Rediscovering One of My All-Time Favourite JRPGs
My first experience with the Persona series was when I was about 18. I was working my first ever job out of school, and this was back in the 2000s when Game Station was still a thing in the UK. I’d beaten all the Final Fantasy games I could lay hands on at the time, and had seen YouTube videos of a blue haired character living an ordinary high-school life–going to class, making friends, and attending clubs–while engaging in combat in an otherworldly dungeon. I’m a big lover of JRPGs and slice of life anime, and while the mechanics were familiar enough, this game was unlike anything I’d played before. So, when I happened across a Persona game in my favourite used game store right after I’d been paid, I naturally snapped that up without hesitating. The Persona game I’d found turned out to be Persona 4, not Persona 3 (I wouldn’t play Persona 3: FES until a year or so later), but all the same, I fell in love with it basically immediately. All this to say, Persona 3 Reload was a day-one purchase for me, and after finally finishing it, I was not disappointed.
Why You Should Play Persona 3: Reload
Fun and Flashy Gameplay with a Deep and Complex Heart
It’s not even a question of ‘should’. If you’re like me and you love smooth turn-based combat that lets you switch up your strategy on the fly, a vibrant cast you can get attached to, and emotionally-rich game narratives that make you think, then Persona 3: Reload should be at the top of your bucket list. Sure the story can run slow at times, but that’s not a bug–it’s a feature. From start to finish, Persona 3: Reload frames fun and hopeful moments with clear blue skies, bumping basslines, and delicate piano cues, then adds significant emotional weight to more serious moments with oppressive chords, moody green and blue palettes, and gradually-dulled environments–the perfect thematic mirror to the mysterious Apathy Syndrome sweeping the city. Some players have mentioned that the lighting in the remake is too bright for their taste, which is a fair complaint, but I would also argue that the bright, breezy palette makes room for the moments when the game dims the lights. I won’t spoil it, but trust me: it hits.
Significant Quality of Life Improvements in and Out of Combat
Gameplay has even been improved for this edition by cutting out the infamous combat fatigue system for Tartarus, and players can finally control party members directly! That means no more Marin Karin missteps at crucial moments, or wasteful self-heals when someone’s HP bar is full (looking at you, Yukari!). Male party members have also been treated to unofficial social links that allow players to get to know them and build lasting friendships with them, which was lacking sorely in the original version. As well, dorm life has been made more fulfilling with fun night time activities, including gardening, cooking, walking the dog, and watching TV with your teammates, which in turn builds on their utility in battle by earning them unique skills. Another feature I also found massively helpful (and deeply charming) was the brand new texting system. Shops and social links will send you text messages, and you can fast travel to where they are simply by pressing a button. Additionally, helpful map icons indicate when a social link or event is available for you to engage with, so you won’t accidentally miss out on interacting with someone that day.
True, there’s no female MC like people were hoping for, Tartarus still feels like a slog at times, and we do lose out on social club options like Kendo and Photography, but I found these were small trade-offs for an otherwise breathtaking remake that gives us so much in other ways.
A Toe-Tapping Soundtrack You’ll Be Humming For Days
Back in the 2000s, Burn My Dread lived on my iPod and rent-free in my head. It’s up there as one of my top gaming hype songs of all time, because it’s just one of those tracks that helps you power through a difficult day because you’re a badass and you got this.
Imagine my delight when I booted up Persona 3: Reload and head Burn My Dread referenced within the first few seconds. Not only that, Lotus Juice features throughout the soundtrack this time, and it simply does not miss, from the powerful new opening Full Moon Full Life, to the machine-gun-fast riffs on its remix of Mass Destruction.
That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the original tracks and their compositions. Truthfully, I missed them for the first few hours of play, but as I stuck with the new editions and their revised lyrics, I came to appreciate the evolution. Reload isn’t here to ape its predecessor–it’s here to build on what made it good, embrace the familiar, and take it to even greater heights.
A Game Full of Transitions
Persona’s iconic Arcana theme is put to good use in Persona 3: Reload. The high school setting is nothing new either, but both come together beautifully to weave a story about change and transition. The main character is a transfer student who comes to Gekkoukan High, and fights alongside third-year students who will be graduating in the spring. This big life change is enough to get your teammates wondering what they’re going to do with their lives once the Shadow threat is dealt with, whether they’ll go to college or get jobs. How hard could it be, you might be thinking–they’ve faced horrors in the form of losses and monsters, and had to pick up and carry on even when tragedy has put doubt and despair in their hearts. But, just as it is for many of us, it’s not that simple. Everything they’ve survived and overcome makes that big, looming question of ‘What now?’ all the more vital–many are living not just for themselves, but as the legacies of those who came before. It’s the classic JRPG plot tangled up in the very tomorrows we so easily to take for granted, and it’s supported by the bittersweet social links you’ll forge with the citizens of Iwatodai who are all facing struggles of their own, be it the loss of innocence or a loved one.
All in all, Persona 3 Reload is a beautifully complex experience that will keep you thinking (and feeling) deeply about the fleeting nature of life, what living means to you, and how we can make the most of our short time with the people we hold dearest. I highly recommend it if you’re in the market for a big, story-rich game. Who knows? It may even inspire you to try something new or take that chance you’ve been nervously weighting the pros and cons of. As the game itself so beautifully puts it, “You don’t have to save the world to find meaning in life… Sometimes all you need is something simple.” Life is what you make it, you beautiful, irreplaceable human–so keep on living it. And thank you for being you.
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