An update for Persona 3 Portable is allegedly in development that will fix the game's compressed audio issues and more. Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden finally launched on modern platforms this month, making some of the series' most beloved titles accessible to both new and returning fans. While both games have been met with widespread critical acclaim, there are some issues present with the ports of both titles, and it seems like an update may be in development for Persona 3 Portable already.Persona 3 Portable first released on the PlayStation Portable in Japan in November 2009 before arriving in North America in 2010, and later in Europe in 2011. This remake of the cult classic PS2 JRPG combines elements from the original version and Persona 3 FES, an expanded re-release that made numerous changes and added a story epilogue called The Answer. While this epilogue was not included in Portable, the remake introduced many elements also introduced in Persona 4 in 2008 such as controllable party members in combat. Persona 3 Portable also added a full female protagonist story route, complete with its own slew of Social Links and story events.While Persona 3 Portable has been well received by returning fans and newcomers, the latest port from Atlus to Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC has received some criticism. While a lot of these criticisms focus on the use of AI upscaling on characters and backgrounds, one major flaw that fans have pointed out is that all versions of the game contain some heavily compressed audio. Thankfully, a patch appears to be in the works, at least according to Twitter user SMT Network. According to the account, an update for Persona 3 Portable is in the final stages of development and will tackle the audio compression issue for all versions of the game.
The main issue surrounding Persona 3 Portable's audio stems from the fact that much of the game's sound effects during gameplay and story sequences are heavily compressed, noticeably more than they were on PSP in 2009. This has been a major subject of backlash in negative Steam reviews for the port, and according to fans affects all different versions of the game in different ways.
Thankfully, Atlus seems to be hard at work on a patch for this issue, meaning fans will soon be able to enjoy Persona 3 Portable with a consistent sound quality among all versions of the game. It's not yet known when this update will release, however it appears to be a priority for the JRPG developer following the release of the ports on January 20th.
Persona 3 Portable is available now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.