Verdict
Persona 3 Reload is a wonder on Nintendo Switch 2, which uses the classic Persona formula of sending you - a school child - on a hero’s journey surrounded by friends. Embark on a remake of an epic tale that feels familiar, but sparkles with a new voice cast, soundtrack, and graphics.
I think Atlus is one of my favorite game developers. They release hit after hit, which are all excellent to play and really good quality from the art, to the music, to the story - and Persona 3 Reload's Nintendo Switch 2 port is absolutely another win. The game excels on consoles, and now it shines on handheld for those of us who want to take it on the go.
Persona 3 Reload originally released in February 2024 on consoles and PC, and now we have it on Nintendo Switch 2. It's a remake of Atlus' 2006 title, though doesn't bring in any changes that came to Persona 3 Portable and Persona 3 FES. This is due to keeping it faithful to the original, which I understand, but I'm sad that the female protagonist didn't get to come back into the spotlight.
The game kicks off in classic Atlus style. You're a schoolboy who returns to your home town to attend highschool. Here, you quickly find that all is not as it seems, and you're kind of being initiated into a vigilante group that goes out at night to slay Shadows. During the day, you're off to school, where you need to pay attention in lessons in order to up your skills. Afterward, you can get a job or two to make some cash, and hang out with people to strengthen your social links.
Where the Persona series excels is with - excuse the pun - its personality. The cast of characters you meet is always likable with distinct traits. Along with you, the laid-back protagonist, there's a typical bunch of friends you meet. Takeba, a cute girl sidekick who can hold her own, Junpei who's just a silly guy, and stoic Akihiko the boxer, among others. You live with them, study with them, and fight with them; all of this and more is brought to life with a great cast of voice actors who suit each of the roles they play. Alejandro Saab - known for Genshin Impact's Cyno and HSR's Jing Yuan - is Akihiko, and he's joined by the likes of Aleks Le (ZZZ's Lighter), Yuri Lowenthal, Allegra Clark, and more. Atlus did a stellar job of casting and directing the voice work.
Outside of spending times with friends, Persona 3 leads you through floors and floors of a huge tower you can only access at night. This is Tartarus. Here, you and your teammates must battle Shadow monsters on each floor, and continue to the next. You can choose between controlling your whole team or only the protagonist, and not your teammates. If you go with the latter, the AI uses them well - I didn't have any moments where a fellow fighter used a silly move, amazingly. The floors are randomized, so you can't plan your route really, but every few floors you get a checkpoint and a teleporter which you can use to escape if its all getting a bit much.
This and your day-to-day of schoolwork, going for noodles, and shopping the sale at the local pharmacy makes up the most of the game, but I recommend checking out all the nooks and crannies. Persona 3 Reload is filled with life, from people's conversations you can snoop on, items to find, and places to travel to for a day out.
I easily put more than 30 hours into the game on PC when it came out, and felt like I barely scratched the surface. I'm really pleased to say that it runs almost as well on the Nintendo Switch 2 than on a regular old computer. This is a masterwork in terms of Switch ports - and remakes, to be honest. While it's locked to 30fps, it doesn't mean it runs badly at all, and there aren't any frame drops. Sure, it could be a little smoother, but to have the game on a handheld console, it's a very small price I'm willing to pay.
It may not quite compare to Persona 5 Royal or Metaphor ReFantazio for me, but then nothing really can. Any game where you can go and get a bowl of noodles with your friends and visit the arcade's UFO machine between bashing enemies and uncovering the dirty deeds of those in power is a win in my book. Also, with a soundtrack this good, you're bound to have a great time. Want To Be Close that plays during the day at school is so catchy that it's on my regular playlist, and isn't leaving.
Overall, it offers a great turn-based RPG with an excellent story, but can feel a bit similar to others in terms of setting. In terms of a port, this is a 10. As for the game, it's a strong 8 or 9. Really, it depends on how many other Persona or Atlus games you've played, how much you like them, and whether you want to do it again - the tutorial can be a little boring if you know what you're doing, but I guess it's good to go back to basics.