As a player who could not stand to play portable when he tried it last year on the switch, P3R is a breath of Fresh Air to me, making the original P3 more accessible to the modern audience. I have not even completed the game yet, so I can guarantee this is pretty spoiler-free, but nevertheless I will highlight the game as best I can being about 30hrs in.
The main traits as to why I love this game all revolve around the quality of story made modern through better gameplay. The story of P3 is incredible, and when the graphics are good and the dub acting far exceeds that in the original (especially for Fuuka) this becomes incredibly obvious. I like the fact the game isn't afraid to make characters less likeable or nice to define them properly as characters, and the realism in that you will not be best buds and have a social link with everyone in S. E. E. S. (the main cast of the game) - the fact the game does this adds to its realism, but the changes made in P3R to better incorporate characters into the setting without giving them a strict link aids the quality of the character building, something which Persona does so well time and time again.
The plot itself is unique, well-directed and with twists and turns throughout - I am yet to get to the point in which a clear main antagonist, and yet I feel the menace and stakes. I love how the game makes you save random civilians in Tartarus, and these minor details once again, immerse me into the game. These features in many ways make me enjoy this game more than the previous Persona games, allbeit that is controversial.
The graphics and acting, as mentioned have stepped up. A great new feature is that social links have consistent voice acting, making them more immersive. And some of the acting in this game is incredible, let me tell you - the character variety from monks to random kids to running prodigies to just a straight up dog is wild. The graphics are incredible, especially in Tartarus with the exception of when you're in cutscenes with unnamed or lesser characters, who they don't bother to render, and in many of the places around town where the people are like faceless silhouettes - this being said, when compared to the alternative of low framerates and loading speeds I can live with this.
Finally, and I think the best change is the improvement in gameplay. Original P3 gameplay is... frustrating, to say the least. It's not particularly difficult necessarily, it's just that so much random stuff can wipe your team it's unfairly imbalanced because of many of your team's low damage outputs. In P3, not only is the damage tweaked (i.e. We still take a lot but we can deal a lot with the right buffing) but the new "Theurgy" mechanic is a strong idea, giving us a new win condition for many fights. None of the characters feel unusably weak because of this, and it allows you to shape your teammates around their Theurgy, fixing many issues in the original gameplay I encountered.
Other minor ease of access tweaks coming with a more modern game aside, this is about it for the changes! Not many really, but they make a difference when playing. This is a game I have invested some 30hrs into over through the past week or so and I do not regret it.
10/10. Already a very good game.
