80%PlayStation 5

"You don't need to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of."

I can't quite believe I'm here writing this, Persona 3 Reload, in my nearly half a year of playing, became an insurmountable object within my gaming habits - but as of today, I can feel the accomplishment of fully experiencing this JRPG giant. To say I don't play "these types" of games would be an understatement, I skipped Playstation in my early life for the comfort of casual games and family-friendly classics on both the Wii and Nintendo DS, trading those for a real console later on with the Xbox 360 into the One. Those consoles are not exactly known for their JRPG juggernauts, the Nintendo machines had trouble with power and an audience mismatch, and the guys over at Xbox still struggle to convince Japanese developers to take them seriously. Only when I got to PC and PS5 could I try out the depths of classics, and get footing in a genre I had no familiarity with.

What I mean to say is that I have never played the original for this, so I can't comment on the remake treatment aside from its own, very real flaws.

Let's get it out of the way anyway, first of all, despite how this game seems to have such a way with people, an apparent master key into their hearts, it's no masterpiece. It's pretty far from it. Considering it's from the guys who made Megaten, you can forgive me for expecting a better RPG at the foundation of it. I get it, it was 2006, it was the PS2, and it was a different time (some of the social links make that very clear). But, remake or not, a lot of this game has simply not aged well, the obvious being Tartarus's brutally boring and archaic design. Two hundred and sixty-four floors of randomly generated, repetitive jargon, and considering it's half of the game focus, it's a pretty huge misstep. There are some saving graces, no idea if they were remake additions, but the major arcana cards add an almost roguelike element to each run. Little by little they add encouragement to consistent and lengthy runs, which is what I ended up doing to save time - my entire monthly run in one night.

Tartarus is rescued solely by one good thing, one thing they seemed to have the hang of, combat. The weakness exploit/one more system is basic but wonderfully effective, creating a tangible momentum to its turn-based foundations. I have never been a fan of turn-based games. I've hated them and avoided them for all of my life, but after experiencing a half-decent one I'm ready to admit how very wrong I was. These systems can be just as good and have just as much depth, if not more, than any real-time combat alternative. Although I think the answer does sit somewhere in the middle, a hybrid design that Studio Zero seems to be taking on with the upcoming Metaphor Refantazio.

This game is bizarre, and its idiosyncratic nature left me in the longest honeymoon period I've ever had with a game. I would not stop talking about it for over a month after I had started. Even now, I still mention it far too much. I do this because, despite all the aforementioned dogpiling, this is an experience that you won't find anywhere else - it's so wonderful to look at and dance to its groovy blend of Japanese hip-hop-pop. It is quite literally a day in the life of the most boring yet handsome, smooth-talker in all of Japan, and I'm so glad I got to spend eighty hours dating high schoolers, playing at the arcade, brushing the dog and saving the world while I play pretend as a much cooler version of my younger self. This is the youthful dream no one gets to live.

The social link is Persona's real defining feature and the reason I think it's so lauded amongst its JRPG contemporaries. A game plot that turns the power of friendship into a real functioning core mechanic... it's just so ridiculous you can't help but love it. Ten levels of conversations range from hand-holding with Fuuka to Suimetsu losing weight because I called him a fatty. Grinding relationships with people I don't like through the power of a firm handshake and a cold gaze. Worming my way into the hearts of upwards of five girlfriends who can't get jealous because that feature has been removed!

That said, it's not all good. A lot of the twenty-something social links bored the living daylights out of me. Mostly because the dialogue for this game is so dull, I guess it's very anime-like in that way. Some of the relationships made me uneasy too, specifically Maiko. A sign of the times maybe? Cultural difference? A relationship with a little girl is.. strange.

I'm running out of characters (and care) so time to wrap this up.

Persona 3 Reload.. is a game. The game to end all games. It's very gamey. It's a deeply flawed and experimental outing but one I deeply enjoyed, one that will stay with me for a long time. Or at least until I play the next one and forget all about it.

8/10.

