Persona 3 Reload is the remake of 2006’s Persona 3, and it’s set to introduce better visuals. Besides that, the game will give players precise control over the character, down to choosing which activities to tackle first. Naturally, the same awesome abilities of the original game will reappear, and they’re better than ever thanks to the processing power of the Xbox Series X and the PS5.
As with the predecessor, you’re tasked with eliminating Shadows and uncovering the secrets of the Dark Zone. The Dark Zone is said to be the gap between one day and the next, which is a theory that we all love at Player.com. The game was announced in June 2023, and the developers promised to faithfully remake the game from scratch. Persona 3 Reload is being developed by Atlus and P Studio, though Sega owns some publishing rights to the game.
Persona 3 Reload’s Release Date and Supported Platforms
Persona 3 Reload was just announced in 2023, and its initial release date is February 2, 2024. It’ll be released for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. For people who haven’t played many Persona games, this is the first time that a title from the series is making its way to all gaming platforms. Heck, even M3 MacBook owners will be able to play the game eventually, which is a topic you can learn about here. Hopefully, the game won’t be delayed past that date.
6 Features of Persona 3 Reload
The original Persona 3 Reload was a phenomenal game that played out like Bully from Rockstar Games. You have a life as a high schooler, but late at night, you’re in the Dark Zone, vanquishing evil. Along the way, you plunder the treasures of the elusive realm that’s only available in the 25th hour. This is a game where players play the hero, and as is the norm, the protagonist is saddled with a burden. In this case, it’s a Death Shadow, which turns our protagonist into the avatar of the creator of Shadows, Nyx.
Time is ticking away, and the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance. However, the actions of a high schooler and his group of friends can make all the difference in the world. Below, you can browse the six highlights of Persona 3 Reload that we compiled from leaks, trailers, and others. You can also read about the best mechanical keyboards for gaming.
#1: Better Visuals
Persona 3 Reload has a strong storyline and compelling characters, whose animations were the talk of town; At least in 2006. It’s more than a decade later, and video games are more beautiful now than ever. Persona 3 Reload is touted to be as brilliant in graphics as modern games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. For one, the game will be remade in 3D rather than 2D. Players can expect this remake to run in 4K resolution at 60 FPS, which makes gaming a buttery-smooth experience. That means the textures, shadows, better character models, lighting, ambient occlusion, and other factors will be overhauled for a spectacular performance.
In essence, gamers will revisit their childhood days with Persona 3 Reload, but with far better animations and graphics. This is the Information Age, and technology is progressing by leaps and bounds because we’ve managed to decentralise knowledge to a fair extent. The title’s game engine is Unreal Engine 4; A shame since we were hoping to see more Unreal Engine 5 games in 2024. Moreover, we hope Persona 3 Reload will be available in VR mode because of its beautiful art styles.
#2: A Better Turn-Based Combat System
Like titles like Final Fantasy XVI, Persona 3 Reload features a turn-based combat system that’s as competitive as it’s fun. For one, you’ll control a team of four whose abilities and stats are unique, so it’s up to the players to decide which strategy fits the encounter. Thankfully, the variety of enemies in Persona 3 Reload is impressive. You’ll have plenty of chances to experiment with each of your team members’ unique powers. Without them, some bosses are unbeatable, so teamwork is promoted by the creators.
Furthermore, the user interface for the combat system will allegedly feature Persona 5’s one-button combat menu. So, dealing death to Shadows is a far smoother affair in the remake than in the original. You’ll also be able to efficiently switch between characters after attacking an enemy. This helps with stringing combos, especially the ones that mix like flame and oil to become more powerful.
The upcoming game will also allow you to issue direct commands to characters. So, you can create complex strategies on the fly and execute them without pause. However, the Condition system is our favourite highlight of Persona 3 Reload’s turn-based combat. Characters will no longer get tired of crawling too many dungeons. There’s also a new system called Theurgy, and it’s a special gauge that lets characters perform special attacks. Each character has different traits that determine how fast they can fill up their Theurgy gauges.
#3: Pick From Four Editions
Persona 3 Reload will arrive in four different editions, with the differences between them each being the price and content. The four game editions are:
- Standard Edition: The Standard edition will cost £60 at launch, and it’ll only contain the base game.
- Digital Deluxe Edition: The Digital Deluxe edition will set players back £70, but it’ll also contain a Digital artbook and Digital soundtrack.
