Yeah, so this probably feels like it came out of nowhere for a lot of you I'm sure. I pre-recorded four episodes of this a little while back, and given my understanding that this game is very long, we will be doing episodes generally around four hours or so starting with episode 3, these first two episodes land closer to three hours a piece. Nevertheless, we will be doing Persona 3 Reload on Saturdays and that's pretty much it. Obviously this will take quite a while regardless, and this is my first ever experience with anything in this series, so it should be interesting. That pretty much sums it all up, I hope you all enjoy the journey as I dive into one of the series that I've been looking forward to eventually checking out for a very long time.

@caseyp5861

3 ай бұрын

What an excellent game to start the series with. Which rumors are discussing possible remasters of one and two are in the works. Also don’t forget to buy the expansion pass. It includes a remake of the CANON finale of Persona 3.

@calvineastburn

3 ай бұрын

I definitely wasn't expecting this but I'm very excited to see your playthrough of this game.

@zzzkun2526

3 ай бұрын

I’ll pay so much for you to drop episode 2 like right now

@christopherross8976

3 ай бұрын

I’m thoroughly impressed with how much you gleaned from the game and series as a whole already. This playthrough’s gonna be awesome

@MewCocoa

3 ай бұрын

Omg!!!!! This is an amazing surprise!!! Can't wait to dive in! This is my fave game series!!!!

No fucking way he's actually starting his journey into Persona, trust me Shark you aren't prepared for the amount of badassery this series holds.

It’s sort of just a common joke among the community of the protagonists being the silent, unbothered, not giving a shit and Makoto’s sort of the catalyst for that. You’ll see it in Persona 4 and 5’s protagonists, but Makoto just doesn’t give a fuck

@christopherross8976

3 ай бұрын

Yeah more like he’s so detached and depressed to even care

@AshEshyr

2 ай бұрын

idk if i would call it a joke, its more because a lot of players like to project themselves onto the protagonist and play it as a power fantasy. they are given eccentric dialogue options that can be a sort of gauge to their "canon" personality (makoto, apathetic; Narukami, smooth; Joker, cheeky) and then other super neutral dialogue options to not project too much personality onto the character that those certain players can't imagine themselves in the role.

1:07:55 - If Shark will continue his Persona journey, this would age well xD

@itsazan2077

3 ай бұрын

Lmao I was thinking the exact same thing

@caseyp5861

3 ай бұрын

Yeah as soon as Shark said that I was ready for the nurse.

@conorgillingham2564

3 ай бұрын

Especially the P5 nurse lmao

@subarusama5673

Ай бұрын

P3 nurse is truly magical... The best non-student character from school and only one other (teacher) comes close.

I honestly wish I MYSELF could have a blind reaction to this wothout knowing EVERYTHING that already happened so i could be OUT OF MY MIND WHEN I SEE ALL THE CHARACTERS BLOW THERE BRAINS OUT AND NOT JUST "oh yeah there doing the thing"

dude my partner asked if something was wrong because I legit gasped seeing this

@Meowjocat

2 ай бұрын

I gasped too lucky it's just me home alone. My cat is judging me tho 😅

He’s actually doing this

"the dude with the mask" yea i know who you mean but that's really funny

@subarusama5673

Ай бұрын

_really funny_ Hehe, I see what you did there... Sorry, my inner Ikutsuki woke up. 😂

The way I almost screamed when I saw this - Shark let’s plays are life! I’m so excited to be able to see your first experience with the persona franchise and I hope you will enjoy this game as much as I did.

It was on my fucking bingo card! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!

I let out an actual scream. I just beat this game yesterday. This is the craziest timing ever known to man.

oh god. shark, you're a madman.

Guess I’m getting into Persona now.

@monotropa_uniflora

3 ай бұрын

Literally me with many shows or games I’ve been meaning to get to for years and years and then Shark suddenly does them and it’s like ‘well…guess the time has come’.

@christopherross8976

3 ай бұрын

You won’t regret it bro. Not only the characters but the music is top notch

@caseyp5861

3 ай бұрын

Fortunately I had the pandemic giving me all the time in the world to get through 5.

