Persona 3 Portable

North American box art.
Japanese Name	ペルソナ3 ポータブル
Developer(s)	Atlus
Publisher(s)	Sega Atlus (JP)
Release Date(s)
Nintendo Switch (eShop)	WW: January 19, 2023
Nintendo Switch (eShop)	WW: January 19, 2023
Platform(s)
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Rating(s)
ESRB	06
PEGI	03
CERO	03
ACB	04
USK	03
SMECCV	04
GRAC	01
CID	05

Persona 3 Portable<sup>(JPJapanese: ペルソナ3 ポータブル

Romaji: Perusona Suri Pōtaburu)</sup>, otherwise abbreviated as P3P, is a role-playing game developed and published by Atlus for the Nintendo Switch. It is a remaster of the PlayStation Portable game originally released in 2009, itself an enhanced port of Persona 3 (2006), the fourth main installment of the Persona series and part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. The game was released worldwide on January 19, 2023.

Sypnosis

The protagonist, a transfer student returning to their birthplace Iwatodai City for the first time since the death of their parents, discovers a phenomenon known as the "Dark Hour", a pocket of time between one day and the next during which regular civilians unknowingly transmogrify into coffins while creatures known as Shadows roam the city. After being ushered in by their new dormmates at Gekkoukan High School, they awaken to their Persona, the physical manifestation of the soul, while also discovering that themselves and their dormmates are conscious during the Dark Hour as a result of possessing the "potential" to wield Personas. With this new power, the protagonist joins their classmates in forming the Specialized Extracirricular Execution Squad (S.E.E.S.), a discrete task force of other Persona users dedicated to the pursuit and elimination of Shadows and the Dark Hour phenomenon, while also intent on discovering the mystery surrounding its creation.

Gameplay

Persona 3 Portable is a role-playing game where the player assumes control of the main protagonist, a high school student residing in Iwatodai City on Tatsumi Port Island while attending a whole year of schooling at Gekkoukan High School. Persona 3 is the first game to establish many of the series' mechanical and visual innovations from other titles in the Megami Tensei franchise, namely the integration of life simulation gameplay into the established RPG conventions of prior games. The protagonist has a set of three Social Stats: Academics, Courage and Charm, which can all be levelled up by either getting a part-time job or retaining a positive performance while in school, in order to improve their performance in day-to-day life while also opening up further options in regards to activities they can partake in or people they may converse with. Chief among these activities is the introduction of the Social Link system, involving the protagonist being able to converse with select major characters they meet over the course of the game's story such as party members, as well as minor supporting characters with their own defined arc and personality. Social Links can be maxed out to Rank 10, at which point the person in question may befriend or possibly pursue a romantic relationship with the protagonist if they are a female character. A caveat to this portion of the game is that every activity the player chooses to do will consume in-game time and will take the protagonist's entire day to complete, thus forcing them to return to their dorm during the evening and putting emphasis on considering the importance or priorities behind particular tasks and how long a player should wait to complete them.

Outside of student life, the protagonist and their friends also operate as Persona users dedicated to eliminating the threat of the Dark Hour as members of S.E.E.S., thus presenting the portion of gameplay more familiar to traditional Megami Tensei mechanics. During the Dark Hour, Gekkoukan High School will transform into a colossal, multi-floor tower known as Tartarus, considered a conduit for roaming Shadows. Upon returning to the dorm in the evening, the player can opt to gather the members of S.E.E.S. to spend the night exploring Tartarus, scaling the tower while defeating idle Shadows and collecting treasure present on each floor such as items, equipment and money. Tartarus is mostly procedurally-generated, meaning that floors are largely randomized in layout upon reaching a new area, and the tower is seperated into six blocks of multi-floor dungeons, with each new block being opened for further exploration in correlation with the advancement of the story. While exploring the tower, the player can also issue commands as the protagonist to the three other party members they select to accompany them into Tartarus, such as ordering them to split up and look for the stairway leading to the next floor, or dispatching them to defeat more Shadows present on the current floor they are on. Sporadically placed across certain floors and within boss rooms are teleportation devices. When activated, the party can be transported back the entrance of Tartarus, which will allow the player to either swap out party members with other characters, heal the party, visit the Velvet Room to equip, fuse or summon Personas, or save their game. As exploring Tartarus is a major priority for the story, the protagonist can not go more than 10 days without venturing to the tower, at which point they will be forced into doing so.

