Persona 3

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Persona 3
Developer(s)	Atlus
Publisher(s)	Atlus (JP, NA) Koei (EU) THQ (AU) Sony (KR)
Genre	RPG
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release	Japan July 13, 2006 United States of America August 14, 2007 Australia March 6, 2008 Europe February 29, 2008 South Korea December 21, 2006

Persona 3, released outside of Japan as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, is a 2006 role-playing game for the PlayStation 2, and the fourth entry in the Persona series. It was a major shift in direction from the prior Persona games, featuring a new director Katsura Hashino, character art from Shigenori Soejima, different world building, and the new Social Link relationship building system.

In between 11:59PM and 12:00AM lies the Dark Hour, an additional hour to every day during which people without the ability to summon a Persona are transformed into coffins, and malignant entities called Shadows roam. A bizarre phenomena not understood by medical professionals called Apathy Syndrome is growing more common by the day, leaving people completely catatonic and unresponsive. The protagonist is a high school student who transfers to Gekkoukan High School and joins an organization called S.E.E.S., comprised of students who have the ability to summon a Persona. During the Dark Hour, the school turns into a labyrinthian tower called Tartarus. The player must balance the obligations of school and relationships in the day with exploring Tartarus at night, which may be connected to the mysterious Apathy Syndrome.

In North America, a mini soundtrack CD, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Original Soundtrack, and an art book, Art of Persona 3, were bundled with the game as pre-order bonuses. The game reportedly took Atlus West a little over a year to translate and localize into English.

An updated rerelease of the game also for the PlayStation 2, titled Persona 3 FES, was released in 2007, featuring a new epilogue titled The Answer. A second rerelease for the PlayStation Portable, Persona 3 Portable, was released in 2009, which implemented point-and-click navigation and introduced a new female protagonist. A full remake, titled Persona 3 Reload, was released globally on February 2, 2024.

Blurb

Japanese

学生寮の襲撃を境に、もう1人の自分である“ペルソナ”の力に目覚める主人公。毎晩訪れる“影時間”、そして人々の精神を食べらう敵“シャドウ”に挑むべく主人公たち“特別課外活動部”が絆とペルソナを武器に立ち向かう！ 時は、待たない。

Gakuseiryō no shūgeki o sakai ni, mō hitori no jibun de aru "Perusona" no chikara ni mezameru shujinkō. Maiban otozureru "Kage-Jikan", soshite hitobito o taberau teki "Shadō" ni idomubeku shujinkō-tachi "Tokubetsu Kagai Katsudō-bu" ga kizuna to Perusona o buki ni tachimukau! Toki wa, matanai.

During an attack on the student dormitory, the protagonist awakens to another self, the power of "Persona". In order to take on the "Shadow Hour" that occurs every night, and the enemy "Shadows" who devour people's minds, the protagonist and friends of the "Special Extracurricular Activities Club" must fight using their bonds and Personas as their weapons! Time does not wait.

English

Step into the night... Terrible creatures lurk in the dark, preying on those who wander into the hidden hour that lies between one day and the next. As a member of a secret school club, you must wield your inner power -Persona- and protect humanity from impending doom. Will you live to see the light of day?

Synopsis

In 2009, the protagonist, who was orphaned 10 years ago, transfers to Gekkoukan High School on Tatsumi Port Island. A few days after his arrival at Iwatodai Dorm, Shadows attack during an abnormal period of time known as the Dark Hour: A hidden 25th hour after midnight. During this attack, the protagonist awakens his Persona, Orpheus, and successfully defeats a rampant Shadow. He is subsequently recruited into the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (S.E.E.S.) by his dormmates, who are themselves Persona-users who aim to end the Dark Hour phenomenon. With the protagonist now a part of their team, S.E.E.S. is able to start a thorough investigation into the Dark Hour, starting with the massive tower, Tartarus, which materializes on the site of Gekkoukan High School during it. Unusually powerful Shadows known as the Arcana Shadows also appear during full moons to terrorize the city, the elimination of which S.E.E.S. believes may end the Dark Hour. The protagonist begins his life at Gekkoukan High, befriending and strengthening his bonds with the various people he meets. At the same time, he starts to search for further answers alongside his teammates in S.E.E.S. on the nature of Shadows and the Dark Hour.

