RVWhitkerFE
The most I felt playing this was when I yawned and clicked my jaw
2022
I don’t know if I can look at someone in the eyes if they unironically chose the utility ending on their first playthrough
2024
I’m struggling to think of something to start this review with. So I’ll just say that P3 Reload is probably the best game I’ve ever played. I loved Persona 3 Portable when I played it last year, despite its flaws such as some underdeveloped characters and tedious gameplay, but Reload absolutely knocked it out of the park and make the ultimate persona game.
The story is the same as the original, but they’ve added a few new scenes involving Strega, but they’re just kinda there and Strega are still underdeveloped and flat antagonists unfortunately. Definitely the weakest aspect of the game but not bad by any means, they’re just a very noticeable 7/10 in a game full of 10/10’s.
Not much to say about the characters, but the fully voiced social links make them so much more enjoyable to experience. Ken and Fuuka are also more engaging than in Portable. I think a lot of people on social media’s are now starting to appreciate Fuuka a lot more, and all it took was a design glow up and good voice acting (no disrespect to the original). The SEES are all great and the new voice actors are all amazing. I was really worried about Alejandro Saab’s Akihiko but he ended up being one of my favourites in the game alongside Mitsuru and Junpei.
And then there’s the soundtrack. It’s amazing obviously but I am mixed on the updated songs. Pretty much all of the instrumental tracks are better than the original (except Battle Hymm of the soul with is slightly weaker), but the ones with lyrics are very all over the place. Mass Destruction, Burn my dread -last battle-, and When the moon’s reaching out stars are incredibly weaker, Changing seasons is a massive improvement on the original, Iwatodai Dorm and Want to be close are a bit better, but I wasn’t a fan of them in the original. And of course, there’s Memories of you. It’s a tad weaker, but it’s still one of the best songs in the series.
But the new songs? Colour your night and It’s going down now are easily top tier songs in the series. Full moon full life is an amazing opening, not as good as Burn my dread though and is on the same level as Soul Phrase. And I guess there’s The meaning of the Armbands which is a banger despite only appearing once.
And of course, they made Tartarus fun to explore. The gameplay is very addictive and the longer you spend there you get more and better rewards with the Arcana system, the Monad doors are a cool and challenging with great rewards and it features the baton system from P5 except it’s not as broken. I would still say Royal has better gameplay due to how fun it is to exploit it, but getting 425K exp after using Armageddon on the reaper is peak gameplay.
To end this; Persona 3 Reload is amazing. It’s undoubtedly the best Persona game and is an absolute masterpiece and one of the best JRPG’s ever made. Hopefully they’ll add The Answer from FES as DLC so I can play that, and maybe they’ll as the female protagonist from Portable.
In conclusion, I want Mitsuru to step on me
Also here’s my portable review if you are interested in my complete thoughts: https://www.backloggd.com/u/RVWhitkerFE/review/1137550/
The story is the same as the original, but they’ve added a few new scenes involving Strega, but they’re just kinda there and Strega are still underdeveloped and flat antagonists unfortunately. Definitely the weakest aspect of the game but not bad by any means, they’re just a very noticeable 7/10 in a game full of 10/10’s.
Not much to say about the characters, but the fully voiced social links make them so much more enjoyable to experience. Ken and Fuuka are also more engaging than in Portable. I think a lot of people on social media’s are now starting to appreciate Fuuka a lot more, and all it took was a design glow up and good voice acting (no disrespect to the original). The SEES are all great and the new voice actors are all amazing. I was really worried about Alejandro Saab’s Akihiko but he ended up being one of my favourites in the game alongside Mitsuru and Junpei.
And then there’s the soundtrack. It’s amazing obviously but I am mixed on the updated songs. Pretty much all of the instrumental tracks are better than the original (except Battle Hymm of the soul with is slightly weaker), but the ones with lyrics are very all over the place. Mass Destruction, Burn my dread -last battle-, and When the moon’s reaching out stars are incredibly weaker, Changing seasons is a massive improvement on the original, Iwatodai Dorm and Want to be close are a bit better, but I wasn’t a fan of them in the original. And of course, there’s Memories of you. It’s a tad weaker, but it’s still one of the best songs in the series.
