Persona 3 Reload: Female Protagonist from P3P Unlikely

Persona 3 Reload Still Unlikely to Include Female Protagonist from P3P

Atlus producer Kazushi Wada has once again addressed the unlikely inclusion of the beloved female protagonist (FeMC) from Persona 3 Portable in Persona 3 Reload. Dive deeper into his recent statements to understand why this decision was made.

No FeMC for Persona 3 Reload

Adding Kotone/Minako Would be Too Costly and Time-Consuming

Persona 3 Reload Still Unlikely to Include Female Protagonist from P3P

In a recent interview highlighted by PC Gamer, producer Kazushi Wada disclosed that Atlus had initially contemplated integrating the female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable, known as Kotone Shiomi/Minako Arisato, into Persona 3 Reload. While planning the post-launch DLC, Episode Aigis - The Answer, the team ultimately decided against including the FeMC due to significant development and budgetary constraints.

Persona 3 Reload, a complete remake of the 2006 JRPG classic released in February this year, brings back many of the signature features and mechanics of the original game. However, the omission of Kotone/Minako has left many fans disappointed. Despite the vocal demand from the community, Wada emphasized that adding the character was simply not feasible.

"The more we discussed it, the more unlikely it became," Wada stated. "The development time and costs would not have been manageable." Even the possibility of introducing her through a DLC was considered, but Wada concluded, "but since it is not possible for us to release P3R with the female protagonist in this window, we just can’t do it. I'm really sorry to all of the fans who were holding out hope, but it is likely never going to happen."

Persona 3 Reload Still Unlikely to Include Female Protagonist from P3P

Given the immense popularity of P3P's FeMC, many fans anticipated her inclusion in Persona 3 Reload, either at launch or as part of post-release content. However, Wada's latest remarks indicate that this is highly improbable. He had previously noted in an interview with Famitsu that incorporating the female protagonist into the game would be significantly more challenging and costly than developing the Episode Aigis DLC.

"For a female protagonist, I am sorry to say that unfortunately, there is no possibility," Wada explained earlier to Famitsu. "The development time and cost would be several times longer than Episode Aigis, and the hurdles would be too high."