4/5 ★ – DeltaCanuckian's review of Persona 3 Portable.

After reviving my childhood PSP with a new battery and custom firmware, one of the first games I played was Persona 3 Portable. My experience with the Persona series prior to this game was limited to Persona 5, so this was an interesting trip back in time to the game that sort of set the blueprint for what its sequels would be. Persona 3 features a main cast of characters you'll quickly fall in love with as you spend your mornings, afternoons, and evenings with them. These characters carry you through the 100+ hour experience, a story that honestly feels significantly more mature than what most games of the time attempted to tackle on a thematic level. That said, some of the secondary characters are a bit more hit-or-miss, with some very much showing the age of the game and leaning into some problematic tropes. Iwatodai and Gekkoukan High also provide a cozy backdrop for you as you uncover the mystery of Tartarus, the Shadows, and the Dark Hour with the rest of your friends and dormmates. As great as the cast and setting are, the game does get a little long in the tooth as Tartarus isn't the most varied or engaging dungeon to crawl through for 100+ hours. The visuals of the dungeon change every 20 to 40 floors along with some new enemy variations, but little else changes as you grind you way to the top. One of the major advantages of Persona 3 Portable is that full party control is enabled, compared to the PS2 releases that only allow you to control the player character. It's a welcome change that will make P3P easier to pick up for anyone more familiar with later entries in the series. Another big addition is the option to play as the Female Protagonist, something that remixes the story in some fairly significant ways. I didn't play this route and can't speak to any of it first hand, but it is a huge addition that begs for a second playthrough. The PSP version of Persona 3 does have one major component that falls behind the PS2 version, and that is the visual novel presentation of its story and dialogue scenes. For the most part, it does the job. The voice acting is stellar all around and convey all the right emotional beats. Unfortunately a number of major story moments that received fully animated cutscenes in the PS2 release lose a lot of their impact when presented in visual novel form. I found even the ending of the game a touch confusing on its own, only cleared up upon viewing the cutscenes from the PS2 version online after. It's an unfortunate concession for the handheld release, but thankfully doesn't ruin the experience. It's difficult to say which version of Persona 3 is best to play, as they all have notable pros and cons. I really enjoyed my time with Persona 3, and having it on my PSP with me at all times was a huge part of that experience. Hopefully the rumours of a full remake are true, and we receive a truly definitive version of Persona 3 one day soon.