But the new songs? Colour your night and It’s going down now are easily top tier songs in the series. Full moon full life is an amazing opening, not as good as Burn my dread though and is on the same level as Soul Phrase. And I guess there’s The meaning of the Armbands which is a banger despite only appearing once.
And of course, they made Tartarus fun to explore. The gameplay is very addictive and the longer you spend there you get more and better rewards with the Arcana system, the Monad doors are a cool and challenging with great rewards and it features the baton system from P5 except it’s not as broken. I would still say Royal has better gameplay due to how fun it is to exploit it, but getting 425K exp after using Armageddon on the reaper is peak gameplay.
To end this; Persona 3 Reload is amazing. It’s undoubtedly the best Persona game and is an absolute masterpiece and one of the best JRPG’s ever made. Hopefully they’ll add The Answer from FES as DLC so I can play that, and maybe they’ll as the female protagonist from Portable.
In conclusion, I want Mitsuru to step on me
Also here’s my portable review if you are interested in my complete thoughts: https://www.backloggd.com/u/RVWhitkerFE/review/1137550/
2023
What a great Persona 4 game
2009
The only thing bigger than Tartarus was the characters necks.
Ok for real though, P3P was an amazing experience. It did have a very slow start that made the game not fun to play (it took me 3 months from starting the game to getting to the first boss, it’s that slowly paced) but once the game hits the middle (August time), that’s when it gets going.
I have only played this, 4G and 5R (also vanilla P5 but that’s irrelevant), and this game definitely has the best story and ending out of the three. I’d say the cast was the weakest, where the main characters are either really layered and interesting with good growth (Junpei and Mitsuru), or they are just kinda there and didn’t contribute much (Fuuka and Ken). Side note, but Makoto is probably my favourite silent protagonist in gaming now.
<Spoilers>
The antagonists are also really underwhelming. Ikutsuki is objectively a bad twist villain. He doesn’t do much throughout the game aside from make bad puns, and then he reveals himself as evil, attempts to murder the team, kills Mitsuru’s dad, and then dies himself. This happens in 10 minutes. Strega (mainly Takaya and Jin) don’t really get enough screen time to be villains. Takaya literally kills 2 major characters and it still feels like he didn’t do enough. And then Jin was just there to be a sidekick to Takaya. Chidori is definitely the best antagonist in the game. Her growth and relationship with Junpei is very endearing and her death was quite emotional. Lastly is Nyx/Ryoji. Definitely the best final boss demon of the 3 (excluding Maruki) as we are told about her almost 2 months prior to the battle, as opposed to Izamani and Yaldabaoth who essentially appear out of nowhere. But yeah Nyx is a very good final villain.
Lastly is the soundtrack. It’s really good, it’s a persona game. When the moons reaching out stars, Mass destruction, Battle for everyone’s souls, Burn my dread, Memories of the school, Memories of the city and of course; Memories of you. Definitely the best ending song in the series. Don’t mess it up in the remake.
That’s basically everything. It’s an amazing game with a mediocre start and antagonising faction.
Main Character ranking would be: Ikutsuki, Jin, Takaya, Ken, Fuuka, Koromaru, Ryoji, Chidori, Junpei, Yukari, Aigis, Shinjiro, Makoto, Mitsuru and Akihiko.
For real though the characters have very big necks
Ok for real though, P3P was an amazing experience. It did have a very slow start that made the game not fun to play (it took me 3 months from starting the game to getting to the first boss, it’s that slowly paced) but once the game hits the middle (August time), that’s when it gets going.
I have only played this, 4G and 5R (also vanilla P5 but that’s irrelevant), and this game definitely has the best story and ending out of the three. I’d say the cast was the weakest, where the main characters are either really layered and interesting with good growth (Junpei and Mitsuru), or they are just kinda there and didn’t contribute much (Fuuka and Ken). Side note, but Makoto is probably my favourite silent protagonist in gaming now.
