Persona 3 Reload: A Modern Remake
Lazy journalists that they are, they might have unofficially known that Persona 3 was getting a remake for a while now. But that placeholder term isn’t going to fly anymore, as it’s officially been revealed as Persona 3 Reload, and we’re getting to see how things are changing from the original game. That said, some changes aren’t exactly ideal, such as the lack of Portable or FES content.
There’s no question that hardcore fans of the long-running JRPG series are going to be excited at the prospect of a modern remake of Persona 3, but Reload has hit a sour note or two. The one that stands out most right now is the stealth cut to the protagonist Makoto’s skiing trip, but the original big fatigue system slapped on the first game in the series isn’t helping either.
All Persona games have always forced players to manage how long they spend in dungeons, to make sure they don’t get stuck in them and become tired. But, man, did Persona 3 take that to another level. Sooner or later, the characters would get tired (or it was just as likely that they’d encounter bad luck) and would be less effective in battle – if they had even gone into Tartarus, that is. Being tired made the characters more likely to be sick the next day, which increased the risk of them being afflicted with status effects and made it easier for enemies to knock them down.
Thankfully, it sounds like players won’t have to deal with any of that in Persona 3 Reload, thanks to the fatigue system’s omission. As highlighted and translated by Noisy Pixel, Japanese gaming outlet 4Gamer had the chance to speak to some of the developers working on Persona 3 Reload, including general producer Kazuhisa Wada, director Takuya Yamaguchi, and producer Ryota Niitsuma.
From 4Gamer via Noisy Pixel:
In the above, Yamaguchi says “Well, first of all, the first change is concerning the fatigue system.” He then goes on to explain that while the system is still present in the original Persona 3, it “has since disappeared from the later titles because it does not fit well with the calendar system that has become a symbol of the current Persona series.”
Again, this implies that it has been removed from Persona 3 Reload, although Yamaguchi doesn’t outright say so. In any case, it definitely sounds like it has been tweaked to make it more manageable, instead of having a higher chance of getting players stuck in the first dungeon until they either turned off the game or restarted from the last save point.
That said, some fans will still be disappointed to see the removal of the Portable and FES content in the upcoming game, even if they can take solace in the fact that a playable demo is coming later this month.
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