Modders are achieving justice for Persona 3's missing female protagonist in a way that's only possible on PC
Persona 3 is a strange beast. All its best parts are scattered across a bunch of different versions: the epilogue is only available on the PS2 FES version, while the alternate female protagonist (FeMC) and all her new social links were restricted to the PSP-only Portable version of the game (so too were party members you could directly control in battle; the AI-only party members of the PS2 games were a constant headache).
All those scattered pieces made the game seem ideal for a remake that brought all its distinct parts into one cohesive package, and then Persona 3 Reload just… didn't? It didn't do that. Instead, we got controllable party members and modern graphics in what was otherwise a remake of original, non-FES Persona 3. No epilogue and no FeMC. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great game, but it feels like there are still pieces missing. That's probably why modders have decided to stop waiting for Atlus and just build those parts themselves.
Spotted by GamesRadar, an enterprising group of Persona modders on GitHub have kicked off the FeMC Reloaded Project, aimed at restoring P3P's female protag—real name Kotone Shiomi—back to her rightful place as the game's alternative (and best) main character in Persona 3 Reload.
P3R came out earlier this month, but the project's already done great work in swapping out the UI's default blue hues for Kotone's pink vibes, and even replacing male protag Makoto Yuki in the menu graphics. Her in-game model doesn't look remotely out of place, either. It's genuinely impressive—at least to me—that modders have managed even this much fewer than three weeks after release.
Bit cathartic seeing this in action, lol pic.twitter.com/XJBtth23g5February 19, 2024
Of course, it's still very much in its early stages, as one glance at its Trello board will tell you. The vast majority of P3R is still naturally based around the presence of the default male protagonist. Per the mod's GameBanana page, It doesn't sound like it has plans to change the game's story or restore Shiomi's social links, but hey, someone else can always take the foundation it lays down and build on it.
Nevertheless, stuff like this is great to see and, hey, another advantage of these games finally making their way over to PC. Were I a betting man, I'd say we'll likely see Persona 3's epilogue make it into Reload in the form of a future DLC, but I'm nowhere near as confident that Kotone will ever bust out of her PSP prison. At least with mods she can get some of the spotlight she deserves.