95%Xbox Series X/S

not as good as p5

100%PC

One of my absolute favorite games of all time. Back in 2009 when I first played FES I was introduced to the incredible series that is Persona. These characters have been with me and have meant something to me for more than half my life and to see it brought back to life and have the chance to see these old friends again has filled me with much joy. Also fusing Personas and building Social Links are as fun as ever here even if some of the SLs aren't as strong as future games there are some real stand out ones like the Sun Arcana. I'm very much looking forward to the Answer coming back soon as well!

90%PlayStation 5

First time playing this and I have a lot of thoughts.

The Good:
Story - explores themes of loss, accepting death and overcoming it. Really loved the main cast. Personally think it's the strongest from the 3, 4, 5. I liked how they all don't really get along until the very end. Amada and shinji have some friction so does Yukari and Mitsuru. Shinji does not want to come back. Junpei is jealous of mc. But, through circumstances, they all come to an understanding. The cast in other titles become best friends after the first week so I was surprised it was executed in a different way here. Social links are also pretty good for most of the supporting cast. My favourites being, maiko, dying man, old couple and rival athlete. Didn't know linked events were new for this entry but it went a long way into trying male character arcs to the story instead of having it be a separate story. Ending left me broken and I did not expect that although it makes sense.

Music - Peak. We are used to this from Atlus. Only wish some of the later songs came earlier but I understand they wanted to tie it with the plot.

Art style/Graphics - Again, we know what to expect from Atlus from this front. Very aesthetically pleasing and some of the best designs in the industry. Would've liked if there were more cutscenes.

Neutral:
Gameplay - It was good and I liked the inclusion of theurgies but it's weaker compared to the other games. You feel restricted in some ways and not much to do. I also wish the game had weather effects and seasons like other games (it has seasons but you can't tell). I liked the boss battles though.

Strega - They were alright. I don't hate them but feel like they didn't really have much impact in the overall story besides Chidori and the incident with Shinji. Some moments between Jin and Takaya made me laugh. But overall, I don't see the point of them.

The Bad:
Pacing - This was my main issue since the first few months dragged on. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to continue it. It picks up during late July/August and keeps building from there but slows down towards the end during January when there's nothing to do. I was waiting a long time before finding out what my purpose was, what tartarus was and the end goal.

Tartarus - Not very bad but it can get very repetitive. In the different areas, all the floors look the same. At some points I just ignored the shadows because I wanted to move on. Most of the areas are good but yabbash sucks big time. I hate the trapped and confusing structure. Besides that, Monad and Barrier bosses were fine.

80%PC

A fantastic game but clearly still only the 1st in the Hashino Persona Trilogy. It lacks in the many expanded activities of 5, the better spread social links of 4 and 5, the dungeons of 5, and the arc based story of 4 and 5. Despite these shortcomings, its a Persona game, so it's still great lol.

100%PlayStation 4

Honestly I might be a little biased, but I loved this game so much, probably the best game of all time. I'll start with the things I disliked first.

Although I enjoyed the combat and was happy that it wasn't as easy as P5R, I really wish it was more difficult. The final boss felt too easy on hard mode. Maybe I should have played on Merciless since I've played P5R and P4G, but still! I really wish a lot of cutscenes that were animated in FES didn't use the in game models. I also wish they did a lot less showing and more telling in the cutscenes, especially with all the dialogue Yukari has when pointing her evoker for the first time and after the final boss when SEES reunites with Makoto outside the school when it was originally an animated cutscene with no dialogue and just SEES's reaction to seeing him again. I wish that Koromaru was not voiced by a person because it was really immersion breaking during cutscenes. It also took me a really long time to adjust to Akihiko's new voice, (still not super sold on it) but when it was good during emotional lines.

I know that these sounds really nit-picky but that's it. Everything else felt perfect to me. The quality of life changes on the gameplay, ui, voice acted social links, new voice cast, updated look to Tatsumi port island, music, and added cutscenes blew me away. I wish I could play this game on PC or a PS5 to really get the best looking experience, but everything was incredible. I've watched play throughs of FES and Portable so I knew the story already, but I still managed to cry twice as often. Definitely recommend playing this game even if you are new to the series!

90%PlayStation 5

Post persona depression confirmed with this one... Great game because I love the formula. Great story (as expected from a Persona game) with plot twists that will surprise you !

