Summary
Persona 3 Reloadis the next game in the beloved JRPG franchise, hot off the heels ofPersona 5 Tactica.P3Ris something of an oddball in the series. It is the firstPersonaremake, so it has had several dilemmas to navigate. While the series is new to remakes, it has long featured enhanced re-releases, typically one for each entry.Persona 3stands out from this because it received two separate re-releases,FESandPortable.Persona 3Portablehad a unique female protagonist, andPersona 3 FEScontained an added epilogue called “The Answer.“P3 Reloadwill not include either of these additional pieces of content at launch, but it could follow an example set byPersona 5 Tacticaand let fans get them later.
Persona 5 Tactica,unlikePersona 3 Reload,was not a mainline game, but it was still developed in-house by Atlus.Many things setP5Tapart from mainline entries in the series and even other spin-offs. The game has a unique art style and translates the Phantom Thieves into the tactical strategy genre. Another thing that is unique toPersona 5 Tacticais its inclusion of story DLC.“Repaint Your Heart"is higher quality and more substantial than any other DLC for thePersonafranchise.
Content Included in ‘Repaint Your Heart’
Personahas a DLC problemseen in multiple spin-offs andPersona 5.P5 Royalhas over 40 DLC packs, but not a single one adds to the story. Most of these add personas from previous games, costumes for characters, and occasionally music. These packs are, at best, simple fan service. Many of the personas disrupt the game’s balance and are unusable for much of the experience as a result. The series' lack of meaningful DLC is a real shame, especially when Atlus re-releases each game for full price with fixes and added story content. This isn’t inherently problematic, but it feels like a relic of past times, andP5T’s story DLC stands out as a result.
Title Updates Are Outdated
Title updates, like the ones thatPersonagames receive, are largely outdated. The practice used to make sense in the pre-internet era, but now most gamers have their devices hooked up to the web. There is no reason for new content and enhancements to be repackaged and sold exclusively at full price.Street Fighter 5was repackaged multiple times but allowed players to acquire the new content in updates and as DLC rather than buy a new game.The Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredis being released as a new game but has an upgrade option for owners of the original to get it for a lower price. Both of these practices have become common, andPersonashould adopt a similar approach to additional content before fans get tired of buying each game multiple times.
Persona 5 Tactica Could be a Model For Persona 3 Reload
“Repaint Your Heart” is more substantial than any previousPersonaDLC. It adds new playable characters that do not disrupt balance as well as new story content. The availability of this content as paid DLC rather than as part of a new release sets it apart from other games in the franchise.Persona 3 Reloadis already being questioned as thedefinitive version ofP3because of its lack of content fromFESand the female protagonist. Reintroducing them as DLC rather than adding them in full-price re-release could help to resolve some of the disappointment around this content’s exclusion from the base game.
Persona 5 Tactica’s approach to DLC is more modern and consumer-friendly than that of other games in the franchise, and it should serve as a turning point.Persona 3 Reloadhas additional content that fans are requesting before the game is even released and could serve as a platform for Atlus to show off a new philosophy for DLC. Other Atlus games have also suffered from a glut of frivolous DLC in the past, so hopefully, the change in pace set by P5T is adopted by other games from the company as well, such as the upcomingMetaphor: ReFantazio.
