Also, if you’re not a fan of turn-based combat and prefer real-time combat, then this game won’t change your mind as it fully embraces the former.

[79] Dom Peppiatt of VG247 said the demo appeared to be "a remaster in the best sense".[77] In contrast, writing for Polygon, Chelsea Stark criticized the lack of environmental detail in the dungeons, which she described as faithful to the original game but not up to the standards set by Persona 5, and expressed uncertainty about how much would be updated in the final product.[80]

In July 2022, Atlus conducted a consumer-led survey in Japan gauging interest in potential remakes and re-releases of past games from the publisher, specifically in the Megami Tensei franchise.

, you choose who you are, how you fight and what you do to write a tale of your own, through and through.

Generally speaking, if an activity leads into a cutscene, it will pass time. The exceptions to this are spending time with Elizabeth, and visiting the School Nurse. Story events are always on the same day, and some activities are during a certain day of the week. The game takes place over roughly a year, so your time is limited.

You can choose whether or not to carry over New Game Plus data, but some things will always transfer to a new playthrough. If you start on Merciless difficulty, nothing will be carried over (except if mandatory). This section goes over what gets carried over and what is new.

Also, thanks to all the quality-of-life improvements and new combat mechanics, Persona 3 Reload’s difficulty is much more lenient than the original game, even when played on the harder difficulty modes. While old-school fans of Persona 3 may be disappointed by this, I didn’t mind it as Persona 3 was only as difficult as it was because of the aforementioned Fatigue system and that you couldn’t control your AI-driven party, which tended to do inane things like waste healing items or attack enemies resistant to their special moves.

Players would get afflicted by this if they stayed in Tartarus for too long, studied for too long in their bedroom, or drew a bad fortune prediction at Naganaki Shrine.

And, of course, the glue that binds any Persona game together is its music. At this point, it feels routine to sing the praises of an Atlus soundtrack, but Persona 3 Reload is a case worth examining because of its fusion of the new and old, and the storytelling embedded in the songs themselves. In the mid 2000s, it stood out for having a wild mix of funky J-pop and the nu metal rap rock trend that was prevelant in the years leading up to its release. Yet that’s what has made it stand the test of time; there’s just nothing like it and the more time has gone on, the more it has been ingrained in Persona 3’s identity.

Reading books with Mitsuru, Aigis, or Fuuka also serves to reward you with both stats and charming little interactions, and even the precious dog Koromaru gets his own adorable side-arc to round him out as a more complete character.

A more exhilarating battle system and new graphics and gimmicks make Tartarus easier to explore. Dormitory life and community have also legitimately evolved!

Even the side characters you interact with through the game’s Social Link events get this treatment, as every major Social Link event is now fully voiced for the first time in the Persona series.

Persona 3 Reload[c] is a 2024 role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus. Reload is a remake of Persona 3 (2006), the fourth main installment of the Persona series, itself a part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. As with the original game, the protagonist is a high school student returning to his home city a decade after his parents were killed in a fatal car crash.

There's a timelessness to Persona 3 – its story of confronting death with imperfect courage and carrying on in the face of persona 3 reload gameplay tragedy left an everlasting impact on me when I first played it on PS2, even as RPGs evolved and the Persona series continued to grow. As I've gotten older and experienced the very things it's about, I've grown to cherish the earnestness of its message, the way it's framed, and the characters who embody these struggles even more.