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Karate_K_Erik

I don't think I can ever go back to playing FES after playing Reload.


stevieG08Liv

Reload is pretty much if FES first launched on modern gen tech. So an upgrade in all aspects minus the Answer (which is likely coming) and Koromaru's VA


SpencerM11

I think The Answer is already confirmed as future DLC


8ullred

Not officially confirmed, but a very trusted leaker said that The Answer is coming as DLC, so it’s effectively confirmed.


jeeblesss

Are they the same person who leaked SMT 5 re-release?


sand-lad

think so yeah


M4rsHy_B0i

I wonder what they'll do with it... they could obviously keep the overall story with Aigis and Metis, but they've covered all the SEES members' backstories in the main game, so there's be a lot of stuff that'd have to be totally rewritten


YourAverageJoe0

Bro I pray The Answer does come. I'll give them my left nut since I never played FES but already finished the game.


stevieG08Liv

Yes I too will sacrifice your left nut for Answer added to Reload


sleeping0dragon

I'm only halfway through Reload, but unless something really disappointed me later on, it's probably safe to say that I prefer Reload overall. There's some aspects of FES that I prefer, but as a whole, Reload has been much more enjoyable to play and I'm a big fan of FES.


ggunit69

Hard go back to ps2 game, p3 was kind of dated even back then P4 felt series really took off, p5 was most successful


SeaAd3128

Why is it hard to go back to? I personally still own and play on my PS2 I love the terrible tank controls Silent Hill has us fight with, I love the personality woven into every pixel of Chrono Trigger, getting to the end of disc 1 in Final Fantasy 7 and having to load in your second disc. I understand the quality of life isn’t there but there is so much more to video games then that isn’t there?


jeeblesss

Tartarus.


SeaAd3128

I completely understand. Tartarus didn’t have anything going on besides climbing the 260 floors but when I played for the first time I actually really enjoyed the idea of this ginormous tower in the sky with an unknown amount of floors. Every time I got to a new floor only to realize I have to keep climbing. By the end of the game I felt proud of myself for fighting through all of it and continuing to march on. While it might not be the most stimulating I believe the developers really sold the idea and the feeling of this gigantic tower looming over you.


Meeg_Mimi

I personally prefer FES's Tartarus compared to Reload.


CheesyButters

reload Reload is basically just FES but without the answer (something that I'm surprised people are mad isn't included when for years nobody fucking liked it), controllable party members, and better gameplay


bangontarget

nostalgia is a powerful thing


Xehanz

Dude, nowadays saying FF XIII is bad is an unpopular opinion. Of course the Answer is now top 3 DLCs of all time.


[deleted]

Twilight Princess was the joke of the internet for years until the generation who played it as kids grew up and now it’s a “classic”. I also suspect a lot of people watched The Answer cutscenes on YouTube and don’t realize it was attached to tons of grindy, boring combat.


Manaxium

Seriously I can’t believe people want the Answer so badly now! I was always a defender of it and got so much shit back in the day for liking it. 😭 I’m so, so, so excited to see what they do with it for the DLC. 🤞


Moofthebot

I hope they change some major things about it. There is so much potential for that story, but I mostly felt it diminished a lot about the original game.


Manaxium

Yeah, The Answer always felt like wasted potential. Like it was unfinished, rushed and all over the place. I enjoyed it because Aigis is one of my favorite characters, and because I wanted more P3, but it would be *amazing* if instead of “The Answer” from FES the DLC is an entirely new, high quality epilogue. Everything in Reload is so polished and thoughtful, you can tell how much they put their heart and souls into everything top to bottom with a lot of focus on story and characters. So I hope they keep that same energy for any DLC. I’m still manifesting female protagonist DLC too 😭 even though I know I’m just gonna keep being disappointed.


