After almost two years, ATLUS is finally bringing the widely popular Persona 3 Reload to the Nintendo ecosystem on Nintendo Switch 2. The 60+ hour RPG recreates the 2006 PS2 game, bringing the classic in line with modern Persona entries. While I have my gripes with Persona 3, it’s hard to deny the influence and impact the game has had on numerous players and creators.
This release on Nintendo Switch 2 was set to be the biggest splash for ATLUS since it brought Persona 5 Royal to Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, after spending some time with the highly anticipated release, I cannot recommend P3R on Switch 2 at this time whatsoever. Troubling frame rate issues take away from what is otherwise a solid RPG on the go. In the end, the Dark Hour is best experienced elsewhere.
Finding Your Fight
Set in Tatsumi Port Island, Persona 3 Reload follows a group of high school students part of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (S.E.E.S.), who set out to discover the secrets of a mysterious hour after midnight referred to as the Dark Hour. Every Full Moon, a massive Shadow appears, and it’s up to S.E.E.S. to stop it. As the game progresses, more and more characters join the S.E.E.S., and you begin to form bonds with those around you.
Similar to other Persona entries, P3R follows a Calendar system. Each day, you’ll attend class, sleep, and have the opportunity to spend your time the way you want to. This can mean building your stats, leveling up social links, or obtaining new gear. It’s a challenge in a sense to balance your time appropriately to see everything the game has to offer, but really, you can spend each day however you’d like.
As part of the mystery behind the Dark Hour, a strange, massive tower referred to as Tartarus has appeared in place of the high school during the hour. This tower contains hundreds of floors, each crawling with Shadows to defeat and treasure to discover. Amidst your time building relationships, you’ll also need to work your way toward the top of the tower. This generally is the gameplay loop of P3R — go to school, build social links, climb Tartarus, and defeat the boss on the Full Moon.
Beyond day-to-day life, gameplay of Persona 3 Reload largely resembles Persona 5 Royal. The turn-based combat allows you to balance physical attacks with attacks from Personas, offering a layer of strategy that plays into every battle. The original bones of Persona 3‘s combat still exist here, but newer mechanics like the Baton Pass from P5R have made their way over to the remake.
I have my qualms with Persona 3 as a whole. For one, I find the pacing in the first third of the game to be quite poor and uneven, with little to no narrative incentive to keep players engaged. Things change as soon as the party heads on Summer Vacation, though, and from there, I find the narrative to be satisfying.
That said, Tartarus as a whole becomes a place of autopilot at a certain point — a far cry from the palaces of later Persona entries. It constantly feels like a drag due to its frequent repetitive structure, ultimately becoming a mindless yet required task by the end of the game. Despite my gripes, I still enjoyed my time with Persona 3 Reload when I played it on PlayStation 5 — I earned the Platinum Trophy after 91 hours! It’s not my favorite ATLUS game, but I understand and respect its place in the company’s legacy.
It is incredibly exciting anytime an RPG as meaty as this is announced for a portable console. The ability to pick up and play a game as long and content-filled as P3R on the go is a major draw in itself. Thanks to the game’s structure, it’s easy to pick up and play in quick sessions, whether grinding out floors on Tartarus or churning through class answers. That said, these things are trivial when performance issues arise. And on Nintendo Switch 2, Persona 3 Reload is nothing but head-scratching.
Head-Scratching Performance
The Nintendo Switch 2 port of Persona 3 Reload should be a celebration and a strong sign of commitment to third-party support from ATLUS on the console. At $59.99 (and really, any price), I expect a quality port with no performance issues. Quite the opposite is true here, though. I almost have a hard time describing how off and poor quality this port feels. As I ran around Tatsumi Port Island, I had a continuous feeling that something wasn’t quite right with this release.
P3R runs at 30 FPS on Nintendo Switch 2. A 30 FPS cap is by no means the end of the world, and if implemented properly, would have been a non-issue. Persona 5 Royal was locked at 30 FPS on Nintendo Switch, and that was a great port. The same cannot be said for Persona 3 Reload, unfortunately. Turning the camera feels jarring, and you can feel the slowdown, even if you cannot necessarily see it. Each area brings tiny, minor frame drops that are easily noticeable in both handheld and docked modes. This is not an enjoyable experience whatsoever; I got a headache multiple times during my time with this port to the point that I had to put the game down.
Regarding the frame rate cap, it’s very disappointing that ATLUS limited this to 30. I have no doubt that with the available tools of the Nintendo Switch 2, a frame rate of 60 FPS should be achievable. The Steam Deck manages a steady 60 with a few settings tweaked, and that’s without DLSS. I do feel ATLUS could have spent more time here to bring this port up to standards. As disappointing as this is, I can only base my impressions on the port we received, not theoreticals.
And honestly, the frame pacing issue is far worse than any FPS cap. The decision to essentially lift over the PlayStation 4 version of P3R without any attempt to rectify obvious frame pacing issues is utterly baffling, and I am not quite sure how this is releasing as is. The constant sluggish and stuttery feeling was absolutely enough to detract from the experience and divert all my attention from the gameplay. It’s seriously a shame. There are also instances of frame dips (some almost freezing the game!) that occur often, which only add to the feeling that this port was rushed out the door with little care.
Regarding resolution, things are fine here. The game looks sharp enough, but it isn’t quite up to par with the PS5. Still, it’s more than enough for portable play. Character models look sharp, and I found overall environments to look as I’d expect. Loading times are mostly fast, as expected with the faster storage onboard Switch 2. The menu UI does lag in some instances, but considering it feels like the entire game does, I was not surprised.
At the end of the day, it’s extremely unfortunate that these issues exist in a release so many were looking forward to. Personally, I am confused about the approach ATLUS took with testing this release, as it is clear that something is just not right after playing for only five minutes. As such, a good RPG is stuck in a weird state on Switch 2.
A Poor Port
Across Nintendo Switch 2, we have seen incredible ports of games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Star Wars Outlaws. Both of these games utilize DLSS technology available on the Switch 2, with the latter even taking advantage of the console’s ray tracing abilities. There is no question that both CD Projekt Red and Ubisoft put immense work into crafting those experiences that are just as good as any other platform.
Unfortunately, what should have been a celebration in Persona 3 Reload‘s arrival on Nintendo Switch 2 is a disappointing headache. I am bewildered that this was given the seal of approval to release, especially looking at the quality of other ports on the market. There are no excuses for the constant frame rate issues. The more I play, the more I struggle to understand why a higher frame rate is not supported, especially considering the Switch 2 machine learning upscaling solutions. It does feel like ATLUS failed to utilize the technology that Switch 2 offers, which is a shame.
If you’re someone who has been waiting to play Persona 3 Reload since its release and only owns a Nintendo Switch 2, maybe this release will be serviceable. For returning players, I cannot recommend this release whatsoever. You are much better off spending your time and money elsewhere on a game that respects its players. I have a hard time recommending Persona 3 Reload on Switch 2 in its current state to anyone, in all honesty. If you’re really that curious, the free demo is more than enough to give you an idea of the sad nature of this port.
Disclaimer: ATLUS provided a Nintendo Switch 2 copy of Persona 3 Reload for review purposes.
