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Persona 3 Reload | Review Thread

Paltheos

Member
Why not? It has the best setting of all the Persona games, and now it's modernized like P5. If that game was 95+ why not this one?

I'm with you on a generally high score - Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4 both came out last year to 94 and 93 averages, and Persona's in the 'good graces' zone for reviewers - but P3's always been a little off kilter, not quite normie enough in its sensibilities to become a darling.

Going just off the original I don't think it deserves it either (and neither does P5), but I'm interested in seeing how P3 feels with a fresh coat of paint and its many technical shortcomings washed away. I liked FES's story, more than I did P5R, so I'm optimistic about Reload.
 

Kataploom

Gold Member
I'm taking a break from gaming since I'm doing other stuff (reading, going out, etc.) but this coming to game pass can change things... Damn...
 

Belthazar

Member
Seems like a great way to play P3, but I can't justify the $70 pricetag. I'll definitely get it 1hen it's under $30 or on PS+.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I don't care about reviews per say, but I was just wondering why it scored lower than P5R?
I like all them but people have their favourites, some like P4 for more laid back nature and some like P5 more and some like P3 more.

One thing i like about P5 compare to P3&4 is you fight Demons instead of Shadows and Demons is one of the big reason why I got in to SMT and Persona in the first place.
 
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StereoVsn

Member
I like all them but people have their favourites, some like P4 for more laid back nature and some like P5 more and some like P3 more.

One thing i like about P5 compare to P3&4 is you fight Demons instead of Shadows and Demons is one of the big reason why I got in to SMT and Persona in the first place.
Additionally Tartarus is just kind of boring. P5 has a lot more variety to its dungeons despite their own faults.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Additionally Tartarus is just kind of boring. P5 has a lot more variety to its dungeons despite their own faults.
Persona 3 had Full moon story quest and Tartarus and Persona 5 also it Palaces for main story and mementos which functioned like Tartarus and similar to Tartarus to you eventually had to reach the end for story reason.
 
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Baki

Member
I will happily play this on GP.

Now that the game comes out on Game Pass, i'm for sure gonna try it out. Looking foward to my first Persona game.

Same. I hope it's on there long enough for me to complete the game. I'm a slow gamer.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I’ll check it out since it’s on GamePass. Wouldn’t bother otherwise, didn’t care too much for P5.

Persona 3 is (mostly/widely) regarded as the best story of the 3/4/5 trilogy, so you might find this more fun than P5.
 

iCodec

Member
I may be seeing this in the context of the flat lighting they explain in the Digital Foundry review, but after watching it, does anyone else see that the gritty, gloomy vibe is missing from this remake?
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I may be seeing this in the context of the flat lighting they explain in the Digital Foundry review, but after watching it, does anyone else see that the gritty, gloomy vibe is missing from this remake?

The Dormitory definitely looks overly-bright compared to OG Persona 3. But other places look more or less similar, aesthetically.

It's probably a design choice. Tartarus has plenty of dark/moody lit areas based on the videos we've seen, so it's not an engine limitation.
 

Topher

Gold Member
I don't care about reviews per say, but I was just wondering why it scored lower than P5R?

P5 was the first new Persona in a quite a while and it brought a lot of new stuff to the table, whereas this remake is still P3 at its core and has seen a few iterations. Just not nearly as much hype around P3R as there was P5.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Advice, if you played past Persona game and familiar with the combat system, play it on hard.....I think some of the new combat feature will gonna make much easier.
 

amigastar

Member
I will happily play this on GP.



Same. I hope it's on there long enough for me to complete the game. I'm a slow gamer.
I'm sure it will stay there for a while so no worries.
Typically they stay there for at least 12 -18 months.
 
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Sorcerer

Member
What do you all think? Fez and Portable will be separate games 2 years apart or as DLC for the existing game? A shame they could not bring it out all at once, but this is modern day Atlus. Well maybe that's not fair, Sega maybe pulling those strings. I hear new game+ in the new Yakuza is part of a higher priced bundle not included in the base game.
Are remakes of 1 and 2 (Eternal Punishment was amazing) on the cards, or are they too relicy for Atlus to consider? The series took off with 3 from what I remember, maybe the fan base would not be so receptive to the earlier games. I guess Innocent Sin would be its own game as well and not bundled with Eternal Punishment.
 
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StereoVsn

Member
Persona 3 had Full moon story quest and Tartarus and Persona 5 also it Palaces for main story and mementos which functioned like Tartarus and similar to Tartarus to you eventually had to reach the end for story reason.
Tartarus is fairly random made up from similarly looking tiles.

P5(R) has a whole bunch of custom made dungeons that can take hours to clear. It’s a huge difference.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Tartarus is fairly random made up from similarly looking tiles.

