History VideoGame / Persona3

A VideoGameRemake built on the UsefulNotes/UnrealEngine, ''VideoGame/Persona3Reload'', was announced on June 11th, 2023 and released on February 2, 2024 for PC, Platform/XboxOne, Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, Platform/PlayStation4, and Platform/PlayStation5. Although the game includes [[https://gbatemp.net/threads/persona-3-reload-wont-feature-the-answer-or-the-female-protagonist-will-have-some-fes-content.634479/ features and story elements]] from ''FES'' and ''Portable'', it does not feature ''[[PlayableEpilogue The Answer]]'' or the Female Protagonist.

** ''The Answer'' has a mistranslation that caused confusion for ''years''. [[spoiler:At one point, Junpei mentioned that he hesitated about going back in time to when Chidori died, regardless of whether the player saved her or not in ''The Journey''.]] In the Japanese version, Junpei does not namedrop at all and uses ''aitsu'' which is a vague way to address "that person." [[spoiler:Since the context is that everyone is talking about the MC from ''The Journey'' using the similar way of addressing, he is in fact talking about him.]] It makes sense that he became enthusiastic in ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax''. In hindsight, the localization made the namedrop stick out like a sore thumb for not connecting to the conversation at all.

** ''Innocent Sin Online'' (and the accompanying player names Maya and Tatsuya) is one big ShoutOut to the characters of ''VideoGame/Persona2'' and the locations in ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}'' (and was originally a ShoutOut to ''Megami Tensei'', the game that started it all). Also, several fusions (particularly the ones that Elizabeth requests) are those of key characters from other ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei MegaTen]]'' games; Alice and Lilith, for example, were important characters in ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei''.

** Speaking of ''VideoGame/Persona2'', the Reaper bears a particularly strong resemblance to JOKER[[spoiler: aka Tatsuya Sudou from ''Eternal Punishment.'']] Both wear a very similar (although the Reaper's is significantly more bloody) trench coat/overcoat. Like how JOKER wore a paper bag on his head, the Reaper wears a sack on his head. Most notable of all, [[spoiler: the Reaper appears to be missing the same eye that Tatsuya lost moments before his death.]]

** In the UpdatedRerelease that's Portable, there's a few references to VideoGame/Persona4. One that won't be apparent to many is the fact that Ken's favorite food is the exact same one as his fellow Justice Arcana Nanako.

** Reload
*** ''Reload,'' introduces a new feature called Rewind, which allows the player to turn back the clock to a point where they could free roam and essentially correct any mistakes with Social Links, leveling/grinding, or Social Stat raising that were made.
*** Social Links are by and large much easier, and less awkward for the player, as while they can still Reverse from neglect, they will not break. Additionally, romance is optional, just like in later ''Persona'' installments, although you can still create a harem if you wish.

** As a way to limit your [[LevelGrinding grinding]], your characters will eventually grow tired within Tartarus as you keep winning battles, thus their aim will worsen and they will get hit more often. This is a good point to call it a night, but for the persistent, characters will eventually go from "Tired" to "Sick", at which point not only will they have a higher chance of eating a CriticalHit, any healing cast on them is less effective. As soon as you return to the entrance, any tired characters leave automatically. However, the day right before a Full Moon Boss, as a way to stop the game from potentially becoming {{Unwinnable}}, this feature is removed, allowing you to train all you want. [[spoiler:Well, excepting November]]. It was slightly changed in ''Persona 3 Portable'': Characters will mention being tired between battles, and [[MissionControl Fuuka or Mitsuru]] will comment about how you must be getting tired, but the actual 'Tired' status won't kick in until the next day. In ''Reload,'' while Mitsuru and Fuuka will still comment on you getting tired while in Tartarus, there is no condition mechanic.

