The original JRPG was released in 2006, so it’s been two console generations since then, but that’s not why SEGA-owned Atlus decided to remake the first mainstream Persona (the first two episodes on PS1 were stylistically different, and they were also in first-person perspective).

Ryota Niitsuma, the producer of Persona 3 Reload, recently spoke about the remake, which was released on February 2 and brings the game closer to Persona 5 while expanding on the content of the previous remakes. Remasters and re-releases are common, but the same cannot be said for remakes, and fans of the franchise have often requested them from Atlus. Especially after Persona 3 Portable was re-released on modern platforms, which influenced the design of Persona 3 Reload.

In an interview with Game Informer, Niitsuma talked about how the Persona developers had a lot of motivation from fans asking for a Persona 3 remake. After Persona 5 Royal was finished, the developers were ready for a follow-up project, but they didn’t know what to do. It seemed like the right time to start Persona 3 Remake, and he said that the stars were aligned at that time.

The producer also said that a 1:1 approach was used in recreating the original game, but some clever changes were made to modernize it. Most of the changes were brought up by developers who played the original Persona 3. They told us what they thought was missing and what bothered them about the original game. This led to the removal of the fatigue system and the redesign of the playable characters’ abilities.

Rumor has it that Atlus is working on more re-releases. According to Midori, an Atlus/SEGA insider, a Persona 4 remake is in the works, and remasters of previous Persona games are not out of the question. Remastering is also a common request from fans of the franchise, and it makes sense that the developer would do what is in demand. We’ll see…

Source: GameRant, Game Informer