100%PC

Uma das melhores experiências com videogames da vida.
Narrativa perfeita, com personagens incríveis e carismáticos, story lines e arcos emocionantes e um dos finais mais espetaculares e melancólicos da história dos videogames (me fez pensar por semanas nele, em seu tema principal e sua jornada).
Uma gameplay de rpg por turno refinadíssima e dinâmica, sem deixar de contextualizar sempre o jogador e ensiná-lo de forma cadenciada e perfeita novas mecânicas, um loop de gameplay prazeroso, além de te fazer descobrir muitas coisas por si só.
Direção de Arte fantástica e uma das melhores trilhas sonoras já feitas para um RPG e qualquer jogo.
Simplesmente, uma experiência excepcional, que me apresentou uma história que eu não faria nem ideia que existia se não fosse por esse remake.
O melhor jogo de todos os tempos!

90%PC

A great remake of a great game. Gameplay elements are improved, especially in the combat and dungeon crawling sections of the game. Fully voiced social links are a huge improvement, and some of the more tougher and controversial aspects of the game like sickness and social link regressions are cut out of the game, whether it's a good thing or not is up to you. the story remains untouched except for some new scenes, so unfortunately STREGA do not have a more fleshed out characterization compared to the first. The remade music and the new tracks are incredible. But if you're a fan of the original, you're going to be a fan of this remake.

95%Xbox Series X/S

Amazing, but 3rd best of the P3-P5 series

90%PC

A drastic improvement from the original. Quality of life improvements, fun gameplay, great characters and story. Improved graphics help bring a new air to the game. Overall a clear contender for GOTY 2024.

Overall Score: 23.5/25 (A-)

95%PC

Persona 3 Reload is a great game with a great storyline. This is a game that is very worth it

75%PlayStation 5

While it is a nice rework on an older game, I am a bit disappointed "The Answer" is locked behind a paywall when it was included in the FES version previously. Reload does have some quality of life changes, but it still seems like the story takes too long to get going.

100%PC

Excellent remake! They really did the original justice. It's just missing FeMC but it's ok I guess because fans added her in with mods.

100%Xbox One

The story impacted me on a very deep and personal level and even if turn based jrpg's aren't your thing I recommend this game to absolutely everybody

90%Xbox One

Loved it. Great remake of persona 3, visually awesome (although it played pretty shaky on some parts on the xbox one), music is great as always. Sadly keeps some of the bad parts and the updates it tries to offer feel a bit lackluster (romancing everybody without punishment, everything about tartarus, nyx fight). Going into tartarus still felt like a hastle and something i felt impending doom towards, even if its intentional it just wasnt really a fun time. Strega development is better but they deserve more. And ofc wouldve loved kotone but what can one do. Still i would recommend this over p3p and FES, especially with the aigis episode coming out soon.

85%PC

알던맛 엄청 새롭지는 않음
쩌는 비지엠에 먹던맛으로 잘먹었는데 비러머글 dlc가 나온다네
아틸라스꺼는 이제 언제나 의심의 눈으로 볼수밖에 없을듯 다음작 기대되는데...

100%PC

First Persona for me. Really good game, cool aesthetic, story, game mechanics and (most importantly) character.

I suggest taking your time, not trying to minimize/maximize play, focus on the social connections you enjoy the most or the activities you enjoy doing. Not doing everything is not a bad thing in itself

Ultimately, look for advice on the internet on how not to waste your time in the game if that's one of your fears (having a persona of the same type as the person you spend your time with gives a bonus, try to have an intelligence milestone for exams). But there's really no need to optimize everything to enjoy the game, on the contrary, lead your life as you feel, meet people, get lost in everything there is to do, that's the subject of the game, there is an end and that gives so much value to everything we do before that.

100%PC

В определённых местах Persona 3 Reload удерживает безукоризненное первенство: эстетика и презентация попали точно в меня, но чисто геймплейно она проигрывает той же «Пятёрке» в разнообразии и проработанности активностей. Если игровой процесс Persona 5 Royal — отточенный механизм, где каждая деталь была плотно связана с другой, одна механика дополняла вторую и не могла существовать без третьей, то вот ремейк триквела так и не смог избавиться от следов ржавчины. Вечером в этом городе литературно нехуй делать — только если развивать не самые приятные социальные связи, а темп повествования имеет идиотскую привычку либо разгружать на игрока сюжет из ебучих камазов, либо откровенно провисать и хранить молчание до конкретной даты.

