Persona 3 FES vs Portable: All differences explained

Persona 3 has had multiple versions release since its conception – that of Persona 3, Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable. With only Persona 3 Portable getting its time to shine once again with its most recent port to modern consoles and PC gaming, both the upgrades and changes it had compared to its predecessors is always worth noting due to the sheer amount of quality differences between each version. Let’s get right into it since the less we prolong this the less confusing it will hopefully be.

Persona 3 FES vs Portable: All differences explained

First things first, Persona 3 FES is an upgrade of the original game, Persona 3. Persona 3 FES includes two game modes – The Journey, which is the original game that stars the player character, Makoto Yuki, and The Answer, a new storyline that functions as the epilogue of The Journey and has players controlling Aigis. The instalment also included a Hard Mode, new Personas and an additional Arcana, as well as an overhaul on the Social Links system.

Persona 3 Portable on the other hand is a remake on the PSP. It would add further upgrades whilst retaining all the quality of life and major improvements from FES, that of which have been previously described. The biggest addition here is the option to play as the female player character for Persona 3 Portable.

Persona 3 Portable also has a different presentation style to accommodate for being played on a handheld device. This port takes on a mostly visual novel-esque style, with text boxes and sprites frequenting the screen instead of anime cutscenes and character models. Considering this, fans tend to prefer Persona 3 FES as the best way to experience this particular entry of the series. This is especially apt due to the removal of the story mode, The Answer, from Persona 3 Portable, as well as the inability to actually move and travel across town.

But Persona 3 Portable also includes many other new additions to enrich its gameplay mechanics. Firstly, there is the optional side content of picking up part-time jobs, co-op attacks during battle, and the ability to directly control the party and unlock post-game content of the Vision Quest. Additionally, two more difficulty modes were added – Beginner and Maniac (both being on the other side of the extreme in terms of easiest to hardest of settings).

This has been a breakdown of the biggest differences between the versions of Persona 3. It’s up to you to decide which sounds like the better deal!

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