Highlights

  • Atlus producer Kazushi Wada explained why adding a female protagonist option to Reload was not an option.
  • The absence of a female protagonist in Persona 3 Reload was due to high costs and time constraints.
  • Playing as a female protagonist would offer a different experience with new social links and romance options.

Atlus producer Kazushi Wada has addressed why there's no option to play as a female protagonist in Persona 3 Reload, stating it was too expensive to implement. Persona 3 Reload launched this past February 2, which was a full remake of the original 2006 JRPG. Reload implements a number of mechanics and features from past re-releases of Persona 3, such as new scenes and mechanics that weren't in the original game. One feature that many fans wanted to make a return was the inclusion of the female protagonist.

Atlus introduced the option to play as a female protagonist in Persona 3 Portable, colloquially known as Minako Arisato or Kotone Shiomi. Playing as a female protagonist provides a different experience compared to the male protagonist, such as new social links, different romance options, and some changes in things like the cutscenes, music, and dialogue. Many fans believed Reload would have been a great place to include her, but were crestfallen when Atlus confirmed that no option would be included, even as post-launch DLC. Reload's producer, Kazushi Wada, recently discussed that a female protagonist option was considered, but was scrapped.

Persona 3 Reload Aigis Fuuka Akihiko in Kyoto Atlus artwork
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In an interview with Famitsu, Wada was asked about adding the female protagonist from Portable into Reload. Wada laments that there is no possibility for a female protagonist, apologizing to fans of the character. He notes they considered adding the female protagonist early on, but found that the time and cost dedicated to including it was too high. Wada says it would have been much costlier and would have taken more time to develop than the Episode Aigis: The Answer DLC that was announced earlier this week. "For a female protagonist, I am sorry to say that unfortunately, there is no possibility for a female protagonist," said Wada. "Of course, we were considering a female protagonist as well, but the development time and cost would be several times longer than Episode Aigis, and the hurdles would be too high."

Why is Persona 3 Reload Skipping the Female Protagonist?

While fans are upset that the female protagonist is being skipped over again, translating Persona 3 Portable's female protagonist route to Reload would understandably be pretty difficult. As a lot of content from Persona 3 Portable was built off a more limited visual novel-like presentation, the social links and events would need to be recreated and animated from scratch, on top of dedicating resources to recreating the NPCs and social links that were introduced in the female protagonist's route. All of this adds up to an amount of work Atlus would likely have considered to be too expensive to invest in.

For a female protagonist, I am sorry to say that unfortunately, there is no possibility for a female protagonist. Of course, we were considering a female protagonist as well, but the development time and cost would be several times longer than Episode Aigis, and the hurdles would be too high.

Atlus choosing to remake The Answer epilogue from Persona 3 FES as DLC was likely the better move in the long run, though it also was a complicated affair. Wada stated that The Answer epilogue was considered to also be remade for Reload's launch, but due to "challenging reasons," the developers were almost forced to exclude it entirely. Due to the amount of requests from fans to include the campaign, the project was officially moved into development. Wada also says that The Answer DLC is 40-50% done, with the overall base completed.