<Spoilers>
The antagonists are also really underwhelming. Ikutsuki is objectively a bad twist villain. He doesn’t do much throughout the game aside from make bad puns, and then he reveals himself as evil, attempts to murder the team, kills Mitsuru’s dad, and then dies himself. This happens in 10 minutes. Strega (mainly Takaya and Jin) don’t really get enough screen time to be villains. Takaya literally kills 2 major characters and it still feels like he didn’t do enough. And then Jin was just there to be a sidekick to Takaya. Chidori is definitely the best antagonist in the game. Her growth and relationship with Junpei is very endearing and her death was quite emotional. Lastly is Nyx/Ryoji. Definitely the best final boss demon of the 3 (excluding Maruki) as we are told about her almost 2 months prior to the battle, as opposed to Izamani and Yaldabaoth who essentially appear out of nowhere. But yeah Nyx is a very good final villain.
Lastly is the soundtrack. It’s really good, it’s a persona game. When the moons reaching out stars, Mass destruction, Battle for everyone’s souls, Burn my dread, Memories of the school, Memories of the city and of course; Memories of you. Definitely the best ending song in the series. Don’t mess it up in the remake.
That’s basically everything. It’s an amazing game with a mediocre start and antagonising faction.
Main Character ranking would be: Ikutsuki, Jin, Takaya, Ken, Fuuka, Koromaru, Ryoji, Chidori, Junpei, Yukari, Aigis, Shinjiro, Makoto, Mitsuru and Akihiko.
For real though the characters have very big necks
This review contains spoilers
This will be a long one.
Firstly, Raincode is essentially Danganronpa 4. You solve mysteries, collect clues, and use them to refute arguments and find the culprit causing the mascot character to kill them.
Some changes are the labyrinths, which make them be like Persona, the sword usage instead of guns, and the Fortes instead of Ultimate talents.
I do prefer Fortes as they’re more unique and helpful in the trials compared to the ultimate talents.
Firstly, the cases.
At first, I feel like the cases were easier to solve than the DR cases. I struggled with the prologue because I was too focused on something so irrelevant. The C1 case was easier to solve, the C2 was piss easy, I figured out the culprit, motive and 75% of the plan before the investigation finished.
C3 was a challenge to figure out and but was still satisfying, the only problem was the motive and lack of screen time of the culprit.
C4 was the brutal gut wrencher that was stupid hard to figure out but was really simple at the end. Plus, I figured out the culprit at the same time as Yuma which adds to my enjoyment.
C5… fucking hell man. One of the best finales I’ve experienced.
I’d say my chapter ranking in terms of story, labyrinth and case would be 5,4,3,P,1,2.
Secondly is the characters. I’m only gonna mention the main characters. Yuma started off as a generic protagonist, but after chapters 2 and 4, we can see him start to reevaluate his position, causing him to a great character arc during chapter 5. He’s become one of my favourite protagonists in gaming now. I hated Shinigami at first. She was annoying and her commentary ruined most of the prologues investigation, but after our fist time in the labyrinth, she started to grow on me and I ended loving her and her dynamic with Yuma.
Yakou is cool, Halara is cool, Hesihiko is alright, Fubuki is best girl, Vivia is epic (that moment in chapter 4 was awesome), Kurumi was ok I guess.
The antagonists were a mixed bag. Yomi is a massive threat who you love to hate especially after what he did during and prior to chapter 4, but that’s it. The other peacekeepers don’t do much really. Seth is fun but he has only like 15 minutes of screen time. Martina was ok, the pink haired one did nothing, Dominic was epic but he did nothing.
Lastly, there’s Makoto. Probably one of the most complex characters Spike has made, but that’s heavy spoiler territory.
Overall, the cast is pretty good. RIP Aphex, Taken to soon
Lastly, just gonna quickly mention presentation. The game looks pretty great for the most part, and the soundtrack is really good.
Overall, Raincode is amazing. It is slow at times, and the labyrinths could get tedious, but the overall mystery is compelling, the humour is good as expected from Spike Chunsoft, and it’s a solid time.
If you like danganronpa, I’ll recommend it. If not, you may like it as long as you’re ok with very long cutscenes and heavy dialogue.