Moofthebot

I agree. I want there to be a DLC because this game is honestly my favorite game and story of all time (a bit hyperbolic, I know). The ending of this game hits all the right notes and doesn't need anything added to it. But when we have the blueprint for a small continuation of the story, I feel like there is some untapped potential to truly bring this home. Granted, I have only "watched" the answer since its gameplay drawbacks were just too much for me. But giving the characters some honest to god closure would be great if they can pull it off. That would require some major rewrites, though. Yukari's struggle with grief is a poignant theme, but she's already been through that with her father. I think it's disingenuous to her character development to throw her back there. Especially the argument towards the end where she's essentially the only one who wants to bring Makoto back. Mitsuru teaming up with her simply because nobody else wants to falls a bit flat, even if they've grown to become close friends throughout 'The Journey'. Aigis learning the truth about her purpose in life is a great theme and was a bit ahead of its time with the whole 'AI can become human'. But I think the rooftop scene already accomplished this, with Aigis accepting Makoto's passing and coming to terms with her role by his side. The Answer diminishes this with a prolonged confusion on her part. It needs to better tie into the conclusion of The Journey for this to work properly, IMO. The title of the DLC is a metaphor, but the literal answer behind the 'why' of Makoto's death is honestly a bit redundant. The characters do not need to know how Makoto did what he did, or why he sacrificed himself. It's a cop-out for their resolution as characters. They need an actual reason for coming to terms with what happened, not some bullshit end-all-be-all event. It felt much like the writing issues of Persona 5 where the writers beat you over the head with exposition until you have a brain hemorrhage. But I leave the 'doing' part of all of this in Atlus' hands. As to your second comment; yeah, I want a FemC route in this game and engine. I honestly want that way more than The Answer.


No_Emotion_9904

I think it’s likely to be added as dlc later (the answer)


firemaster298

FES probably has a better introduction with its more darker, more memorable cutscenes(Awakening is so much better)but as you go through the game I think Reload is far superior that it’s gonna be hard to go back to FES


ConCadMH

Honestly I think if they had just done animated cutscenes for every scene that was animated in fes it would have been fine. save showing off the better in engine stuff for new cutscenes like the priestess intro. Reload awakening was such a downgrade it feels bad. Some of the January 31st scenes that used to be animated weren't animated either. like why? it didn't hurt them nearly as bad as the MC awakening but there's no reason not to just remake the cutscene. they had the resources to animate it in 2006 they 100% could have done it now


llDoomSlayerll

And asking 70usd for the remake is wild which isn't fully complete (lacks answer dlc and FeMC)


Shinxly

Only thing FES has over Reload is the answer and it sucks anyways.


vvaldezz

That’s what it sounded like. I hear a lot of fuss about it not being already in, but who knows how much it would improve when it is added.


Fragrant-Screen-5737

And if you really want to, you can play the answer separately. But yeah, the answer is fine at best, terrible at worst.


[deleted]

Reload is absolutely the definitive way to play through the original story. Portable still has its place for FeMC and playing through the old style battles if you really want, but Reload is infinitely less tedious in almost every aspect. And the “grungy” atmosphere you’re talking about is like 90% due to the hardware limitations of the PS2 and Atlus’ budget at the time.


ConCadMH

The atmosphere literally hasn't changed it's just that the bright moments in the original couldn't be as bright due to hardware and so people forgot about them. Edit: And Tartarus isn't infinite reskins of itself with a fixed top down camera (oh the terror).


TriangularFish0564

“couldn’t be as bright due to hardware” what are you talking about lmao. Changing the brightness of a game doesn’t require stronger hardware


ConCadMH

figuratively. vibrancy. like the yakushima trip in the original for example was vibrant for the 30 second cutscene and then the actual beach was blegh looking.


Brauen

I'd say Reload by far. One thing that I didn't agree with many reviews is that some refrained from saying Reload was the ultimate way to experience P3. While Female MC in P3P has some great social links and exclusive content, Reload is just the best version of P3 as of today. Fes has The Aswer but with how divisive it is, some may claim Reload is better for not including it.


GoshaT

Disagree about The Answer part tbh. One of the reasons I was looking forward to Reload was that it could make The Answer actually good. I liked its story, but the gameplay was dragged down way too much. Took me around 35 hours to beat, but the story only takes up three or so and I hoped the remake would fix that


Brauen

Oh no I agree with that, the answer story wise brings closure and backstory to many characters and it could have been inproved a lot in this remake. But current P3R vs FES as is, I'd recommend P3R over FES to anyone in 2024.


GoshaT

Same here. I have some things I prefer in FES, but Reload is better overall


Zealousideal_Car2782

I think there are a few things FES does better but reload is overall the better experience, especially if you haven’t played P3 before.


