Persona 3 was one of first video games I played where I felt myself become increasingly emotionally invested in the characters and the world as the game went on; eventually culminating in being the first game that invoked a cascade of tears upon my viewing of the ending. The subject matter was heavy but grounded and relatable, unlike many other JRPGs that strive to pull someone into their worlds only for it to feel a bit too alien and fantastic to have the same effect. As you could expect, Persona 3 has long been a favorite of mine as a result.
It would be very easy for me to put on my blinders and dismiss this remake as having no way of recapturing the feeling that the original invoked and I admittedly spent the first few hours pretty skeptical as I groaned over the new VAs, OST, and the lack of an ability to program your comrades as AIs. Thankfully, the more time I spent with the game the more I began to love it. While the new VAs can't quite stand up to the star-studded original cast, I respect the decision to give some newer talent the spotlight as opposed to sticking with the same industry mainstays we've grown accustomed to. The OST is a bit more of a mixed bag where I enjoy some of the new tracks (such as the fantastic new battle theme) while I'm not a fan of some of the rearranged tracks from the original (looking at you Iwatodai Dorm T.T). Presentation-wise, it looks sleek and stylish as you would expect but not quite as over the top and busy as Persona 5 which I appreciate; though I would recommend turning down the brightness a few notches from the default if you want the appearance of the game to be more in line with the original lighting-wise.
The amount of extra time dedicated to party members outside of Tartarus, specifically the ones without social links, is absolutely my favorite addition to the game as it really encouraged me to grow attached to and learn more about each of the characters who didn't get as much development previously. This really paid off with Aragaki in particular whom I did not feel nearly as invested in on my original P3 playthrough as I did in P3R.
I have some mixed thoughts on the large amount of additional tools/abilities provided in combat as they do result in the game being a tad too easy (I played on 'Hard' for reference) but they were to be expected and are overall pretty fun in execution. I especially enjoyed the new implementation of the Fusion Spell system which is far more intuitive and easy to take advantage of this time around. As alluded to previously, and I understand why a lot of players did not enjoy this, I was a fan of how your companions acted mostly independently in the original as it really made them feel like actual people, rather than merely pawns for the player to control. This really helped personify the characters and made me feel more immersed within the world; I don't believe it was too much of a hinderance either as the tactics menu provided plenty means of controlling them. I'd be lying if I didn't say I miss this system at least a little bit.
It's clear a lot of effort has been put into P3R to ensure that the soul of the original game is left intact while aiming to deliver a more thorough and fleshed out experience, which I can appreciate. Story and character-wise, I would say it certainly succeeds in this. Gameplay-wise, I think they dumbed down the dungeon crawling and combat a little too much but it's definitely more approachable and 'fun' now which I assume was their intention. Atmosphere-wise, it loses some of the lingering dread, uncertainty, and mystery; though only a small amount of each. I prefer the original overall but this was still a fantastic game and my time with it absolutely flew by.
It would be very easy for me to put on my blinders and dismiss this remake as having no way of recapturing the feeling that the original invoked and I admittedly spent the first few hours pretty skeptical as I groaned over the new VAs, OST, and the lack of an ability to program your comrades as AIs. Thankfully, the more time I spent with the game the more I began to love it. While the new VAs can't quite stand up to the star-studded original cast, I respect the decision to give some newer talent the spotlight as opposed to sticking with the same industry mainstays we've grown accustomed to. The OST is a bit more of a mixed bag where I enjoy some of the new tracks (such as the fantastic new battle theme) while I'm not a fan of some of the rearranged tracks from the original (looking at you Iwatodai Dorm T.T). Presentation-wise, it looks sleek and stylish as you would expect but not quite as over the top and busy as Persona 5 which I appreciate; though I would recommend turning down the brightness a few notches from the default if you want the appearance of the game to be more in line with the original lighting-wise.
The amount of extra time dedicated to party members outside of Tartarus, specifically the ones without social links, is absolutely my favorite addition to the game as it really encouraged me to grow attached to and learn more about each of the characters who didn't get as much development previously. This really paid off with Aragaki in particular whom I did not feel nearly as invested in on my original P3 playthrough as I did in P3R.
I have some mixed thoughts on the large amount of additional tools/abilities provided in combat as they do result in the game being a tad too easy (I played on 'Hard' for reference) but they were to be expected and are overall pretty fun in execution. I especially enjoyed the new implementation of the Fusion Spell system which is far more intuitive and easy to take advantage of this time around. As alluded to previously, and I understand why a lot of players did not enjoy this, I was a fan of how your companions acted mostly independently in the original as it really made them feel like actual people, rather than merely pawns for the player to control. This really helped personify the characters and made me feel more immersed within the world; I don't believe it was too much of a hinderance either as the tactics menu provided plenty means of controlling them. I'd be lying if I didn't say I miss this system at least a little bit.
It's clear a lot of effort has been put into P3R to ensure that the soul of the original game is left intact while aiming to deliver a more thorough and fleshed out experience, which I can appreciate. Story and character-wise, I would say it certainly succeeds in this. Gameplay-wise, I think they dumbed down the dungeon crawling and combat a little too much but it's definitely more approachable and 'fun' now which I assume was their intention. Atmosphere-wise, it loses some of the lingering dread, uncertainty, and mystery; though only a small amount of each. I prefer the original overall but this was still a fantastic game and my time with it absolutely flew by.