@MrTommygunz420

3 ай бұрын

@@caseyp5861 I think we all did, I do regret playing them in 5,4,3 order though because even though this is the newest one; it's got the oldest set of battle and stat growing mechanics.

@axemaster8331

3 ай бұрын

@@MrTommygunz420 How was Persona 4? I couldn't bring myself to play it because I hated the graphics.

Totally wasn’t expecting this! Surprisingly, Persona is a pretty good transition from visual novels with all the VN elements from the non-combat gameplay.

makoto's androgynous pretty boy swag has captured the hearts and minds of the people yet again 😌

Given your "analyse everything" style of reaction and let's play this is going to be amazing. But really not looking forward to the Shin Megami Tensei comment section army telling the youtuber they're playing wrong and spoiling stuff. Here's hoping you have a dedicated mod approving comments.

This is definitely a surprise to say the least. Really hope you remain unspoiled and interested with Persona. I'll be sticking through the journey.

2:53:00 Mitsuru is voiced by Allegra Clark who you now know as Boss from AI the Somnium Files

@RealRoboKnight

3 ай бұрын

It's cool that she captured the original voice lol

Shark's reaction to the opening is so good.

As a massive persona fan and someone who has been watching you since the Steven universe days this has made me unbelievably happy

Great first episode! You are VERY perceptive and articulate. It's a nice change of pace from the typical player who glazes over dialogue and takes everything at face value. Definitely looking forward to the next episode! I kind of wish you were uploading it more often considering how long the game is. Good luck on your journey, and do what you can with the time you're given. 😉

music was a little low in the cutscenes tbh. i dont think you have to worry about the BGM being too loud becaues when characters actually talk with voice acting, the game automatically lowers the music so you can hear the voices better.

Persona 1 and 2 are super connected, 3 4 and 5 are also but in a more anthology way. Like, they're one straight timeline but all take place 3 to 5 years after each other

@MrTommygunz420

3 ай бұрын

No 4's a year after 3; the Idol's "cancelled show last year" during the class trip happened in this one (vaguest possible wording I can do to avoid spoiling something for him like 2 years from now when he plays it😉)

@CABRALFAN27

3 ай бұрын

There are the Arena games that connect 3 and 4 more rigidly, to be fair, and also the Q games.

Going with the canonical name, can definitely respect that. I would say Persona silent protagonist are still characterised pretty good in their games, so it does help a lot to feel for them. Since each Persona has a lot of adaptations, they used to have different names in each adaptation, however latest re-releases are using the anime names as default ones, so they are now pretty much canon-canon

I thought maybe Persona 5, possibly 4, did NOT expect 3. Actually tried to play this a while back but I couldn't stand using the ps2. Maybe this is my sign to give the reload a try.

Yep, definitely wasn't expecting that today. The original version of this game is responsible for shaping so much of what I love narratively nowadays so here's hoping someone else can enjoy an awesome remake just as much as I did over a decade ago.

@ma.2089

3 ай бұрын

Unfortunate they couldn’t capture the OG that well. I’m still sad over the stuff they cut

@Galeforce017

3 ай бұрын

@@ma.2089 Uhh... I have no clue what you mean, genuinely.

@simonO712

3 ай бұрын

​@@ma.2089While there are still a few things I prefer in the original, I still vastly prefer this version in almost every other aspect.

@axemaster8331

3 ай бұрын

@@ma.2089I disagree, I think the remake is much better

I'm not surprised, I was already expecting you to play Persona, like when someone plays Danganronpa Persona is instantly the next one on the list to play and vice versa.

Oh my god. It’s happening. It’s finally happening…….Shark’s going to start the persona series!!!!!! Onwards to Persona 5 Royal!!!

@caseyp5861

3 ай бұрын

First Reload, The Answer DLC, and assuming he likes the series Golden as well. Which I assume that like in the VN slot Somnium Files Nirvana Initiative will pop up at some point.

@MrTommygunz420

3 ай бұрын

@@caseyp5861 I love golden, it just released at the oddest time politically speaking (they considered but ultimately scrapped gay romance options; only they didn't rewrite some other scenes to account for removing it so plenty of cringe moments from it.) But aside from those issues it's the best story IMO

@caseyp5861

3 ай бұрын

@@MrTommygunz420Yeah I haven’t played it but I am aware of Yosuke.

