Warning: The beneath story accommodates a possible spoiler for Persona 3 and Persona 3: Reload.
The Persona collection has lengthy had points with homosexual and trans panic, however Persona 3: Reload at the very least removes the transphobia from one scene particularly.
The Persona 3 scene in query had the social gathering making an attempt to hit on girls on the seaside, with Akihiko, Junpei, and the protagonist approaching a personality known as “Stunning Girl.” After some back-and-forth, Akihiko factors out a little bit of facial hair on her chin, to which Stunning Girl responds, “I-I missed a spot?!” Junpei then exclaims “she’s a he?!”
The dialogue is very barely modified in Persona 3 Transportable (the character is known as “Fairly Girl” as an alternative of “Stunning Girl”), however nonetheless contains the identical trans panic.
As first reported by Kotaku and verified by IGN, nonetheless, Persona 3: Reload modifications the dialogue fairly a bit. The top end result is identical – the social gathering working away from the lady – however as an alternative of it being as a consequence of her being trans, it is as a result of she’s truly a conspiracy theorist making an attempt to promote them sunscreen.
Within the new scene, the dialog begins to go awry after “Fairly Girl” tells them, “You recognize that solar within the sky is not actual, proper? That is a man-made solar that received despatched into house again into the Eighties.”
Her character identify then modifications to “Delusional Girl” as she tells them that “regular sunscreen does not” work” in opposition to that faux solar, and tries to promote them “particular” sunscreen for 300,000 yen. The gang figures out this character is just a little off, and scurry. The scene’s nonetheless just a little odd, however the transphobic facet, at the very least, is gone on this new model.
This is not the primary time Altus has made a change primarily based on homophobic or transphobic content material within the Persona collection. In 2020, Altus modified sure scenes in Persona 5 that have been thought of offensive and homophobic by followers for the Western launch of Persona 5 Royal.
For extra on Persona 3: Reload, take a look at our evaluate, the place Michael Higham gave the remake a 9/10. With a stellar visible overhaul and numerous small however impactful modifications, Persona 3 Reload tells a timeless story of tragedy and hope with sharp emotional sincerity,” Higham wrote.
Alex Stedman is a Senior Information Editor with IGN, overseeing leisure reporting. When she’s not writing or modifying, you could find her studying fantasy novels or enjoying Dungeons & Dragons.