Persona 3 Reload Review!

One of the best games ever!

I didn’t know what to expect from Persona 3 Reload. I never played the original or Portable either. But I heard good things about Persona 3. After playing P3R, I’m in awe of this game. This is not only one of the best remakes ever. But Persona 3 Reload is one of the greatest games ever.

Intro

You start the game as the protagonist known as Makoto Yuki. Makoto is transferring to Gekkoukan High School. On his way to Iwadori Dorm, he is greeted by the Dark Hour.

The Dark Hour is a mysterious and ghastly period in time. Most people are transmogrified into coffins. And the mysterious tower, Tartarus appears along with the Shadows.

On a full moon during the Dark Hour, a large shadow appears. Makoto and Yukari get attacked by this large shadow. To save Yukari and himself, Makoto uses Yukari’s evoker to awaken his Persona.

Since he can wield a Persona, Makoto joins the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or SEES. SEES’s mission is to investigate the mysteries of the Dark Hour, Tartarus, and the Shadows. And eliminate them forever.

Persona 3 Reload follows Makoto and SEES’s adventures to fulfill their mission. However, it’s not just the Shadows that stand in their way. There are mysterious forces that are out to stop SEES mission.

Presentation

Art Style

Persona 3 Reload’s art style is reminiscent of the same style from Persona 5 Royal. But, P3R's visuals upgrade the P5’s graphics to the zenith. This is the cleanest and most vibrant version of this style.

The character models, shadows and environments look even better than Persona 5 models. The models have exquisite designs and details. The animation is also smooth and fluid.

The menus in the game have an emphasis on blue. Blue is the theme color of the P3R that gives the menus an ethereal and supernatural look. It is calming with Makoto being underwater. The typography uses a bold sans serif. But, it has a tranquil effect. The white font matches with game’s theme color.

Combat

Persona 3 Reload is a turn-based game just like the original and its successors. In combat, you’re objective is to hit the enemy’s weaknesses to gain the upper hand. Makoto can use various Personas while his teammates can only use one.

When you or your party member hits an enemy’s weakness. They are down. Downing enemies gives you an extra turn. You can use the same character who downed the enemy. Or you can shift their turn to another party member. Shifting to another party increases their strength.

Once all enemies are down. You can initiate an All-Out Attack. The party beats enemies in an all-out attack. If all enemies are destroyed. Then the last character who finishes off the enemy will get an awesome finishing cut-in.

Therugy

Party members now have a special attack called Therugy. When a character does an action that is personal to them, like Yukari healing. Their Therugy gauge fills up.

Once the gauge is full, a party can execute their Therugy. Therugies are be powerful attacks that ignore enemy's resistances. Theurgies can also be special effects, buffs, or they can be healing spells.

Therugies are like limit breaks to me from Final Fantasy. They can you during difficult battles, give you a much-needed healing, or they gave you a major boost. Therugies were game changers for me.

Shuffle Time

Shuffle Time has been improved. Instead of randomly selecting a card like in the older P3 versions. You can now pick a card after ending a battle. These cards can give you money, increased experience, skill cards, special battle effects, and new Personas.

I liked this system because I can choose what I want or need. Acquiring new Personas and skill cards was easier in this system. Extra experience and cash was always a plus when I needed money or experience to level a character.

Progression

As your characters and their Personas level up. They gain new abilities. Yuki having the “Wild Card” allows him to wield different Personas.

Only Yuki’s equipped Persona can gain experience. Personas can also gain experience with the same Persona or arcana.

Once you reach a new area of Tartarus, your current Personas will be outdated. They can only learned a limited number of moves. So, you need new ones to replace your current roster.

Luckily, there are new Personas to obtain in new areas. There are always the Persona Fusions, too. You can create even more powerful Personas through fusion.

Fusing your Personas is a surefire way to get powerful new ones. When you fuse Personas, the fused Persona will get an Arcana Burst. Arcana Bursts gives a lot of experience.

Of course, the amount of experience from an Arcana Burst depends on the current rank of the Persona’s Arcana. An Arcana‘s rank is based on your social Links. So, ranking up your social Links is vital.