Combat makes use of a turn-based system known as the "1 More" system, a variation of the Press Turn system introduced in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne and used in subsequent Megami Tensei titles. Battles involve the party of four characters defeating a set amount of enemies using a combination of physical and magic-based "Skills" granted by their Persona. These scenarios typically involve exploiting the enemies' given weaknesses to specific Skill types, granting the party advantages in battle. The protagonist is unique in that they possess the Wild Card ability, which enables them access to multiple Personas that they can freely cycle through mid-battle during their turn, unlike the other party members who are restricted to their given Personas. If any party member strikes an enemy's given weakness, they are granted "1 More" turn to perform an additional action, and these turns are able to be prolonged if enemies are continually exploited until all of them are knocked out. Upon all enemies being knocked "Down", the party is presented the opportunity to perform an "All-Out Attack", an unavoidable Skill which involves all active party members attacking the enemy or enemy group continuously for significant Almighty damage, with the potential to instantly kill them. Keeping the protagonist alive is also critical to succeeding in combat, as them being killed in battle automatically results in a Game Over as a result of their failure to fulfill their contract with Igor and the Velvet Room. This would then prompt the player to restart the game from their last save. On specific occasions after concluding a battle, the player is redirected to a seperate screen to play a minigame known as Shuffle Time. Shuffle Time involves players watching a set of cards yielding specific rewards as they are shuffled out of their original order, prompting them to select one in order to obtain an additional after-battle bonus. These bonuses can range from additional money or experience, where the amount received is dependant on the card's Rank, a card that can potentially restore a set amount of HP (Hit Points) or SP (Skill Points) for either just the protagonist or the entire party, or on some occasions, a new Persona which can be acquired for use in battle if the protagonist's Persona stock isn't full, at which point they are forced to either discard an existing Persona or forget the one they've been presented with.

In and outside of Tartarus, the protagonist can visit the Velvet Room, a realm existing between dream and reality that is operated by Igor and his attendant, who is either Elizabeth or Theodore depending on the protagonist's gender. New Personas can be created by visiting the Velvet Room and fusing together multiple Personas, passing along certain moves from the Personas used. The current level of the protagonist limits the Personas that a player can create. Additionally, the strength of a newly summoned or fused Persona is dependant on their Arcana, which itself corresponds to the strength of the protagonist's Social Link with the Arcana's correlating character. Upon fusing or discarding formerly used Personas, those that were previously obtained can be re-summoned from the Persona Compendium for a fee. The Velvet Room additionally allows players to take on quests, such as retrieving certain items, in order to obtain a reward.

Gameplay Changes & Additions

Persona 3 Portable makes significant quality of life alterations, adjustments, additions and improvements to the gameplay of the original game. However, originating as a PlayStation Portable port of a PS2 title has also meant concessions had to be made by the developers to fit the title for its intended hardware in regards to presentation:

The setting takes place during the main portion of Persona 3 (known in Persona 3 FES as "The Journey"). The storyline of the female protagonist features many differences from that of the male protagonist, such as new social interactions as well as Social Links. The Persona of the female protagonist is a more feminine Orpheus. In the female protagonist's path, there is also the choice of selecting Elizabeth or a male-equivalent named Theodore to be Igor's assistant in the Velvet Room.

