Persona 3 Reload may be a complete remake of the original game, but that doesn’t mean the two are identical. Reload takes the gist of the original Persona 3, first released for the PS2 and later remade for the PSP, and brings it to the modern day with HD graphics in Unreal Engine 4. Everything that makes this the tone-setting entry in the Persona series is intact: its procedurally generated dungeon crawls, deeply entertaining Social Links, and urban open-world setting.
However, there are many differences between the original Persona 3, its enhanced re-release Persona 3 FES, the PSP port Persona 3 Portable, and the 2024 remake Persona 3 Reload. While some of these are natural consequences of adaptation, others are harder to explain. Still others have been included to keep the experience fresh for returning players, by tweaking familiar mechanics or throwing in new ones just for fun. Whether for first-time Persona-users or seasoned members of SEES, Persona 3 aims to be the definitive edition of the game for a new generation. Here are the changes that make that possible.
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11 All Party Members Are Directly Controllable In Persona 3 Reload
A Returning Mechanic From Persona 3 Portable
In the original Persona 3 and FES, players could only control the game’s protagonist, Makoto Yuki, in battle. The rest of the party was controlled entirely through non-specific commands, called Tactics: Knock Down, Attack Fallen, and Assign Target, to name a few. This was actually an interesting concept, since it feels more like players are inhabiting a leadership role by issuing orders to their team.
This went hand-in-hand with its side-based turn order, in which the entire team would queue up all their moves at once. However, later Persona games, including Persona 3 Portable, had directly controllable party members and initiative-based turns, and Persona 3 Reload follows suit.
10 Persona 3 Reload Includes New Battle Mechanics
Theurgy & Shift Explained
Speaking of changes to its combat system, Persona 3 Reload will incorporate two new battle mechanics: Theurgy and Shift. While exploring Tartarus, characters have a Theurgy gauge that fills slowly as they attack and defend. When it’s full, they can activate an ultra-powered, unblockable Theurgy skill, unique to each character. Shift, meanwhile, is similar to the Baton Pass mechanic from Persona 5. On successfully downing an enemy, one party member can pass control to another. This can help them quickly drop entire enemy mobs, paving the way for an All-Out Attack.
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9 Most Voice Roles Have Been Recast In Persona 3 Reload
New Voice Lines For Social Links
Almost every voice actor from the original Persona 3 has been recast in Reload – the only recurring English voice actor from the original Persona 3 is Tara Platt, who plays Elizabeth. Kirk Thornton, the new voice of Igor as of Persona 5, reprises that role in Persona 3 Reload. In addition to the recasts, new voice lines have been added to Persona 3 Reload, especially in the dialogue-heavy Social Links. These weren’t fully voiced in the original version or Persona 3 Portable, so that auditory element will add a lot of character to the heart of Persona 3.
8 Persona 3 Has New Music
Including The New Battle Theme “It’s Going Down Now”
It’s not Persona 3 without music, and Reload includes plenty of updates to the original soundtrack while keeping its greatest hits intact. Its eclectic, hip-hop and jazz-inspired score lends it a ton of charm, and makes every battle feel exciting. Several songs, including the iconic battle theme “Mass Destruction,” appear in new arrangements. There’s even a brand-new battle theme, exclusive to fights in which the party has the first strike. “It’s Going Down Now,” the advantage battle theme from Persona 3 Reload, can be heard in the background of the trailer below.
7 Persona 3 Reload Has New Dorm Activities
Read, Cook, Or Watch TV With Iwatodai Roommates
The Iwatodai Dorm is Makoto’s sanctuary in Persona 3. Safe from the deadly wiles of Shadows and the intense pressure of Social Links, it’s where he wakes up every morning and goes to sleep at night. The dorm also serves as a base of operations for SEES, and living quarters for all the party members. For the first time ever, in Persona 3 Reload, players can undertake special bonding activities at the Iwatodai Dorm: reading, cooking, or watching TV with their friends and roommates. Each dorm activity also grants a slight boost to a particular social stat.
6 Link Episodes Reveal More About Characters
Brand-New Side Stories In Persona 3 Reload
Persona 3 Reload also includes new story content, and chief among that is the addition of Link Episodes. Link Episodes are short branching side missions, each of which focuses on a particular character. Both the core members of SEES and others, like Chidori, Takaya, and Ryoji, are up for exploration in Link Episodes. These add more depth to Persona 3 Reload‘s side characters, and give players an opportunity to see the story from a different perspective.