А так — ахуй, красотища. Чем больше я думаю о том, какая из последних «Персон» лучше – тем больше сомневаюсь. Это дикая вкусовщина, ведь каждая номерная часть делает что-то чуть лучше остальных, а что-то – немного хуже. Тут всё зависит от приоритетов. Мне больше нравится более отточенная геймплейно «Пятёрка», но эстетика ремейка «Тройки» и его сюжетная целостность, пусть и с провисающим повествованием, создают нихуйственную конкуренцию. Это просто классные игры, тут и добавить нечего.

70%Xbox Series X/S

Excellent game... it just gets a bit tedious after awhile with all the social links and Day in, Day out time management game play.

100%PC

Legit one of the best turn-based rpgs ever created. Story is amazing and no words can describe how much enjoyment I got out of this game. Fuuka best girl

100%PC

Depression. I KNEW IT WAS COMING BUT IT STILL HIT.

https://open.spotify.com/track/4pjFNyjGaoKgLTnndISP6V?si=3b0de73496a44572

This game has the best story out of the modern 3 Persona games. I liked it way more than Persona 5. Only reason I ain't super sad is cause I know the answer is coming later this year. This is my favourite game of all time.

The story fixes all the problems I had with Persona 5's story. Fighting a god at the end made narrative sense and they introduced him very smartly. The characters are well developed across the story and not in their specific dungeon/palace (like the the other 2 persona games I have played). Social link characters all have interesting stories and flaws that they over come. Also not having the majority of character development come from social links gives this game the best cast out of the modern games. For example, Yukari is well developed across the story and by doing her social link you learn about her issues with her mom and how she overcomes them. This social link is a direct continuation of what occurs in the main story and feels like a natural next step. And party members who don't have social links are treated the exact same. For example, Junpei was easily one of the best SEES member, most of his character development comes from Chidori and has no involvement from the player.

This cast felt the least reliant on the main character in the whole series. Since most of the development of these characters is tied to others or specific events (except Aigis she is very reliant) the whole cast feel more like a team rather than 1 guy and the others who are just there for him. For example, In Persona 5 Ryuji is super reliant on Joker and requires his help in every step to make his plans work out. This only really occurs because most of the development is in the confidant. Compare Ryuji to Junpei or Yukari, Mitsuru. Junpei is fully focused on Chidori and Mitsuru snaps out of ther depression phase due to Yukari's help not the players unlike Ryuji or most other phantom theives.

95%PC

God

90%Xbox Series X/S

Persona 3 Reloaded, for better and worse(mostly better) 89%

Pros:
Story has same effect all these years later
Amazing characters
Linked Episodes are some of the best written stuff Atlus has done and should be standard or at least have checkpoints in Social Links so they can tie in with the story more for party members
Has some of the best social links in the series
Almost everything is voice acted and the voices are great
Physical builds are actually viable
I like that SEES aren't really close at first, makes the group dynamic interesting and when they do come together it feels earned
Reload original songs on the OST are all amazing
Tartarus is hugely improved to make each block more distinct
Changes to how Light/Dark skills work so not as much instakill spam in the late game
DA MAN

Conflicted:
The game is tuned to be way too easy on any difficulty between the new character characteristics, theurgy, shift, insane crit rates
Not much you can do about the slower start of the game in Persona 3/4 tradition
As much as i love the look of the new UI, presentation can be a downgrade from FES especially with cutscenes
Added new night activities, but still feels like late game you are just going to sleep because you have nothing to do still. (Still only 2 night Social Links)
Remixes of older songs can be very hit or miss(changing seasons reload is amazing, burn my dread final battle reload is not)
Feels like they said remake Persona 3, but make it as much like Persona 5 as possible... for better and worse

Cons:
One of my biggest asks was for Strega to be fleshed out more, which they did slightly, but it doesn't feel like enough.
2-3 of the worst social links in the series(you know who you are)
They removed the ability for Makoto to wield different weapon types from FES(tbf Portable removed this too unfortunately)
Atlus scummy DLC practices strike again and still not the definitive P3 experience since no Portable stuff

90%PC

Great story and combat.
One of the best main cast of characters ever created in Persona/SMT games.
The dungeon is a bit lacking but this game is very old, so just a minor complain. And it has many QoL feature of modern persona games so not affecting very much to be honest.
Very good JRPG experience.