The Desert of Doors from the Abyss of Time seen in The Answer will still appear, however, in an extra feature known as the Vision Quest. In this mode, the party can fight stronger incarnations of the Full Moon shadow bosses — save for Arcana Magician — and partake in special battles that test the party's abilities. When all of the battles have been successfully met, a second optional boss can be fought: Margaret, Igor's assistant in Persona 4 and guardian of the Desert of Doors in P3P.

Another new addition is the ability to pick who the protagonist spends the last moments of the game with. This feature is only accessible on a New Cycle, and the protagonist can only select members of SEES with whom they have maxed social links and are romantically involved with. Both male and female protagonists have 4 choices to choose from: 1 is the default Aigis ending and 3 from the others. The male endings include Yukari, Fuuka and Mitsuru, and the female endings include Akihiko, Shinjiro, and Ken.

World

• Navigation in the P3P overworld is menu-based. Players cannot walk around as in the PlayStation 2 version, although interactions still retain the "visual novel" feel. Overworld characters are rendered in sprites.
• There are now two overworld save points; Aside from the log book in the Iwatodai Dormitory, there is also one on the main character's desk at school.
• The facilities in town where the protagonist's Social Stats can be increased still function the same way, but some of them now offer part-time jobs on certain days, rewarding the protagonist with money, which can increase if the protagonist repeatedly works at a specific store or restaurant. It also bestows higher boosts to the protagonist's condition than if the protagonist simply attended the store as a customer.
• In Paulownia Mall, the police station is now the only place where the protagonist can buy equipment and sell items. Aohige Pharmacy is now a buy-only store, and Be Blue V is just a part-time work site and hangout to improve the main character's condition.

Battle

From previous versions, two difficulty modes have been added: Beginner and Maniac alongside Easy and Normal from Persona 3 and Hard from Persona 3 FES:

• Beginner: Enemy damage is significantly toned down, and the protagonist is given 30 Plumes of Dusk to continue in case of a game over.
• Easy: Enemy damage is toned down, and the protagonist is given 10 Plumes Of Dusk to continue in case of a game over.
• Normal: Standard difficulty. Enemies deal average damage.
• Hard: Enemies deal 1.5 times more damage than normal and can gain a higher chance of Enemy Advantage when not taken by surprise.
• Maniac: Enemies deal 2 times more damage than normal, can gain a higher chance of Enemy Advantage when not taken by surprise, and certain weapon fusions cannot be performed (Ultimate Weapons are still available). Moreover, when starting a New Cycle from any difficulty level to Maniac, no data from the prior game carries over to the new one (character level and Social Stats start at 1, the Persona Compendium will reset, and the doors for Vision Quest and Monad will not be present early in the game).

There have been changes to battle mechanics from previous versions of Persona 3, often falling in line with convenient features and changes already present in Persona 4:

• A new tactic, "Direct," has been added to the game, which allows control of party members for the first time in the Persona 3 series.
• The "Wait" command is replaced with the "Defense" command, and will decrease the damage and any knockdown effects of the next attack the user suffers.
• The game grants "1 More" to a combatant who attacks multiple enemies without the prerequisite that all of them are knocked down; the original Persona 3 and FES required all hit enemies to be knocked down for a 1 More.
• Party members who have been knocked down no longer spend the turn by getting up and can act as soon as they stand.
• Upon landing a Critical hit or striking an enemy's weakness, party members can follow up with a co-op attack.
• Fusion Spells from the original Persona 3 are now activated from items instead of equipping a pair of Personas and selecting it like other spells.
• Allies can now take a fatal blow to the protagonist for them if they are able.
• "Dizzy" has been added as a status effect.

There have also been general changes to the game from previous versions:

• Returning to the main lobby in Tartarus no longer automatically restores the party, and must now be done for a fee via the save point (this cost varies based on the date in-game and status effects currently inflicted on the party).
• Floors can be directly returned to from the entrance of Tartarus instead of being restricted to the restore point like previous versions.
• "Tired" status no longer is inflicted during Tartarus exploration, and is inflicted on all used party members after leaving (this will only drop to "Good" if the character used was at "Great" during exploration).
• Unlike previous versions, money found by party members when split up will now be given to the protagonist.
• Party members' equipment and status can now be accessed at any time from the pause menu, unlike in previous versions, which required the protagonist to directly speak to them while exploring Tartarus in order to change their equipment or view their status.

