In many ways, Persona 3 was a pivotal release for Atlus. It straddles the line between Atlus’ classic era and its modern one, and set the Persona series on the path that would ultimately lead to its mainstream success. It’s not surprising that Atlus decided to revisit it last year with Persona 3 Reload, a full remake of the original 2006 PlayStation 2 game. While the game skipped a Switch launch at the time, it wasn’t hard to imagine it did so with the Switch 2 in mind. After all, it’s better to do this kind of thing with fewer compromises, right?
I’m going to get to the meat first. I’m not the technical wizard some reviewers are, and I tend to focus more on the experience as a whole than try to pretend I can separate all of the nuances of that kind of discussion. For a performance issue to really bother me, it has to be extremely obvious. Persona 3 Reload, particularly in handheld mode, has some problems. While the basic framerate seems fine enough, the frame pacing can get pretty dicey at times. If it were confined to locations like the school, I probably wouldn’t fuss too much about it, but it also happens in Tartarus, so you’re going to be seeing it a lot.
It doesn’t completely ruin the experience, but those who are sensitive to disruptions in performance might have a rough time with Persona 3 Reload on Switch 2 in handheld mode. It’s better docked, but still a little disappointing. Atlus’ Switch 2 port of Raidou was excellent, and I was hoping to see the same level of quality here. All we can do at this point is hope that it’s something that can be patched up later on. For now, the port is what it is. It’s not unplayable by any means, but it should have been better.
Amusingly, this isn’t even the first Persona 3 remake for the Switch ecosystem. A few years ago, Persona 3 Portable hit the original Switch along with Persona 4 Golden. That was originally a PlayStation Portable remake of the PlayStation 2 game, which itself had an updated second release in the form of Persona 3 FES. That makes this the fourth distinct release of Persona 3, and while one would hope it would be the definitive one, I can’t say that’s the case. This game is in one of those situations where we might never see a definitive release.
What I can say is that, setting aside performance issues, this is probably the most approachable version of Persona 3 so far. Does it have everything from previous releases of the game? Unfortunately, no. You can get a remake of the FES extra goodies via a paid DLC, so that part is covered. The female main character from Persona 3 Portable remains missing in action, however, and that means that side of the story is still confined to the other version of the game you can play on your Switch 2. You’re getting the base Persona 3 story here, with The Answer available if you feel like dropping some further dough.
Persona 3 Reload is essentially Persona 3 given a Persona 5 makeover. Not just in terms of presentation, though there is obviously that. All the familiar places and people look great here, and the arranged music tracks are awesome. The UI has also been given a stylish overhaul, and it was already pretty easy on the eyes to start with. But the more significant changes come in the gameplay, with numerous quality-of-life additions, new activities, and new systems implemented. Back when the original Persona 3 came out, Atlus games had a very limited scope by necessity. Largely free of such concerns and with a lot more experience under the team’s belt, Persona 3 Reload is a far fuller and more well-balanced experience.
If you haven’t played Persona 3 before, you’re in for a treat both in terms of story and gameplay. The main character is a new transfer student to Gekkoukan High School, a totally normal place where nothing weird ever happens. He moves into a dormitory, which also probably has nothing weird going on with it or its residents. After a couple of relatively normal days of school, where he is made to suffer a buffoon in a ball cap, some spooky things happen. It only escalates from there! All joking aside, I’ve always liked Persona 3’s story the best of the more recent bunch, and it’s great to see it retold in such a fancy way.
The gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has played the later Persona games. By day, you engage in various activities to improve your stats or strengthen your Social Links with others. By night, you fight against creepy-crawlies in a massive dungeon. These two gameplay halves feed into each other, making for a highly compelling package. Since the game progresses day by day, it’s easy to digest it in bigger or smaller chunks as needed. This structure also makes it easier to plan how you want to do things, and there are some new features in this remake that make it a little bit harder to completely mess things up. It’s a great RPG, and this remake helps it shine its brightest.
I really wish that the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Persona 3 Reload didn’t have the technical problems it does. Without them, this would be a slam-dunk recommendation for any and all RPG fans. With them, I have to load that endorsement with a number of conditions. If you’re planning to play mainly in handheld mode and are even lightly sensitive to frame pacing or stuttering, you might want to hold off for a performance update. Those looking to play in docked mode will have a more tolerable time of it. Persona 3 Reload is an excellent RPG, but you might want to play it elsewhere if you have the option.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review copy provided by ATLUS