90%PC

J'ai beaucoup aimé l'opposition des courants de pensées Carpe Diem/Memento Mori mais le jeu avait une boucle de gameplay très répétitive et surtout plus restreinte que P5R donc yavait vraiment des moments j'avais envie de mourir d'ennui

95%PlayStation 5

Going into Persona 3 Reload, I already knew I’d love it. I felt nostalgic for the original despite never having played it. After playing through Persona 3 Reload, I absolutely love it! It was a thoroughly satisfying and fulfilling experience. All the new additions help modernize the original in exciting ways! I’m a big fan of how they expanded character moments and made the combat even more thrilling. At its core, the characters, story, and setting have all aged incredibly gracefully. And visually, the game looks both beautiful and stunning. I especially love the amazing new UI. My only minor criticism is the lack of activities at night towards the end of the game. Having more places to visit in the overworld would’ve been nice too. Regardless, I can definitely see myself playing through NG+. Persona 3 Reload has easily become one of my favorite games ever made. This game is full of soul!

100%Xbox Series X/S

This game is probably one of if not the best game I have ever played, the characters are amazing, the story is amazing, almost everything about it is fucking amazing. The experience of playing this game was something so incredibly special for me and I don’t think anything is going to top it any time soon if at all. If you have the means to, please play this genuinely amazing video game.

65%PlayStation 5

Good game, but ultimately the worse out of 3,4 and 5. Story didn’t really grab me as much as 5. There was too much free time in mid to late game at night, leading to me spending most my time at night sleeping.

90%PlayStation 5

It's been almost 12 hours and I'm still crying

95%PC

After beating persona 5 royal, I became a part of the persona fanbase for persona 5 but even so, I still heard whispers of Persona 3 and how exceptional it was as a whole. which made me consider playing it. but hearing that It didn't age too well, I put off playing it. It was a little while after I heard that it was getting a remake. and thus we reached where we are now.

Now after freshly finishing Persona 3 reload, I want to talk about how it is.

Coming from the bombastic and energetic tale in persona 5, we get a more down-to-earth and almost mundane tale at times but that is where persona 3 excels rather than focusing on exploring multiple palaces with different personalities and styles like in persona 5, we just have one endless tower with occasional changes but nothing more, but that is not where persona 3 is at its best.

It is at its best when we just spend the days talking to social links, living in the dorm, or just having fun character interactions the mundane is what makes this game truly special rather than having to fight shadows and getting stronger personas, these segments show off how good some of the characters are and what made me feel want to keep on going with this game even during its slow moments.

Even though Persona 3 may not be as energetic or chaotic as Persona 5, The story it tells is still exceptional with excellent characters and most of all heartfelt.

100%Xbox Series X/S

idk what i'm supposed to say. there's a few annoying drawbacks with making the game less dark that i don't really like. but omfg everything about this game in my opinion is just so amazing and the experience i had playing it is something i don't think could ever be replicated. please at least try this game out, it could change your life.

edit: changed score from 95% to 100%

100%PC

Masterpiece, Game Of The Year 2024 for me

80%PC

early game - pretty interesting
mid game - super meh
end game - GOAT

85%PC

Juego increíble, con mucho contenido y un arte que te va a encantar si sos seguidor del anime en general. El punto y medio menos es mas que nada por lo continuista con respecto a lo visto en P5R y además, que la gestión del tiempo sigue siendo un dolor de cabeza si querés el 100% en una sola partida.

95%PC

When you cry at the end you just know it's good. A more compact and better version than p5 and I loved p5. Just so fucking good.

