One Persona 3 Reload Voice is a Great Nod to the Original…

Summary

Persona 3 Reload's gameplay changes cater to a wider audience and modernize the game, while visual and audio enhancements refresh the experience for both new and veteran players.
The inclusion of fully-voiced Social Link scenes in Persona 3 Reload gives the game the most spoken dialogue in the series, with a large voice cast that includes original voices in minor roles.
The recasting of voice actors in Persona 3 Reload, particularly Akihiko's original voice actor Liam O'Brien as Officer Kurosawa, strengthens the relationship between characters and offers nods to the series' history.

Persona 3 Reload's changes to its gameplay help bring the game into the modern era and make it accessible to a wider audience. However, Persona 3 Reload also includes many visual and audio enhancements like remixed music tracks and a new voice cast to refresh the game for both newcomers and veterans. While some fans of the original Persona 3 release might miss the original voice cast, there are a few references to those voice actors throughout Persona 3 Reload, including one that is a nice nod to the relationship between two characters.

A big selling point of Persona 3 Reload was the enhanced audio that includes fully-voiced Social Link scenes, giving the game the most spoken dialogue in a Persona game. With this many spoken lines of dialogue in the game, Persona 3 Reload has quite a large voice cast, allowing certain characters' original voices to appear for minor roles of characters with newly-voiced scenes. While this practice is a fun callback for fans of the series, one particular casting choice further develops the relationship between Akihiko and Officer Kurosawa.

How Persona 3 Reload References Akihiko's Original Voice Actor

In Persona 3 Reload, Officer Kurosawa serves as the weapon and armor vendor for SEES, allowing players to purchase wares from him under the table from the back of the police station at Paulownia Mall. The player is first introduced to Kurosawa after Akihiko introduces them to him and notes how Kurosawa has been helping SEES by supplying them with the equipment they need to take on Shadows. While Kurosawa doesn't know the full extent of the Dark Hour and Shadows, it's clear he trusts Akihiko enough to support his and the rest of SEES' efforts as much as he can, demonstrating the connection between these two characters.

Persona 3 Reload further strengthens the connection between Akihiko and Kurosawa through its voice cast, with Kurosawa being voiced by Liam O'Brien in this entry. While Grant George voiced the character in past versions of Persona 3, recasting Kurosawa to Liam O'Brien is significant because he was the original voice actor for Akihiko in previous Persona 3 releases. In Persona 3 Reload, Akihiko is voiced by Alejandro Saab, and as such, the game references his previous voice actor by recasting Liam O'Brien as a character who has a close relationship with Akihiko.

Other Original Voice Actors Playing a New Character in Persona 3 Reload

Actor	Original Persona 3 Role	Persona 3 Reload Role
Yuri Lowenthal	Protagonist	Eiichiro Takeba
Michelle Ruff	Yukari Takeba	Mayoido Antiques Owner
Tara Platt	Mitsuru Kirijo/Elizabeth	Elizabeth
Wendee Lee	Fuuka Yamagishi	Mrs. Terauchi
Grant George	Shinjiro Aragaki/Kurosawa/Jin	Takeharu Kirijo
Karen Strassman	Aigis/Natsuki	Additional Voices
Cindy Robinson	Ken	Additional Voices

While this casting is a nice nod to the fact that Liam O'Brien was Akihiko's original voice actor, many of the other original voice cast now play other minor characters in Persona 3 Reload as well. It's interesting to see actors like Yuri Lowenthal and Michelle Ruff, who voiced the protagonist and Yukari respectively, are now playing side characters like Yukari's father, Eiichiro Takeba, and the Mayoido Antiques Owner. Another interesting casting choice to note is that Grant George, Kurosawa's original voice actor, now voices Takeharu Kirijo, Mitsuru's father and head of the Kirijo Group.

While Tara Platt originally voiced both Mitsuru and Elizabeth in the original Persona 3, she was replaced as the voice of Mitsuru by Allegra Clark but still retains her role as the voice of Elizabeth in Persona 3 Reload. This casting makes Elizabeth the only character in Persona 3 Reload to retain their original voice actor. It's great to see Atlus give these iconic voice actors the recognition they deserve with these roles in Persona 3 Reload while allowing new voice actors to shine in starring roles.

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Persona 3 Reload

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9 /10

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Released: February 2, 2024

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ESRB: Mature 17 / Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s): P-Studio
Publisher(s): Atlus, Sega
Franchise: Persona
Platform(s): PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
Genre(s): JRPG, RPG, Life Simulation, Strategy
How Long To Beat: 65 hours