Usually a person can only Awaken One Persona But, The Protagonists of 3, 4 and 5 are special and wield the Wild Card ability

@HollowGolem

3 ай бұрын

It's worth noting that in Persona 1 and 2, all the characters could awaken to multiple Personae, but only within a few arcana.

@KatelynS0209

3 ай бұрын

​@@HollowGolem it's less that they could only use personas within a few arcana and more that they couldn't use those for a couple arcana (except Reiji fuck his compatibility)

@shelbybayer200

3 ай бұрын

@@HollowGolem I think two Arcana their Main Arcana which would be the First Persona they get at the start and than the can Equip a second. With Personas that match an Affinity will have a better Growth rate for power.

If you like story based games which tackles real life themes then this is the perfect game for you.

Shark for the love of god I can't handle both this and Ultra Despair Girls at the same time.

I screamed when I saw the notification. It’s my favorite game franchise and I wasn’t expecting you to play it lol

THERES NO WAY NEVER IN MY DREAMS WOULD I HAVE THOUGHT HE'D DO PERSONA

Unexpected, but let's go! This is one of my favorite games ever. The story is probably the best of the series (IMO).

You're gonna enjoy all the persona games but knowing your taste in anime and narrative themes, i have a feeling persona 3 in particular is gonna be a rly special lp. I was just thinking the other day that this would be a perfect lp for you and here we are!!

I would have expected the fucking animation reaction MAYBE - but actually playing it is gonna be longer then all of Danganronpa -

DAMN, I'M REALLY HAPPY YOU'RE PLAYING THIS. I live your reactions, and i hope you like this game as much as many others have.

Turn on the VSync option in the config menu for your "visual problem". I believe it is a screen tearing. Turming the VSync option on will solve the problem. Also, this game automatically sets the voice volume higher than the BGM whenever there is a voiced line.

Here I was - never EVER expecting my 2024 would entail hearing Shark freaking out at headshots in the opening to P3. Looks like I picked the right timeline.

2:42:45 yep you're bang on. there's a lot of setup and foreshadowing that you'll notice the second time around but most of it is gonna go unnoticed for first timers

Huh, interesting, someone that doesn't play JRPGs, playing Persona... This gotta be interesting

@caseyp5861

3 ай бұрын

Well ignoring Mario and Luigi and Paper Mario Persona 5 was my first JRPG.

haven't gotten around to playing Reload yet but I did play OG 3 and god, everyone having new voice actors is really throwing me

@sonicbhoc

3 ай бұрын

Same here dude

@derrinerrow4369

3 ай бұрын

Fun thing is that Akihiko, Yukari, and the protagonist's old VAs are still in this game, but they play other characters. The only person who is still the same after all these years is Elizabeth.

@shellythebutler

3 ай бұрын

​@@derrinerrow4369yeah just about everyone in the old cast is present in minor roles for Reload, except for Vic (obviously)

@retrolyzee

3 ай бұрын

My first experience with P3 is P3 Reload so I didn't have any issues about the VAs for me. I hope you'll get used to it as it goes on cause I really love these VAs.

60 is HP the Blue is Health the Yellow is MP or SP as it is called in these games SP can be called Spirit Points

@MrTommygunz420

3 ай бұрын

Stamina points (it's not really clear until 4 when "they" tell you someone's low on stamina after a battle)

@shelbybayer200

3 ай бұрын

@@MrTommygunz420 Oh... You're right, I forgot they talk about Stamina

@MrTommygunz420

3 ай бұрын

And a regular attack does "miniscule" damage, an attack with extra "oomph" behind it costs HP because it wears you out to do (but it will do "light/medium/heavy" damage. Each is ~2.5x the damage of the one below, which will come into play later when you get new moves that do less damage by type, but multiple hits. Generally speaking the higher cost one is better though)

@MrTommygunz420

3 ай бұрын

Buying cheap HP items (bread from the school store, and clearing out all the vending machines on the map every Monday when they're refilled;) and using them between battles to save Sp vs casting Dia is a very good strategy for using Hp as a resource in combat the first few months of the plot (you'll be poorer but better fighting as a tradeoff)

"I can't wait to go into that command room" he says while in the command room lol

I played the Game twice once by myself when it came out and again for friends on discord and I really really hope you continue the series it will change your life

I had to do a double take reading the channel name when this showed up in my timeline. Aw man this is gonna be so good!!

