Persona 3 is a game that I have history with when it comes to my online exposure to it. I remember people in a Discord server that I am still part of but don't really talk in anymore shilling this game nonstop and I figured that I should give it a try through PCSX2 emulation. This was coming off the Persona 5 hype after I played it so I was excited to get into a brand new experience. I played the FES version and liked what I played, although I did have many problems with this game. The gameplay was an absolute slog in the PS2 versions, there were many weird design choices like no party member control (You could control party members for every other PS2 Megaten btw!), the tiredness mechanic which is STUPID, the fact you had to romance all of the characters to max out their social links and others alongside some issues with writing like Strega being undeveloped and other things. For all of this game's faults and sloggy aspects, this game presents some really great things. The aesthetics, themes, writing and characters are ones that really stick out with me in the JRPG genre. As well as that, the music is fantastic and iconic. For those reasons, this is a game that I developed a love hate relationship for over the years - I respected its ideas and such but I never was able to fully understand them and how much of a slog the game was really impacted my perception of this game overtime.

Fast forward to E3 2023 and Reload was revealed. I always told myself that I would replay this game again but only through a remake so I was mildly excited to try this one and to see if this could fix the issues I had with the game and redeem this game for me. Does this remake achieve this? Is it really the best version to play? I'll examine that in this review.

I will start with the negatives first:

- Firstly, this game is way too overpriced for what you are getting here which is closer to a 1:1 remake. I didn't mind or regret paying 70 euros for this game, I found it worthy of my time and money. However, I don't think this game should be 70 euros as this is very much just a remake of a PS2 game that is closer to be a 1:1 remake than a from the ground up one like the Resident Evil remakes; I think if the game were to be 50 euros, people would be way less critical of the pricepoint. I am not saying that the remake being how it is is a bad thing by the way, I just don't think it justifies the pricepoint being too high, especially since the Answer is coming - meaning that the game will be over €100+ which is wild and unreasonable I think. I would definitely recommend getting this game when it's €50 or lower.

- The aesthetics are a little bit worse than the PS2 versions. The PS2 versions and P3P's utilisation of aesthetics and visuals are so cool and iconic and I feel that the modernisation of these aesthetics in Reload takes away kind of what made the original's aesthetics so special. However, I am of the belief that even if you put the exact same development team as the PS2 versions on this remake, the game would still look different to those versions as technology and art/UI design has advanced so much during these past 15-20 years to the point where it is genuinely impossible to remake this game from the ground up without making these sacrifices. The PS2 versions of P3 are truly games of their time so I don't see the aesthetics of Reload as a massive issue; however, I still prefer the OG look over Reload's, mainly out of nostalgia admittedly. I would recommend turning down the brightness by 2 when you start P3R as the game looks significantly better and more worn down like the original.

- There are times where I wish they put in more activities, especially at the end of the game since by that point, you are probably maxxed out your social stats and you are either grinding out Tartarus or completing social links; I wish you could play minigames Yakuza-style or whatever, this is what these games need so bad for the future, especially for Persona 6. This point is adjacent to this next point which is:

- I wish this game had a bigger budget and/or a bigger development team that it deserved. You can just tell that this game lacked the budget and they had to cut corners on a bunch of things. Some of these include some cutscenes being 3D cinematics instead of animated like in the original (for example, the MC's Persona awakening), the devs reusing P5 NPC faces, even the SL episodes for the main male cast can be considered as such. It is a shame but I don't think it's the end of the world or anything. I still think what they managed to do here is amazing, but it could have been so much more aswell.

Now onto the positives:

- This is a really faithful remake to the original experience while improving on it in almost every single way. The story, writing and themes (which are the strongest aspects of this game) are virtually unchanged, the presentation is significantly upgraded as Tatsumi Port Island is overhauled and feels more alive then ever and Tartarus is largely overhauled for the better in my eyes.

- The gameplay loop is largely overhauled for the better in my view. The combat is more streamlined than Persona 5 but the QOL changes that the game makes such as the baton pass returning without any of the buffs that it gives, party control and more makes the combat so much more enjoyable as a result. Tartarus exploration does not feel as much of a slog as it did in the PS2 versions and while it is not perfect and I wish there were more unique events in Tartarus overall, it is way more enjoyable as you can discover Monad doors, chests and pots you can smash for valuables, items and weapons. The daytime gameplay has also been overhauled as you have more stuff to do during daytime besides enhancing your stats and Social Links with the addition of more activities that you can do either by yourself or with other cast members like gardening, cooking with your mates, watching TV and more which not only develops these characters further without it feeling like filler. The Social Link episodes they add for the male cast members are so good; they develop the characters and their motivations without locking down their development behind Social Links and the filler that they bring. I feel like I like these better than normal Social Links and I hope they develop the idea further for Persona 6.

- The music is one of the aspects I was afraid of how they would handle in this remake as the Persona 3 soundtrack is my favourite in the series. While I still prefer the original soundtrack, I will admit that the newly reworked tracks are surprisingly pretty good for what they were able to accomplish; the original compositions for this game are really good and I really like the Iwatodai Dorm theme in this one. I'm happy they brought Lotus Juice back because he is one of the guys that made the Persona 3 OST into what it is today.

- The best part of this game by far is the writing, themes, characters and story which have been preserved for this remake without any major changes. The main theme of this game is death and a lot of aspects of this game from subtle dialogue and hints from characters in this game that allude to it to the events that happen in this game that lead to that inevitability to the characters and how they develop throughout the game. The characters are really likable and well-written and the extra stuff you do with them outside SLs make them easy to relate to and you genuinely care about them. Unlike the casts in Persona 4 and 5, their development is directly tied to how the story unfolds, making their character development meaningful and impactful instead of their development being tied down to a Social Link, disconnected to everything else. The story is pretty good too, with many twists and turns that you wouldn't expect. The other Social Links in this game range from okay to really good too.

In conclusion, Reload redeemed Persona 3 from me. It's been 4 years since I played FES and while I respected its themes and writing, it is only now after I went through so much in my life in terms of experiences and personal growth that the game's messages truly resonate with me now. I know all of this sounds corny but it is truly a special game to me now and I would recommend anyone play Persona 3 in any form but I genuinely would recommend this version in particular as it really is the best and most accessible way to play this game.