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Gameplay

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Version Differences

FES

Main article: Persona 3 FES

Persona 3 FES is a rerelease of Persona 3 with a variety of additional features and changes to the game, including a new playable epilogue named The Answer (Episode Aegis in the Japanese release). Differences include:

• A new Hard difficulty mode, which is selectable upon starting a new game.
• New story events, including security camera footage featuring each member of Iwatodai Dorm (and by extension, S.E.E.S.) and nighttime walks with Koromaru.
• New Personae have been added. These include Slime, Hua Po, Hecatoncheires, and Rakshasa, among others.
• The protagonist can now fuse weapons using Personae at the Shinshoudo Antiques store at Paulownia Mall.
• A new Arcana, the Aeon, has been added, represented by the character Aigis. A corresponding Social Link has also been added regarding Aigis.
• New events in the form of special quests given by Elizabeth, in which the protagonist is asked to accompany Elizabeth to specific locales.
• An alternative method to improving Social Link progress has been added via the fortune draw at Naganaki Shrine.

Portable

Main article: Persona 3 Portable

Persona 3 Portable is a rerelease/port of Persona 3 for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). The game introduces a variety of features and changes to the main game. Differences include:

• Two new additional difficulty options, Beginner and Maniac, have been added and can be changed to and from at any point in the game.
• Navigation outside of Tartarus has been changed to use an isometric 2-dimensional menu-based style, as compared to the original's 3D movement. Characters are rendered as sprites.
• The 2D animated cutscenes and a majority of in-engine 3D cutscenes of the original have been replaced with equivalent visual-novel like scenes, with some particular scenes being portrayed as new 3D cutscenes.
• A new female protagonist option can be selected when started a new game. The female protagonist version of the story is considered an alternate continuity and has significant differences, such as being able to select a new male Velvet Room resident, Theodore, new dialogue options, new Social Links that were unavailable to the original protagonist such as with the male S.E.E.S. members, and many more.
  • New music has been added which only plays when the female protagonist has been selected, such as new battle music.
• The battle system has been changed to more closely reflect the system in Persona 4. This includes a "Direct Commands" tactic allowing for direct control of all party member actions, the replacement of the "Wait" command with "Defense", and characters no longer needing to spend a turn to get up from a "Downed" state.
• Fusion Spells are now activated through the usage of items, instead of being activated as a skill when both required Personas are in the protagonist's possession.
• The protagonist can now only utilize one weapon type (one-handed swords for the male protagonist, and naginatas for the female protagonist), in contrast to the original, in which the protagonist could equip any weapon type.
• The addition of a notice board in front of the Paulownia Mall Police Station, which lists people who have gone missing in Tartarus. The protagonist can find and rescue these people when exploring Tartarus for various rewards.

Reload

Main article: Persona 3 Reload

Persona 3 Reload is a full remake of Persona 3 for modern systems, including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One/Series and PC. The game features many changes and additions compared to the previous PlayStation 2 releases, including:

• Completely new visuals in the Unreal Engine.
• New 2D anime cutscenes.
• New character art by Azusa Shimada.
• Mostly new English voice cast, albeit with Tara Platt reprising her role as Elizabeth.
• New social activities inside Iwatodai Dorm.
• New battle mechanics, including:
  • Shift, which allows turns to be passed from one party member to another.
  • New special skills for party members called Theurgies.
  • Special Traits for party members which can be unlocked through new events known as Linked Events.
• Battle system changes to make the game more similar to Persona 4 and Persona 5 Royal, including:
  • A "Direct Commands" tactic allowing for direct control of all party member actions.
  • The replacement of the "Wait" command with "Defense".
  • Characters no longer needing to spend a turn to get up from a "Downed" state.

Development

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In early versions of the game battles took place on the same dungeon field as the Tartarus exploration; there was no transition to a new area for Shadow battles. Enemies were encountered randomly in this early version, and both dungeon exploration and battles had an isometric view similar to the camera angle of battles in previous Persona games. At a later point in development the ability to join in on an AI party member's battles was added, and battles took place in their own "arena" space.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ペルソナ3 Perusona Surī	Persona 3

Gallery

See Gallery

External Links

• Official Japanese Website (Archive)