Before Persona 5/ Persona 5 Royal, the Persona series was something I was aware of, but not all that terribly interested in. In fact, I think I only got into Persona 5 because of the music and my friend’s constant recommendations. Ever since playing Persona 5 though, I’ve considered myself a fan, even though I really only knew Persona 5.

I’d thought about going back to try the other games, but I’d heard over and over about how much more grindy and strict they were, so that kind of stopped me. Persona 3 Reload is different though, its a modernized version of an older entry, so surely it’ll be a good way to see what came before, right? Well, actually I’m not quite sure yet.

As I thought about the game, watched its trailers and read what everyone was saying about it, I found myself wondering if I really wanted to jump into another Persona game after all. As much I wound up enjoying Persona 5, it was nonetheless a very long game and one that benefitted heavily from New Game plus since that mode removed the massive time constraints that defined my first run through it. As fun as the activities were, the need to make sure that each and every day was spent optimally took a lot of that fun out of the experience, and it looks like Persona 3 isn’t that much different.

Just like Persona 5, Persona 3 Reload has you juggling social links, stat-building, studying and going on combat runs within the metaverse. You gotta keep them all up if you want to steadily progress and get the best ending, and that measn using each day to its fullest. In order to manage the feat in Persona 5, I resorted to using a guide. Yeah I got it done, but I kinda resented being punished for not using every waking second to its fullest. The same will likely apply in Persona 3 Reload too; what can I say? I’d like to actually play it like a game rather than a second job.

I’m also not sure I’m the kind of gamer who can power through a long JRPG anymore either. It’s one thing when you’ve got time and you’re invested in the story. It’s another when your time is more limited, and all the minor character details and story nuances aren’t as compelling as they used to be. In general, I think you have to really get invested in a game’s characters in order to want to stick around them for 50+ hours, and I’m not so sure I’m capable of that anymore.

All that said though, I cannot deny that I’d like an experience akin to Persona 5 again, so I’m going to be giving Persona 3 Reload the best shot I can. Who knows, maybe it’ll remind me why Persona 5 was so much fun in the first place.

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Are you a Persona fan? How do you like Persona 5 compared to Persona 5? Do you have any issues with the games, or is there anything they do well that you particularly enjoy?

Image from the Persona 3 Reload Steam page