By: Ovi Sawant
During the winter of this year, Atlus released their game Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the iconic original, Persona 3. At a first glance, the only difference between the two games seems to be the graphics, but in reality, there are so many more differences that improve the game and make it more enjoyable. In this review, I will go through a brief summary of the game, explain key differences between the remake and original, and also some overall opinions I have on the game so you know if P3R is really worth your time (the main storyline will take about 70 hours to complete!)
The game takes place in Japan in 2009 and follows a transfer student named Makoto Yuki. During the day, he’s an average high school student, participating in extracurriculars and hanging out with friends. He is everything you would imagine from a picture perfect student, but by night, everything changes.
Once the clock strikes midnight, a strange 25th hour of the day begins called the Dark Hour. At this time, all normal people transform into coffins, water turns a dark crimson color, and Gekkoukan High School transforms into a bizarre 250 floor tower that’s aptly been named Tartarus. The protagonist, along with the members of SEES – the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad – fight the monsters (called Shadows) that live in Tartarus, using their power (called a Persona) and try to climb to the top. The story is complex, yet beautifully written, and keeps you craving for more the farther you go. Being a Japanese Role Playing Game, or JRPG, a good portion of the game is spent reading through dialogue, while the other half is turn-based combat.
One of my favorite parts of the game was encountering Shadows and destroying them with my go-to Persona, Alice, while the song “Mass Destruction” plays in the background. The combat system is simple enough that beginners will catch on very quickly, but it’s also still engaging later in the game, when the Shadows become stronger.
Compared to this, you may think the gameplay of Makoto’s daily life would be less interesting, but you would be mistaken. During the day, you are able to interact with other students and form bonds with them, called Social Links. Each Social Link is assigned a tarot card arcana. The more you hang out with someone, the stronger the corresponding Persona of that arcana will grow. It’s a really cool way to connect Makoto’s everyday life with his Personas.
As I mentioned before, P3R is a remake of P3, so why choose Reload over the original? Reload holds many, many new features, one of which being the Theurgy system. A Theurgy is a powerful attack that all playable characters can do once they fill up their Theurgy meter. Each character needs to perform different skills to fill up their Theurgy meter, such as healing other party members or inflicting status ailments to Shadows. It’s super helpful to use during boss battles, and also just looks really cool, as each Theurgy has its own special animation. Reload also got rid of some things that players didn’t enjoy in the original, like not being able to control party members in battle, as well as the system that would kick players out of Tartarus if any of the characters became too fatigued.
I enjoyed playing this game a lot, and with that comes a lot of small details I liked and opinions I have. First of all, the music in this game is worthy of a Grammy! I have multiple songs in the Persona 3 Reload album on repeat, with some personal favorites being “Color Your Night”, “It’s Going Down Now”, and “Iwatodai Dorm”.
Switching topics, the way that all SEES members summon their Personas is interesting and meaningful. To summon a Persona, the characters have to use a special pistol – called an Evoker – and shoot themselves. While this may seem really dark, doing this represents the characters being able to confront the idea of death and loss of innocence. It’s a smart way to add symbolism to the game.
Overall, I would give Persona 3 Reload a rating of 8.5/10. Some parts of this game may be repetitive, but that is really the only downside to this game that I can think of. With fun gameplay, an engaging story, and an amazing soundtrack and graphics, Persona 3 Reload should be the next game you play!