Given the fame that the franchise now has, it was honestly inevitable that Atlus would bring in remakes of their beloved RPG series to bank off the goodwill that it’s built. The down point for them is that Persona 3 Reload already got leaked onto the internet after weeks of rumors about it. But at the Xbox Games Showcase, the trailer for the game was officially shown, and it was just as the leaks had revealed. We are getting a visual overhaul for the game, and it’ll release in Early 2024. The game is currently only being shown for Xbox and PC, but that will likely change.
Here’s the reveal trailer for Persona 3 Reload:
As you can see, the remake version of the title looks good, which is important for many reasons. When Atlus made the ports for their franchise’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th titles, they didn’t give the “polishing” treatment to all of them. They merely ensured that the games could run well there, and that’s all they needed to do in some people’s eyes.
But, given the 3rd game a port of a handheld title, many weren’t amused by how “past-gen” it appeared on modern systems.
As a result, fans were hopeful that Atlus would simply do a full-on remake, and that appears to be the case. If you look at not only the character models but things like the transitions between screens, you’ll see that they took inspiration from what the 5th game did but ensured that it still fits the theme and tone of the 3rd game. That’s important because the last thing you want to be known for is simply “copycatting” what worked and not coming up with anything fresh.
Another interesting piece of news is that the game will apparently see a shift in the story and gameplay to expand on its remake potential. Whether it’s as expansive as fans hope it will be remains to be seen.
This remake announcement will please many fans of the franchise, but it will still leave many fans curious about what’s coming next from the series. Atlus has said that a 6th mainline entry into the franchise is coming, but we’ve gotten no word on when that announcement will come, what it’ll look like, or a release window for its arrival.
Plus, as gaming history has shown us, you can only bank on nostalgia for so long before fans want something new.
