At Indonesia Comic Con 2023 a while ago, there was a SEGA booth that came to Indonesia for the first time to open an offline booth. Their inaugural event brought many exciting games to try, one of which was Persona 3 Reload.

Like Atlus' Persona and Shin Megami Tensei games before it, Persona 3 Reload is still a turn-based JRPG. As a remake game, there really aren't that many changes compared to Persona 3.

Given 15 minutes by SEGA to walk through Tartarus, there are some interesting things we can explore this time at the SEGA booth. Here are our initial impressions of Persona 3 Reload.

How is it different from the old Persona 3?

Many Persona fans may not realize that this game series was originally a spin-off of their mainline game Shin Megami Tensei. Unlike SMT, Persona focuses more on a lighter story and social links.

Perhaps the blend of JRPG, turn-based, and life/dating sim is the right combination from Atlus. Persona has also been a pioneer since the release of Persona 3 on PS2 considering Persona 1 and 2 were less popular.

Like other Persona games, where the plot is more or less the same: Wake up, go to school, date, kill God, then repeat, there is not much difference between Persona 3 and Persona 3 Reload or other Persona games.

In SEGA's booth session, we were given approximately 15 minutes to sample the combat of Persona 3 Reload. But the time given was not long enough, because there were still many things we wanted to explore during the demo session.

Because, in the Persona series itself, it is not combat that is the main attraction, but other features. Call it from art directions, original soundtracks, side characters, as well as the atmosphere brought to the game through world building. This is what makes Persona games have their own charm that makes them different.

But judging from the time given, the combat side feels not so different and quite exciting. Turn-based combat games with aesthetics that are still similar to Persona 3 will make you feel at home in Tartarus.

While playing, we noticed some interesting changes in the GUI and overall aesthetics of the game. It still carries more or less the same theme and the same major color choices, but this game feels very fresh as a remake game.

Even during battle, the game feels very smooth. Supported by a high frame rate if you play on a new gen console or PC, of course compared to the original Persona 3, this is one of the most noticeable changes.

The combat aesthetic is also impactful, with cut-ins that have solid animations as well as dynamic ones. Atlus also seems to have learned from Persona 5, where the poses of all playable characters are different, giving them more unique characteristics and depth.

Not only cut in, because one of the features of Persona that players like to use is the all-out attack, there is also a slight change in terms of aesthetics. All members now have a different finishing touch, again Atlus learned from Persona 5.

Overall from combat and aesthetics, Atlus here is very on point and looks to give the best. The potential of Persona 3 Reload from both sides is quite okay, and plus the high frame rate and support for 4K resolution.

But unfortunately, there is some unfortunate content missing. For those who don't know, Persona 3 Reload is a remake of Persona 3, not Persona 3 FES. The difference is from the existing content.

Perhaps it can be compared to Persona 4 and Persona 4 Golden, as well as Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. Persona 3 Reload is missing DLC content from FES, such as changing the protagonist's gender and also The Answer Epilogue.

The loss of this content is a bit puzzling, because in terms of remaking a game, it should take a game that has more features. But there's a good chance that Atlus wants to sell the missing content as DLC.

In addition to the loss of expansion content in FES, the rearrangement of music in Reload also feels less "hitting". The music in OG Persona 3 and Persona 3 FES has a strong feeling, so that players can continue to hype when playing.

In Persona 3 Reload, Yumi Kawamura was unfortunately replaced as the female vocalist in their music. It's not that Azumi Takahashi's performance is lacking, it's just that Yumi's strong and "jazzy" vocals are not present, and perhaps veteran players will feel something wrong and lacking in the music.

With music as one of the strongest mediums of Persona games, Yumi Kawamura's huge impact in Persona 3 and Persona 3 FES will certainly not be easily replaced. When playing also feels a little different, affecting the feel when playing.

Yes, that's a little preview from us about Persona 3 Reload. In general, in terms of combat Persona 3 Reload gets a much better upgrade than Persona 3 and Persona 3 FES. The slightly changed aesthetics are also not a problem, it even feels better.

But despite the exciting combat and aesthetics, it's a shame that Atlus cut the content in Persona 3 FES. Plus the re-arrangement of the music can't reach how iconic the OST from Persona 3 and Persona 3 FES is.

Persona 3 Reload will be released globally on February 2, 2024. The game will be released on Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, Microsoft Store, and Steam.

The game will also have a day one release on PC Gamepass, so you can play for free from day one.