Warning: The following story contains potential spoilers for Persona 3 and Persona 3: Reload.
The Persona series has long had issues with gay and transgender panic, but Persona 3 Reload at least removes transphobia from certain scenes.
persona 3 problem scene There is a party on the beach where they try to pick up women, and Akihiko, Junpei, and the protagonist are approached by a character called a “beautiful woman.” After some back and forth, Akihiko pointed out the beard growing on his chin, to which Beautiful Lady replied, “Did you miss the place?!” Then Junpei yells, “Is she him!?”
The dialogue is very Persona 3 Portable changes it up a bit (the character’s name is now “Pretty Lady” instead of “Beautiful Lady”), but it still contains the same trans panic.
As first reported, Kotaku Verified by IGN, Persona 3: Reload has quite a few changes to the dialogue. The end result is the same – the party runs away from the woman, but not because she’s transgender, but because she’s actually a conspiracy theorist trying to sell sunscreen.
In a new scene, the conversation starts to stall after “Pretty Lady” says, “You know the sun in the sky isn’t real, right? It’s an artificial sun sent into space in the 1980s.” .
Afterwards, her character’s name changes to “Delusion Lady” and she tells the fake sun that “regular sunscreen doesn’t work” and tries to sell her a “special” sunscreen for 300,000 yen. This scene is still a little weird, but at least the transphobic aspects are gone in this new version.
This isn’t the first time Altus has made changes based on homophobic or transphobic content in the Persona series. In 2020, Altus changed certain scenes in Persona 5 that were considered offensive and homophobic by fans in preparation for the Western release of Persona 5 Royal.
For more information on Persona 3: Reload, check out Michael Higham’s review of the remake, where he gave the remake a 9/10 rating. “With a great visual refresh and countless small but impactful changes, Persona 3 His Reload tells a timeless story of tragedy and hope with keen emotional honesty,” said Higham. I am writing.
Alex Steadman is IGN’s senior news editor and oversees entertainment coverage. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.