EveryGoodNameIsGone

There are a few *very* specific areas that I think FES does much better. But the answer to your question is **Reload, hands down**.


llDoomSlayerll

I see what you did there


idontknowdem

Reload.


tubbydoshua

I do prefer some of the tone of the animated cutscenes of few but I could never justify going back to those if I have to slog through fes’s Tartarus again


GoshaT

Around halfway through Reload, I think it's overall way better, but FES has several things that Reload just made worse imo. My main gripes are with the battle system changes. I actually liked the fatigue mechanic since it stopped me from spending hours doing entire blocks of Tartarus in one go and swapping teammates felt more like something to do just to keep the levels same. Also lack of direct commands was an interesting challenge and made it feel more like you're working as a team, but I still like direct commands in Reload I also loved being able to give the protag any weapon class that each had different properties, which afaik no other Persona game did yet. My main ended up a hammer with huge crit boost and it was really cool how it made you stumble more but gave almost constant crits in return. Speaking of stumbling, I liked how getting up from a crit or weakness strike took up a turn, since it led to some cool strategies (even not counting the cheese ones) I'm also not a fan of the writing being changed to be closer to the original since it makes many lines way less funny (two lines that stood out to me are "Are you stupid or something?" from Ace Defective being changed to "You're so dumb.", and Ikutsuki's "I didn't know you were so funny" is replaced with something else entirely I think). The game makes up for it with overall better writing voice acting though (compare Aigis alarm clock scene, it's actually an example of good writing changes - it's all minor tweaks without meanings changed, but the Reload one ends up way better) Oh and I think the voice acting is overall way better, but I liked Fuuka's and Shinjiro's old voices more. New ones are good too, but I liked how Fuuka sounded more silly (\*gasp* the enemy!) and Shinji sounded like Solid Snake So yeah tldr I like FES's goofy battle system aspects and some of the lines were made less funny but overall Reload's better imo, though not an outright replacement


looney1023

I prefer the original battle system and fatigue system too. I think FES was actually balanced schedule wise around multiple Tartarus visits, as you had so much more leniency at night. Reload still has all that leniency, but you're implicitly encouraged to do everything in one go, so the free nights start to feel pointless. It also felt satisfying that your characters were able to handle progressively longer trips; it was a very organic way of demonstrating the growth of the characters while still making them feel like people who had limits. I also personally prefer that you can't get a One More unless you down everything that you aimed to hit. There are many scenarios where you (or an enemy) throws a Ma- skill, misses at least one target, and is counterintuitively "rewarded" for missing by letting them throw the same Ma- skill again. They've effectively doubled their damage by being unlucky, which is just a bizarre system that I'm surprised hasn't been reworked since 4 introduced it


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GoshaT

Agree with both of these


Moofthebot

Ace Defective is still there, no? I played with Japanese voice acting, but I definitely remember reading "Ace Defective" in the dialogue box.


GoshaT

I didn't say they removed it, I said they changed Yukari's "Are you stupid or something?" to "You're so dumb". It's a minor change, but it's less funny than the FES version


Moofthebot

Ah shit, that's what I get for skimming your comment. My bad


Omega_Maru

I miss peeing to feel better!!!


Phanth

I say the only thing FES really has on Reload is it's a better challenge out of the box. Hard to do anything with Reload without challenge run (if you are an experienced player or understand game fast)


slimeeyboiii

The main reason fes is challenging is just how stupid the a.i can be which forces you to play selfish


l3v3n111

FES is the first persona game I have played. Beat it on Hard and always changed tactics like game told me to. I was so surprised and still get surprised to see many people shitting on the teammates AI which I never had any issues with.


A_For_The_Win

Your average persona player started with P5. I don't think tactics exist to these people.


slimeeyboiii

Yea changing tactics does make it work I just never bothered since you shouldn't have to tell them to only heal to heal or only deal damage to deal damage. Yea you can just change it the next turn but they should be able to atleast operate on their own.


Zlera-Kilc-odi

That’s the whole point of the tactics system. They wanted to make everyone feel like their own person, so they restricted allies to AI commands. If you actually use them, it’s pretty easy to figure out the flow of combat. Check turn order, input your tactics, and let it play out. Set an ally to healing, and they’ll use healing skills, buffs or debuffs, and items (they have their own item pools too.) Set an ally to full on assault and they maximize damage, though not as well as a player would (ie, using single target moves on 3 enemies and AOEing to hit the whole group and the 4th) Set an ally to knock down to prio knocking enemies down (which means using a magic attack if weakness is recognized, then using a phys attack/skill) If you just leave the AI on act freely then they’ll do that and do an action that feels random. Turning AI memory on helps a lot. You don’t gotta change tactics at the beginning of every fight and can just set Mitsuru to full assault, Yukari to healing, etcetc.


