"I've been waiting for this!"
— Akihiko Sanada.

Looking for a JRPG that will last you a good 85 - 130 hours with an emotional story, fun gameplay, and some kick-ass music? Time to play Persona 3!

Persona 3 is my absolute favourite game, It's 1 of 3 games that I've been wanting a port of and it's finally here! I've played all versions of P3, and Portable has always been my favourite version of the game. P3P might not have the 2D exploration, the animated cutscenes, or The Answer... But at least it has the FMC route which is a completely new POV with new and amazing social links that include ALL party members — Even Koromaru!

P3P is a mix between a Visual Novel, Point & Click, and JRPG with a bit of a dungeon crawler feel to it. The main dungeon "Tartarus" doesn't offer variation compared to later entries in the series, the gameplay is similar with turn-based combat where you can choose to control your party members or give them different priorities. There's a "social link" system where you build a relationship with different characters and learn their story, you can also choose to enter a special relationship with someone or with multiple someones if you wish.

It's a story-rich game that handles some dark themes, the major thing that sticks out is the theme of "death" which comes up multiple times throughout the story; Remember you will die, Remember your death, Remember you are mortal — Memento Mori.

"No one can escape time; it delivers us all to the same end. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes."
— Pharos

I'm still sitting here hoping for a Persona 3 Remake with animated cutscenes, 2D world exploration, and a Ryoji social link for the male protagonist... But until then I'll happily replay Persona 3 Portable on Steam because it's finally here and FMC has been recognised as CANON.

Update: Persona 3 Remake has been announced!! I got my wish! :)