September 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of the Persona series, and fans have high expectations after Atlus teased seven announcements coming over the course of the next year. There are plenty of new games, spinoffs, rereleases and adaptations that would get Persona fans excited, and one of the most highly-requested is a port or remake of Persona 3, the 2006 PlayStation 2 game that turned the series into what it is today.
While previous Persona games were more inline with the larger Shin Megami Tensei franchise, Persona 3 added the relationship building mechanics that the series is now best known for. However, while the game received two updated versions in Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable, neither can truly be considered the definitive way to play the game — something a remake or remaster should finally provide.
What a Persona 3 Remake Should Take From FES
Similar to Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal, Persona 3 FES is an enhanced rerelease that adds new endgame content. It splits the game into two sections, with the original game becoming “The Journey” followed by a new epilogue called “The Answer.” It begins a few weeks after the end of the main game and follows Aigis as she and the other members of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad find themselves trapped in a time loop and learn what truly happened to the protagonist after “The Journey.”
Though it received some criticism for removing the simulation aspects of the main game, “The Answer” absolutely needs to be part of any Persona 3 rerelease. It provides closure for both players and the characters they’ve already spent about 80 hours with while reinforcing the game’s central message. Persona 3 is a dark game about coping with death and finding reasons to live despite understanding one’s own mortality, and SEES’ decision at the end of “The Answer” serves as a powerful reminder to keep going.
What a Persona 3 Remake Should Take From Portable
While FES added “The Answer,” Persona 3 Portable made more significant changes to the game itself. Though many of these were downgrades implemented to allow the game to run on the PSP (such as removing the most 3D environments, eliminating the anime cutscenes and compressing the overall graphical and audio quality), some of them are important quality-of-life changes that improve the overall experience, particularly in terms of combat.
Since P3P released in 2009, a year after Persona 4, it was able to learn from that game’s battle system — most importantly, giving players the option to directly control all party members rather than relying on AI and tactics. This is standard is most modern RPGs, so its absence in a port would be disappointing and make it especially hard for newcomers to enjoy the game.
A rerelease of Persona 3 should also include P3P‘s female protagonist. This is the only Persona game to date that gives players this option (with some differences in the story and Social Links tied to the main character’s gender), though the exclusion of “The Answer” makes the female protagonist’s arc feel somewhat incomplete in comparison to her male counterpart. Ideally, a new version of Persona 3 would combine the overall quality and story content of FES with the options and quality-of-life improvements of P3P, finally providing fans with the ultimate way to play this incredible game.
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