Summary
Persona 3 Reloadis the most recent release in the much-beloved franchise. The originalP3kicked off the era of modernPersonatitles, which culminated inPersona 5 Royal, an enhanced port ofP5.Persona 4 GoldenandPersona 3 Portableare readily available on modern systems as well, butP3Placks the definitive status ofP5 RoyalandP4Golden.Persona 3 Reload, while lacking some of the content from thePortableandFESreleases ofP3, seeks to provide fans with the definitive way to play the influential title that eventually gave rise to thePersonaseries as it is known now, all while updating it with modern features fromP5.
Persona 5was the franchise’s most significant leap forward to date. With eight years passing between it and its predecessor,P5did a lot to modernize the franchise and make itself more accessible.Persona 5used many anime tropesas well, helping it to capitalize on the medium’s growing popularity. The game’s meteoric rise into the mainstream can be attributed to a plethora of factors, but its approach to dungeon design and gameplay is no small part of its success. As opposed to the randomized dungeons ofP3andP4,P5features deliberately crafted areas filled with puzzles to solve, items to find, and a greater emphasis on traversal.
While navigatingPersona 5’s Palaces, players will come across breakable objects. The form of these objects varies across the different Palaces but they are usually something inconspicuous, like a vase that is placed in the world. Players can use the Third Eye ability to determine whether the object is worth breaking. When using Third Eye, objects that contain items are highlighted. This ability is crucial because it lets players determine if making their way to each object and breaking it is a worthwhile time investment. Breaking objects isn’t time-consuming, but Third Eye is still helpful and helps players focus on what matters.
Retrofitting some ofP5’s mechanics for its third entry,Persona 3 Reloadintroduces breakable objects to the landscape of Tartarus. These breakable objects take the form of rock-like spires.P3R’s Tartarus is more visually diverse and elaborate but retains the original’s randomization, and as such, these objects are scattered somewhat sporadically. Players can swing the protagonist’s sword at them, as they would at enemies in the world, to break the object. Sometimes, breaking these structures is rewarded with an item. But unlikePersona 5,which lets players use Third Eye,Persona 3 Reloaddoesn’t provide a way for players to determine if the objects are worth breaking.
Items are a big part ofPersona’s gameplay, and the breakable objects inP5andP3Rhelp to provide them for players outside of shops while making the game’s environments feel more alive.P3R’s lack of a Third Eye equivalent, however, weakens the mechanic. Running around the floors of Tartarus, making sure to break all the objects, is a tedious affair. Still, given the importance of items and their often high cost, it makes sense to do it, especially at higher difficulties. Furthermore,P3Radded Theurgyand Shift, known as Baton Pass inP5, so the exclusion of a Third Eye style mechanic is difficult to attribute toP3R’s attempts to be faithful to the original.
There are manythingsPersona 3 Reloaddoes better thanPersona 5, but its breakable objects are not one of them. The ability to get more items while exploring Tartarus is great, but the lack of Third Eye makes it tedious to try and collect all the items on each floor, and the addition of a similar mechanic wouldn’t take away fromP3R’s story or presentation.
The game’s approach to breakable objects in its dungeons should be better, but ultimately, this one oversight does little to take away from the overall well-crafted experience that isPersona 3 Reload. Hopefully, the next mainlinePersonatitle will include a mechanic likeP5’s Third Eye so that it can perfect its implementation of breakable objects.