Holy moly holy moly holy moly. I've never would've expected you to start a persona game, once I saw you upload games like Danganronpa I hoped the day would come you tried a persona game. Especially this game in particular, oh man I'm beyond excited for this gameplay. ❤❤❤🎉😅

I definitely wasn't expecting this but I'm very excited to see your playthrough of this game. Also Alegra Clark the voice actress for Boss in AI the Somnium Files is the voice actress for Mitsuru.

My fucking lord, I am probably gonna be thirty before you finish this game, but I am still so here for every second of this.

Uh boy, this is gonna be a long series. Good luck, Shark and have fun. I'll give you just a couple of tips: 1) Persona from 3 and onward are all about time management. You have to learn how to best use your time and how spend it. The most focus should be spending it building relationships with the people around you picking the best choices of dialogue (you even get bonus points if you have a persona of the arcana corresponding to the one you're bonding with) and growing your skills of charm, courage and intelligence. 2) Since you're in advance, I'll tell you: when you visit Tartarus, try to reach the max floor available in one night, since you'll get plenty of stuff sooner and not waste more time otherwise to clear it. As for how the Persona series work, while there are reoccuring characters and connecting threads, each game story is very separated and not in the same world.

@karimov9890

3 ай бұрын

I know you do this out of the pure heart, but I would love to see him learn everything naturally, he's reaction to this game is so pure I don't want to ruin it with backsteating, no offense

Were going to be here for awhile…

Well I wasn't expecting this. I don't think I watched any of your gaming videos as I mostly watch your reaction videos but this is certainly a welcome surprise. I hope you enjoy the game and continue the series in general.

NO FUCKING WAY YOU'VE NEVER PLAYED PERSONA

I never saw this coming (pun intended) So glad you're playing this! Love seeing new blind playthroughs of the persona franchise, this will probably be a long series, but I hope you have an enjoyable journey 🙏 If you like this game, I hope you will give Persona 5 Royal a chance too, but we still got time until then haha

OMG I'm more excited for your reaction to the story of the games eespecially the social links especially seeing what kind of stories you like this game has the Best story so far for me in the whole series.

Yesssss!!!!!! I still need to finish the game myself but this is my favorite game series (Persona overall, not Persona 3), and I am so glad you are playing it!

Glad I don't started watching any Persona 3 Reload let's play since you posted this! this will be fun!

YESSSSSSS Perfect timing. I’m almost at the end of the game and was looking for a let’s play to watch.

Holy fucking shit, oh my god. Am I dreaming? lmao. This is awesome

Yo, holy shit! I did not see this coming, but I'm *SO* ready for this!

I’m so surprised to see this but I can’t wait. Persona 3 is phenomenal and I can’t wait to see your reactions to it, I love your reactions to shows

Let's gooo!! You are going to love this game, I wish you good luck!

I see the "go to bed" curse plagues P3 as much as P5. (Which is the only one I played so far.)

OH HELLLLLL YESSSSSSSS!!!!! I’m so down for this 🤩🤩🤩

OH MY GOD WHATT I AM SO READY FOR THIS

"The character with the mask" you're probably referring to the protag of persona 5. He was also the guy they put in smash bros

Shark doesn’t want to admit that the chairman is just his persona

I would never guess TFS playing ANY Persona game in a thousand years. This’ll be amazing.

