I have a lot to say because Persona 3 is really important to me. I played Portable back in the day, and it was the first time a JRPG resonated with me besides the classic Chrono Trigger. I used to play P3P everywhere, and it helped me in a pretty rough period of my life, it was clear to me the game was becoming my favorite game of all time. However, as I grew older and tried to play all the versions of the game again, I never felt the same feeling like I used to feel when I was younger. When I played Persona 5, this got even worse because the game made me feel the same things that Persona 3 couldn't do for me again. I never stopped loving the game; I just thought that maybe it wasn't as special as my memories made it seem. Well, it's been 6-7 years since I first played Persona 3. Since the leak of the remake footage, I was mildly hyped for it, but I wasn't betting all my chips on it.
But today, I just beated the game and... everything came back to me. Persona 3 is indeed my favorite game of all time. I felt everything the same way as I felt the first time, even the chills when the Velvet Room choir plays on The Battle for Everyone's Soul. I love the characters, the themes conveyed in the game, the world, the songs, the atmosphere, EVERYTHING I used to love about Persona 3 is here, but there is a catch! ATLUS improved all things gameplay-wise that used to bother me in the old game, and not only that, but they also added some new cool mechanics to make the gameplay even better. Tartarus finally is not a pain in the ass to explore, and you can now play all of the game in beautiful 3D without the need to give control of your party to a clearly outdated 2006 AI. God bless technology! Persona 3 Reload is not only a good remake, but ATLUS's magnum opus, and I hope they keep pushing even further and making even better games. Persona 5 blew me away, and there are still things Persona 5 does better than Reload like dungeons, but Persona 3 means too much for me. I absolutely wasn't expecting it to be this good. Just play this game; I cannot recommend it enough, and Persona 3 is right back to the spot of my favorite game of all time.
But today, I just beated the game and... everything came back to me. Persona 3 is indeed my favorite game of all time. I felt everything the same way as I felt the first time, even the chills when the Velvet Room choir plays on The Battle for Everyone's Soul. I love the characters, the themes conveyed in the game, the world, the songs, the atmosphere, EVERYTHING I used to love about Persona 3 is here, but there is a catch! ATLUS improved all things gameplay-wise that used to bother me in the old game, and not only that, but they also added some new cool mechanics to make the gameplay even better. Tartarus finally is not a pain in the ass to explore, and you can now play all of the game in beautiful 3D without the need to give control of your party to a clearly outdated 2006 AI. God bless technology! Persona 3 Reload is not only a good remake, but ATLUS's magnum opus, and I hope they keep pushing even further and making even better games. Persona 5 blew me away, and there are still things Persona 5 does better than Reload like dungeons, but Persona 3 means too much for me. I absolutely wasn't expecting it to be this good. Just play this game; I cannot recommend it enough, and Persona 3 is right back to the spot of my favorite game of all time.