Maybe you have heard about the game called Persona or just the main big game for it, Persona 5. I’ve finished one game of Persona recently, and it could be my personal favorite of the Persona series just from the characters, gameplay, music, and the story even parts with the NPCS that you can interact with to help you in combat. Most people only recognize Persona 5 with just the main character, and I decided to play the third game as last year it had a remake for the game. Persona 3 Reload just had its first anniversary on February 1st of the remake, and I had finished 3 days before the anniversary which honestly surprised me but made me happy that I had finished my first Persona game and probably my favorite one out of all of them.
I feel like you could get attached to every character in any Persona game as I am right now with the 4th game, but Persona 3 characters seem to have you attached for a while, all being my favorites. You don’t meet all of them in the beginning of the game as it does take 60-70 hours to complete the main story, but processing through the story you do enjoy their characters as they develop and interact with the other characters in combat or just in the main story. Other than just following the story like other games having quests to complete and let you do it whenever, this game triggers the main story on whatever day it could happen. Unlike some games this game follows through the days of the month everyday, going through the day like we usually do even. Though we don’t take 5 to 15 minutes being in school, spending time with someone being 5 to 20 minutes, we go through the day with school being hours and spending time for hours on whatever. Going through each day truly makes you feel like you’re with the characters too even, being able to interact with them whenever you can. Unlike having a normal regular day, during midnight they have to go through a tower to at least save the world even.
In combat, you have the other main characters with you. It does start off small, only having 2 other members on your team, but it gets bigger, having different options on who you may want to keep on the team even as you go higher up in the tower. They do use weapons but other than that, they use their personas in combat as well. Other than just using basic attacks taking physical damage, you can heal your party members, boost their attack, defense or evasion, using different elements on the enemies even being able to hit their weak attack too. Their personas do upgrade later in the game even, boosting your characters on their abilities later in battle. Being the main protagonist in the game, you’re able to hold multiple personas unlike the others, making you have different options on what to do even in battle. To upgrade them or get new personas, you go through the Velvet Room, which only the protagonist only sees. You meet two other characters in there as well, but you only see them through there, except one you’re able to have her explore out and see your world experiencing what humans do daily.
This is where Social Links come in, when first hanging out with an NPC or one of your team members, you unlock a Social Link which can later help boost your team in combat even, other than just boosting your friendship with them. Doing Social Links was one of my favorite things to do throughout the game, talking to the characters and knowing more about them, their personality and learning about their past even. Even if they were the basic designs, unlike the other main characters in the story, they really do stick to you with their Social Link like they did with me, I enjoyed each character I was able to interact with even if they were short. When reaching the max level with them, towards the end of the game they do appear even in the game, helping you out with their Social Link being maxed out and boosting your strength in the final battle. Even with the main characters, they’re able to help with how much you interact with them.
One of the other reasons I enjoyed this game too was the main characters we were able to interact with throughout each day in the game, growing fond of each other as they hang out in the dorm during the event or just talking to them whenever you can. My favorite character other than just the main characters and the protagonist, mine was Aigis, she’s not human like the others being a robot or calling herself a machine. She doesn’t understand humans much as she is a robot, but decides to go to school even and starts acting similar as a human from catching how the others speak even. Randomly disappearing for the whole month of December, she comes back on the last day of December as you decide how you want to end the game. When going through January you’re able to hang out with her, unlocking the other Social Link with her. Even with just the Social Link, in the main story she seems to act more human even, having emotions like the others. The other main characters realize it too, even getting towards the end of it. Each main character had their own arc in the story and you realize how much they develop with each other or just you by the days passing in the game. Even one character developing so much from one of the antagonists, with her having development too.
You are introduced to Junpei in the beginning of the game, basically your best friend throughout the game. Midway through the game, he meets one of the antagonists, Chidori, like most of the guy friends in some games, they’re always wanting to hit on girls, and he tries that with her. While Chidori begins to be interested in him, doing her part as antagonist though, Junpei checks on her everyday once she’s in the hospital. She tells him to never see him again one day, as he listened and stopped seeing her, which does take effect on him in the story but not as much until a day in November. Realizing Chidori had feelings for Junpei which she didn’t understand herself, even confessing to him about it. Not spoiling too much of the story if you truly want to play yourself, he does develop by the last few months of the game and realize how much he did with just Chidori, one of my favorite character arcs even. Most of the characters just have their character arcs with the other characters in the dorm from the past or someone we meet later on in the story as they do become stronger.
The music during the game is one of the main reasons I started playing the series entirely. One of the main songs during combat called “It’s Going Down Now” was what made me play, and I enjoyed hearing it every time in combat. There are two different combat songs when just going up the tower, then the bosses theme when hitting a full moon for the month. Other than just combat music, during school and having free time after school the music really makes the day more enjoyable and it is more fun when playing. Another song I loved hearing through the game was “Color Your Night”, which you usually hear during the evening when going in the city. Most of the songs in the game were just my favorite to hear every time whenever I got to play. Few you would only hear at certain parts in the story, like “Memories of You” you only hear this song towards the end as it’s the ending credits song.
Mentioning the ending, it probably could be my favorite ending for the Persona series once finishing Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal. With how attached I easily got with the characters and usually crying for them when they were having their moments throughout the story, the ending made me cry for a whole hour even with how it ended. Hearing what friends and what people say online about Persona 4 and Persona 5, usually they say they end with a happier note, unlike Persona 3. Once finishing seeing the ending credits, you return to the main menu even and see it’s much different from how it usually is when opening the game without playing it for a second time. Knowing what had happened after the ending scene, the credits hit hard a lot more, still hurts seeing it even when opening the game randomly just to see the menu. It’s a beautiful menu screen to see even after finishing the game, it’s a nice detail even.
I truly think people should play this game either Persona 3 Reload or Persona 3 Portable, both a little different but still the same story. Without knowing the Persona series at all, I think it could be best starting with this one first, it is a little shorter than Persona 5 being 100+ hours long, but definitely still worth it even going in blind with no spoilers. It being your first Persona game would be worth it too even as it was my first introduction to the Persona series even.