100%PC

changed my life

90%PC

Worth a play

80%PC

8.1/10

First time playing a version of Persona 3 since I first played Portable back in 2010. It's pretty darn good. I still really enjoy the darker tone of this game compared to Persona 4 and 5. Still has the best story out of the 3 modern Persona games, by far. Playing through this knowing how the story goes is a whole new experience. It still has some jank from the original PS2 game because it's a pretty faithful remake. I really enjoyed the voice acting in this, both the amount and quality. However, I wouldn't say it's worth a full $70. You should wait for it to drop to $50 or play it on Game pass like I did.

70%PC

It may be what a JRPG fan desires but it wasn't for me. Not a game that I would like to invest close to 100 hours of my life. It has high-quality anime sequences and visuals, but sometimes it just feels like an 'anime', I mean somewhat childish, drags on and on. I've found Octopath Traveler far better than this. High-school team, classic but blah.

90%PC

Fantastic remake whether you’ve played the original or not. The remake updates a lot of quality of life things to be more streamlined while adding beautiful visuals and cutscenes. Not to mention some of the best music in a video game.

Gameplay is good though a little one sided compared to persona 5 given the Tartarus/mementos is around 90% of the dungeon progression.

Persona 3 Reload is more than the sum of its parts. Individually the elements of story, gameplay, social sim, menu designs might be cool but nothing to write home about. Put all together they somehow form an unforgettable package that’ll have you enjoy the entire thing despite occasional repetitiveness.

75%PlayStation 5

love the melancholy chill vibes of this compared to persona 5. guess i should just go play 4 now too

95%PlayStation 5

Normal difficulty - true ending

Story: Really, really good story!
Characters: I love and miss them.
Music: Soooooooo good.
Gameplay: The only thing I didn't like much about this game is the Tartarus. The gameplay loop wasn't as good as in Persona 4 or 5.
Graphics: Characters and cities looked awesome. The tartarus design was "fine".

Story 9/10
Characters 10/10
Music 9/10
Gameplay 7/10
Graphics 8/10

100%Xbox Series X/S

IT'S FULL MOON AGAIN, CRAZY HOW TIME FLIES 〜(￣▽￣〜) ~(￣▽￣)~* (〜￣▽￣)〜. I already loved P3 after playing FES, but this game made me love it even more!

100%Xbox Series X/S

this is the best game i have ever played, by far

95%PC

Definitely definitive way to play for new fans. Link episodes make it worth it!

100%PlayStation 4

I love this game! One of the many banger JRPGs to release in 2024. I’ve never played the original so I can’t compare anything to it but this as a standalone game is fantastic. Great combat, great characters and dialogue, good storyline with a few twists. Can tell it was the transformation into modern Persona games we see today. Definitely play this.

80%PlayStation 5

As a fan who boarded the Persona train at the Persona 5 Royal station, I jumped into Persona 3 Reload with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. Is it gonna give the same dopamine hit as the last mainline game did? To my delight, it did—somewhat.

What’s to love:
The soundtrack: No surprises here. It’s a head-bopping, hip-hop-flavoured, all-out auditory attack.

Visual flair: Again, we have come to expect this now, but those menus are still stylish, and the visual upgrade to the characters and world was a welcome change.

Storytelling: How the story plays out in this game feels tight (even though it does take a while to get going). It tackles some tough themes with incredible tact too.

But, it’s not all roses:
Social Links: They’re the heart of the Persona experience, but here, they sometimes felt like random acquaintances rather than friends. I found myself questioning the purpose of these bonds beyond the obvious gameplay benefits.

Tartarus: The game's lone dungeon quickly became monotonous, lacking the thematic diversity that Persona 5 Royal spoiled us with.

TL;DR
Persona 3 Reload scratches that itch for a fresh Persona adventure. It’s familiar yet distinct—like revisiting my childhood home. There’s comfort in its walls and nostalgia everywhere. But as I lay in my old bed, I felt a bittersweet realisation that I've simply outgrown it.

So, expect a journey that’s both a throwback and a step forward. It’s a game that knows its roots and wears them proudly, even if it means showing its age in places.

95%PC

My first full experience actually playing Persona 3 and I couldn't asked for a better one; even tho I already knew the story beats, it didn't take away my enjoyment of the whole game, and it actually made me rethink my opinion on the ending. Can't wait to play the Aigis episode too.

90%PC

Good story, good party, good locations and not bad sides. In my opinion best persona game (Tartarus suck)