27 December 2023 , 16:27
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Sega is teaming up with London's Yokocho ramen restaurant for a special menu inspired by Persona 3, available for a limited time starting next month. And fans of the game can pick up some merch to boot.
Persona 3 Reload isn't dropping until Feburary 2, 2024, but you can get a taste of the game a bit early at London's iconic ramen shop, Yokocho, which has teamed up with Atlus and Sega to bring a Persona 3-themed menu to the Soho and Leicester Square locations from January 16 to April 1, 2024. The restaurant has crafted dishes and set menus based on the characters of the upcoming RPG remake; for example, the Mitsuru Kirijo set menu features the Marin Karin Parfait, which is very fitting as anyone who has played the original Persona 3 has undoubtedly experienced Mitsuru casting her Marin Karin spell at the most inopportune times.
Other dishes available in the set menus include the Gourmet King Ramen, which is a 12 hrs tonkotsu pork broth ramen named after the in-game high school food critic Gourmet King. You'll also be able to pick up food and drinks based on Persona 3's healing items like Snuff Soul, Balm of Life and the Mega Protein Bowl (the latter of which is a bolt-on item to any of the set menus, or a slightly more expensive standalone item). There will also be a mini dessert pop up in Japanese food hall Ichiba at Westfield London, where Persona 3 donuts and bubble tea will be available. You can check out the full menu on the Yokocho website.
Alongside getting to devour some Persona 3-themed meals, you'll also be able to grab a Persona 3 Reload pin badge with every set menu, with six pins featuring different party members available to collect. You'll also be able to purchase some Persona 3 merch, available in Europe for the first time ever, at Yokocho, Ichiba or japancentre.com.
To celebrate the collab, Yokocho is giving away an Xbox Series X console and an Atlus backpack filled with some Persona 3 Reload swag (A5 notebook + pen, bag tag & bento pouch that's been given away at gaming events like Gamescom and EGX this year). The giveaway can be entered by tagging Yokocho on social media when you visit. The restaurant hasn't specified which social media platform this applies to, but it has an Instagram and TikTok account with the @ramenyokocho handle, so we would assume they're looking to be tagged in a post on either, featuring a selfie from your visit.
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As silly as it is to say, things like this collab are giving me more hope about Persona 3 Reload. It's nice to see Sega go all out with the marketing for this release and treat it like a proper Persona launch, rather than just push out a half-assed remake to quell fan requests. While I do question the release window, given its proximity to another massive Sega RPG launching the week before – Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth – I'm happy to see it get the fanfare it deserves.
As much as I love the sound of the Persona 3-themed dishes, I've been dying to try Persona 4's behemoth Mega Beef Bowl ever since I played the game. Given that the main character can only finish the bowl in the endgame, this would've been a challenge I'd be keen to try. Perhaps when Persona 4 inevitably gets remade I'll finally get my wish.