Social Links

Social Links are extremely important on your journey in Persona 3 Reload. Not only for your Personas, but for the main story. Social Links also serve as Persona 3 Reload’s side content.

Social Links involve Makoto forming bonds with people who represent their arcana. Spending time with your social links increases your bonds with them. And it also raises that link’s rank.

You want to max out your social Links. With your social links maxed out, you get the maximum effect of Arcana Bursts. Maxed-out social Links also give you access to the most powerful Persona.

I enjoyed a lot of Social Links in P3R. But there were a few that didn’t connect with me. A couple of these links that I didn’t care for. Specifically, the social links of the Devil and Moon are ones I could live without.

Linked Episodes

The original game did not have social links for your male party members. Since P3R follows the format of the original, it’s the case once again. But you can still bond with your male party members with Linked Episodes.

Linked Episodes allow you to spend time with your fellow male SEES members. It’s not only will your bond deepen with them, but you unlock new abilities for them, too. Lastly, you get an insight into their backstories too.

There are linked episodes with your female SEES comrades, too. There are various activities you can do with all your comrades. The rewards are items, new abilities, and more insight into their characters.

Characters

I will always love my Phantom Thieves of Hearts. They were the first Persona cast I spent time with. But I admit that enjoyed the P3R cast more.

They are also the most diverse cast. In addition to a mix of second and third-year high school students, there is an elementary kid, an android, and a dog. Koromaru is one of the best dogs in gaming.

I like Yukari, Mitsuru, and Fuuka from the start. Akihiko became my favorite male character at first. And I really liked Aragaki since he is cool, tough guy with a heart of gold.

However, the two characters that had the best arcs were Aigis and Junpei. Junpei was a class clown but his arc matured him. Aigis is the best girl since I loved her arc of her developing a human heart as a machine.

Each character is distinct in their personalities, motivations, and stories. I liked how each character’s arc is present in the story. And their arcs continue in both the main story and side content.

Story and Themes

Persona 3 Reload is the darkest Persona game I have played. This is a game about life and death. Death is present throughout the story thanks to the Dark Hour, Tartarus, and the Shadows.

Death and darkness are ever present in the game. Life is the counterpart to the story and themes of death. The theme of life is represented by Makoto Yuki forming relationships with his SEES members, social links and indelible mark he leaves on them.

Lastly, the themes of legacy, purpose, and desire played a huge role in P3R. Each character is challenged by their mission and life. Hope is an important aspect of P3R as our heroes face death and save the world.

Music

It wouldn’t be a proper Persona game with a meaningful, banger soundtrack. The soundtrack of Persona 3 Reload delivers on all fronts. I love the hip-hop genre of the soundtrack.

Lotus Juice, Ayumi Takahashi, Shoji Meguro, and Altus Sound Team absolutely cooked with this one! Lotus Juice's powerful rhymes, Ayumi Takahashi's beautiful voice, with the beats and melodies are a masterful work of art. These songs carry a lot of meaning for the P3R’s themes.

There are my kind of songs. My favorites are Mass Destruction, It’s Going Down, and Burn Your Dread. Of course, I love the opening and ending themes of Full Moon, Full Life, and Memories of You-Reload, respectively.

The Best Persona

I can why see Persona 3 is hailed as one of the greatest video games ever. It’s an amazing game in terms of story, cast, presentations, themes and combat. P3R is an amazing remake with plenty of improvements and quality of life feature.

Persona 3 Reload was worth the 100 hour experience. My only gripes about the games was a lot of the unnecessary school events which add to the massive time commitment. A good amount of time was taken by these unnecessary events.

I get it. The setting is a high school. And the cast is mostly school students. But, I feel like some of the events could be skipped and allow us more free time.

I know what I am getting into with Altus games. They are huge time commitment and don’t always respect one’s time. But, I feel the sacrifice is worth it with these games especially when it comes the story and themes they tell.

Would I do it all again? Absolutely! This game rewarded me with an amazing experience. Persona 3 Reload is full of heart. It has a mind provoking themes and captivating story with great characters. I cherish this game and I look forward diving deeper into its world. Persona 3 Reload is amazing game!