Persona 3 becomes one of the best games of all time

I have had a very long, very strange journey with Persona 3. I love Atlus games. I adore them. Even when I want to tell myself I don't and that I'm "above" them or something, I just can't make myself ignore that even with all their flaws... I treasure Atlus games more than anything else in the entire medium. I first ventured into Persona 3 in 2020 with FES. After I finished the game, I sat back in my chair and stared at my PS2 for about all of five seconds before I finally came to the conclusion;

"Wow. That was the biggest piece of shit I've ever played in my life."

Persona 3 FES was, for a very long time, my least favorite game ever made. I fucking LOATHED it, to the point where it became a running joke with friends. There was so much I hated about it. The incessant displays of horniness from Operation Babewatch, Kenji's social link, and the cutscene of Yukari showering, the mindnumbing and vomit-inducing gameplay that made me want to tear my hair out, the awful balancing, the shockingly bad villains, the ugliness of the game's visual style, everything about Persona 3 FES was like poison to me at the time. I hated the game so fucking much that I don't think I actually have the right words to convey what I mean by that to you. After my playthrough I did what anyone would when they've developed feelings like that, I threw my copy of FES in a drawer where I wouldn't see it again and promptly went on with my life. So needless to say, when Reload got announced... I wasn't really thrilled. I kind of just rolled my eyes. Sure, the game needed a remake desperately, but it wasn't one I was hoping for, especially when the original Persona seems to be rotting away in a corner, desperate for someone to give it the facelift it rightfully deserves. I didn't even pick Reload up on launch, which outside of a few releases that I didn't have much interest in (Soul Hackers 2 and P5 Tactica) was something I hadn't really done with a major Atlus release before. I don't know. It just never seemed necessary to me. Would it make the game enjoyable? Maybe, hell probably. Did I have any interest? Not enough. Atlus has had 3 chances (technically 4 if you count the Portable remaster) to get this game right. Nearly 20 years later, they're still trying? That seemed ridiculous to me.

And then they finally got it right.

Persona 3 Reload is kind of a masterpiece. Reload gives Persona 3 all the bells and whistles and love and care it deserves, and coming away from it now I'm fully convinced this is not only the best Persona game by an extremely large margin, it's among the very best releases Atlus has ever given us. Hell, if you don't believe me, take it from a guy who fucking hated this game so much it nearly became a part of my personality that I went out of my way to platinum this game and do and see everything in it outside of the secret super boss, which I do intend to give a fair shake sometime eventually. That's the kind of experience this was. An unforgettable one that has completely changed my life.

Reload takes nearly every problem I had with the original and either softens the blow or completely corrects it, and in some cases, takes what was in its place and runs with it. When I tell you the last fucking character I ever expected to come out of this game caring about was god damn JIN and yet the game somehow pulled it off? It's flooring, honestly. Now, let's set the record straight, this game is not flawless. Social links are still a bit rudimentary, the dialogue stumbles on itself sometimes (par for the course with modern Persona), and the horniness is still there, albeit a little bit less intrusive. There's plenty of other things I can mention that I think are silly, but cmon now, very few games are without their flaws. What Persona 3 Reload is able to get away with considering its source material is astounding. The new translation is massively appreciated, as it makes the dialogue feel a lot more robust and organic which is helped to an exponential degree by the fact that Reload may very well have the best voice acting I've ever heard in a JRPG. Every character's voice feels exceedingly real, with real inflections and mannerisms that grant them such a sense of place and personality and seldom does it feel like you're listening to characters, and rather real people. I think that really made me appreciate this game a lot more, as certain characters I couldn't stand before (Aigis, Fuuka, Mitsuru, etc.) I found myself not only appreciating more, but fully falling in love with.

Reload isn't without its controversy though. Persona 3 has always been liked by a very opinionated bunch and that's certainly put a dampener on this game's reputation. The biggest complaint I've seen is that Reload "Persona 5-ifies" Persona 3, to which I say... okay? Frankly I think the game is all the better for it. Reload isn't interested in following Katsura Hashino's vision for Persona 3 to a 100% degree. If that were the case there'd be no point to a remake. And let's face it, love it or hate it, Hashino's vision for Persona 3 was flawed at its best and fucking moronic at its worst. Smoothing over the rough edges like a bunch of AIs playing the game for you or the game punishing you for interacting too much with Tartarus I think helps the game a great deal. You can tell a potent story and leave an impact on your players without having to revoke control and punish them simply for interacting with the game's systems. Is that a controversial statement? I'm sure it is, but frankly if that's the direction this game needed in order for me to care so deeply about it then I couldn't give any less of a fuck. The gameplay is the best the series has ever seen. Battles are snappy, flashy, and fun. The addition of limit breaks via the Theurgy system is a great call, one I was excited to see carried over from SMTV's Magatsuhi system. While they certainly can be a bit much, they're always useful for breaking you out of a pinch in particularly tough fights or being put into a checkmate scenario. Not to mention the overhauls to Tartarus! It's still a bit draining and it does wear out its welcome, but the additional variety gives the game so much more to work with in what was arguably one of its most frustrating and contentious points. Each block of Tartarus is its own thing, both visually and in layout, and it's a much needed break from how formulaic and exhausting it was in the original game.