*** The "tired" mechanic was revised in ''[=P3P=]'' so that you only get tired the next day rather than in the middle of the dungeon. And if you needed to be in better condition right afterwards, you can use "Yawn-B-Gone" to cure the Tired state immediately.
*** In ''Portable'' (and only in ''Portable''), you could now assign individual commands to all of your party members, like in ''Persona 4'', whereas before, you could only assign tactics to each party member, leaving you at the whims of an occasionally unreliable A.I.
*** In the [=PS2=] versions, you can only change the protagonist's equipment and can only use the protagonist's skills through the menu - if you want to change other character's equipment or have them use healing skills, you have to speak to them out of battle (and sometimes other characters will even change their equipment on their own, though they always warn the player if they do). This has a side effect of character's equipment not being changeable outside of Tartarus/Full Moon nights. In ''Portable'', other character's equipment is now changeable from the menu, and the player can also use other character's healing skills from the menu.

** As a way to limit your [[LevelGrinding grinding]], your characters will eventually grow tired within Tartarus as you keep winning battles, thus their aim will worsen and they will get hit more often. This is a good point to call it a night, but for the persistent, characters will eventually go from "Tired" to "Sick", at which point not only will they have a higher chance of eating a CriticalHit, any healing cast on them is less effective. As soon as you return to the entrance, any tired characters leave automatically. However, the day right before a Full Moon Boss, as a way to stop the game from potentially becoming {{Unwinnable}}, this feature is removed, allowing you to train all you want. [[spoiler:Well, excepting November]]. It was slightly changed in ''Persona 3 Portable'': Characters will mention being tired between battles, and [[MissionControl Fuuka or Mitsuru]] will comment about how you must be getting tired, but the actual 'Tired' status won't kick in until the next day.

** The [[spoiler:Velvet Room theme]] gets an epic rock remix for the final boss, "[[spoiler:The Battle for Everyone's Souls]]".

** While Elizabeth isn't evil, she is still [[OptionalBoss one of the most deadly foes in the game]] and the motivations of her and Igor are left highly ambiguous. However in the UpdatedRerelease, the protagonist has the delightful option of escorting [[DarkMagicalGirl the princess of darkness]] around town on several innocent dates where Elizabeth's [[NoSocialSkills lack of knowledge on human social behaviour]] causes [[HilarityEnsues hilarity to ensue]]. For bonus points, [[DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu you even get to sleep with her]], and unlike the other romance options, there is no doubt whatsoever what happened during the FadeToBlack.

** Put Akihiko and Ken together in a party with a female protagonist who's become lovers with both of them. HilarityEnsues, compounded further if the fourth party member is Junpei.

* OjouRinglets: Mitsuru, up until junior high, as seen in ''FES'''s flashbacks. Even in high school, she keeps one loose curl.

* OjouRinglets: Mitsuru, up until junior high, as seen in ''FES'''s flashbacks. Even in high school, she keeps one loose curl

** Bad Ending: [[spoiler:The protagonist, [[WhatYouAreInTheDark despite everyone else's insistence on fighting to the end]], kills Ryoji, wiping everyone's memories of the past school year and allowing the party to live without fear of the coming apocalypse.]] While it feels a bit like an extended game over sequence more than anything else, it ''does'' count as a proper ending, rolling credits and allowing the creation of a NewGamePlus.

** Speaking of''VideoGame/Persona2'', the Reaper bears a particularly strong resemblance to JOKER[[spoiler: aka Tatsuya Sudou from ''Eternal Punishment.'']] Both wear a very similar (although the Reaper's is significantly more bloody) trench coat/overcoat. Like how JOKER wore a paper bag on his head, the Reaper wears a sack on his head. Most notable of all, [[spoiler: the Reaper appears to be missing the same eye that Tatsuya lost moments before his death.]]

* In ''Persona 3 Reload'', when the Protagonist sits down to listen to his music player at the start of the intro, the first song he cues up is '''''"Burn My Dread"''''', the original opening song, followed by ''''''"Want To Be Close"''''', the protagonist's school-time leitmotif, before he cues up the new opening song.

** The last combat related subject of note is the protagonist's ability to equip every melee weapon. In the original ''Persona 3'' and ''Persona 3 FES'', this was done because of the party members being uncontrollable, so you needed a way to hit every physical element that didn't cost HP. It also allowed every melee weapon type to be available after [[spoiler:Shinjiro died]], as otherwise they'd be useless inclusions. Ever since ''Persona 4'' removed physical melee elements and allowed for direct party member control, future protagonists (as well as the protagonists of ''Persona 3 Portable and ''VideoGame/Persona3Reload'') have been restricted to one type of melee weapon.

