Persona 3 Remake Hides Lady Protag

Persona 3 Reload Still Unlikely to Include Female Protagonist from P3P

Atlus producer Kazushi Wada explains once again why it is unlikely that the popular female protagonist (FeMC) from Persona 3 Portable will ever arrive in Persona 3 Reload. Read on to learn more about his remarks.

No FeMC for Persona 3 ReloadAdding Kotone/Minako Would be Too Expensive and Time-Consuming

Persona 3 Reload Still Unlikely to Include Female Protagonist from P3P

In an interview recently reported by PC Gamer, producer Kazushi Wada revealed that Atlus had initially considered adding the female lead (FeMC) from Persona 3 Portable, otherwise known as Kotone Shiomi/Minako Arisato. While planning the Persona 3 Reload post-launch DLC, Episode Aigis - The Answer, however, it was ultimately decided to exclude the FeMC due to development and budget restraints.

Persona 3 Reload is the full remake of the 2006 JRPG masterpiece, and released back in February this year. The game reintroduces many features and mechanics intrinsic to the installment, but the absence of Kotone/Minako saddened many fans. Despite fan outcry, Wada made it clear that including the character was simply not viable.

"The more we discussed it, the more improbable it became," Wada explained. "The development time and costs would not have been manageable." Even if the idea of adding her through a DLC was considered, "but since it is not possible for us to release P3R with the female lead in this window, we just can’t do it," he reportedly said. "I'm really sorry to all of the fans who were holding out hope, but it is highly unlikely to ever happen."

Persona 3 Reload Still Unlikely to Include Female Protagonist from P3P

Given the popularity of P3P's FeMC, many fans expected her to be playable in Persona 3 Reload, either at launch or as post-release content. However, but it seems to be way too unlikely to occur based on Wada’s latest comments. Wada had previously mentioned that including her in the game would have been much more challenging and costly than creating the Episode Aigis DLC.

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