If everything goes according to plan, by the time this article is released I’ll already be knee deep into the remake having a fantastic time revisiting the game that defined my younger years. Here’s hoping no cuckery happens to my plots during the Dark Hour. If you believe Amazon, Persona 3 Reload is currently the #1 trending game selling in the PS5 category so it appears I’m not the only one about to bust a nut or two. I already talked about why this game is so important to me in the past , but I realized I wanted to yap about it one more time upon its release before shutting my mouth. So today I want to establish what it formulated for the series.
Lots of people know Persona for its social links mechanics. Guess where that aspect was refined into the system we know today baby? That’s right, hanging out with a drunk monk after school in Persona 3. Others are more familiar with the series due to its iconic plots and characters. Well I hate to break it to you, but this game basically laid down the entire foundation of Persona 4 and Persona 5 plot wise. They practically follow the exact same story beats. You’re a guy without parents around, you meet a group of friends, you fight shadows, you learn more about the shadows and add new party members, you suffer a big betrayal, your knowledge of the shadows is recontextualized, and you fight a god of [insert game’s theme here] at the end. Honestly, the story beats have remained the same for so long I’m crossing my fingers that Persona 6 is going to come in swinging with some fresh plot ideas and shake up the standard a bit. For now though I actually don’t want that at all with this remake outside of some small enhancements. In other words, don’t ruin my masterpiece Atlus. I’m already struggling enough to adjust to the new Akihiko who sounds 28 with a smoking addiction (no hate to the VA himself as I enjoy him in other roles, but Thug Akihiko ain’t doing it for my ears).
The voice fits this age, but we're currently in high school.
If you’ve enjoyed either of the later releases, chances are you’d enjoy checking out this remake because it laid the groundwork for so many of their systems and stories to thrive. The original Persona and Persona 2 also defined a bunch of aspects for sure, but I think it’s clear how Persona 3 sort of put the rest of the games on a set course, for better or worse. Have you played any of the Persona series? Are you peeping out this remake? What other games are you looking out for this year? Grab a gun, squad up with your friends, and face Death in the comments below!
