Thanks to Persona 5 and Persona 4 Golden, Atlus' JRPG series has garnered another huge round of new fans after exploding in popularity recently. While Shin Megami Tensei 5 is headed for release in 2021, many Persona fans are eagerly awaiting news about when they can expect the next entry in the series. There's been rumors and grumbling about a potential Persona 6 announcement in the future, but nothing concrete at the moment. That being said, earlier this year fans went viral after calling for another Persona game instead: Persona 3.
Releasing back in 2006, Persona 3 was a huge step forward for the JRPG franchise. All of the foundational elements of the visual novel-esque social simulator that Persona games are now known for started with Persona 3. The game also served as a bridge between the traditional total darkness and depressing tone of Persona 1/2 into the more balanced and occasionally hopeful atmosphere of Persona 4/5. Among other gameplay and visual changes, several aspects of Persona 3 are very dated and clunky compared to modern entries like Persona 5. Now it's clear fans would like to play a definitive version of Persona 3, and there's plenty of old school aspects a remake could fix.
Improved Visual Fidelity
Of course, with any remake of a classic game, visual fidelity upgrades are typically expected. In the case of Persona 3, a remake would mean a completely new engine from the classic 3D game engine from PS2 that powered both Persona 3 and Persona 4. If a theoretical Persona 3 Remake was coming in the next two or three years, it would likely have been built on a version of Persona 5's game engine. Assuming a Persona 3 Remake is much further off, the game would likely be developed under a completely new engine, one that's designed to produce games on next-gen consoles.
Those who've played the additional/challenge battles in Persona 5 have already gotten a tiny glimpse at the protagonists from Persona 3 and Persona 4 in the high definition engine. That being said, Persona 3 remade in the new engine would be a huge upgrade from the original game.
Removing Forced AI Teammates in Battle
One particular gameplay issue that Persona 3 remade would definitely need to be changed is the forced AI party members. In the original release of Persona 3 and the expanded Persona 3 FES, both games only allowed total control over the protagonist's actions in battle. All subsequent party members are non-controllable, and can only have their actions dictated by certain playstyles like support or attack. This was only changed in the Persona 3 Portable re-release on PSP, which is a compressed version of the original game that wasn't the same as the base game.
JRPG fans typically want to have total control over their battle strategy, This was never an issue in Persona 4 onward with fully playable battle parties, so this would definitely need to be changed (and likely would be) in a Persona 3 Remake.
Implementing Battle QoL Changes from Persona 5
Speaking of battle changes, the huge quality of life improvements made in Persona 5's battle system would likely carry over into a Persona 3 Remake as well. Granted the slick and stylish UI wouldn't necessarily have to carry over, but a lot of the fundamental changes like easy to access weakness scans/indicators, menus bound to button presses instead of constantly cycling up and down, and other finer details would need to carry over. Part of what made Persona 5's turn-based combat so engaging was how quick and responsive engagements were.
In Persona 3, and even in Persona 4 as well, battles required cycling through multiple different menus for actions. Persona 5 was right to bind multiple functions to separate buttons, and Persona 3 would do best to emulate that if remade.
More Fully Voiced, In-Engine Cutscenes
While Persona games are characterized by huge amounts of dialogue and plenty of reading, Persona 3 was the first to have full 3D cutscenes in-engine. Persona 3 adopting its visual novel style social simulator helped eschew the typical JRPG tropes that the first two mainline entries followed. That being said, it'd be nice to see more fully voice acted cutscenes in Persona 3 like the sheer amount of fully voiced scenes in Persona 5 and Royal. Characters, both new and old, deserve to get a voice like the many voices of Persona 5. There doesn't necessarily need to be more pre-rendered anime cutscenes in Persona 3, even though those scenes are a treat as well.
Retain or Lean Further Into Persona 3's Darker Tone
Lastly, Persona 3 should either retain or lean further into its comparatively darker tone. Granted Persona 1 and the two Persona 2 games are incredibly dark and depressing compared to Persona 3, but both Persona 4 and Persona 5 have much more hopeful atmospheres compared to their predecessors. Persona 3's story remains a lot closer to the supernatural aspects of the series' lore like battling shadows and exploring the Dark Hour. A Persona 3 Remake should lean into the unsettling and freaky aspects of the game's lore.
Of course, there's no real concrete evidence that a Persona 3 Remake is in the cards, but Atlus has proven fans wrong before. There's a very real possibility Atlus is looking into a port for PC at bare minimum, thanks to Persona 4 Golden's success on the platform. Previous Atlus surveys have also inquired about the importance of Persona 3 among the worldwide fanbase. Perhaps a remake is not as far-fetched as fans may have come to expect.