Persona 3 Reload is a faithful remake of the 2006 original – and I loved it – but considering the remastered Persona 3 Portable was only released on Steam last year, you might wonder why Atlus chose to do so return to this source material soon.
In an interview with PC Gamer translated by Atlus West staff, Persona team general producer Kazuhisa Wada said that Persona 3 deserves the reload update to give modern audiences the opportunity to enjoy its outstanding story on modern specifications – and that the Strega villains deserved more time in the sun (and the dark hour).
“Good things don’t grow stale with time, and greatness doesn’t fade,” Wada said. “That's why I felt it was necessary, not only for us, but also for posterity, to keep the history and gaming experience of Persona 3 in a state in which it could be enjoyed with today's specifications – Persona 5 Royal level – and hardware can be.”
Persona 5 Royal's strong performance has only strengthened that desire. “We felt like a lot of these fans were playing the series for the first time,” Wada said. “That’s why we wanted them, as well as the fans who played the original Persona 3, to enjoy the ultimate experience of the game.”
The graphics, audio tracks and combat systems have been updated to modern standards. The story remains the same, with some notable changes. Summer beach scenes criticized for sexism and transphobia have been toned down.
“In our remake policy for creating a Natsukashiku mo atarashii [nostalgic yet new] “When producing Reload Persona 3, we took great care in determining which areas needed to be changed and how to adjust them,” said Wada. The characters and settings of the original remained largely untouched.
“Basic character designs and designs based on historical settings – e.g. B. cell phones – are areas where we wanted to stay true to the original,” he said. “Through revisions and minor adjustments, we have tried to maintain the original feel of Persona 3 Natsukashiku mo atarashiiand to give it a new recasting of the present.
With one major exception, the Strega gang's intriguing storylines have been beefed up.
“Something I've wanted to do since we made the original Persona 3 but never got around to it – I wanted to improve the portrayal of the Strega,” he said.
The Strega villains, whose name means “witch” in Italian, are a trio of Persona users like the main characters, although their powers are artificially created. They seek to preserve the Dark Hour and its deadly shadows in order to retain their own powers.
In Reload, the main character interacts more directly with the Strega trio and even fights alongside Takaya against a particularly strong shadow. The portrayal of the Stregas is much more nuanced in Reload than in the original.
“They are a very fascinating and enigmatic group of enemies,” Wada said. “So I wanted to make sure its backbone and ideology were conveyed, and I wanted our fans to feel the catharsis of the story by delving deeper into the subject matter.”
The result, like the rest of the update, feels like a new combat uniform for an old classic: a slick outfit that doesn't aspire to be a whole new style.
