Persona Leak Hints Atlus Wants In On 2023’s Hottest Trend
Blast from the past.
Video game remakes are all the rage these days, from ambitious re-imaginings like Resident Evil 4 and Final Fantasy VII Remake, to more by-the-numbers re-releases like Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe. A new potential leak suggests Sega and Atlus want a piece of the pie, with a short gameplay clip that’s supposedly from the long-rumored Persona 3 Remake. While the leak is, of course, unverified, it could be the most substantial piece of evidence we’ve seen for the remake yet.
The clip in question first surfaced on April 4 and recirculated on Twitter April 10, as the user @AVtoGAMEnoYAMI reported it was from an anonymous user DM, and part of a larger video. The full video is supposedly from an internal meeting at Sega Japan in 2021, which also contains footage of Sonic Frontiers and a Jet Set Radio reboot. Again, keep in mind that all of this is unverified, even if it does look surprisingly professional.
Further proof pops up as another Twitter user, @MbKKssTBhz5, noticed that a new domain had been registered on March 15, 2023 for p3re.jp. While there’s currently no website the domain, interestingly, is registered to the same domain provider as p5r.jp, for the Persona 5 Royal website.
That’s pretty compelling evidence, and this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about a Persona 3 remake. Rumors popped up earlier this year that the remake was basically a “definitive” version of Persona 3, and would be announced this year.
Persona 3 is certainly in a bit of an interesting spot in the franchise at large with the PSP version, Persona 3 Portable, recently getting a re-release on modern platforms. When Portable released in 2010 it included a host of new story options, including a female protagonist option. However, it did not include the epilogue titled “The Answer” that was introduced with the PS2 re-release, Persona 3 FES. It’s a confusing state for the game as different pieces of content are locked to different consoles, and there’s simply no way to get everything in one version.
With that in mind, Persona 3 is the most likely candidate from the series for a remake. Not only could Atlus unify all of the disparate content, but bring in the innovations from Persona 4 and 5, streamlining combat, enhancing social simulation aspects, and of course, giving the game a new coat of paint graphically.
Persona 3 lacks many of the innovations brought by later titles, like robust Social Links, fast travel around the city, and more.
The hard part is that a Persona 3 Remake would absolutely cannibalize the recent release of Persona 3 Portable, as fans wouldn’t have any reason to buy that version anymore. Of course, that may not be a problem in Atlus’ eyes, especially as an announcement of a remake might drum up even more interest for anyone that hasn’t played the original, and wants to be familiar with it.
Another aspect to all this is how a Persona 3 Remake could help fill time while we wait for the eventual Persona 6, which we’ve yet to hear any word about. It’s possible the next entry could be running into development issues, much like Persona 5 did, and filling that gap with a remake would be a wise move to keep interest in the series high. It could simultaneously allow P-Studio to get a better handle on PS5 development, or try out some experimental ideas that could be implemented in Persona 6.
It’s hard to say Persona 3 NEEDS a remake, as the game certainly holds up by today’s standards, but if Atlus wanted to remake a Persona game, it does make the most sense logistically. With some big events like Summer Game Fest and Tokyo Game Show coming up, it’s possible we could see something official before too long.