P5(R) has a whole bunch of custom made dungeons that can take hours to clear. It’s a huge difference.
I'm talking about main story during the full Moon that mostly take place outside of Tartarus.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Was there any doubt Persona team would deliver the goods? 2024 off to a roaring start and Japan is leading the charge 👌
The original Persona team (Hashino) are now....
2907708-logo.jpg
 

Shifty1897

Member
4K60 on current gen consoles with ray traced reflections is great, but the environmental lighting is awful in places like the dorm (way worse than the original PS2 version) and the nightclub area bizarrely has everyone frozen mid dance. It almost looks like a bug. It looks absolutely awful because of this. I understand it might have been hard to animate everyone dancing for one area but surely any other solution (just make it super dark or something ffs) would be better than this. I hope they get enough shit about this to go back and patch it.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Not as good perhaps?1
Series like Persona solely depend each individual person....Everyone has their own favourite Persona.

For example when it comes to combat and gameplay Persona 4 was better than original Persona 3 but there people prefer P3 simply because they like atmosphere and character more compare to P4.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
The game is live on Game Pass PC/Console in the US now as well.





--

Some captures from my console. Feels strange, aesthetically it looks very similar to the PS2 original but everything is updated to Persona 5 levels, including models and environments.


Z0ylx5H.jpeg


IHyaJnt.png


9GBI7de.jpeg


uIjIQ8a.jpeg
 
Only played for 2 hours and can already say it's better. This theme is darker and more like SMT than the other modern Persona games.
You have no idea what's coming wew

Yes, P3 was the first of the 'modern era' of Persona and it's by far the closest in tone and story to the 'classic' era of Persona and also to the mainline SMT series

Starting with P4 and then further on with P5, Persona became a generic shounen JRPG series
 

Thief1987

Member
You have no idea what's coming wew

Yes, P3 was the first of the 'modern era' of Persona and it's by far the closest in tone and story to the 'classic' era of Persona and also to the mainline SMT series

Starting with P4 and then further on with P5, Persona became a generic shounen JRPG series
So you want to say that it's full of "dark", "mature" or whatever garbage? Thanks, you saved me money
 
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cireza

Member
I reviewed the game for French website Sega-Mag. It is definitely a strong entry, with the same level quality/polish that we saw in P5R.

Having played P3 P4 and P5, I still find the dungeons section really poor and repetitive (and enemy design is really poor in this game), and I am quite sure that people play these games because they enjoy the social parts first and foremost. It has this comfy feeling, after a day of work or whatever, of going back into an immersive world with people you get to know after tenths of hours of playing.

However, the dungeons and battles are frankly super boring en repetitive, and the issue is that it tends to drag. You can't cut spells or the all out assault. I have listened hundreds of times the same first minute of the battle theme song, and I had to turn down the volume to avoid getting crazy. P3 still is much more bearable than P5 as far as dungeons are concerned. P5 was constantly interrupting you with explanations and shit and every little thing took ages... Here at least you get your hundreds of randomized levels and you don't have too much interruption along the way.

Persona games are highly casual games, targeting an audience that has little experience in RPGs and they never want to lose the player. You are constantly being reminding what you should do etc... Good for casuals, but as an experienced RPG player, it has become difficult having to endure the super slow pacing and constant hand-holding. Interesting bits are way too far apart. And I tried Difficult mode (rather than Normal) but did not see any changes in weaknesses. Enemies simply hit harder and had more life, which led to battles dragging even more.

Might sound negative, but as stated, this will be enjoyable for more casual play and its social aspects and still gave it a very strong score.
 
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xrnzaaas

Member
This may be a little OT - what would you guys recommend to someone who's about 1/3-1/2 done with the PS4 remaster of the PSP version? Abandon it and go for Reload? I haven't played any other version of P3.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
This may be a little OT - what would you guys recommend to someone who's about 1/3-1/2 done with the PS4 remaster of the PSP version? Abandon it and go for Reload? I haven't played any other version of P3.
Absolutely, PSP version cuts too much from atmosphere and 3d exploration of school and the city.
 

Skelterz

Member
My copy arrived today but I can’t dig in just yet I’m going to a friends this evening, social links in real life take priority 😂.
 

Shifty1897

Member
Played the first few minutes on game pass, what the hell is this depressed atmosphere? closed immediately and will probably never reopen it
Videogames should be fun
You mean the mature-rated game where the marketing material is full of kids putting guns to their heads and pulling the trigger isn't a fairytale romp through wonderland?
Is P4 getting the same treatment (remake/remaster, whatever you want to call this) eventually?
Pure speculation, but I don't think they will at the moment. Persona 4 Golden is available on modern consoles and still holds up today.
 

StereoVsn

Member
The game is live on Game Pass PC/Console in the US now as well.





--

Some captures from my console. Feels strange, aesthetically it looks very similar to the PS2 original but everything is updated to Persona 5 levels, including models and environments.


Z0ylx5H.jpeg


IHyaJnt.png


9GBI7de.jpeg


uIjIQ8a.jpeg

Yeah, it doesn’t look too bad but I agree with DF, lighting is too bright in a lot of places.
 
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