Should you’ve but to play any model of Persona 3, then its darker tones and subject material may come as a little bit of a shock.
The opening scene reveals supporting character Yukari Takeba sitting alone with a gun pointed at her personal head, working up the braveness to tug the set off. Even contemplating a few of the instructions the next sequels take throughout their respective narratives, it’s a daring opening assertion that units the tone for the remainder of the sport.
After all, going again to the unique now (and even the FES and Moveable releases) may show tough for those who’re used to the slick presentation and gameplay present in Persona 5 Royal – in order that’s the place Persona 3 Reload is available in.
Freshly ported over to Change 2 after launching on different platforms in February 2024, it is a full remake of the 2006 PS2 entry, that includes revamped visuals, improved gameplay, and a number of quality-of-life updates. Whereas the dearth of content material from FES and Moveable prevents it from being really definitive, it’s nonetheless one of the simplest ways to expertise the principle story.
Talking of which, Reload sees you switch to Gekkoukan Excessive College in Tatsumi Port Island, however your arrival reveals that each one is just not because it appears. A hidden time frame generally known as the ‘Darkish Hour’ happens each evening throughout which the moon glows inexperienced, residents turn into encased in coffins, and monstrous ‘Shadow’ creatures stalk an enormous tower known as Tartarus.
Fortunately, these with the flexibility to summon Personas can stay aware throughout this time, and so it’s not lengthy till the ‘Specialised Extracurricular Execution Squad’ (S.E.E.S.) recruits the protagonist to its trigger. Utilising the tried-and-tested ‘Chosen One’ trope, it is revealed that not solely can you summon a Persona your self, however you’ll be able to accumulate a number of without delay, swapping between them on the fly in line with the state of affairs. “I’ve by no means seen this earlier than!” gasps the squad chief.
And so begins Persona 3 Reload’s acquainted but streamlined loop wherein you spend the daytime constructing your social hyperlinks and strengthening your Personas, when you discover Tartarus and put your expertise to the check at evening.
Time passes with every chosen exercise, with main story beats occurring as soon as a month through the full moon. Generally, development by means of Tartarus could also be blocked off till you attain these so-called ‘Full Moon Operations’, at which level you’ll have to spend your time elsewhere till you’re capable of proceed.
Daytime gameplay is break up into morning, afternoon (or after college), and night. Until it’s a Sunday, throughout which you’ll be off college, the afternoon and night segments are normally once you’ll need to plan out your actions, however don’t stress an excessive amount of about find out how to spend your time. Reload offers you ample alternative to do what you need, whether or not it’s merely hanging out with your mates, taking part in a web-based recreation, or working part-time on the native cafe.
Most actions increase your core stats, so that you may really feel considerably overwhelmed at first as you determine how finest to cross your time. Once more, you actually don’t want to fret about it an excessive amount of; a technique Reload improves upon the unique is immediately notifying you of accessible actions by way of your flip telephone, so that you don’t must spend on daily basis monitoring what you’ll be able to and might’t do – it’s principally spelled out for you.
It’s through the day that you just actually get sense of your supporting forged, too. Like Persona 4 and 5, Reload boasts an exceptionally likeable set of characters, they usually really feel significantly fleshed out when in comparison with the PS2 unique – I am keen on Junpei’s lighthearted nature alongside Mitsuru’s extra critical, no-nonsense method.
It helps, too, that each the English and Japanese voiceover work is equally distinctive. I spent the overwhelming majority of the sport with the Japanese forged, just because it lends the general setting an air of authenticity, however for those who follow English, you’ll be effectively catered for.
Dungeon-crawling at evening retains some limitations of the unique, however key enhancements make every part much more satisfying. Every flooring of Tartarus is procedurally-generated, with corridors and rooms containing Shadows to battle and gadgets to collect. There’s positively a way of repetition as you make your manner by means of — a variety of flooring showcase the identical visible fashion — however the frequency at which gadgets crop up retains issues partaking alongside the informal chit-chat between the characters.
Fights will be initiated by both operating right into a Shadow or swinging your weapon with ‘Y’ to hit them. Should you handle the latter, you’ll acquire a small benefit at first of the battle, but when a Shadow occurs to run into you, the benefit will likely be reversed. Encounters will really feel fairly acquainted for those who’ve performed Persona 5 Royal, they usually stay simply as satisfying and thrilling as ever.
As you’d anticipate, victory usually hinges in your skill to use your enemy’s weak spot, whether or not it’s hearth, ice, wind, and so forth. Attaining this grants you one other flip, and you may develop it additional by instantly shifting play to a teammate, doubtlessly persevering with a streak of highly effective assaults. Exploiting weaknesses additionally knocks enemies to the bottom, ultimately culminating in an ‘all-out assault’ wherein your complete squad rushes in to pummel foes in a cloud of chaos.
As you progress, your data of find out how to method every battle expands, and also you’ll end up making an attempt out completely different methods relying on the state of affairs. An all-out assault could effectively deal a good bit of harm, but additionally ends in your enemy instantly recovering from their knockdown, so it might be extra advantageous to maintain hitting them with elemental assaults to maintain them on the bottom.
Whether or not you are locked in battle or chilling in your dorm room, Reload’s presentation stays distinctive all through. As soon as once more taking a number of cues from Royal, this recreation is just dripping with fashion.
Launching into the in-game menu presents a slick animation that appears such as you’re being plunged into water, whereas assault animations throughout battles are constantly spectacular, whether or not you’re summoning a Persona or slashing your katana round. None of it feels fairly as flamboyant as Royal, however the stripped-back nature of the presentation is much more consistent with the darker tone of Reload’s story.
Equally, the marginally remixed soundtrack is simply as memorable now because it was again within the day. Particular tunes play relying on the place you might be within the recreation, they usually’re merely marvellous. I’ve misplaced depend of the variety of instances I’ve began buzzing the college theme whereas hopping within the automobile or cooking a meal – it’s simply so catchy and addictive. This soundtrack could also be my favorite of the complete collection.
In porting the sport over to Change 2, Atlus has achieved a reasonably nice job. Visually, it is gorgeous whether or not you’re taking part in docked or handheld, and loading is stored to an absolute minimal all through.
The largest downside, nevertheless, is the 30fps efficiency. I need to stress that the gameplay right here doesn’t endure; turn-based JRPGs are hardly ever reliant on super-smooth gameplay, however it’s the precept, y’know? Reload doesn’t really feel prefer it’s pushing the Change 2 very arduous, so I’ve to surprise why Atlus wasn’t capable of obtain a better body fee. Maybe it may be addressed in a future replace.
Lastly, as talked about earlier, it is value maintaining in thoughts that Reload would not characteristic the expanded content material present in Persona 3 FES, nor are you able to go for a feminine protagonist like in Persona 3 Moveable. It is true that that is undoubtedly one of the simplest ways to play the principle recreation, however I would not say that Reload is absolutely the definitive model of this entry.