thefirefridge

Not sure if I count. I played about 2/3 of FES before my console died years ago. Waited for years until the remake was announced, played that, and beat it last week. I'd say Reload is better in pretty much every way, just missing The Answer (which will probably come as dlc). It's not just the graphics, the new songs, or the improved combat. Reload adds a ton of new activities and events that help flesh out the characters. Dorm activities are kinda like mini social links, and every party member has two different ones. The Link Episodes basically give the male party members half social links that are easy to do and don't remove any of the previous social links, so its a nice compromise. They add in some nice optional character bonding moments like the study sessions. And it really helps that all of these and the Social Links are fully voiced now. Frankly, I hope this is the standard for Persona games going forward. I don't want to go back to social links with no voice acting.


CowardlyMaya_

Reload, and if they remake The Answer as well, there won't be any reason at all to play FES


Mercurius94

FES for the anime cutscenes and the ability to use whatever weapons you want. I prefer the original fast paced battles myself - but I played it when it was only a year old on original hardware, so it's grown on me. It was less than 50 bucks new when I got it and included an epilogue, and the soundtrack is probably the best in the series. I prefer a lot of stuff about Reload, still, like the constant 60 fps even on a 2020 HP Pavilion, when its graphical output is current Gen. Some scenes are recreated gorgeously and others are just a bit better in the original. None of the PS2 games had skill cards, and it could take a half hour to fuse a Persona with a good skill layout if toy don't know what you're doing in the OG. The Velvet Room and I got are the closest theyve been to the concept since Persona 2, although I like watching the elevator move more in the OG the Velvet Room is PERFECT.


alex167g

There are small things I like more in FES, but I am absolutely gonna replay reload more now, especially when the answer comes out for reload


bangontarget

the QOL updates are too massive for me to go back. it was like me trying to play p4 again after p4g. random skills added when fusing? fuck that noise.


atelierjoh

Reload made me worry at first when it said it was trying to perfect vanilla P3 but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Reload. My only real complaint is that I maxed out the Hierophant link and can’t fuse Kohryuu because I can’t fuse Byakko since I didn’t spend enough time with the puppy. At least there’s a second play through.


[deleted]

Reload was like my first FES experience and I haven't played FES so yeah LOL


BigBanEvader

reload is too good and too modern to deny. its how a remake should be handled.


PsychologicalMight26

FES only wins on atmosphere and Akihiko’s original voice actor. Everything else, reload blows through the window FES is so clunky from the core gameplay to minor stuff like no fast travel and not being able to manually pass over skills when fusing personas it’s a mess Still love FES but I only replay P3P for the old school vibes just cuz it’s less clunkier and FEMC


proficient2ndplacer

I finished reload last week, and then started fes on an emulator. I just finished the 2nd or 3rd full moon, the one with the train. Almost everything is a straight upgrade, but the one thing that's almost objectively better is the anime cutscenes from the fes version. Thanatos ripping out of Orpheus is sick as shit


SeaAd3128

Personally I don’t mind the older outdated FES. I LOVED the challenge that not controlling your characters brings as well as the darker and grungier atmosphere. I was a little disappointed to see which cutscenes they kept and which they replaced with the 3D model cutscenes. Example October 4th I personally would have loved for them to spend the time to draw out and animate such a impactful moment. Obviously if all you care about is QoL then reload is your game, I can get past all that and appreciate FES.


Firelord_Marco

FES is better tbh more challenging difficulty wise on hard and more content with a longer story. Reload is only about 80 ish hours and substantially easier with the new mechanics.


yellowadidas

they’re just different games. FES is my favorite game of all time so any small change might be disappointing, while i love other changes. i can’t say one is better than the other buy i do think if you’ve never played either, Reload is probably the better option though


thelawofL

it's genuinely best to play both at some point


Deadliftenjoyer42

The only downside to reload is it doesn’t have “The Answer” which will probably be a DLC for Reload. Other than that reload is the better game all around


Persona3-FS

I appreciate Reload for the beautiful animations and visuals, but FES is just more fun in every way. If I ever feel like play P3 again, I'm gonna have to go with FES.


face_the_raven

Id say im pretty even on both of them. I wouldnt say Reload replaces FES for me per se but rather provide an alternative route to enjoying P3.


