4.5/5 ★ – Jumpmanryan's review of Persona 3 Reload.

9.5 out of 10! Persona 3 Reload is a near perfect remake of one of the most impactful JRPGs of all-time. As a remake, there will be some inevitable criticisms regarding its lack of content from previous iterations. But as someone who is just judging the game based on what *is* in it rather than what’s not, I don’t think there are many missteps in terms of the remake of it all. Persona 3 Reload retains its absolutely phenomenal soundtrack, albeit with a good amount of remixes and some new tracks. All of it is great, but there’s probably some debate to be had as to which soundtrack is best between Reload and the original Persona 3. But, again, both soundtracks are incredible regardless. Reload moves the game in the modern engine that Persona 5 was developed within. This enhances the product quite a bit as everything looks so damn good. The animations are gorgeous and the UI / menus are absurdly beautiful. The cast of characters is nothing short of great as well. Persona 3 Reload does a weird thing where the male party members don’t have social links, and the female party members’ social links don’t open up until fairly deep into the game. That isn’t to say the males don’t have content of their own, though. Reload adds these link episodes for the males that really help expand on their character arcs. And all of the other social links are genuinely really great as well. They all help add to this overarching feeling of sadness and acceptance that really emphasizes the themes of Persona 3 Reload’s narrative. Speaking of the narrative, Persona 3 Reload remains one of the absolute greatest stories ever told in the video game medium. The impending march of the inevitable and the journey of life on the way hits so hard. There are *several* moments where the story takes a bold direction and it consistently pays off, both in terms of cohesion with the writing and theme of the game as well as emotionally. I broke down during the final 15-20 or so hours of my playthrough. There’s so much thought put into the dialogue from these characters and everything holds so much weight. It’s truly remarkable just how deeply impactful the narrative of death and life is conveyed here. These characters and this *story* are two of the most astounding feats I’ve experienced in video games. While the story and characters are incredible, I think that Persona 3 Reload has a few hiccups in the more gamey aspects. For one thing, Reload keeps Tartarus as a procedurally-generated super labyrinth in the same way the original did. There are a few changes here and there that help the progression feel less monotonous. But if you’ve played Persona 5, then it’s a noticeable step backwards from the handcrafted dungeon design we see there. Another small issue is the pacing. Persona 3 Reload has several moments where the pacing feels so uneven. The most noticeable time for me was in the early game. Once you join the SEES team, you get like an entire month and a half of free time without much direction at all regarding the story motivations or even what you’re supposed to be doing. The game just gives you too much free time right off the bat, and it feels disjointed to other, more impactful times in the game. There’s also the problem with free time in the final months. If you’re already finished with the only 2 evening time social links and you have your social stats maxed, you might not have anything to do. Luckily, Reload adds dorm activities, which make it better paced in this time than the original game. But once you’ve done enough of those, you’ll still inevitably have a good amount of free time with nothing to do other than go to bed early or repeat events. It’s another example of the pacing being a little bit off. All in all, I adored my time with Persona 3 Reload. I will never forget the characters and story of this entry in the series. Especially that ending. My god, the entire last few months endgame arc is unforgettable. I wish Reload was more polished and handcrafted in certain areas, though. If it was, then this remake could be in contention for my favorite game of all-time. But it’s just not there because of these tiny hiccups. Still though, Persona 3 Reload is an excellent journey.