In 2006, Atlus released a small JRPG on the PlayStation 2 called Persona 3. It was a strange title where you had to balance life as a high school student, building friendships while protecting humanity from disturbing monsters during a hidden hour of the day known as the Dark Hour.

The structure and progression within Tartarus has not been altered from the original game whatsoever, but has been expanded with more environmental variety to encourage exploration, and sports unique visual effects accomplished by the game's use of Unreal Engine 4, such as improved lighting. The fatigue mechanic has been completely removed to reflect subsequent entries, making it so that the party is unable to tire during exploration, thus no longer affecting their battle performance. Each floor within Tartarus also houses breakable objects in the form of fire effigies that can be swung at to obtain hidden treasure and items.

Persona 3 Reload is one of the best remakes of a game I’ve played since Capcom’s Resident Evil remakes and one of the best Xbox games I’ve played thus far in 2024 that both Persona fans and JRPG fans should not miss out on.

The pacing feels leagues more conterraneo with other shiny distractions to hold attention, including crystalized Shadow energy stalagmites to smash and grab items from and chests that, to open, need expendable bits called Twilight Fragments, which are scattered throughout Tartarus and the real world. Even these seemingly simple additions drastically improve the tempo of moving through the many floors of Tartarus.

Persona 3 Reload follows the same gameplay loop as the original Persona 3. You will spend your days attending school and building up your Social Stats to forge friendships (or Social Links, as they’re called in this game) with various NPCs in town during the day.

Following the game's official reveal, Atlus shared several additional details about Reload. P-Studio chief director Kazuhisa Wada and game producer Ryota Niitsuma clarified their intentions of producing a completely faithful recreation of the original Persona 3 experience, including implementing multiple "new scenes and events" beyond the retained narrative. However, the pair confirmed that as a result of remaining solely faithful to the game as it was originally released, non-e of the story content integrated into either Persona 3 FES or Persona 3 Portable would be remade for Reload, such as the epilogue chapter "The Answer" or the second female protagonist and her associated content.[14] Wada clarified following this interview however, that other story and gameplay elements first added to the main story scenario in FES would still feature in the game.[3] During a separate interview published in Weekly Famitsu, Wada, Niitsuma and game director Takuya Yamaguchi also expressed enthusiasm towards introducing alterations to the existing game's controls and map design, highlighting that the game's main dungeon, Tartarus, would undergo a "particularly large change" in structure from the original game due to the increase in environmental density, as well as interactive features and landscapes within existing areas.

AG: Agility. Assumed to be base stat for chance of hitting/dodging an enemy. Also seems to determine turn order.

Amidst the chaos engulfing ancient dynasties, weave your own story as you unravel the mysteries surrounding your own birth and fated destiny in a world brimming with cultural richness and prosperity, where heroes rise and legends are born.

Harness the lethal precision of a bow and arrow to take down enemies from afar. Even better, utilize stealth and deception tactics to disorient your foes in strategic ambushes.

Your browser isn’t supported anymore. Update it to get the best YouTube experience and our latest features. Learn more

Alas, it was not meant to be. So, for all you newcomers out there, make sure to keep the main character at all costs to prevent yourself from an unnecessary ‘game over’.

The game's official box art drawn by Shimada is an intentional recreation of Persona 3's Japanese PlayStation 2 key art, featuring the protagonist alongside the Persona Thanatos. Multiple revisions were made to update the homage, as Soejima and Yamaguchi discussed whether to just feature the protagonist and his Persona, or alongside the other main characters in the game.

My biggest and most personal gripe with Persona 3 Reload is that if the main character falls in battle, it's game over, and you have to begin again from your last save point or restart the battle you died in from the beginning. This ‘game over’ condition persona 3 reload gameplay has been a mainstay in the Persona series (and its big brother franchise, Shin Megami Tensei) and I’m disappointed to see it is still here as it’s a nonsensical and cheap way to artificially increase the difficulty. It goes against the ‘power of friendship’ message the Persona series is based on.

Dungeon crawling through Tartarus is now more rewarding. There are many interesting new activities to do during the daytime to strengthen your party before the deadline for the next full moon Shadow boss fight arrives.