7 years later, Persona 3 Reload seems to squash a fan theory that connected the JRPG to successor Persona 5

Persona 3 Reload remakes the classic game with spruced-up graphics and welcome quality-of-life features, but developer Atlus has seemingly squashed one long-running fan theory in the process.

Persona fans have long theorized that an unnamed child in Persona 3 Portable is actually party member Ryuji Sakamoto in Persona 5, later growing up to join the loveable Phantom Thieves. Evidence? Both characters wore a signature yellow shirt, were involved in running clubs, had similar spunky demeanors, and the timelines match perfectly.

A few throwaway lines in Persona 5 also link the two together. Ryuji is the only character to randomly name-drop Gekkoukan High, the school that houses Persona 3's main cast and monster-filled dungeon floors. Another line mentions that Ryuji's natural hair color is black, not blonde, connecting the two even further. 

Just heard an interesting theory this 4th grader is Ryuji Sakamoto from r/PERSoNA

The social media posts embedded above give us a look at what the boy looked like in Persona 3 Portable (2009) and the newly released Persona 3 Reload (2024). "Atlus saw the Ryuji in Persona 3 Portable theory and did everything they could to change the boy," one player jokingly speculates, as did others on social media. 

In fairness, the changes aren't dramatic enough to completely disprove any similar fan theories. Maybe Ryuji discovers that yellow suits him later on? The tweaks are only disappointing because many fans speculated that Atlus would lean into the fun theories for this remake, smartly connecting Persona 3 with the game whose success it's trying to replicate. Instead, the studio seemingly moved further away from it with the redesign.

Ryuji faithfuls (me) are in shambles, but this minor injustice hasn't muddied the game's otherwise successful start since Persona 3 Reload became the biggest Steam launch in the developer's entire catalog, passing the concurrent player counts of the Personas, Soul Hackers, and Shin Megami Tenseis. Though fans still don't know which version is the best Persona 3. 

Check out our Persona 3 Reload interview to see how the studio approached a modern remake of a classic game.