Don’t get me wrong, I love Persona 4. It was my introduction to the Persona series around ten years ago, and I’d consider it my favorite of the series in general. It’s replayability and accessibility today is why I do not think it needs a remake.

Persona 3 Reload I understood and was happy for, because despite coming out only two years before Persona 4, the original and FES versions were only accessible to those who still own a PlayStation 2. The game was only available in a more modern form when Persona 3 Portable was ported to PC and Xbox in 2020 along with P4G—but if you prefer the non-visual novel style of the original game and FES, you need a PS2. It’s a non-issue for a lot of fans sure, but it made it much harder to access for new player bases, which is why I can support ATLUS remaking the game to attract new fans and old fans alike.

Persona 3 FES—I presume the original version as well, but have only played the FES version—also had just awful game-play:

• No direct control over your party members in battle in the FES version
• Extremely slow exp gain rate that requires tedious grinding, especially paired with the limited time in Tartarus you can spend without penalty due to the tired/sickness system
• The female social links requiring you to enter a romantic relationship with them in order to continue hanging out with them, along with the fact that the girls can find out you’re cheating on them if you do not balance your time with them correctly, which reverses your social link with them
• High difficulty even on Easy mode, as many older games tend to be

I love Persona 3‘s characters and story, but it was a pain to play through. I have seen some complaints from other fans on Persona 4 Golden‘s dungeons having a lack of clarity on how to progress to each floor, but I honestly do not think it was such a problem that warrants a remake. Persona 3 Reload still kept that same repetitive dungeon crawling nature of its original and Persona 4, but the what it improved upon was changing each segment of Tartarus to have a different appearance—something that was scarce in the original Tartarus.

In Persona 4, each dungeon already has their own unique visual theme and music track dedicated to it, it is far less repetitive and is why I do not think it needs a modern reworking. Most importantly, you do not automatically romance every single girl and risk social link reversal just because you want to progress their personal storyline.

I know why ATLUS chose to remake Persona 4 instead of Persona 2 or Revelations: Persona—also known as Megami Ibunroku Persona or just dubbed Persona 1 by fans—considering it’s one of the most popular and loved games of the series, but I really wish they would stop ignoring its predecessors. Despite ATLUS ignoring their existence until recent years, Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment have stayed as favorite of the series for many fans of the franchise. Perhaps ATLUS does not acknowledge them because Persona 2 has a literal depiction of Hitler in it and Revelations: Persona’s various random stereotypical depiction of black people in its localization—and I’m sure other outdated content as well—but that is all the more reason to remake them through a more progressive lens.

Both the Persona 2 games and Revelations: Persona are also only available on the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation Portable, making it much less accessible for newer audiences. Having seen Revelations: Persona’s game-play, I never want to even want to try that game for fear of motion sickness, making it even less accessible to those interested in what its story has to offer. Besides the excessive random encounters, Persona 2: Innocent Sin surprisingly does not have as frustrating of game-play compared to Persona 3 FES in my opinion, but it definitely deserves a graphical revamp and a better English dub. Of course, you can emulate these games—I have actually recently gotten the chance to finally play Persona 2 on an emulator—but it is disappointing that emulation is the most convenient way to play these games anymore.

I am still interested in Persona 4 Revival, but it really does not need a remake the way Persona 3 did. Remaking Persona 4 also just risks extra disappointment from fans considering it isn’t a very outdated game by many’s standards.

What are your thoughts on Persona 4 Revival‘s announcement and Persona 3 Reload? Do you have high hopes or concerns about Persona 4 Revival? Feel free to discuss in the comments below or join the conversation on the Boss Rush Discord!

Featured Image: ATLUS (via GameRant)