Persona 3 Reload: The definitive version to immortalize a classic RPG
Atlus’ Persona series is one of the company’s most popular Shin Megami Tensei spin-offs. And the merits are not few, since what started with something very similar to the main series of games about making pacts with creatures, today Persona has its own identity and a greater popularity than its origin.
Persona 3 Reload is a very important remake, because because the original game was originally from 2006, many mechanics, visuals and dialogues have aged. And although the classic is still a valid recommendation, the remake manages to surpass it in practically every aspect.
Get ready for a great journey on the port island
In Persona 3, you take on the role of a silent protagonist arriving on the port island of Tatsumi. Right away you come across a very strange event where the streets change and are different from before and there are several coffins everywhere. And the character continues his journey to the dormitory where he will live and there he is received with a somewhat strange normality by the residents. And soon the events unfold in a somewhat cliché way, but Atlus gave its own style to the game’s story.
Almost all of the mechanics from the original game are present in Reload: Social Bonds, Tartarus, Personas and much more. But there are very significant changes beyond the visuals, and they are improvements that make the gameplay much more fluid.
Let me explain: in the classic Persona 3 there was a mechanic where the characters in your group, after participating in an expedition in Tartarus, were exhausted the next day, so the player was forced to use other available members if they wanted to explore the game’s dungeons further. In Reload this mechanic is removed and if the player just wants to play with their favorites, they can continue until the end. This is a very welcome change in my opinion, as it leaves the decision of whether to train the entire group or just a few to the player.
An extra ability was also added for each playable character, Theurgy. This ability is new to Persona 3 Reload and is also one of the most important changes in the remake, which makes fights against more challenging enemies a little less difficult, but without going overboard to the point of making it too easy. And of course there are many other improvements to combat, inherited from the well-known Persona 5 and which make the experience more current.
The improved visuals and soundtrack of Persona 3 Reload can attract the attention on streams
The most impactful thing about this update to a classic is certainly the visuals. All settings, character visuals and artwork have been updated to bring the game up to date. The player now has a much broader and clearer view of all the locations that can be visited during the game and Tartarus was also not left out of the update where the floor blocks also received a graphical improvement and their journeys to make the characters more strong becomes even more satisfying.
And speaking of Tartarus, the game’s dungeon received many additions to the gameplay, from removing the randomness of the cards that the player can choose at the end of fights to the addition of a large door where you can choose up to two characters so that they can ascend from level up to the protagonist’s current level. There are so many new features that I recommend players check them out so as not to spoil the surprise.
The soundtrack also received great attention, where the already known soundtracks were all re-recorded, but not only that and added new songs and a new opening theme (which makes a small mention of the original opening song).
As is standard with the Persona series, the music is very pleasant and together with the renewed visuals, I believe it is one of the biggest draws for anyone planning to stream the game. RPGs are usually very difficult to win over an audience on live streams, but there is a huge charm to the series that will leave a mark on many viewers.
And there is a lot of content to be explored in the game, even with the quality of life improvements, it is still common for the player to have to do a New Game Plus to maximize all Social Links and collect all available Personas.
In terms of performance, the game at launch did not present any performance problems and should not present any challenges to be broadcast live. The game is localized for several languages, which means that more people can check out this great game.
Persona 3 Reload
Summary
Persona 3 Reload is a must-have remake not only for fans of the series, but for all players who want a good story, excellent soundtrack, stylized graphics and many hours of fun. The game’s only challenge may be its RPG genre, which is not very popular for livestreams, but the game has so many good things that can attract the viewer’s attention to follow this great journey.