Persona 3 is a significant title in the Shin Megami Tensei series, having gone through four different reiterations since its original release in 2006.
With each new version, Atlus has introduced countless new features and changes, attempting to offer players fresh new experiences while maintaining the overall story and vibe.
In this article, I’ll be comparing each version of the game, noting any major differences and explaining their strengths and weaknesses.
Original Persona 3 (2006):
Persona 3 is a JRPG (Japanese role-playing game) set in a world where select characters are able to summon powerful manifestations of their psyche known as Personas. They use these Personas to fight shadow beings.
Offering players a unique blend of JRPG dungeon crawling and social simulation, Persona 3 was well-received in both Japan and North America.
Persona 3 FES (2007):
Shortly after the success of the original game, Atlus pushed out Persona 3 FES, an expanded and enhanced version of the game with brand-new endgame content. The most notable and significant change was “The Answer,” an epilogue chapter that continued the story after the original game’s ending.
While many criticized “The Answer” for being boring, I thought it was amazing. While I agree that the gameplay in this chapter wasn’t the best, it gave me the closure I desperately needed after finishing the original game, and expanded on it beautifully.
Aside from “The Answer,” FES also introduced a much-needed gameplay enhancement that allowed players the ability to control party members directly in battle.
Persona 3 Portable (2010):
P3P (Persona 3 Portable) was originally released shortly after the release of Persona 4, featuring numerous quality-of-life improvements that fans suggested after Persona 3 FES’ release.
Out of all four variations of Persona 3, P3P has the most obvious differences from the other versions. Instead of the fully animated cutscenes and 3D environments, P3P replaces both with 2D, AI-enhanced backgrounds. It also adds a completely separate female protagonist which includes several new characters, altered dialogues, and several new ending scenes.
Persona 3 Reload (2024):
Released February 2, 2024, Persona fans have anticipated this remake for months.
While Persona 3 Reload is not the definitive version of the game, it is exciting to see one of ATLUS’ fan favorites get a complete remaster.
While it is missing key aspects of both FES and Portable, it is by far the smoothest way to experience Persona 3, with fully voiced and fully animated cutscenes, as well as completely remastered character sprites.
While I wish that Reload had adopted more of FES and Portable’s features such as “The Answer,” or a female protagonist, I believe that Reload is by far one of the best remastered versions of a game I’ve ever played before.
With all these versions and improvements in mind, I’m excited to see what ATLUS will develop next.
