Persona 3 Reload review: Persona 5’s influence continues to homogenize

Persona 3 was all the time a little bit of a black sheep. It established the inspiration for the RPG sequence we all know as we speak, however its oppressive ambiance and bleak storylines had been a far cry from the flash and verve of the video games that adopted. With Persona 3 Reload, Atlus revisits the previous, however it does so within the shadow of the sequence’ most approachable sport — Persona 5 looms over its predecessors nonetheless, and Reload makes that extra obvious than ever.

Reload begins with a excessive schooler experiencing one thing referred to as “the Darkish Hour.” Throughout this twenty fifth hour every day, streets turn into stuffed with coffins and enemies referred to as Shadows, whereas a towering construction referred to as Tartarus looms over the island. Whenever you’re not attending faculty and establishing bonds with folks in a calendar-based construction, you ascend Tartarus with the assistance of the Specialised Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES), exploring ground by ground. Throughout nights with a full moon, you battle in opposition to quite a lot of otherworldly bosses.

Persona 3 Reload is, by and huge, devoted to its roots. The principle story occasions, in addition to characters and places, are all current. It’s necessary to notice that his trendy rendition is constructed upon the unique launch, thus missing the primary additions of its newer variations. (Persona 3 FES, for instance, has a playable epilogue that expands the story past the unique ending, whereas Persona 3 Moveable allows you to select a feminine protagonist, along with her personal dialogue choices and relationships to nurture.)

Picture: Atlus/Sega through Polygon

Nonetheless, Reload does take some liberties: New actions assist to interrupt up the calendar-based schedule of Persona 3, which might be monotonous or comforting, relying on whom you ask. Buying software program applications at a web café and URLs from an informant make for enjoyable use of the brand new desktop pc within the dorm’s lounge, and I liked watching a documentary a few wolf pack with Koromaru, the canine member of the group. These actions are filled with allure and humorous moments. In the event you’re like me and also you solely skilled the Moveable model of Persona 3 beforehand, wherein a extra hands-off construction could make it really feel like a visible novel with occasional fight, Reload’s higher pacing ought to really feel like a day-and-night distinction.

Since that is an RPG, and likewise a Persona sport, stated social outings web you with an array of rewards, feeding into Reload’s new character synergies. It’s right here the place the affect of Persona 5 — and Persona 5 Royal — permeates this remake. There’s a makeshift backyard on the rooftop of the dorm the place you may plant veggies and produce gadgets to make use of throughout fight. Moreover, tending to the backyard with totally different characters amplifies the results of the harvest. Over on the lounge, you may meal prep within the kitchen, incomes comparable buffs for upcoming battles. Other than gadgets and factors towards your social stats, subsequent encounters finally grant the characters passive talents, referred to as Traits, that are associated to the brand new Theurgy system.

As you battle by the flooring of Tartarus, Persona 3’s sprawling community of dungeons, Theurgy talents enable for a particular assault after step by step assembly sure standards — exploiting enemy weaknesses with Koromaru, utilizing assist abilities with fellow faculty scholar Yukari, and so forth. As soon as the meter is full, you may activate stated energy, which performs out in a flashy cutscene à la Royal’s Showtime assaults.

Picture: Atlus/Sega through Polygon

On paper, these additions are a testomony to how far the Persona sequence has come, refining previous mechanics with every entry over time. In an interview with 4Gamer, director Takuya Yamaguchi stated that Persona 5 has turn into the usual for the way the sequence performs for present followers. This influenced the design of Reload throughout growth, however it can be seen elsewhere in Atlus’ catalog. Soul Hackers 2 follows an analogous components, but does too little to construct upon the cult standing of its predecessor. Shin Megami Tensei 5, as an alternative, was dealt a touch-up for followers with trendy RPG sensibilities to choose up and play. However it doesn’t shrink back from custom — it’s as punishing and combat-centric because the SMTs earlier than it.

In distinction, the affect of Persona 5’s conceits leaves Persona 3 Reload in a state of interior battle. The story, and themes, do many of the heavy lifting in sustaining a semblance of distinctive identification. It’s placing but memorable to discover such a bleak world, with excessive schoolers always proven taking pictures themselves within the head with (faux) weapons, a police officer serving as the primary weapons vendor, and character arcs that don’t precisely lead to happily-ever-after outcomes. Sadly, the tone is continually compromised by a presentation that’s too colourful, flashy, and refined for this materials, pushing for spectacle and constancy over grit or ambiance. It brings sophistication to an ambiance initially famend for its grim trappings.

This obsession with modernization additionally rectifies the dearth of hand-holding within the unique, which made for attention-grabbing friction that discouraged min-maxing. When wanting on the overworld or your minimap, most social hyperlinks and requests are routinely marked for you. In the event you’re uncertain of what to do after faculty, your cellphone now acts just like the one in Persona 5 and even Grand Theft Auto 5, itemizing SMS messages from confidants inviting you to hang around or mailing-list advertisements from eating places reminding you of part-time jobs and different actions. If interacting with multiple menu sounds exhausting, you may simply choose a notification and routinely fast-travel to the spot. Positive, social outings had been usually obtuse initially, however there’s little sense of discovery now — Atlus has overcompensated and made issues too easy. Like Royal, the whole lot turns into a guidelines to promptly deal with and transfer on.

Picture: Atlus/Sega through Polygon

The dungeon-crawling of Tartarus, maybe Persona 3’s most outdated side, is shinier now, however simply as empty and repetitive to navigate. Characters now speak to at least one one other extra usually, and there’s some synthetic selection added in with breakable objects that generally grant loot. However the whole lot else has been streamlined. The fatigue system is gone, which implies nothing is stopping you from tackling new units of flooring within the dungeon on the primary day they’re unlocked. Whereas your crew doesn’t achieve expertise until they’re in your occasion, grinding isn’t as obligatory anymore. After spending a brand new in-game foreign money to open particular chests, there’s an opportunity to unlock a further room in which you’ll be able to enhance the extent of two characters at a time to meet up with the remainder.

In recent times, Atlus appears decided to take away a big a part of the character from the sequence in its obsessive pursuit to capitalize on Persona 5. The success of the fifth entry is properly regarded, however its reputation has resulted in a tidal wave, retroactively rippling by its lineage with blended outcomes. No matter what number of refinements are made, the fatigue of Persona 5-likes is beginning to set in. It’s unlucky that Persona 3 is being delivered to the highlight below these new standardized standards — in any case these years, it’s turning into simply one other sheep within the herd.

Persona 3 Reload might be launched on Feb. 2 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Sequence X. The sport was reviewed on Xbox utilizing a pre-release obtain code supplied by Sega. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media might earn commissions for merchandise bought through affiliate hyperlinks. You will discover extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.