5 Persona 3 Includes A New Location: The Mangastar Net Café
Install Stat-Boosting Software
Outside Tartarus, the main challenge of Persona is determining the best way to spend time. Makoto can hang out with his friends, work part-time jobs, study, shop, eat, et cetera – everything the average high school student might do after school. Persona 3 Reload includes a new way to kill a couple of hours: the Mangastar Net Café, where Makoto can once again spend the entire day online. Here, he can purchase a wide variety of software to improve his social stats, like quiz games that boost intelligence or etiquette primers that make him charming.
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4 Tartarus Has A Whole New Look In Persona 3 Reload
New Monad Depths, Fortune Teller Effects, And Twilight Fragments
Unlike other Persona games, Persona 3 only has one dungeon: the ever-changing Tartarus, whose floors and layouts are procedurally generated each time the party makes a visit. In Persona 3 Reload, there are several major changes to Tartarus. First, the Monad Depths optional floors have been revamped. Instead of appearing only near the end of the game, Monad Doors and Passages will appear sporadically throughout. These are high-risk, high-reward scenarios, in which the party may defeat powerful Shadows for rare treasure.
There’s also the addition of new effects on Tartarus incurred by different tarot card readings, which players may purchase from the fortune-teller at the Escapade Club. Players can make exploration easier or more rewarding based on the kind of reading they get. Finally, Persona 3 Reload‘s Tartarus includes a new collectible, Twilight Fragments. These can be spent to unlock chests or heal the party at Entrance Clocks.
3 There’s No Female Protagonist In Persona 3 Reload
Kotone Shiomi Isn’t In Persona 3 Reload
Persona 3 Portable was the first game in the Persona series to let players choose their protagonist’s gender: the default male protagonist Makoto Yuki, or default female protagonist Kotone Shiomi. This affects some of the game’s dialogue, as well as which Social Links and romances are available. While there’s no mechanical difference, Kotone is still a beloved character, proving that there’s plenty of demand for variable protagonist and non-gender-specific romance options in the Persona series. Despite this, the female protagonist of Persona 3 Portable won’t appear in Persona 3 Reload.
2 Persona 3 Reload Won’t Include “The Answer” Chapter
Reload Is Missing Persona 3 FES’ Epilogue
Persona 3‘s ending is kind of a downer, but the enhanced re-release Persona 3 FES attempts to rectify that. It includes a special epilogue chapter, “The Answer,” in which players control the combat robot Aigis as she seeks to understand what went wrong, and attempts to save the other members of SEES from a time loop. Although short, it makes for an excellent final chapter, and is a major part of the Persona 3 experience.
But unfortunately, “The Answer” won’t be included in Persona 3 Reload, at least not at launch. The default ending is fine, and certainly ends the story on a satisfying, if depressing note. But without the epilogue, it’s hard not to feel like there’s a big chunk of Persona 3 missing. Still, there’s hope that “The Answer” will be tacked on in future DLC.
Those are all the biggest differences between Persona 3 Reload and the older versions of the game, but not by any means all of them. As two totally different versions of a huge game, the various editions of Persona 3 diverge in thousands of ways, both major and minor. While not all of these changes are for the best, and certainly not all of them popular, they make Persona 3 Reload a unique experience, one that’s interesting to players both old and new.
Persona 3 Reload
Announced during the Xbox 2023 Showcase, Persona 3 Reload is a full remake of the original classic released on PlayStation 2. Persona 3 follows the protagonist as he moves into a new student dormitory, only to become soon swept up in a dark, world-consuming mystery. Discovering he is one of the few that can experience a secret hour of the day filled with danger, he must step up and utilize his hidden power to push back the shadows of the night.
- Franchise
- Persona
- Platform(s)
- PC , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S
- Released
- February 2, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Atlus
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Genre(s)
- Action , Life Simulation , RPG
- ESRB
- M
- Prequel(s)
- Persona 2: Innocent Sin , Persona 2: Eternal Punishment , Persona
- Sequel(s)
- Persona 4 Golden , Persona 4 Arena Ultimax , Persona 5 , Persona 5 Royal