@simonO712

3 ай бұрын

Huh, never realized The Flaming Shark and Team Fourstar had the same acronym :P

Hi, watching the beginning of this and would just like to say that yes p3 is probably the best place to start but the older games are still very much worth playing at some point And answering some questions (I'll be answering as i watch so i don't forget) Watching the OP is fine unless you can somehow pick up on all the plot detalls Iwatodai isn't actually a real place it's based on a real place though Yep it's Makoto Yuki in the movies, Minato Arisato in the manga and Sakuya Shiomi for the stageplay, but Makoto is the default name in the steam port of the PSP version so that's considered the canon name. The PSP version also added a female character that's p3p (persona 3 portable) exclusive her canon name is Kotone Shiomi. The only way to "pause" it to open the log with L3

I’m so excited! I’m playing Persona 3 right now, and I’m loving it

bro i know this will sound parasocial but i feel like you are my good friend for years now and i just acknowledged that. Im not in an english speaking country so i practiced english with you. Thanks i guess. Nice to have someone that will talk to you for hours.

This is a good JRPG to react to because it is so story based. It's really a visual novel masked as a game.

YOU ABSOLUTE MADLAD I LOVE YOU

SHARK IM SO EXCITED FOR YOU TO GET INTO PERSONA THIS IS GREATTT

Yay Newbies! Welcome to the Rolla coaster of emotions that is persona enjoy your stay

51:02 I think that was actually a thing developers would joke about when making this game. I think they even left some moments to make players think that they are somehow related Also, social stats unlocking dialogue options is a VERY rare occurrence. P3 literally only has two such moments during your first day in school, and P5 has like one or two. Most of these options are present in P4 tho, with some dialogues even boosting your social stats

Oh holy shit. I'm surprised. I'm excited. I can't wait for more.

omg definitely wasn’t expecting this, but persona 3 happens to be my favourite game of all time and i really liked reload so i hope you can enjoy it too! edit: got chills when u started the game LOL

Hey! Long time follower since MLP Great to see you starting a new series

Yoooooo, I’m hyped for this

I guess you can say: Its going down now

DIDNT KNOW I NEEDED THIS!!!

yoooo, this is a great surprise

I just finished this game for the first time about a month ago and now I'm playing through p4 and I'm really excited for this playthrough shark I especially can't wait for p5 the game got me into the series back in 2017.

Remember. The Assist button is your best friend.

As someone whose first Persona game was Persona 3 FES, it is SO cool to me that Persona 3 is now the more popular one ti start on, lol

Hey man I just wanted to tell you that I have been a fan of your reactions and you consuming alot of anime related media for near a decade. It's crazy how I was in high school and watching your RWBY and Steins Gate reactions. To this day have been coming back to your stuff. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IF YOU ENJOYED PERSONA 3 RELOAD I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU PLAY HONKAI STAR RAIL SOLELY FOR THE CHARACTERS AND STORY ITSELF. IT IS ABSOLUTE PEAK.

About Mitsuro Kirijo's voice Her VA is Allerga Clark She voice the Boss of Date from Ai The Somnium Files which you find HOT hehe. And you can actually talk to a person twice and get new dialogue so u can try that next time. Excited for this Let's Play cause P3 is my favorite Persona game.

Literally my first thought. This man is doing it. Looking forward to this!

LETS FUCKING GO never expected to see this series here hope you enjoy it and get around to playing the others:) 🤞 in the far future you watch the animes (specifically the P4 one)

Mitsurus voice in this version of the game is done by Allegra Clark, who is also Boss in AI. Shes pretty good at this kind of role!

ah yes, i love people new to persona 3 seeing the use of evokers

the average persona game complete time if ur not skipping is around 100 hours id also recommend making a video to look at all the openings like for regular perona 3 / fes / portable and all the ones u dont plan on checking out cant imagine you playing q or q2 editing again for a different concern not sure if your gonna do all the social links because it usually takes around 1 and a half playthroughs to do them all

definitely one of my favorite games of all time from one of my favorite series of all time. have fun!

Oh my god Persona!!! So happy about this actually :D I hope there's a trace of a chance you'll do Kingdom Hearts one day ♥ I think it's the perfect series for your insightful commentary and the way you actually get invested in the things you react to and think about them. ...oh my god 13 Sentinels too,,,, So much potential

thank you so much for this ever since you started doing let’s plays i have been really wanting you to check out the persona series

this is so sick!

i've been waiting for this!!

So happy you went with the canonical name for MC :) It's what I prefer too when I play story games like this.

Oh this will be a trip. And I'm excited to be on it. Bold choice.