After spending over 75 hours with Persona 3 Reload, I feel like I've come to understand this game really well, and there's a lot to take in about it.

The narrative here is really, really good. Now that I've played 3, 4 and 5 I'm really surprised by just how strong the stories for these games are. I was a bit incredulous when I heard that the Persona series usually involves high school students but I've really come to appreciate the depth that Atlus brings to these characters and their stories, and 3 is no exception. It tackles ideas of mortality, existentialism and grief in very powerful ways, and the ending was very good. I had to take a moment to collect myself during the final scene, and that to me is always a sign of a really great finale.

The cast this time around is just as good as the other games I've played. It's hard to say that one is better than the other since each group has their own vibe but I really loved 3's cast. Most of the Social Links are well written and interesting to watch unfold, and several of the character arcs were particularly well done. I was pretty impressed with the voice acting for the characters - although there's a lot of dialogue in this game I felt like the voice work really elevated the writing most of the time.

The gameplay is your typical Persona turn-based system but with a few added twists this time around. I had a lot of fun with it for the most part - I've come to enjoy the mechanic of exploiting enemy weaknesses for extra turns. I did find myself using the same party for pretty much the entire time and wish I had experimented more with other characters, but that's something I can save for an inevitable replay sometime down the road.

One area where I think Reload does falter a bit is in its pacing. The first and last third of this game are great and it feels like the story keeps up a good momentum with interesting twists and revelations. The middle third really felt like it dragged at points though; it often felt like I was just rushing through the days to get to the next story beat because things felt so slow. I appreciate the ability to balance social sim and dungeon-crawling in these games, but it felt a bit too slow in the middle of the game for me.

I've been looking forward to playing Persona 3 in some form for a long time now. I had started FES a while back and got a few hours in, but once I heard a remake was coming I decided to hold off on FES and play Reload instead. As someone who appreciates a darker and more grounded story that tackles difficult themes, I had heard high praise for 3's story and it didn't disappoint. Although the pacing felt pretty off in some places, Reload's strong story, fun combat and lovable cast of characters easily overshadow any faults I have with the game. Glad to finally have this classic under my belt.