Personas, Skills and Skill Cards

Four Personas from Persona 4 have been added to the original P3 lineup with altered levels and Arcana affinities. The Personas from P4 are Tam Lin, Neko Shogun, Mokoi and Setanta.

The system of fusion remains relatively the same, and Heart Items released by specific Persona are still intact. However, all Personas now have the ability to produce a Skill Card when raised to a specific level. Each card can be used on any Persona to teach them a skill (for example, the Agi Skill card will teach any Persona the skill "Agi," regardless of if that Persona is naturally able to learn or inherit Agi or not). Aside from Personas, Skill Cards can also be obtained by trading gems in Shinshoudo Antiques, purchasing them through mail-order in Jika Net Tanaka, completing the Velvet Room attendant's requests, topping exams (rewarded by Mitsuru along with minor Arcana stat-booster cards) and as rewards for finding certain people trapped in Tartarus (given by Officer Kurosawa).

In P3P, the protagonists only have access to one weapon type (instead of all types like in P3 and FES); the male protagonist wields one-handed swords, and the female protagonist wields naginatas. As a result, the skills "Fist Master," "Bow Master," "1hSwd Master" and similar skills have all been combined into a single skill called "Weapons Master." Its skill card is called "Phys Boost," and all Personas which had learned a "master" ability (like Cybele with Bow Master) now learn "Weapons Master."

In addition to "Weapons Master," the new skill "Magic Skill Up" has been added in P3P. It can only be learned by Messiah, and strengthens any Magic skills used, including Almighty skills.

The Inari Sushi in Naganaki Shrine no longer grants random bonuses for item gaining and Tartarus explorations. Instead, it offers to duplicate Skill Cards, which will take 5 days to complete.

Almost all abilities can be learned through Skill Cards, with the following exceptions:

• Sukunda
• Masukunda
• Heaven's Blade
• Ragnarok
• Thunder Reign
• Niflheim
• Panta Rhei
• Samsara
• Die For Me!
• Morning Star
• Black Viper.
• Magic Skill Up

Nintendo Switch port additions

• The game has been remastered to be presented in full HD resolution.
• The game is available to play in French, Italian, German, Spanish and Simplified Chinese.
• The remastered version of the game introduces the ability to change difficulty settings from the menu at any point during gameplay, a feature previously implemented in Persona 4 Golden.
• If a "Game Over" occurs during an encounter within Tartarus, the game will prompt the player to instead retry the current floor they're on as opposed to booting them directly to the Title Screen and forcing them to start from their latest save file. This can be changed in-game based on difficulty settings.
• A "Quick Save" function has been added, allowing players to save from anywhere in the game without having to manually interact with a designated save point.

Development

Nintendo Switch

A Nintendo Switch version of Persona 3 Portable was officially announced on June 28, 2022 during that day's Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase presentation, where it was set to be ported to the console alongside its successors Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal. The Switch version's confirmation followed on from the announcement that the game would be ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC, which was made public two weeks prior.

Release

Persona 3 Portable released worldwide for Nintendo Switch on January 19, 2023 alongside the Switch version of Persona 4 Golden. Like P4G, the game is exclusively available digitally on the Switch's Nintendo eShop for $19.99 USD/26.99 CAD. Alternatively, Persona 3 Portable is purchaseable in a digital bundle with Persona 4 Golden for a combined price of $39.49 USD/53.99 CAD.

External links

• Persona 3 Portable at GameFAQs
• Official website
• Persona 3 Portable on My Nintendo Store
• Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden Bundle on My Nintendo Store
• Persona 3 Portable on Megami Tensei Wiki
• Persona 3 on Wikipedia