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.

However, in an interview with Famitsu, translated by Siliconera, the development team confirmed that the focus will be on the base version of the game. According to Personal 3 Reload producer Ryouta Niizuma, the game “…is a project that prioritized remaking the original Persona 3 for modern consoles.

Although not loads had been seen in terms of Persona 3 Reload trailers since its Xbox Games Showcase announcement, new trailers unveiled during Gamescom 2023 both reintroduce us to the game's cast and story - as shown above - along with a BGM and gameplay trailer.

This game would also lay the foundation for Persona’s journey into becoming the popular franchise it is today.

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.

There's a timelessness to Persona 3 – its story of confronting death with imperfect courage and carrying on in the face of 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.

Tartarus is a massive, towering dungeon boasting hundreds of floors to crawl through, with enemy Shadows lurking around every corner. You will need to engage the Shadows in turn-based combat and use your party’s Persona abilities to exploit their weaknesses to defeat them.

This is where building Social Links becomes a crucial part of the gameplay loop. Social Links can provide bonuses allowing you to instantly level up Personas when fusing them in the Velvet Room or unlock new recipes to create powerful Personas you won’t find from destroying Shadows.

Tartarus itself has been revamped to give it a sinister new vibe and a more distinct look for each block of floors. From Giger-like biomechanical labyrinths to shapeshifting industrial halls, Tartarus is at least more visually interesting than before, and the floors themselves are generally laid out less like tedious, sprawling mazes. It's not a drastic overhaul that will completely stave off the repetitive nature of ascending Tartarus, but it's just enough to prevent it from feeling like the weak link it could have been.

Of course, I speak as an experienced Persona fan who is used to the series’ eccentricities and obsessed with planning ahead to ensure my party is fully prepared. If you’re a casual JRPG fan who has never played a Persona game before and you don’t take the time to learn Persona 3 Reload’s complex mechanics, like planning your daily activities, this game can and will kick your butt without mercy. Thankfully, there are plenty of tutorials to help newcomers get up to speed on how to play the game.

The graphics have been upgraded to next-gen standards and it persona 3 reload gameplay features many of Persona 5 Royal’s quality-of-life improvements.

All that time you spend with these characters in Reload, learning about them and going through a typical day together, shows the value of a normal life. But they weren’t brought together by choice; at critical moments in the story, their complicated histories create a believable tension that boils over, sometimes harboring resentment for each other and doubting their trust.

So far, it all sounds the same as before, but we’ve also noticed some new features in Persona 3 Reload. The most notable for long-time fans is some back story for the villainous group known as Strega, who wish for the Midnight Hour to continue as they would return to being nothing more than social outcasts without their Persona powers.

My wife and i liked this game. This was our first time playing Persona 3 and we were not disappointed. This was a interesting remake. This game is about 80% voice acted and that really surprised us. There was still some reading but a lot less then Previous Persona Games. The game length was shorter than P4 or P5 for us. We rolled credits around 85 hour mark. The story was interesting enough to keep our attention.