Recently, publisher Atlus announced that three titles from its popularPersonaseries will be making the journey to modern consoles.Persona 3 Portable,Persona 4 Golden,andPersona 5 Royalwill be making their way to Xbox – including Xbox Game Pass – PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam. In addition, the two earlier titles,Persona 3 PortableandPersona 4 Goldenwill also be made available for PlayStation 4. However, some fans are disappointed thatPersona 3 Portablewas the version chosen for re-release, rather than the earlierPersona 3 FES.Both are updated re-releases of the originalPersona 3,but they differ significantly in both content and gameplay.
The announcement of these ports forPersona 3, 4,and5is a major reveal in a franchise anniversary celebration that has otherwise been considered fairly lackluster. Announcements have covered minor topics ranging from new merchandise to a concert featuring music from the series. Fans have been disappointed, especially as it seems that no news of the long-awaitedPersona 6is on the horizon. While some are happy to hear about the ports, especially given that thePersonaseries has long remained PlayStation exclusive, others are wondering whether this means thatPersona 3 FESwill remain stuck on older consoles forever.
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What is the Difference Between Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable?
The originalPersona 3was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2006 and worldwide in 2007. It quickly gained popularity and outsold all previous entries in thePersonafranchise, leading to the release ofPersona 3 FESless than a year later.FESwas advertised as a “director’s cut” of the original game, and added content such as a new Social Link for party member Aigis and the ability to walk canine companion Koromaru. The biggest addition, however, was a lengthy playable epilogue calledThe Answer,in which players took control of Aigis and investigated the possibility of reversing the original game’s famously bittersweet ending.
Persona 3 Portable,released in 2009 for the PlayStation Portable, did not includeThe Answerbut instead featured a number of quality-of-life changes. Party members other than the protagonist were made controllable during battles, difficulty selection was added, andPersona 4-inspired changes were made, including the addition of the “One More” system and the Defend action. Most notably, a female protagonist was added; her story features new Social Links and romance options. However, because of the hardware limitations of the PlayStation Portable, the original game’s animated cutscenes were removed and overworld navigation was significantly simplified. While both versions of the game were popular, fans expressed frustration that no “complete” version ofPersona 3exists to this day.
Persona 3 FES' Code is a Mess
On Twitter, severalPersonafans put forward the theory thatPortablewas chosen overFESdue to shortcuts taken with the code ofPersona 3 FESthat made Atlus reluctant to work with it. In particular, the code of the game is extremely bulky because every animated cutscene contains multiple duplicated models of each character rather than reusing models from earlier scenes.
This is particularly notable in the case ofNyx Avatar, the game’s final boss, who has fourteen distinct models for each phase of its boss fight. Fans theorize that the code ofPersona 3 Portableis much simpler and easier to work with compared toFES.
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Persona 3 Portable Features Quality of Life Improvements
WhileFESadded a significant amount of well-liked content, particularlyThe Answer,Portablefocused on making the game easier and more fun to play. Most notably, the player was given the ability to directly control party members other than the protagonist in battle. This feature, which was officially introduced in thefollowing gamePersona 4,was seen as a major improvement by fans. Previously, AI-controlled characters had made battles much more difficult, as they would default to using weak or ineffective attacks such as Charm or other status effect-causing spells with a low chance of success.
Today, withPersona 4and especiallyPersona 5having improved the battle system so dramatically, it is unlikely that fans would be satisfied playing a version ofPersona 3that did not allow full control of party members. In addition,Persona 3 FESfeatured a mechanic in which characters would become tired after a certain amount of time spent exploring thedungeon Tartarus. This made climbing Tartarus' 200+ floors extremely difficult, as players would find themselves forced to stop much earlier than planned. The gameplay experience of the originalPersona 3as well asPersona 3 FESwas often described as frustrating compared to later entries in the series.
Is a Persona 3 Remake Coming?
Rather than simply a port ofPortable,some fans are hoping to see afull remake ofPersona 3for current-generation consoles. Ideally, this remake would include both the male and female protagonist paths, the quality of life upgrades added inPortable,andThe Answeras a playable epilogue, thus combining the best elements of bothFESandPortable.This hypothetical remake could also incorporate elements from later in the series, such as the Baton Pass system added inPersona 5.
However, with the currentlacklusterPersonaanniversary celebrationapproaching its end and seeming lack of interest from Atlus in releasing major newPersona-related content, such a remake does not seem particularly likely, especially not one that will be announced any time soon. Presumably, Atlus is currently working onPersona 6,and, while it may have other side projects in development, such as a rumoredArenasequel with a focus on the cast ofPersona 5,aPersona 3remake does not seem to be among the company’s current priorities. Fan interest in a remake could possibly make its development more likely in the future, but for now, it seems fans will have to be satisfied with the ports ofPersona 3 Portableinstead.
Persona 3is currently available for PS2 and PlayStation Portable, and will release for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
