It is troublesome to replay older Persona video games after Persona 5. They nonetheless inform engrossing character-driven tales, however with Persona 5 — and Persona 5 Royal particularly — Atlus advanced the collection’ core gameplay loop to such an extent that earlier titles can really feel clunky and monotonous by comparability. And so now we have Persona 3 Reload — a ground-up remake of the unique Persona 3, which goals to introduce an entire new era of gamers to what was as soon as an inspirational PS2 RPG.
In an effort to obtain this objective, Reload focuses on two key areas of enchancment: an entire visible rebuild, and big gameplay upgrades, each out and in of battle. The result’s a remake that falls virtually precisely consistent with the trendy sensibilities of Persona 5.
However earlier than we dig into the main points, let’s discuss concerning the sport’s immaculate presentation. Reload retains the blue-leaning color scheme of the unique launch, however as talked about, every thing has been remade (in Unreal Engine, no much less). This can be a really luxurious title; from the crisp character fashions to the beautiful hand-drawn dialogue portraits, it is a visible delight, whereas particle and lighting results do some very heavy lifting when it comes to setting the sport’s moody tone. Even the menus, with their new, watery aesthetics, are a deal with to behold.
In a turn-based RPG the place you may be doing a variety of speaking and flicking via menus outdoors of fight, presentation is so essential — and Reload nails it. Is it higher wanting than Persona 5? Graphically, certainly — however we’re hesitant to say that it is extra trendy. Reload is extremely neat and tidy — in no way soulless, however meticulous. In any case, it is an absolute feast for the eyes.
If you’re not gawking on the sport’s many shades of blue, Reload follows the identical story and construction because the title that it is primarily based upon. Set in 2009, you play as a younger man who’s transferring to a brand new faculty — however your arrival on Tatsumi Port Island occurs to coincide with a collection of supernatural occasions. As if the training system wasn’t hectic sufficient, you shortly be taught that there is really a hidden time period that exists at midnight. This so-called ‘Darkish Hour’ is imperceptible to regular folks — however those that have the ‘potential’ are aware whereas it is taking place.
Often, the Darkish Hour poses no menace, however there are creatures, named shadows, that take type throughout this time — and for no matter cause, they’re rising stressed. Thankfully, you are not alone in having the aforementioned ‘potential’ — and so that you’re invited to affix the Specialised Extracurricular Execution Squad, or S.E.E.S. for brief. Collectively together with your new buddies, you are tasked with taking the struggle to the shadows, and unravelling the mysteries of the Darkish Hour.
Conceptually, Persona 3 nonetheless has one of many coolest narrative foundations within the collection. You are basically a part of a success squad that hunts down demons whereas the world stays oblivious — and your looking floor is a terrifying tower referred to as Tartarus.
The plot can also be rather a lot darker than what you may discover in Persona 3’s successors. Proper from the beginning, there are apparent themes of loss of life and mortal consequence, and it makes for some gripping storytelling at instances. There’s an gratifying melancholy to Persona 3 that subsequent Persona video games fell away from, however fortunately, Reload embraces the unique’s typically horror-tinged ambiance. If Persona 5 was a bit too Saturday morning cartoon in your tastes, then you definately would possibly discover the brooding tones of Persona 3 extra interesting.
Structurally, the sport’s principally break up into two halves. The primary revolves round your day-to-day life, as you attend faculty, make buddies, discover the island metropolis, and enhance key traits of your character. The second half of the discharge entails conquering the Darkish Hour — climbing Tartarus, battling shadows, and levelling up your celebration. Nonetheless, in typical Persona trend, the sport’s greatness lies in its capacity to meld these two disparate halves to create a deeply satisfying entire.
As you forge extra significant connections with different characters, you are in a position to create extra highly effective personas — spirit-like entities that you simply summon in an effort to stand in opposition to the shadows. And because the entire sport runs on a calendar system — that means you can solely interact in a restricted variety of actions per day — you are inspired to reside a balanced and environment friendly life. At its core, Persona is about utilizing your free time correctly, and in Persona 3, that idea is probably extra essential than ever, as on set dates, you may be pressured to partake in S.E.E.S. operations to thwart the shadow menace, and in flip, progress the principle story.
