Having played Persona 3 FES once before, this port was my second time through Persona 3. I was slightly disappointed that FES wasn't the version we got ported, but the promise of new content from the female protagonist's route was very exciting to me. After finishing the main story on her route, I'd say I'm fairly happy with Persona 3 Portable getting brought forward to newer platforms. There was plenty of new content on her route that I really enjoyed. Stuff like new social links and some new choices in the main story. The new music is also very well made, it stays true to the original Persona 3 vibe while being unique.

Sure, not having fully 3D environments is unfortunate, but it really doesn't take much away from the gameplay. Tartarus exploration and combat was left fully 3D, which is good. In my book, the best part of Portable being released again is the snappier menus. FES was a little slow with its menus. It wasn't a problem, more so a slight annoyance. Portable has very quick and responsive menus both in and out of battle, which is quite nice as someone who's gotten used to the fast menus of Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal. I'd say the biggest downside to playing Portable over FES is the lack of cutscenes. The visual novel nature of this game isn't bad since the modern Persona games are already in huge part visual novels. However many important and emotional scenes are impacted by the lack of FMVs. The ending especially was quite affected in the tone and how hard it personally hit for me. Aside from that, Portable is a perfectly fine way to play the game, especially if it isn't your first time running through P3.

As far as the "remaster" part goes, it isn't anything special. Not much was touched up, and what they did change has mixed results. Most of the art is either blurry due to the game originating from the PSP, or it's been AI upscaled with most examples not coming out the best. It gets the job done, but they certainly didn't redraw anything for this release. On the technical side of things, Atlus did very well. Performance was great for me on both my PC and my Steam Deck. The added graphics options are very nice as well. The game can go up to 120 frames, which is good enough for me and most people I'd assume. The added quick save function was really nice to have as well, really helped when I had to leave in a hurry. Through my almost 80 hours on the game I didn't experience a single crash or notable bug.

I'd definitely recommend this game if you've enjoyed other Persona games in the past or are just a fan of older turn-based JRPGs in general. If you started with Persona 5, you'll likely have a bit of trouble adjusting. But once you get into the swing of things, you'll find a great story that stands out among the modern Persona games. Easily one of my favorite stories I've every played through. I wish the port had a bit more work put into it, but the product we got functions very well in my experience and is definitely worth the twenty bucks. Go ahead and try it!

Having played Persona 3 FES once before, this port was my second time through Persona 3. I was slightly disappointed that FES wasn't the version we got ported, but the promise of new content from the female protagonist's route was very exciting to me. After finishing the main story on her route, I'd say I'm fairly happy with Persona 3 Portable getting brought forward to newer platforms. There was plenty of new content on her route that I really enjoyed. Stuff like new social links and some new choices in the main story. The new music is also very well made, it stays true to the original Persona 3 vibe while being unique. Sure, not having fully 3D environments is unfortunate, but it really doesn't take much away from the gameplay. Tartarus exploration and combat was left fully 3D, which is good. In my book, the best part of Portable being released again is the snappier menus. FES was a little slow with its menus. It wasn't a problem, more so a slight annoyance. Portable has very quick and responsive menus both in and out of battle, which is quite nice as someone who's gotten used to the fast menus of Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal. I'd say the biggest downside to playing Portable over FES is the lack of cutscenes. The visual novel nature of this game isn't bad since the modern Persona games are already in huge part visual novels. However many important and emotional scenes are impacted by the lack of FMVs. The ending especially was quite affected in the tone and how hard it personally hit for me. Aside from that, Portable is a perfectly fine way to play the game, especially if it isn't your first time running through P3. As far as the "remaster" part goes, it isn't anything special. Not much was touched up, and what they did change has mixed results. Most of the art is either blurry due to the game originating from the PSP, or it's been AI upscaled with most examples not coming out the best. It gets the job done, but they certainly didn't redraw anything for this release. On the technical side of things, Atlus did very well. Performance was great for me on both my PC and my Steam Deck. The added graphics options are very nice as well. The game can go up to 120 frames, which is good enough for me and most people I'd assume. The added quick save function was really nice to have as well, really helped when I had to leave in a hurry. Through my almost 80 hours on the game I didn't experience a single crash or notable bug. I'd definitely recommend this game if you've enjoyed other Persona games in the past or are just a fan of older turn-based JRPGs in general. If you started with Persona 5, you'll likely have a bit of trouble adjusting. But once you get into the swing of things, you'll find a great story that stands out among the modern Persona games. Easily one of my favorite stories I've every played through. I wish the port had a bit more work put into it, but the product we got functions very well in my experience and is definitely worth the twenty bucks. Go ahead and try it!