Persona 3 Reload – none of the original voice actors have come back either (Picture: Atlus)
Atlus had three reveals at the Xbox Games Showcase, but its biggest – Persona 3 Reload – won’t be as definitive as fans had hoped.
It had already been widely rumoured for the Xbox Games Showcase, and Atlus itself even leaked the reveal by accident, but Persona 3 Reload’s official announcement means fans have a couple of new details about this long awaited remake.
The first is that it will feature all new voice acting but none of the original game’s cast will be reprising their roles. Atlus has recast everyone, at least for the English dub.
The second is that this remake will only include content from Persona 3’s original release. Which means none of the content from the FES re-release or PlayStation Portable remake will be featured.
As fans know, there’s never been a definitive version of Persona 3. Persona 3 FES from 2008 remains the only way to experience The Answer, an additional epilogue to the game’s story, and Persona 3 Portable (which saw a multiplatform re-release earlier this year) has the option for a female main character.
Producer Ryota Niitsuma and chief director Kazuhisa Wada only say that this is because their goal with Persona 3 Reload was to recreate the original version of the game and have it in line with the more modern Persona 5, though we can’t imagine that explanation will satisfy some fans.
‘The basic concept of recreating the Persona story was that we wanted to keep everything from the original version, but update everything to the modern day,’ Wada tells IGN.
‘So at the same level of Persona 5, basically. So we have the newest graphics, we have updated the system to the newest usability… We have the voice lines in [both Japanese and English.]’
Niitsuma and Wada haven’t commented on whether there are plans to add the missing content as DLC or include it in an updated re-release.
They’ve also yet to say whether Persona 3 Reload will launch for other platforms, but it’s safe to assume that it will given the recent multiplatform push the series has received.
Atlus’ second game of the show was another Persona 5 spin-off, Persona 5 Tactica, but its reveal trailer had leaked alongside Persona 3 Reload’s so this wasn’t much of a surprise either.
A strategy game that takes Persona 5’s cast to another world, it launches for Xbox and PC on November 17. Again, expect it to be multiplatform.
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Atlus’ third reveal, though, was a genuine surprise. Titled Metaphor: ReFantazio, fans have known about this one for years as Project Re Fantasy, but details were virtually non-existent.
Now, it’s debuted with a new name, a gameplay trailer confirming it as a turn-based roleplaying game, and a 2024 launch window. Although it’s a new IP, it boasts plenty of similarities to Persona (it’s even being made by the series’ creators) but appears to be more of an epic fantasy.
It too is only scheduled for an Xbox Series X/S and PC release. Atlus is holding a more in-depth livestream about the game on June 20 so it could announce at least a PlayStation 5 version there.
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Atlus had three reveals at the Xbox Games Showcase, but its biggest – Persona 3 Reload – won’t be as definitive as fans had hoped.