Inside the genre of story games, the Persona series is one of the most well-known and well-respected. Though even in the Persona series, there is one game that stands out above all the others. This would be Persona 3 (P3), released July 13, 2006.
P3 is a tragedy about death and life, and what both of them mean to people. There are four versions of P3, being the original, P3 Portable, P3 FES, and P3 Reload. Each of them have slightly different content, but all follow the central story.
The game shares its message of living life to its fullest, because one day you will die. Because of the nature of the game, it will include depictions of blood, death, and suicide. If any of these topics make you feel uncomfortable, playing the game is not recommended.
The cast is one of the best in the series, being the most developed and very closely linked to the main story. The cast consists of the main character, male or female, and nine other characters. The supporting cast can change depending on whether or not you are playing the main game or the epilogue, “The Answer.” The Answer provides a more complete ending and changes the main character.
One of the only downsides is something it shares with its other Persona games, being its length and how much dialogue you need to get through. It takes 60 to 80 hours to beat, and 100 to 140 hours to get through 100 percent of all content.
Two versions of the game, the first P3 and P3 Portable, make it so that you cannot control certain characters you would normally be able to. This means the three other party members are fully controlled by AI, making combat significantly worse.
The original version of P3 is the least modern version, but still incredible. It is available on the PlayStation 2 and costs around $30. It provides less content than the other versions but it is the purest way to play the game.
P3 Portable is the more available version of the game. It cuts multiple things, like animations and 3D areas. But it does add the option for the playable character to be female, making changes to character interactions, story beats, and more generally allows for more representation. It costs $20 and can be bought on the Nintendo Switch, PC, and the consoles the original game can be bought on.
P3 FES is one of the better versions of the game to start with. It has upgraded graphics and mechanics, allowing full control over your party. Unfortunately, you will either need an emulator or PlayStation 2 or 3 to play it, and it will cost $30 on both PlayStations, making it very gated off.
P3 Reload is the most modern and easiest version of the game, released Feb. 1, 2024. It has upgraded graphics, animation, music, and the most amount of voiced lines. It is available on the Xbox One and Series X, the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and PC. It costs $70 and “Episode Aigis,” the reworked version of The Answer that has been added to P3 Reload, costs $35 but both are free with Xbox Game Pass.
Finally, The Answer or Episode Aigis. They share a narrative and provide an epilogue for all the characters after the main story. They are just as good as a post-game could be and are the proper conclusion for the story of the game. The Answer is only playable on P3 FES and Episode Aigis on Persona 3 Reload, and it is $35 on the latter.
Overall, no matter which version you play, Persona 3 is one of the best story games and possibly the best game ever made. It is worth all the money for the experience and the amount of time you can put into the game, especially if you are a fan of story games.
