The Persona 3 Reload Soundtrack Vinyl made me a Record Guy
The merchandise team at iam8bit sent us the re-issue of the Persona 3 Reload 4xLP Vinyl Soundtrack Box Set recently, getting me to throw in the towel and say, “Fine, I’ll buy a record player already!”
Okay, to be honest, I borrowed mine from a lovely friend who had already bought into this kind of music experience. I got a sampler of other records from his collection to properly whet my palate before diving into listening to one of my favorite OSTs of last year. The Silent Hill 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles (1) Definitive Edition soundtracks were great, and he even included two Black Red Shoes albums that I really ate up. After this emotional preparation was complete, I inserted the first record in, lowered the needle, and got to listening.
The Persona 3 Reload vinyl is split into four double-sided records, classified as sides A-H. The sleeves that they come in feature both the battle art of each party member and the protagonist’s menu art for each season in the game. Each record itself is a different color, with every side featuring unique art at the center to differentiate what you’re listening to. Featured on one of the sides will always be a subtle glass shattering effect ingrained into the record, simulating how the party looks shooting themselves with their Evokers to summon their Personas. It’s really only visible when the light hits it just right, but the effect creates a rainbow shimmer that is just gorgeous.
I particularly appreciate the design of sides G and H, with the art stylized as the iconic Dark Hour green clock and moon, respectively. It’s a small touch, but those kinds of circular images work thematically and in motion as the vinyl spins on the platter. The other sides all feature P3-themed art, but the last record using this imagery as an accompaniment to a pitch black vinyl was just brilliant. That black record really stands out compared to the others aesthetically, and I think it was a good choice. With the first two records being different shades of blue, and the third being bright red (being S.E.E.S themed), black was a good choice for the primarily green art.
It wouldn’t be fair for me to overstep my bounds and make any claims for other Vinyl enthusiasts out there, but I think the novelty of this music listening experience is where it shines. Every Sunday I’d have a routine where I’d brew up a home-made latte, write some articles on my laptop, and listen to the full P3R record. I’d turn my phone to silent, chuck it across the room, dim the lights, and just listen. It is truly amazing that such classic technology can output such crisp music. The fact that modern, digitally recorded music can even be printed on records sounds like magic to me. I don’t often listen to music out of speakers, but for the most part, this is a great way to listen to these songs.
There’s no right or wrong way to listen to the Persona 3 soundtrack, but since Reload’s re-orchestrated songs dropped, it’s been my go-to. Maybe this is because it is the New Hotness, but I think most of it is just a straight upgrade. I’m always open-minded to re-interpretation in art, mostly because I just find it a fascinating curiosity. The new vocalist, Azumi Takahashi, just kinda hit it out of the park for me. Her work on the new vocal tracks (mainly Full Moon Full Life, Color Your Night, and It’s Going Down Now) is great, but I really appreciate her take on the rest of the songs. My favorite track on the entire album, no matter what format I listen to it on, has to be Changing Seasons -RELOAD-. Being one of the first tracks we ever heard of the game during the marketing period sold me on her right away, and I hope they get her back for another game.
The only real negative I’ve found from the audio quality is in the vocal tracks, but take this with a grain of salt. I’ve got something undiagnosed and wrong with my brain, being born with hypersensitive hearing that has led me to identify as an Audio Snob (If only because all the other descriptors are just a bit too unflattering). I have headphones that are too nice for my own good, and will relisten to my favorite songs hundreds of times. The vocal tracks in Persona 3 Reload are all fantastic, and I had practically memorized them during the last year. Something about the voices sounded just a bit muffled compared to the backing track. Not enough to disregard the quality of the set here, but enough for me to notice. Maybe it’s the mixing of these songs in particular? Audio never sounds the same played out of multiple sound systems, so something I could have never noticed out of headphones. This sounds fine for some songs, like Iwatodai Dorm -RELOAD-, but it was particularly noticeable in Mass Destruction -RELOAD-.
While I can’t be certain that the Persona 3 Vinyl should be the reason you rush out and buy a nice record player, it’s served as a good excuse for me to go track one down. Should you exploit a beloved friend’s kindness for their record player to borrow it and never return it? I am not your conscience, and probably shouldn’t advocate for criminal acts, but I’m sure you can get a good amount of listening time out of “borrowing” one. If nothing else, this has sparked my curiosity to see what else I can find on vinyl. I was born in a time when CDs thrived, and lived to see them die to give way to streaming. While it might not be the most convenient way to listen to music, and digital will still be my go-to, I think I should buy a record player for myself.