Persona 3 Reload Review – THE REMAKE WE ALWAYS WANTED!
Persona 3 surprisingly gets left out of conversation when talking about which JRPGs are best. Well, looks like that is all about to change with the release of Persona 3 Reload on all current gen consoles and PC. But the question is, is Persona 3 worth revisiting after almost 18 years?
Well the short answer is, yes! And here is why!
Persona 3 Reload Still Has the Best Narrative in the Persona Series!
Whilst I know that this may be a point of contention, Persona 3 has a fantastic narrative than later entries just could not live up to! I am not saying that Persona 4 or 5 (or any of the other spin-off entries) are bad! Absolutely not! However, Persona 3 just blends it’s witty humour with a fascinatingly dark narrative that later entries just couldn’t match. The curiosity behind the dark hour and its effect on the world that you explore is fascinating. Meeting new and strange characters and watching how their small stories interweave with the main plot is very captivating. It is full of the tropes that you would expect from a typical high school anime! I mean that in the best way possible.
The combat feels smoother than ever before!
Persona 3 Reload Takes the Gameplay To a Whole New Level!
The gameplay does remain faithful to the original! However, it does add in a few features to make the combat feel smoother than ever before. You might be thinking, “how can a turn based JRPG’s combat become more smooth?”. Well, firstly the game’s combat menu has been changed! Instead of cycling through the main options; Persona, Item, Guard and Attack, each option is mapped to one of the face buttons on the controller. This makes it much quicker to choose what you want to do.
The UI here is much more akin to Persona 5 (and yes I will be referencing the 5th entry a few times) in both style and functionality. To show this even more, one new feature, the shift, is Reload’s version of the baton pass in Persona 5. This was feature was an absolute must! Because I’ll be honest, I dived back into Persona 4 for yet another playthrough a few months ago, and not having the baton pass was really noticeable and made the combat feel a bit slower. It was a good call to add it into this remake!
Persona 3 Reload is the Best-Looking Persona Game to Date!
The visual redesign is also absolutely stunning! Once again, it is in a similar style to Persona 5, which I really quite liked! The characters absolutely look fantastic! Not only do they represent Persona’s modern style, but due to this upgrade, some cutscenes from the original have actually been turned into in-game dialogue and events. Also, I did already mention the functionality of the UI, but I have to make mention of just how great it looks. The striking blue colours really makes it look super stylish.
The visual design isn’t the only significant upgrade though! Both Japanese and English voices have been rerecorded for this remake. The English voices were even comprised of a completely new cast. Not only have all the original lines been rerecorded, but extra dialogue for social links and other activities have been added as well. I stuck to the English dub for my playthrough, because I am an anime heathen! I must say, the voice acting was done incredibly well!
The Addictive Soundtrack
You just can’t talk about a Persona game without at least mentioning the soundtrack! And oh boy, does Persona 3 have an absolutely incredible soundtrack! There were countless times that I stopped what I was doing so that I could just sit and listen to the music! Shojia Meguro, Atsushi Kitajo and Yosuke Uda are absolute musical geniuses and this game shows that once again. All I can say is, RIP the rest of my music library! The next couple of months at least will be exclusively dedicated to the Persona 3 soundtrack!
Decision
Persona 3 Reload is the definitive way to experience the third entry in this phenomenal spin-off series. The updated visuals make this title an absolute treat for your eyes, whilst the gameplay is exactly what you would expect from a modern day Persona game. If I hadn’t spent time in the original game, I would have been fooled into believing that this was a brand new entry with just how well this remake was executed. So, don’t waste any time and make sure to add Persona 3 Reload to your collection!
By Samuel Incze – Reviewed on PlayStation 5
Must Have
Persona 3 Reload is the best version to experience this spin-off series’ third entry. With an absolutely fantastic story, refined gameplay and stunning visuals, this remake will definitely keep you addicted for hours on end!
This game was reviewed using a download code provided by Atlus and SEGA. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.
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