I first experienced "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3" in 2023. Going in blind, it would turn out to be my favourite turn-based game I've ever played (having previously 'Platinumed' Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal). It would also turn out that the day I went past the 100hour mark on that PlayStation 2 title, Persona 3 Reload got leaked online. So that was bad timing.

Or, perhaps excellent timing? It gives me a fairly unique position, as someone who went into the base Persona 3 completely blind only a matter of months before Reload's eventual release, and with zero expectation that a remake was even on its way. In such a position, I feel pretty confident saying Reload is a terrific remake.

This is hands-down the definitive way to enjoy Persona 3 to modern sensibilities. Though I do lament some of the changes, such as the excision of the fatigue system (yes it was very inconvenient and annoying, no I don't think that makes it bad per se, but I digress), almost all of the changes make for a cleaner, fairer, and simply more fun experience. While Tartarus used to be terrifying, both for good and bad reasons, it's now a joy to grind that I will end up spending far longer per Tartarus session than I ever would have hoped to. While the Navigator used to be fairly useless, and the Navigators in Persona 4 and Persona 5 were honestly somewhat irritating mechanically, Reload has finally made the Navigator a genuinely fantastic element to the game. The most mundane changes, such as using the second stick to turn the camera rather than the clunky bumper solution in the PS2 version, or the myriad of quality of life features that are invisible to anybody whose initial impression of the original game are either non-existent or recessed to the back of their brain are truly significant, and in summation enhances the game in ways I lack the words to express. The new events to spend time with the S.E.E.S. members provides a much-needed thing to do in the evenings which not only makes the characters feel more cohesive and amicable, but yield excellent rewards to the player that act as an ingenious incentive.

As far as remaking Persona 3, there is nothing this title does that leaves me asking for more. Nothing was made for the worse (beyond nit-picks); and everything added is basically as objective an upgrade as you can get in a medium that lacks objectivity. I understand why people wanted FES' "The Answer" in the base game, but personally I don't mind (and seesaw between ambivalent to positive regarding its exclusion), though it being DLC is quite annoying. I have the special 'Aigis Edition' of Persona 3 Reload, and to know that the one thing it doesn't end up including is 'Episode Aigis' is bleakly humorous. Still, I won't criticise the game for what it isn't rather than what it is. The developers initially said they only wanted to remake Persona 3, so even if they're going to add FES stuff later down the line, ignoring the upcoming DLC, the base game very much does what they set out to do. I also understand why some people might say the game feels incomplete without FeMC (Kotone, the female option from Persona 3 Portable), but I don't share that sentiment. I haven't yet personally played Portable to comment any further though. Putting FES/Portable aside and focusing only on Persona 3, I ask, just what could this game have done to remake Persona 3 better? Nothing comes to mind.

This game does feel a little too easy, however. Breaking Persona games wide open has been a staple for a long time; with that said, I ended up creating a Max Stat Level 99 Pixie with Morning Star, Concentrate, Almighty Amp, Almighty Boost, Multi-Target Boost, Unshaken Will, Spell Master and Drain Ice. This Persona is singlehandedly capable of taking on every single encounter in the game aside from one, and I made it in my first playthrough. Naturally, it was entirely of my own volition that I created this Persona and broke the game wide open; however, I feel this player freedom is a little too much, as even a casual underlevelled player will inevitably end up creating Personas in the late game that will wildly outpace the opponents they will face. For the record, I do not believe the original Persona 3 was a particularly difficult game either (just a much more punishing and inconvenient one), but the new powerful mechanics included in this game such as the Navigator's abilities, the Shift mechanic, the ability to directly control your party members, 'Ambush' upgrades, and Theurgies, do not come included with any noticeable spike in the difficulty of the game itself to compensate for this great power the player now holds. When not intentionally underlevelling yourself, it becomes rare for encounters to make it past the first turn on any difficulty level other than Merciless. Even so, this criticism will only resonate with people that share my opinion that games like this should be challenging; for many people, this ease of play will be very much a good thing. I just wish there were harder difficulty options. All other criticisms that I can conjure up at this juncture are blatant nit-picks such as 'I wish the Reaper spawned more quickly' or 'I personally preferred one or two of the older vocal performances (with still massive respect to the new cast who do a cracking job).' In other words, scraping the barrel.

To conclude, I would recommend this game to anybody interested in experiencing Persona 3, or who are interested in outstanding JRPGs. Additionally, this can act as a decent gateway to those intrigued by dungeon-crawling RPGs. This is clearly the most refined version of Persona 3 ever released, and is the one most tuned to modern sensibilities. With that said, it is not necessarily the definitive version, and there are very much reasons to look back on and appreciate qualities within the original Persona 3, Persona 3 FES, and Persona 3 Portable. Comparing it to the most recent Persona game, Persona 5 (Royal), this game still very much feels like a 2006 game that has been remade faithfully for modern day. From its writing to its frequent scene changes and loading, this game feels like it is note-for-note recreating a classic in a modern engine, with the feeling of that classic somehow still retained as a vestige. As such, do expect the title to feel a little dated despite everything that has been done to update it. If that's your jam, then I couldn't recommend it enough to you. Comparing it to the most recent title in the series, Persona 5 has a much more conventionally paced narrative that hooks you in from the start while Persona 3 has a very awkward structure where everything ramps up about 2/3rds of the way through a 110-hour game; Persona 5 has an array of interesting powerups in its Confidant system compared to the Social Link system of Persona 3 which is much less interesting; and Persona 5 has flashy, wonderful locales in its Palaces that Reload completely lacks, only really having Tartarus. If you only know 'Persona' from 'Persona 5', do not expect this to be an upgrade in every facet you might know the series for just because it is (technically) newer.

What do I think, though? Well, this is my favourite cast in an RPG that I've played, the most fun I've ever had in turn-based combat, the most the themes of a game have ever resonated with me, all with some of the most beautiful overhauled graphics I've seen in an anime-style JRPG, UI/UX dripping and oozing with style and finesse, new combat mechanics which truly enhance the experience and add to the strategy (while admittedly being bonkers-strong), new ways to hang out with the cast, all with as many quality of life improvements as you can imagine and an excellent soundtrack with two godly new songs that I genuinely listen to in my spare time... I've been waiting for this!

As of writing this, I have completed the whole game once and did one New Game+ to Platinum it. (I didn't end up completing every Social Link - trust me, if you're not using a guide, you likely won't either. I won't tell you how to play the game, but I really wouldn't suggest playing with a guide.)