Persona 3 is a game created and published by Atlus, released in 2006 (Japan) and 2007 (US) for the PlayStation 2. Following the original vanilla release, 3 expanded editions of the game would be launched not only for the original PlayStation 2, but other platforms such as the additional PlayStation models, the Xbox One and Xbox Series X, Switch and Switch 2, and PC Persona 3 FES, a Directors Cut of the game that includes additional content such as an epilogue known as "The Answer" as well as all new Personas and various gameplay changes, Persona 3 Portable, a watered down version for the PSP, while it lacks explorable environments and "The Answer" epilogue, it does make up for it in return with the addition of the FeMC route among other changes, and finally Persona 3 Reload a full remake with modern gameplay and accessibility features. FES was released in 2007 in Japan and 2008 in the US, Portable was released in 2010 in Japan with it seeing a US release in 2011, and a remastered edition releasing in 2023, and Reload was released worldwide in 2024. The plot of the game focuses on the protaganist joining a school club known as S.E.E.S in order to fight creatures known as Shadows. Gameplay has you balancing your school and social life with that of being a Persona User. One of the key features of the game is the inclusion of "Social Links", in short the people you meet in game make you a stronger Persona User in general. In short, this game is fun, and established the basics which would be followed in future games such as Persona 4 and Persona 5. There exist several spinoffs of this game, including a rhythm game known as Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night, the cast of Persona 3 appearing in Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena ultimax, a manga based off the events of the game, and a 4 part anime movie series.
The game takes place over a full school year in Japan, set in the fictional Iwatodai area. The protagonist is a transfer student, returning to their hometown to attend the Tatsumi Port Island based Gekkokan High School for their second year. However, things are not what they seem. Between Midnight and 12:01 AM, every day, their exists a plane known only as the Dark Hour. Most ordinary citizens are not aware of it's existince, it mainly passes by in the blink of an eye. Those that do stumble into the darkness, they find themselves in an environment changed, coffins where people would be standing, the sky a sickly green, electronics ceasing to function, the water a blood red, and the moon engulfed in a pale yellow glow. It is within this darkness where the creatures known as the Shadows make their home. Unrelenting beasts, they prey on the weak minds of those that wander into their territory, devouring them in darkness until they are nothing more than an apethetic husk of their former self. However, within this darkness, some strong willed people have the "potential" to combat the Shadows. This is the power of the "Other Self" known as a "Persona". Now, as a member of the Specialized Extracirricular Execution Squad (S.E.E.S.), a group of fellow Persona-users who have awakened their power to venture into the Dark Hour and combat the Shadows, you must balance your days as a high school student enjoying the experiences life has to offer, and as a Persona-user, venturing into the darkness to fight this threat hidden in plain sight. However, there are some secrets still being kept from you, the mysterious boy that only appears to you at certian times, the tower that emerges from your own high school, Tartarus, the mysterious Shadows that only appear during a full moon, a group of Persona-users that seek to use the Dark Hour for their own ends, and it all seems to connect to a mysterious incident that occured 10 years ago...