Atlus producer Kazushi Wada reiterates the unlikelihood of Persona 3 Portable's female protagonist (FeMC), Kotone Shiomi/Minako Arisato, appearing in Persona 3 Reload. Recent comments to PC Gamer clarify that including the FeMC was deemed too costly and time-consuming, even as post-launch DLC.
The decision, made during the planning stages of the Episode Aigis - The Answer DLC, stems from significant development and budgetary constraints. While the team considered adding her, the timeline and resource requirements proved insurmountable. Wada expressed regret, stating that including the FeMC within the current release window is impossible, effectively ruling out future inclusion.
Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the 2006 JRPG, launched in February. The omission of Kotone/Minako disappointed many fans, despite the game's faithful recreation of core features. Wada's previous comments to Famitsu echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the substantially greater development time and cost compared to the Episode Aigis DLC. He stated plainly that adding the FeMC is not feasible.
Despite the FeMC's popularity in Persona 3 Portable, Wada's latest statements solidify the low probability of her ever appearing in Persona 3 Reload, either at launch or as future content.
