The latest issue of Famitsu this week revealed a PSP version of Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3. Character designs reveal a new female protagonist among other scant details.

Players will be able to choose the gender of their protagonist in the PSP version. A scan shows the apparent heroine of Persona 3 Portable next to never before seen art of Persona 3's original male protagonist. Between the two are male and female versions of the protagonist's persona Orpheus from Persona 3.

Another new character revealed looks like what may be a male equivalent to Elizabeth – a character in Persona 3 who handled persona fusions among other things. Major additions and changes will be made to Persona 3's social element.

Persona 3's male main character could embark on various side quests that included dating the game's female characters. The female protagonist in Portable will have her own side quests and dating prospects added, along with new ones for the male character.

It is likely that she may simply be able to date the same male characters that appeared in the PS2 version. The image displaying an apparently gender-reversed Elizabeth may suggest otherwise.

According to translators at NeoGAF, Persona 3 Portable will also include new music and five difficulty levels as opposed to the two difficulties in the PS2 version. Like in Persona 4 players will be able to directly control their party members in Persona 3 Portable instead of letting the AI control them. The game will apparently be based off of Persona 3 FES – a PS2 expansion pack that itself added new quests and a new campaign.

This announcement comes after the Japanese April release and the impending North American September release of the PSP remake of the original Persona. Like that game, Persona 3 Portable will receive a simultaneous release on UMD and Playstation Network. This could represent a shift in platform focus for the franchise.

The images from Famitsu peg a Japanese release date for Persona 3 Portable on November 1st.