Persona 3 Reload

FES is probably the second-best PS2 RPG while the PSP version might be the best thing on that console, but somehow Reload manages to keep the mood and feel of the original intact while evolving into a much better-playing game. If it weren't for it getting slightly too hand-holdy and "hey, look here!" to the point that some of the original's mystery and intrigue is lost, it'd be an easy 10 for me, and either way, it's certainly one of the best games of 2024.

I hadn't played any of the previous iterations of this title, so can't really say how it compares to previous versions. At first, I found myself struggling to get into this as much as with the sequels, which I put down to familiarity with the series and it being slow to pick up to the full speed I knew it could have. When it did get going, I very much enjoyed the main themes and its very solid gameplay systems. Social Links I found a bit hit-or-miss, with less fleshed-out happenings than eg 4&5.