** The last combat related subject of note is the protagonist's ability to equip every melee weapon. In the original ''Persona 3'' and ''Persona 3 FES'', this was done because of the party members being uncontrollable, so you needed a way to hit every physical element that didn't cost HP. It also allowed every melee weapon type to be available after [[spoiler:Shinjiro died]], as otherwise they'd be useless inclusions. Ever since ''Persona 4'' removed physical melee elements and allowed for direct party member control, future protagonists have been restricted to one type of melee weapon.

** When SEES learn of the coming of Nyx, [[spoiler:Ryoji repeatedly states that only the Protagonist can hurt him. Come the final battle, and the entire party are able to cause damage to Nyx Avatar, despite the game making it abundantly clear that Nyx Avatar is the former Ryoji. [[Downplayedtrope That being said, the protagonist ''is'' the only one who manages to actually defeat Nyx, as even winning against Nyx Avatar doesn't stop the Fall until the protagonist sacrifices themselves to become the Great Seal]].

* BreakThemByTalking: Takaya does this to the S.E.E.S. on several ocassions, especially on Ken.

* EverybodyWasKungFuFighting: Justified as there are scenes either showing the S.E.E.S. training or making them involved in a school club related to their weapons.

** Happens to the S.E.E.S. in Shinjiro's Social Link route where he takes the advice of the protagonist and cooks a party for everyone.

* FromBadToWorse: Cases of [[spoiler:Apathy Syndrome continue to worsen throughout the storyline even with the S.E.E.S giving the spread of the disease a temporary reprieve by vanquishing each Full Moon Shadow. Eventually, even that stops working, because Ikutski had been manipulating all into targeting the shadows to begin with. All the S.E.E.S has been doing until now is unknowingly setting the stage for Nyx's summoning, and Apathy Syndrome cases skyrocket after the last Full Moon Shadow is defeated, which consequently dooms everyone to Nyx's arrival.]]

** Happens to the S.E.E.S (except Koromaru) as they obtain their respective Ultimate Persona, especially [[spoiler:Junpei who receives his in the middle of a fight against Strega, while the others simply obtain theirs in their free time]]. This upgrade is also reflected in gameplay as their resistance upgrades into an immunity and they begin learning stronger skills in the higher levels.

** When SEES learn of the coming of Nyx, [[spoiler:Ryoji repeatedly states that only the Protagonist can hurt him. Come the final battle, and the entire party are able to cause damage to Nyx Avatar, despite the game making it abundantly clear that Nyx Avatar is the former Ryoji]].

** Social Links requires you to form bonds with various people in order to maximize Persona fusions. Unfortunately, in order to maximize efficiency, the protagonist usually has to pick dialogue options that agrees to their thinking no matter how self-destructive they are (Kazuchi and Hidetoshi) or how unsavory they are (Nozomi and Tanaka) lest the player wants to waste more time gaining points. [[spoiler: At one point, you are forced to say something critical to [[{{Jerkass}} Nozomi]] which results in him ''immediately cutting ties with you'' and by entension ''reversing'' the Social Link. [[{{FissionMailed}} Fortunately, the Social Link is immediately restored after an untimely event.]]]]

** The most infamous is the original's inability to control other party members, and their resulting ArtificialStupidity which could go so far as to render some members borderline useless even with some AI nursing (poor Mitsuru). As a result, you leaned far harder on the protagonist, who was more fighting alone with some distractions than with a team. This was especially weird given that other SMT and ''Persona'' games prior let you control your team; ''Persona 4'' restored direct control while still leaving AI control an option, and the design has remained since, even getting backported into ''[=P3P=]'' and ''VideoGame/Persona3Reload''.

