Persona 3 occupies a unique place in RPG lore. When it was released in North America in 2007 it was novel — a Japanese role-playing game that mixed a hip aesthetic, dating sim mechanics, and an outstanding soundtrack with dark storytelling. It quickly managed to find a cult audience in the waning days of the PlayStation 2 and its sequels have only grown more popular since.
But while Persona 3 has managed to remain a favorite among dedicated RPG fans, it has in some ways struggled to break out of its niche due to its esoteric releases. Until Persona 3 Portable released on modern platforms very recently, Persona 3 fans had two choices: play the original version in standard definition on PlayStation 2, or spring for the PSP version. The lack of a definitive edition was palpable.
Persona 3 Reload is not the defining release that fans have wanted for so long. It's explicitly a remake of the original release with a handful of quality-of-life improvements, so you won't be able to play as a woman or access the (admittedly flawed) post-game content found in FES, titled The Answer. The former feature in particular is sorely missed in a series that's not particularly known for treating its women well.
What Persona 3 Reload does have is radically improved visuals that manage to be evocative of Persona 5 without being quite as overbearing. To start with, the blue color palette is easier on the eyes than the harsh reds and blacks that define its better-known successor. Where Persona 5 strains to cram some little detail into every inch of its interface, Persona 3 Reload is pleasantly understated. Its main character — now confirmed to be named Makoto — hangs suspended underwater in one menu screen. Attack animations are punctuated by beautiful little animated flourishes that accentuate Persona 3's colorful cast. It's very much in line with the look and feel of the rest of the series without feeling derivative.
Our impressions of Persona 3 Reload
The two levels shown during Atlus' preview event were from the early part of the story. One section was a romp through the Tartarus — a massive multi-level tower that you climb throughout the story. The other was a battle through the game's first major dungeon, where you work your way through a spooky train in the midst of a full moon.
Persona 3 has plenty in common with its successors. Its battle system is based around hitting enemy weaknesses to gain additional moves, and it includes the demon fusion system for which both Persona and Shin Megami Tensei are famous. Its story is built in part around social links in which you grow your bonds with your party and the denizens of Gekkoukan High (and a fox). Even the characters aren't that dissimilar from the main cast in Persona 4 and Persona 5.
Where it differs is in the tone. Persona 3 is significantly darker than either of its successors, taking on a philosophical bent as it explores the spaces between life and death. Its tone is exemplified by the Evokers -- guns that the main characters use to blast their Personas out of their heads. Controversial at the time, it hasn't gotten any less uncomfortable seeing a teenager repeatedly putting a gun to their head and pulling the trigger.
The Tartarus is another big difference. Similar to Persona 5's Mementos, the Tartarus is a randomized tower in which you ascend from non-descript floor to the next. I'm a bigger fan of The Tartarus than most -- the mystery of what lies at the top of the tower is a compelling one -- but it's not nearly as elaborate as Persona 5's more extensive dungeons. Let's just call it an acquired taste.
Truthfully, there's a lot to love about Persona 3. It has a flow to its exploration and dungeon crawling that I find appealing, and it does more than its successors to capture the friction of being a high school student who battles monsters by night. Persona 3 solidified the formula that has driven the series for more than a decade now, and for the most part it holds up just fine against its more elaborate sequels.
A lot of very real strengths have been lost amid outdated versions on hard-to-access platforms, so I'm delighted to see Persona 3 finally get the love that it deserves. Its gorgeous, it runs at 60fps, and it finally lets you control your entire party (the original version featured often unreliable party members controlled by the AI). Disappointed as I am by the loss of a defining feature like the ability to play as a girl, this remake was badly needed. I can't wait to go back to Gekkoukan.
Persona 3 Reload is set to release 2024 on PS5 and PC. Check out our impressions of Like a Dragon Gaiden right here, as well as our ongoing coverage of Gamescom 2023, which is happening right now.
Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