- Digital Premium Edition: The Digital Premium variant will cost £90, but there’s more content to explore besides soundtracks and art books. Besides the base game, players will also get the Persona 3 Reload DLC pack. It contains all the DLCs that are available at the launch of the game.
- Collector’s Aigis Edition: The Collector’s Aigis variant will contain the Aigis figurine and the collector’s box. Yes, this includes all the content from inferior editions.
#4: Overhauled Voice Casting
The entire voiceover for the characters in Persona 3 Reload has been overhauled from the ground up. Heck, areas of the game where dialogue was absent have been fixed now with the addition of new voiceovers from the original cast of actors and actresses. The obvious advantage of recasting the characters from scratch is that players will be more immersed. Parts of the lore that were confusing will be cleared up in the upcoming remake due to the addition of even more dialogue.
Recently, Atlus and P Studio confirmed that new voice actors would also be introduced for the English version of the game. Another highlight is that the game’s subtitles will be available in 13 languages, including Brazilian, Polish, Portuguese, and Russian. Some of the memorable voice actors and actresses are:
- Aleks Le as Pharos (Replacing Yuri Lowenthal).
- Daman Mills as Takaya Sakaki (Replacing Derek Stephen Prince).
- Chris Hackney as Jin Shirato (Replacing Grant George).
- Merit Leighton as Chidori Yoshino (Replacing Chidori’s original uncredited actor).
- Jake Green as Shuji Ikutsuki (Replacing both Dan Woren and JB Blanc).
#5: Tartarus Is More Detailed Than Ever
Part of the allure is that Tartarus is now more detailed in Persona 3 Reload. The map is new, and it’s significantly improved over the old one because of several new features. For one, the events of Tartarus now occur at regular intervals, so the game is more challenging and intimate. Another highlight is that objects in the realm are now breakable to keep up with other modern games.
Also, Tartarus now has locked Treasure Chests which weren’t present in the previous version. You need Twilight Shards to unlock these treasures, and naturally, the creators will provide enough sources to farm the in-game currency. Additionally, there’ll now be huge Shadows that can soak up hits before going down. These Shadows also vary by rarity, so expect to use tactical plays to crush your foes. Some other changes that you can expect from Tartarus are:
- The protagonist now automatically recovers.
- Your avatar can now dash while crawling dungeons.
- The Entrance Clock now consumes seven Twilight Fragments to fully heal players’ HP and SP.
#6: Social Bonding Is Still at the Heart of Persona 3 Reload Affairs
Social bonding is even better in Persona 3 Reload because of the heightened visual settings, revamped maps, and better voiceovers for the characters. Every point that we’ve listed so far contributes to the social bonding experience in the game. Naturally, you’ll also be able to tackle daily challenges as a high schooler because the 25th hour is only accessible after midnight. So your days are yours to decide how you’ll live them.
Naturally, you’ll also decide which activities you want to focus on, and yes, this includes bonding with your fellow students after school hours. The bonds that you create with other NPCs are called Social Links and they benefit your Persona abilities.
Every Social Link you establish will positively affect your Social Stats which are Academics, Courage, and Charm. Studying is an obvious route for improving your Academics, but the other two Social Stats are more receptive to part-time jobs. Beyond the Social Stats, bonding is also useful for acquiring new characteristics. Your critical attack rate may be increased, or the cost of healing may be reduced.
The Missed Opportunities
Persona 3 Reload isn’t the only version of Persona 3 out there due to the original game’s success. So, fans hoped it would be the culmination of the original and its many variants, such as Persona 3 FES. Albeit, we expected the creators to streamline the experience, we didn’t picture it would be missing some long-awaited features. For example, we hoped we would be able to play the female protagonist; However, that feature is missing. We also wanted more Social Links and a post-game story, but none of those will be present in this remake.
Our Final Say: The Original Persona 3 Didn’t Age Well
The original Persona 3 didn’t age as well as fans had hoped. However, its combat system and complex character lore have always been ahead of their time. The remake is touted to be a total refresh that adds several new features that can be found in other Persona games. Combat is also a fun affair, and thus, it’s not as difficult as games like Elden Ring. Ultimately, it’ll open a new chapter for the studio, improving awareness of their games worldwide.
Some fans might argue that Persona 3 Portable is also a remake, but it doesn’t feature 3D cutscenes that are fully animated. However, areas like the dialogue haven’t been thoroughly reworked, and we noticed plenty of similarities with January’s Persona 3 remake. Still, we’ve only experienced the preview, which involved an early-game boss. So, who knows what’s in store for us later on?