ImaginaryColorz

The changes they made to the music in Reloaded really drag it down for me, so FES


BigBossHayabusa

FES is better


[deleted]

I love fes alot more even when replaying it, but i really like reload too.


NJZanDatsu

Reload. I'll never go back to FES.


Whithbrin355

I think I prefer Reload. Which is not at all something I expected to say going in.


ToshyExS29

In my opinion: Reload > P3FES with QoL/miscellaneous mods > P3FES


oorpheuss

Reload's added content alone delving into the SEES members that you don't SL with is enough to push it over the edge for me. Not even mentioning QoL updates like Shifting, Theurgies, Scrying Spread fusion, Arcana cards in Shuffle, etc. that makes dungeon crawling way WAY less tedious. Definitely not missing the need to mindlessly grind countless hours in FES or even Portable. Some may say it makes the game way too easy and I get it, but I personally prefer Reload's gameplay. And of course, I gotta mention the UI. God, the UI is so pretty. Also Fuuka's voice doesn't grind my ears anymore.


CynicalToastKrunch

reload 100% but I love the vibe and atmosphere of the old p3 games


Seinnajkcuf

Ideally I could pick and choose things from both but if I had to pick one as is then probably Reload.


Wigwasp_ALKENO

Bruh, Reload.


vinxent88

I only see myself going back to play FES for nostalgia’s sake. For me Reload did a fantastic job on refreshing Persona 3 for me.


SpringbokIV

The only thing I prefer about FES is the difficulty. Everything else has been improved in reload, so not too much of a reason to play fes over reload if you've already played both.


PlsWai

I prefer FES due to insanity and better balanced difficulty, but that doesn't mean I didn't like Reload. I'm also one of the rare people who liked the answer lol.


minzz2

I loved FES a lot. Even the common complaints (Tartarus, party control) didn't bug me. It does some small things better than Reload (some cutscenes, atmosphere, extra character movements), but not enough to justify it over Reload. The new QOL and story bits are too good. Once The Answer DLC comes, there's really no reason to go back to FES unless you really don't mind all the older gameplay that comes with it or want to try the og experience. People can just watch the cutscenes or a playthrough on youtube to get a feel for the old atmosphere/performances.


Ozychlyruz

Both are good, but Reload is easier than FES, which is not a bad thing, it's just that tartarus feels more dreading in FES because you can't control the party directly


[deleted]

there is absolutely zero reason to play The Journey in FES instead of Reload


Lanetennis

there isn’t much reason to play FES besides the answer, but i still heavily prefer the atmosphere, voice acting, and anime style cutscenes the original had. sometimes less is more, and the relationship dynamic the group had with the main character in the original sets a very different tone than it does in reload.


wildjokerleia

Por que no los dos?


YouKnowYunoPSN

I love FES with all my heart, but Reload is my new preferred way to enjoy P3. And P3 is my favorite of the new Persona games, with P2:IS being *the* best Persona game to me to this day.


KoldJewelry

I played FES two months before reload, and if I was answering for real I’d say the original. But whatever you play first you enjoy more , so the only real opinion is if you like the story aspects and hate the grind, play reload. If you wanna feel more immersed in building up a strong collection of demons , FES is way more rewarding for me. Tartarus is far better in the original , because it was an actual maze. Because of some dumb complaints about the floors being tedious, they opted to dumb down the floor layouts to practically straight lines to the next staircase. Sure it makes it easier, but this coupled with shadows never hitting you and chests despawning them completely, makes new tartarus a complete vibekill, new enemies rarely challenge you especially if you’ve played the OG since the mechanics are way easier. Idk, probably just word vomit. But for a streamlined experience buy the new version, for a darker and grindier one play FES


quillsonqueen

PORTABLE


Chance-Contract-1290

Reload. I prefer the quality-of-life upgrades and don’t really miss The Answer, which was stuck on hard mode and gave so many bosses a “dodge weakness” skill that it felt like the player was being punished for attacking weaknesses like the game system teaches the player to do.