All that said, the real draw of Persona 3 has always been, and still is its story and characters. The first time I played Persona 3 I really thought it was a case of a game having great concepts and just executing on them poorly. Maybe it was the bad voice acting. Maybe it was me being exhausted from the awful gameplay. It could've been a lot of things. But whatever it was, clearly I was wrong. Persona 3 tells one of my favorite stories I've ever seen in a game. A profoundly deep and moving story of loss, triumph, and celebration. I think a lot of people like to make fun of the idea that "the piece of media says life is worth living therefore it's peak!!!!" which yeah, fair enough. If executed poorly, it can be a bit trite and cliche. I get it. Persona 3 is not that though. Persona 3 makes you feel the weight of your own life clashing against the lives of others and changing them, making them better. I've always thought of Minato Arisato (that is his name I WILL NOT HEAR OTHERWISE YOU FUCKING FIENDS) as this sort of omnipotent, ghostly being whose purpose is to give meaning to others' lives. The ending of this game being his last moments in this world, checking in on everyone and making sure they're doing alright, before passing on and fulfilling his role as the savior of humanity being one of the most profound and emotional moments of any game I have ever played. Maybe this game just came at the right time, maybe now that I'm older I found myself relating to Minato's disposition as someone who sort of exists to give other people purpose, but the last hours of this game made me cry like few things in this world ever have. I bawled endlessly. From seeing Junpei reunite with Chidori, or watching the party react to losing Minato, to checking in on your friends and hearing about the ones who have passed on or go on to do other things with their lives, to the very moment you pass away on that school roof and Memories of You starts playing... it just fucking broke me. I sobbed and sobbed and I couldn't stop sobbing. Writing this review right now I can quite literally feel that same lump finding its way into my throat as I type these words. I don't know what else to say, really. The story is incredible. Every emotional beat hits exactly the way it should. It's not flawless (looking at you Ikutsuki) but my god if it isn't impactful. And that's not even mentioning the characters. Minato, Junpei, Akihiko, Shinji, Mitsuru, Ken, Chidori, Ryoji, hell even some of the social links like Tanaka, Mutatsu, Akinari, Nozomi (yes I'm serious), Bebe, Odagiri, I'm dead serious when I say I love nearly every character in this game. Even the sucky ones have their moments. I love these characters so much. This all goes without mentioning how Reload goes out of its way to give more love and attention to characters who were ignored like Jin and Takaya, or even giving the male party members social outings that help to bring more out of their characters, including a particularly devastating set of interactions with Shinji that really broke me. Previously I thought Persona 1 was my favorite cast in the series but I've since come to realize that the cast of Persona 3 is one I have a near endless love for. Mitsuru Kirijo best girl btw.

Honestly I don't think anything I can say about this game is something that hasn't been written a billion times before. It's beautiful. It's a masterpiece. Reload is everything it deserves to be, and so much more. Writing this review is funny. Playing the game I found myself wanting to talk about so much, even little things, things like how the game so perfectly encapsulates its own time period of 2009-2010, or how hearing Memories of the City again put a god damn pit in my stomach, but sitting here now I find myself blanking on all of that and all I can think about is just one simple fact; I fucking love this game. I genuinely treasure and adore this game, and that's something I never thought I would be saying. This goofy fucking game went from being something I hated so much it pretty much became a part of my personality, to now chilling in my top 10 favorite games of all time as of writing this. It's been a long journey. Four years in the making, yeah. I finally get it. And I'm really glad I do. I will forever be grateful that I got to take the plunge into this game and experience it in the way that I did, and I will always be sad that I won't ever get my first playthrough of Reload back. I was so hesitant to even play it, and as every in game day passed, I felt myself give in more and more to the fact that I was falling in love with something I once hated so intensely. What a powerful feeling. Truthfully though, nothing I say about this game will be some mad revelation or break new ground. No, if anything, I think nothing will ever do this game as much justice as watching that final cutscene and hearing Memories of You play. There's just nothing else like it.

Yes, indeed. The arcana is the means by which all is revealed...