In conclusion, Xanthe Huynh says “Dummy Thicc”. GOTY
Firstly, Raincode is essentially Danganronpa 4. You solve mysteries, collect clues, and use them to refute arguments and find the culprit causing the mascot character to kill them.
Some changes are the labyrinths, which make them be like Persona, the sword usage instead of guns, and the Fortes instead of Ultimate talents.
I do prefer Fortes as they’re more unique and helpful in the trials compared to the ultimate talents.
Firstly, the cases.
At first, I feel like the cases were easier to solve than the DR cases. I struggled with the prologue because I was too focused on something so irrelevant. The C1 case was easier to solve, the C2 was piss easy, I figured out the culprit, motive and 75% of the plan before the investigation finished.
C3 was a challenge to figure out and but was still satisfying, the only problem was the motive and lack of screen time of the culprit.
C4 was the brutal gut wrencher that was stupid hard to figure out but was really simple at the end. Plus, I figured out the culprit at the same time as Yuma which adds to my enjoyment.
C5… fucking hell man. One of the best finales I’ve experienced.
I’d say my chapter ranking in terms of story, labyrinth and case would be 5,4,3,P,1,2.
Secondly is the characters. I’m only gonna mention the main characters. Yuma started off as a generic protagonist, but after chapters 2 and 4, we can see him start to reevaluate his position, causing him to a great character arc during chapter 5. He’s become one of my favourite protagonists in gaming now. I hated Shinigami at first. She was annoying and her commentary ruined most of the prologues investigation, but after our fist time in the labyrinth, she started to grow on me and I ended loving her and her dynamic with Yuma.
Yakou is cool, Halara is cool, Hesihiko is alright, Fubuki is best girl, Vivia is epic (that moment in chapter 4 was awesome), Kurumi was ok I guess.
The antagonists were a mixed bag. Yomi is a massive threat who you love to hate especially after what he did during and prior to chapter 4, but that’s it. The other peacekeepers don’t do much really. Seth is fun but he has only like 15 minutes of screen time. Martina was ok, the pink haired one did nothing, Dominic was epic but he did nothing.
Lastly, there’s Makoto. Probably one of the most complex characters Spike has made, but that’s heavy spoiler territory.
Overall, the cast is pretty good. RIP Aphex, Taken to soon
Lastly, just gonna quickly mention presentation. The game looks pretty great for the most part, and the soundtrack is really good.
Overall, Raincode is amazing. It is slow at times, and the labyrinths could get tedious, but the overall mystery is compelling, the humour is good as expected from Spike Chunsoft, and it’s a solid time.
If you like danganronpa, I’ll recommend it. If not, you may like it as long as you’re ok with very long cutscenes and heavy dialogue.
In conclusion, Xanthe Huynh says “Dummy Thicc”. GOTY
2012
Persona 4 Golden is just such a good time. The cast is incredibly colourful and have good chemistry with eachother, plus they actually feel like friends unlike P5’s cast which have more of a coworker vibe most of the time.
The dungeons are… not that good and the gameplay is fun but very repetitive. The actual dungeons were my least favourite part about the game. I just want to see these characters vibe and have fun catching the killer. The OST is really good; not as good as 5R’s but still fantastic.
Honestly the highs of this game are better than 5R’s. Some of my favourite scenes in the game are when the team are arguing over whether or not to kill someone (mainly due to the incredible voice acting. Shoutouts to Yuri Lowenthal and Erin Fitzgerald), the scene where the culprit confronts Yu alone and… honestly the culprit is just a meme at this point and I went into the game knowing who it was, but he was still a great villain.
Overall P4G is amazing. I’m torn on whether this or 5R is better, but I prefer 5R, even though both games have advantages and disadvantages over eachother.
Anyway time for P3P.
Anyway character ranking:
12: Teddie. Just kinda annoying. Has his moments though
11: Yu. Don’t care about silent protags sorry
10: Chie. I do like her and her growth but her voice did take some time getting used to
9: Nanako. I do like her but she is overrated. Also I couldn’t take a certain scene with her seriously whatsoever.