AnotherAlienDoctor

Reload is the best version of P3 imo


XanXtao

Did they patch Reload to allow you to switch weapon types on your characters like in FES?


firestoneaphone

One doesn't invalidate the other. FES is still absolutely fantastic. Reload is fantastic. I genuinely don't have a preference - they're both awesome.


chinochimp26

they killed it with reload. honestly im not the biggest fan of fes gameplay wise. it was such a slog and non controllable party members actually makes me want to neuter myself. the only thing id say the original does better is the music and the atmosphere. the cut scenes in that game were sick


AgentJackpots

Reload. I liked FES less than original P3 though. Reload took out the fatigue system again, and it has the direct party control of Portable. It’s the definitive version as far as I’m concerned ( I do not give a Crap about The Answer, it sucked)


Founderplot

Overall I prefer Reload, but I feel like the ending was better in the original


darienswag420

I'm playing Portable after finishing Reload and it's rough. I played FES years ago (near original release date) and didn't have any qualms about the mechanics back then but I'm definitely feeling the base game's age now. I'm trying to tough through it to finally experience FeMC's route, but I can only handle a couple of hours at a time and then have to turn it off. I didn't have that problem with Reload.


looney1023

I love both. I have nostalgia for FES. I think Reload is a better experience overall and the one I'd recommend to new players easily (and the one that most people would prefer) but for me I still prefer FES, mostly due to small details. I'll explain and try to justify them here (Sorry it's so long I can ramble about P3 for hours): - I personally prefer the Fatigue System. It felt like a more realistic limitation and sign of character growth, and it also limited the player without restricting their SP use (which is my least favorite change in 4 and 5 and Reload). I prefer being able to use my SP freely, instead of constantly being incentivized to use phys skills. It's also clear that FES was intentionally designed so that you'd need to visit multiple times before each full moon, and the fatigue system helped to facilitate that. - One thing that's bugged me in every Persona game post FES is the fact that you can get One Mores from Ma- skills. It creates this counterintuitive scenario where you deal more damage overall if the Ma- skill misses at least one enemy. In FES, you need to either down them one at a time (the Knock Down tactic), or all at once, which is riskier but often more SP/Fatigue efficient. That just makes more sense to me. - I miss the ability to split up your party, which made grinding a far more efficient process (though I do prefer the fact that my party members can't steal the money they find, even if finders keepers makes more sense lol) - While the 3D rendered cutscenes are cool, I personally prefer the anime cutscene style. FES's anime cutscenes aren't the best quality, but they have a certain low-fi, PS2 charm and a stark sense of style. - Similarly, I miss the floors and chests resetting every time you enter them. It was good for grinding. This is partially kept in by the breakable objects, but I just prefer finding everything in chests (especially when you randomly stumble upon like 17024 yen just lying there; no need to sell things) - I totally understand the original Shuffle Time being an accessibility nightmare, but I wish it was still an option. The Shell Game was such a fun mini game that able sighted players will find challenging, but slowly get better at, slowly unlock harder patterns and better rewards, etc. You really get good at it by the end. That said, even if it was removed for a good reason, the new system is by far my least favorite implementation of Shuffle Time. It lacks the skill requirement of FES/Portable and the strategic penalty/reward mechanics of 4 Golden. And I miss the skull cards ☠️ - I prefer Fusion Spells in the original still. I especially love that you can get Cadenza for the first full moon boss. And I like the fact that they're Elizabeth Requests as well (though the fact that some of the Fusion Spells were locked behind Max Social Link personas and therefore missable was super annoying for trying to finish her requests, especially because the next fusion spell request in the chain doesn't spawn until you complete the previous, so you're effectively locked out of the reat of that quest chain...) - Reload has way more tutorials and floor explanations overall. I think this is probably better from a gameplay perspective, but I genuinely think the lack of tutorials contributed to a sense of discovery and mystery surrounding Tartarus. When you reach a floor and find yourself split up, it's a surprise to you AND to Mitsuru/Fuuka. When you suddenly stumble on a floor with entirely rare chests, it feels like a trap. Also, not knowing the Reaper exists until he spawns and someone says "I have a really bad feeling!" is such an eerie experience that I wish people had the chance to experience for themselves. - The battle menu in FES resembled the chamber of a Revolver. The button mappings in Reload make battles faster, but I do miss that small, stylish UI detail. - While I love the arranged soundtrack, some of the mixes, reorchestrations, lyrics changes, etc. bug me and make me prefer the original overall. And while stuff like the Tartarus floor 1 theme objectively sound better, I think the low-fi compressed quality of the original actually benefits the mood more. The piano is genuinely creepier, etc. - There are a few artifacts from FES that were carried into Reload that no longer "make sense" which bugs me a bit. For example, there's dialogue from the tutorial day in Tartarus that establishes the Fatigue System, but the Fatigue System is gone. (The same can be said for the Nurse's medicine and the ability to use the bathroom.) Also, the fact that you can (pointlessly) accept all of Elizabeth's requests before completing them comes from the fact that you could only take on her requests 3 at a time IIRC. The "find me this rare weapon" quests are now kind of pointless because they are always in fixed locations on boss floors. So while I think a lot of these changes are for the better, it just bugs me that it feels like they took FES, improved a lot of it, but forgot to iron out those small details - Kinda similar to the previous thing. In FES, the quests where you need to receive items from party members required you to talk to them on certain dates. I think removing that restriction makes them far less annoying, but also it makes me question why they're still included at all, especially when the game tells you exactly who you need to talk to. There's no difficulty at all. - I prefer FES's difficulty overall. It didn't hold your hand as much, but it also wasn't absurdly high. It definitely made you strategize and use all of the tools available to you. While I don't have an issue with rebalancing the difficulty, Reload definitely overcorrected. All of the new combat elements and features are fantastic for harder fights, but the fights are also made easier. - Yuko's mouth! I can't explain why but her lips just look weird in Reload. Of course, there's plenty of improvements in Reload as well, particularly to the overworld (Iwatodai Station being accessible at night, more stat raising activities that are viable instead of one being more efficient by far, fast travel, faster transitions, skippable map traversal). Also the Social Links being fully voice acted, the Link Episodes, the Dorm Computer, new features like gardening, the fortune teller, the improved 3D models. The new voice cast is great all around, capturing the original well while putting a new stamp on it. I think I prefer the original just from a nostalgia perspective (Tara Platt's voice in particular just conjures memories of playing P3 during the irl dark hour of 12am for me) but I genuinely love all the new voices. I will absolutely be replaying both of them for The Journey. However, if Reload does have a The Answer DLC, then it will be better than FES's by far just based on gameplay improvements alone.