A VideoGameRemake built on UsefulNotes/UnrealEngine, ''VideoGame/Persona3Reload'', was announced on June 11th with a release set for February 2, 2024. It will release on PC, Platform/XboxOne, Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, Platform/PlayStation4, and Platform/PlayStation5. Although the game will include [[https://gbatemp.net/threads/persona-3-reload-wont-feature-the-answer-or-the-female-protagonist-will-have-some-fes-content.634479/ features and story elements]] from ''FES'' and ''Portable'', it will not feature ''[[PlayableEpilogue The Answer]]'' or the Female Protagonist.

** The plot-driven Full Moon Boss battles are fixed events that happen on specific dates, independent of your exploration of Tartarus, while Tartarus itself has its own set of boss battles tied to progressing it. Later games streamlined their boss battles by removing the distinction between plot-driven and dungeon-based bosses, with both ''VideoGame/Persona4'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'' both tying their story bosses directly to dungeon exploration, as well as providing you with a timeline within which to accomplish your objective rather than requiring you to prepare with specific dates in mind. While ''VideoGame/Persona5'' does have its own Tartarus equivalent in the form of Mementos, any bosses fought there are the result of taking up sidequests, and not tied to dungeon progression.

** The plot-driven Full Moon Boss battles are fixed events that happen on specific dates, independent of your exploration of Tartarus, while Tartarus itself has its own set of boss battles tied to progressing it. Later games streamlined their boss battles by removing the distinction between plot-driven and dungeon-based bosses, with both ''VideoGame/Persona 4'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'' both tying their story bosses directly to dungeon exploration, as well as providing you with a timeline within which to accomplish your objective rather than requiring you to prepare with specific dates in mind. While ''VideoGame/Persona5'' does have its own Tartarus equivalent in the form of Mementos, any bosses fought there are the result of taking up sidequests, and not tied to dungeon progression.

** Boss battles are fixed events that happen on specific dates, later installments gives you a window of days with a deadline for when you can face each boss.

** Social Links would phone the Protagonist up during the week to make plans for Sunday, and it would be up to the player to keep track of if they had already made plans with someone else - with repeatedly declining invites or cancelling plans having a negative effect on the Social Link. From ''VideoGame/Persona4'' onwards, Social Links would only contact the Protagonist to make plans for that day, and there was no penalty for declining as the game would progress to the event upon the player agreeing to meet with someone rather than present every option available at that time; this method was backported to ''Persona 3 Portable''.

** Romantic Social Links worked a bit differently. In ''3'', a link with a romance-able girl will turn romantic at around two-thirds of the way in - usually around level 6 or 7. This not only feeds into the jealousy mechanic noted above, but also means the links tend to be focused a bit more ''on'' romance (compared to links in later games, which are more their own stories about the quandary a character faces). Weirder still, however, is that ''there is no option to just be friends'' - if you hit the romance point in a link, you're romantically involved with that person. This means that you have ''no choice'' but to be a philanderer if you want to see all the content and get EXP boosts for all Persona Arcana. Needless to say, this was a common complaint and ''4'' addressed it almost immediately. Like combat, this got revised in the female route of ''[=P3P=]'', though the male route retains the mechanics.

** The most infamous is the original's inability to control other party members, and their resulting ArtificialStupidity which could go so far as to render some members borderline useless even with some AI nursing (poor Mitsuru). As a result, you leaned far harder on the protagonist, who was more fighting alone with some distractions than with a team. This was especially weird given that other SMT and ''Persona'' games prior let you control your team; ''Persona 4'' restored direct control while still leaving AI control an option, and the design has remained since, even getting backported into ''[=P3P=]''.

A VideoGameRemake (this time in full HD and built on UsefulNotes/UnrealEngine), ''VideoGame/Persona3Reload'', was announced on June 11th with a release set for February 2, 2024. It will release on PC, Platform/XboxOne, Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, Platform/PlayStation4, and Platform/PlayStation5. Although the game will include [[https://gbatemp.net/threads/persona-3-reload-wont-feature-the-answer-or-the-female-protagonist-will-have-some-fes-content.634479/ features and story elements]] from ''FES'' and ''Portable'', it will not feature ''[[PlayableEpilogue The Answer]]'' or the Female Protagonist.

