The Persona fanbase has a long-running inside joke about a non-existent Nintendo DS port of Atlus' 2006 RPG, Persona 3. Now, a dedicated team of fans has brought this meme to life, releasing an unofficial demake of Persona 3 that can be played on actual Nintendo DS hardware.
The P3D Project team announced the version 1.0 release of their demake with a new trailer on June 28. This project is not a simple port; the game has been rebuilt from the ground up for the Nintendo DS, though it incorporates some ported assets from the original to maintain faithfulness. Notably, Persona 3 Dual includes features not present in the recent remake, Persona 3 Reload, such as the option to play as a female protagonist.
The fan-developed demake is available for free on the team's official GitHub page, which also provides instructions for running it on compatible Nintendo DS, DS Lite, DSi, and 3DS systems. The joke surrounding a Persona 3 Nintendo DS version has circulated within the community for at least five years, with fans even creating fabricated screenshots to perpetuate the gag.
With the release of this playable demake, the Persona community may have to retire the long-standing joke, though its transformation into a real game provides a fitting conclusion.