8: Rise. Was going to romance her initially, but backed out. I really like her flirtatious attitude and she is an amazing support character.
7: Ryotaro. I like him 👍🏻
6: Marie. I just see myself in her. Wanting to shut myself away from everyone even though there are people for you. I’m going through a lot in my personal life so Marie’s arc was just what I needed.
5: Yosuke. Honestly a better leader than Yu. He may be a sexist asshole, but he’s still loyal and very determined
4: Yukiko. She’s just wholesome. Whenever she laughs I just made me happy.
3: Adachi. I’m sorry.
2: Kanji. I really like his arc. I don’t like how he’s always the butt of the joke (mainly from Yosuke) but he’s a really endearing person.
1: Naoto. I love her. Her arc, her VA, everything.
The dungeons are… not that good and the gameplay is fun but very repetitive. The actual dungeons were my least favourite part about the game. I just want to see these characters vibe and have fun catching the killer. The OST is really good; not as good as 5R’s but still fantastic.
Honestly the highs of this game are better than 5R’s. Some of my favourite scenes in the game are when the team are arguing over whether or not to kill someone (mainly due to the incredible voice acting. Shoutouts to Yuri Lowenthal and Erin Fitzgerald), the scene where the culprit confronts Yu alone and… honestly the culprit is just a meme at this point and I went into the game knowing who it was, but he was still a great villain.
Overall P4G is amazing. I’m torn on whether this or 5R is better, but I prefer 5R, even though both games have advantages and disadvantages over eachother.
Anyway time for P3P.
Anyway character ranking:
12: Teddie. Just kinda annoying. Has his moments though
11: Yu. Don’t care about silent protags sorry
10: Chie. I do like her and her growth but her voice did take some time getting used to
9: Nanako. I do like her but she is overrated. Also I couldn’t take a certain scene with her seriously whatsoever.
8: Rise. Was going to romance her initially, but backed out. I really like her flirtatious attitude and she is an amazing support character.
7: Ryotaro. I like him 👍🏻
6: Marie. I just see myself in her. Wanting to shut myself away from everyone even though there are people for you. I’m going through a lot in my personal life so Marie’s arc was just what I needed.
5: Yosuke. Honestly a better leader than Yu. He may be a sexist asshole, but he’s still loyal and very determined
4: Yukiko. She’s just wholesome. Whenever she laughs I just made me happy.
3: Adachi. I’m sorry.
2: Kanji. I really like his arc. I don’t like how he’s always the butt of the joke (mainly from Yosuke) but he’s a really endearing person.
1: Naoto. I love her. Her arc, her VA, everything.
2023
I have so much to say about this game and how much I adore it.
Literally everything in this game is an improvement over the first game. The stories, the characters, the structure, the combat, the visuals, the music and the connectivity. The only thing that was a slight downgrade in my opinion was the difficulty. The maps being larger means more random encounters and more exp.
All (but 1) of the characters I love (the exception I still really like though) and choosing a favourite is tough, unlike the first where I only really grew attached to a few characters really says something. Also my favourite character and the one I became most attached to (first game btw), was Mattias. An antagonist.
*spoilers for the final chapter
The stories aren’t anything special, they’ve been done in other games, but they’re all really good and compelling in there own way except Ochette’s which was kinda meh. But when they all come together for the eternal night it’s beyond satisfying. And having the final boss be 2 phases where in the second half you use ALL EIGHT TRAVELERS AT THE SAME TIME it’s so fucking amazing and it’s a really challenging fight and I love this game so much.
I can go on forever about this game. I’ve not even mentioned the soundtrack or how it’s one of 2 games to make me cry. This game is almost perfect. Now every game I play next will be disappointing in comparison. Oh well.
Anyway here’s my character ranking (will definitely change over time):
8: Hikari 7: Throné 6: Osvald 5: Ochette 4: Partitio 3: Castti 2: Agnea 1: Temenos
And the stories:
8: Ochette
7: uhhh
6: ummmmm
5: I don’t know
4: they’re all good
3: maybe…
2: not sure…
1: Castti
Literally everything in this game is an improvement over the first game. The stories, the characters, the structure, the combat, the visuals, the music and the connectivity. The only thing that was a slight downgrade in my opinion was the difficulty. The maps being larger means more random encounters and more exp.