A VideoGameRemake, ''Persona 3 Portable'', was also released on the Platform/PlayStationPortable in Japan on November 1st, 2009, in North America on July 6th, 2010, and in Europe on April 28th, 2011. Alongside its VisualNovel-esque style, it also incorporates many of the gameplay improvements featured in ''VideoGame/Persona4''[[note]]such as the ability to Guard and directly control your party members[[/note]], includes five difficulty levels (including the HarderThanHard "Maniac" difficulty) and adds the option to choose a [[GenderFlip female protagonist]], which provides a different take on the game's plot. It also includes a few {{Call Forward}}s to ''VideoGame/Persona4'', but lacks the epilogue chapter featured in ''FES''. ''Portable'' was released digitally on PC, Platform/PlayStation4, Platform/XboxOne, Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, and Platform/NintendoSwitch on January 19, 2023. A physical release, courtesy of Limited Run Games, was released in late 2023.

A second remake (this time in full HD and built on UsefulNotes/UnrealEngine), ''VideoGame/Persona3Reload'', was announced on June 11th with a release set for February 2, 2024. It will release on PC, Platform/XboxOne, Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, Platform/PlayStation4, and Platform/PlayStation5. Although the game will include [[https://gbatemp.net/threads/persona-3-reload-wont-feature-the-answer-or-the-female-protagonist-will-have-some-fes-content.634479/ features and story elements]] from ''FES'' and ''Portable'', it will not feature ''[[PlayableEpilogue The Answer]]'' or the Female Protagonist.

** The Tartarus Guardians have the rocking "Master of Tartarus" accompany each of their battles. In the PSP remake, the female protagonist receives the much more heavy "Danger Zone" (an instrumental remix of "Soul Phrase") for these battles.

* BattleThemeMusic: The famous "Mass Destruction", a fast-paced, jazzy hip-hop song, accompanies every standard battle. ''The Answer'' uses another version of it in the same style with different lyrics, making it come off as a second verse of the song. The female protagonist in the PSP remake instead has "Wiping All Out".

* ContinuityCameo: Many are added to the PSP remake as call forwards to ''Persona 4''. Most notable is a younger Yukiko Amagi, one of the party members in ''4''.

* EasyModeMockery: In the PSP remake, the descriptions of the difficulty levels have subtle shades of this. Easy mode is passive-aggressively described as being for people who don't have time for tactical combat, as if the game is offended that you aren't playing it seriously. And the description for Normal difficulty implies if you aren't playing on at least that level, you aren't enjoying the game at all.

* MultipleDemographicAppeal: A major reason for the game's breakout success. The strategic battle system, stat management and extensive customization features appealed to the usual Creator/{{Atlus}} audience of hardcore RPG enthusiasts, the art style and setting appealed to anime fans, and the social sim element appealed to female players (so much so that the PSP EnhancedRemake introduced a new female main character and respective campaign).

** A bow found in Monad Block is called Mary's Resolve in the original game but changed to Maki's Resolve in ''Portable''. This is a reference to Maki Sonomura from the first ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}} who is renamed Mary in ''Revelations'' but kept her Japanese name in the Portable remake.

** The PSP remake changes all of the blue menus to [[PinkMeansFeminine pink]] for the female protagonist. This extends to their respective [[RedOniBlueOni personalities]] and, more obviously, their color schemes--the male protagonist has improbable blue hair, while the female protagonist has [[RedEyesTakeWarning improbable red eyes]].

** The ''Minor'' Arcana also appear when dungeon crawling (you can draw cards after battles that have various effects based on the suit) and as RareCandy items in the Portable remake.

A second remake (this time in full HD and built on Unreal Engine), ''VideoGame/Persona3Reload'', was announced on June 11th with a release set for February 2, 2024. It will release on PC, Platform/XboxOne, Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, Platform/PlayStation4, and Platform/PlayStation5. Although the game will include [[https://gbatemp.net/threads/persona-3-reload-wont-feature-the-answer-or-the-female-protagonist-will-have-some-fes-content.634479/ features and story elements]] from ''FES'' and ''Portable'', it will not feature ''[[PlayableEpilogue The Answer]]'' or the Female Protagonist.

* BarrierChangeBoss: [[spoiler:Nyx Avatar]], as well as the Empress and Emperor bosses.