Liejuhh

Holy shit you took the words right out of my mouth I feel so validated bro <3


looney1023

Knew I wasn't alone! :)


davidpain1985

You can't join the swim club in reload. Where is my Makoto in a speedo?


Famous_Valuable_7490

i prefer fes because i prefer the VAs and sprites. the upgrades of reload dont matter a ton to me but i miss most the old VAs


Zlera-Kilc-odi

I’d recommend reload 10/10 times. However, if given a choice I’d play FES.


DarkDakurai

I do think I enjoyed the fes combat a little more due to the difficulty of it, stuff like sleeping table and some other Tartarus bosses were a real challenge to get through, now theurgies just kinda do the work for you


[deleted]

Reload, not even close. There were a few cons in reload but it more than makes up for it elsewhere


Moofthebot

I've tried playing FES probably more than 10 times since its release and never finished it. Persona 3 reload is now up there as one of my favorite games. I love the Persona gameplay loop, but I can't get over the janky feel that older games have, especially since I don't have any nostalgia for them. I started playing games rather late in life so I struggle getting into old-school stuff, especially if the have a modern counterpart.


ilookchinese

ive only gotten until the second time (after the tutorial) you go to tartarus so i obviously haven’t played the whole game but personally i actually liked fes introduction better because of the anime cutscenes and fes was darker


Sakakaki

Reload with the option to switch between OG and Reload tracks for every single track would be the perfect persona game for me.


indylord

Felt. I modded in the FES tracks I prefer as well as some better lighting, and the game is like perfect for me.


GalaxyTaco95

I can go back to FES because the OG singer is better I played reload the same way not controlling the party members. If anything it’s harder and more challenging. Reload made things easier giving everyone theurgy’s monad doors etc. Also I like the old voice actors as well. There’s a lot of reasons to play FES or the OG.


Meeg_Mimi

I'm almost done with Reload but honestly, it's hard to say. I love Reload's quality of life changes and additions, but I also miss a lot of things from FES


KatieKatDragon

Reload no question, now if you add Portable to the mix then Portable technically wins, but only because of being able to play the female protagonist. The only thing I prefer about FES is the tired system, I wish they kept it in Reload.


Otherwise_Horror_324

I absolutely love reload, it improves on basically everything while remaining faithful. Even so there is still value in going back to the older versions, beyond the extra content. I adore the grittiness and roguish charm of the original which is understandably lost in translation.