All (but 1) of the characters I love (the exception I still really like though) and choosing a favourite is tough, unlike the first where I only really grew attached to a few characters really says something. Also my favourite character and the one I became most attached to (first game btw), was Mattias. An antagonist.
*spoilers for the final chapter
The stories aren’t anything special, they’ve been done in other games, but they’re all really good and compelling in there own way except Ochette’s which was kinda meh. But when they all come together for the eternal night it’s beyond satisfying. And having the final boss be 2 phases where in the second half you use ALL EIGHT TRAVELERS AT THE SAME TIME it’s so fucking amazing and it’s a really challenging fight and I love this game so much.
I can go on forever about this game. I’ve not even mentioned the soundtrack or how it’s one of 2 games to make me cry. This game is almost perfect. Now every game I play next will be disappointing in comparison. Oh well.
Anyway here’s my character ranking (will definitely change over time):
8: Hikari 7: Throné 6: Osvald 5: Ochette 4: Partitio 3: Castti 2: Agnea 1: Temenos
And the stories:
8: Ochette
7: uhhh
6: ummmmm
5: I don’t know
4: they’re all good
3: maybe…
2: not sure…
1: Castti
2023
Honestly, I’m at a low point in my life, so a light hearted Fire Emblem game is all I needed.
The story isn’t amazing. It starts slow, then picks up, then slows back down, then it peaks at Chapter 22 before settling down. When it’s good, it’s so ridiculous and deux-ex machina filled it’s great.
The characters are charming but rather 2 dimensional. Pretty much all of them except Alear and Veyle are useless to the overall story outside of their own individual arcs. Favourites are definitely Alcryst, Diamant, Yunaka and Goldmary.
The gameplay is slow paced, but amazing. It makes fates irrelevant to be honest, as the gameplay was all that game had going for it.
Overall, if this is your first Fire Emblem, you might enjoy it, but Three Houses, Awakening and Scared Stones are probably better.
If you’ve only played Three Houses, lower your expectations as it’s more like a traditional game in the series.
If your first game was Awakening/Fates, you’ll probably get the most out of this, provided you play some of the older games.
Is the game perfect? No. Far from it. Is it fun? Yes. Is that all that matters? YES.
Story: 6.5/10
Visuals: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Soundtrack: 8/10
Gameplay: 10/10
The story isn’t amazing. It starts slow, then picks up, then slows back down, then it peaks at Chapter 22 before settling down. When it’s good, it’s so ridiculous and deux-ex machina filled it’s great.
The characters are charming but rather 2 dimensional. Pretty much all of them except Alear and Veyle are useless to the overall story outside of their own individual arcs. Favourites are definitely Alcryst, Diamant, Yunaka and Goldmary.
The gameplay is slow paced, but amazing. It makes fates irrelevant to be honest, as the gameplay was all that game had going for it.
Overall, if this is your first Fire Emblem, you might enjoy it, but Three Houses, Awakening and Scared Stones are probably better.
If you’ve only played Three Houses, lower your expectations as it’s more like a traditional game in the series.
If your first game was Awakening/Fates, you’ll probably get the most out of this, provided you play some of the older games.
Is the game perfect? No. Far from it. Is it fun? Yes. Is that all that matters? YES.
Story: 6.5/10
Visuals: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Soundtrack: 8/10
Gameplay: 10/10
2009
Art
2018
Fucking hell this game is awful
2022
In terms of Characters, Soundtrack, and general performance, it’s definitely one of the weaker Pokemon games, but it’s still fun, but not much else. Just fun.
These games are as deep as a puddle
Larry my beloved <3
These games are as deep as a puddle
Larry my beloved <3
2016
SUPER
HOT
SUPER
HOT
HOT
SUPER
HOT
2022
Fix the fucking servers
If you ever feel lazy, just remember that Tt games took all the cutscenes and sold them on a DVD, marketing it as a 1 hour movie