If such a gameplay construction sounds hectic, it is price noting that Reload makes many optimistic adjustments to how managing your time really works. For starters, buddies and part-time job alternatives will textual content you (in your flip telephone!) after they’re accessible — so that you now not must comb the town for particular actions. What’s extra, there is not any longer a fatigue system, so you do not have to fret about celebration members rising drained and even sick as you delve into Tartarus. Briefly, Reload streamlines the Persona 3 expertise, and whereas hardcore followers might argue that the alterations dilute the journey, the adjustments are, once more, all in service of modernising Persona 3. And in that sense, Reload is a large success.
However Reload’s finest enhancements lie within the warmth of battle. Fight within the authentic launch had a bent to tug, particularly later within the sport when shadows would tout tediously giant well being bars. Reload addresses that grievance by adopting mechanics from Persona 5, permitting you to ‘shift’ between characters after hitting an enemy’s weak spot, whereas additionally including ‘gentle’ and ‘darkish’ parts to the present pool of magic assaults and resistances. Then there are Theurgy methods — explosive character-specific tremendous assaults which might be constructed up over the course of fight. There are a great deal of extra minor tweaks below the hood as effectively, however these headline adjustments enable Persona 3’s fight to shine as soon as once more.
Reload’s turn-based encounters are sometimes a thrill, they usually’re all the time eye-poppingly fairly. All-new animations, art work cut-ins, and intuitive, one-button command menus make battles a spotlight of the expertise. In the meantime, the return of Shuffle Time provides a randomised ingredient to every struggle, providing you with an opportunity to choose up some uncommon loot after claiming victory. It is all very moreish, to the purpose the place the grind for character ranges, objects, and new personas turns into devilishly addictive.
What about Tartarus itself, although? The shadow-infested tower has lengthy break up fan opinion, as its procedurally generated format can serve up some very samey exploration. Thankfully, Reload transforms Tartarus into a totally 3D labyrinth the place every block is visually distinct, and better of all, it throws a bunch of randomised parts into the method of ascending the tower, flooring by flooring. Initially, there are treasure chests to find and particular shadows to hunt, however as the sport progresses, an increasing number of options are unlocked. Monad Doorways, for instance, present non-compulsory battles in opposition to lethal new bosses — certainly certainly one of our favorite additions.
Tartarus remains to be repetitive by design, however these recent elements make the grind way more partaking total, and when mixed with the quite a few updates to fight, that is most likely the best-designed dungeon crawling in a Persona sport.
The enhancements do not cease there, although. As talked about, Reload sticks to the story of Persona 3, nevertheless it makes a transparent and efficient effort to flesh issues out — particularly the place primary characters are involved. Within the authentic RPG, it was the S.E.E.S. members themselves that lacked depth, locking virtually all character improvement behind key story scenes. Nonetheless, Reload enables you to hang around together with your fellow shadow-slayers regularly, participating in shared actions like gardening, cooking, and watching DVDs (2009, keep in mind). The narrative pacing feels far more cohesive on account of all this socialising, and essential plot factors find yourself hitting tougher than ever.
With regards to the gameplay loop and the remedy of its core forged, Reload is definitely the most effective model of Persona 3 — nevertheless it’s nonetheless troublesome to name it definitive. That is as a result of the extra elements of enhanced re-release Persona 3 FES and PSP port Persona 3 Moveable aren’t included — and so we’re nonetheless caught with 4 separate incarnations of what’s basically the identical sport. Figuring out Atlus, there’s all the time an opportunity that Reload itself will get a re-release down the road that would embrace FES’ expanded story, or Moveable’s feminine primary character — however we are able to solely evaluation what’s in entrance of us, and proper now, Reload is a close to important remake.
