3]Conclusion:[/h3] In spite of all these critiques, this is a fantastic game. I focused on the parts that could be improved, but don't take that as a rejection of Persona 3. This is a game worth your time, and it's one of the best pieces of media I've ever consumed. The ending is perfect, the characters are lovable, and the game is full of so much soul. The music is beautiful, and the style is meticulous. My in-game save file sits at 89 hours, most of it done over a two-week period. I was hooked. My critiques come from a place of love, no game is perfect, even one I believe is among the greatest I've experienced. I think it's important to highlight the faults for newcomers to the franchise, so they can discover the beauty of Persona for themselves. It's a long-haul journey, but one worth taking. [b]Verdict:[/b] Must Buy for RPG fans!