Persona 3 Reload is a remake of the 2006 PlayStation 2 role-playing game, Persona 3, the fourth entry in the Persona series. It was developed by Atlus and was released worldwide on February 2, 2024.[1]
Blurb
Japanese
「影時間」に、自らに課せられた運命と向き合え
一日と一日の狭間に存在する「隠された」時間に迷い込んでしまった編入生となり、自らに課せられた運命と邂逅を果たせ。強力な力をその身に宿して、「影時間」の謎に迫りながら友人のために戦い、忘れられない思い出を刻み込もう。 |
"Kage jikan" ni, mizukara ni kaserareta unmei to mukiae
Ichinichi to ichinichi no hazama ni sonzai suru "kakusareta" jikan ni mayoikonde shimatta hennyūsei to nari, mizukara ni kaserareta unmei to kaikō o hatase. Kyōryoku na chikara o sono mi ni yadoshite, "Kage jikan" no nazo ni semarinagara yūjin no tame ni tatakai, wasurerarenai omoide o kizamikomou. |
English
ENTER THE DARK HOUR AND SEAL YOUR FATE
Step into the shows of a transfer student thrust into an unexpected fate when entering the hour "hidden" between one day and the next. Awaken an incredible power and chase the mysteries of the Dark Hour, fight for your friends, and leave a mark on their memories forever. |
Gameplay
The gameplay of Persona 3 Reload is similar to that of the original Persona 3, though with changes and additions introduced in later titles of the Persona series.
The game features all new graphics, character portraits, and a redesigned UI. In battle, the player's actions are now mapped to individual buttons rather than being in a rotating menu, matching Persona 5. Similarly, All-Out Attacks now end with an animated screen of the character who initiated the final Down.[2] Also from Persona 5, the Protagonist can now dash while navigating. Other party members' actions can be directly controlled rather than relying on automated Tactics assigned by the player, as introduced in Persona 4.[3] The Baton Pass system from Persona 5, which let you pass a one more turn to another party member, is now present under the name Shift.[4] New elements have been added to Tartarus to encourage exploration.[5] New animated cutscenes have been created to replace those featured in the original game.[1]
New scenarios have been added throughout the course of the game called Link Episodes, separate from the Social Link system. Link Episodes provide additional background and interactions for certain characters that did not have Social Links in the original Persona 3, such as male party members.[6] While some plot elements introduced in later releases of Persona 3 are present,[5] the option to play as the female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable is not included.[7]The Answer from Persona 3 FES is not present in the base game, and was eventually revealed as DLC just over a month after the game's launch. In English, the game's dialogue has also been re-translated.[3]
Downloadable Content
| DLC Title | Image | Release | Price | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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WWWorldwide February 2, 2024 |
Adds Yasogami High School uniforms from Persona 4 Golden as costumes for members of S.E.E.S. |
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WWWorldwide February 2, 2024 |
Adds Shujin Academy uniforms from Persona 5 Royal as costumes for members of S.E.E.S. |
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WWWorldwide February 2, 2024 |
Adds costumes for members of S.E.E.S. based on the Phantom Thieves of Hearts from Persona 5 Royal. |
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WWWorldwide February 2, 2024 |
Adds Personas from Persona 5 Royal: Arsène, Captain Kidd, Zorro, Carmen, Goemon, Johanna, Milady, Robin Hood, and Cendrillon. |
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WWWorldwide February 2, 2024 |
Adds Personas from Persona 5 Royal: Satanael, Seiten Taisei, Mercurius, Hecate, Kamu Susano-o, Anat, Astarte, Loki, and Vanadis. |
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WWWorldwide February 2, 2024 |
Adds Personas from Persona 4 Golden: Izanagi, Magatsu-Izanagi, Kaguya. |
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WWWorldwide February 2, 2024 |
Adds tracks from Persona 5 Royal as selectable background music:
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WWWorldwide February 2, 2024 |
Adds tracks from Persona 4 Golden as selectable background music:
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Expansion Pass
|
This section is about or related to an upcoming release. |
| It is likely that information within may be sparse or speculative. Content may change dramatically as more information becomes available. |
The entire expansion pass is ¥3850 for Japan and $34.99 for North America. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users can access the content without any extra cost as part of their subscription.
| DLC Title | Image | Release | Price | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
WWWorldwide March 12, 2024 |
Adds tracks from Persona 4 Golden:
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WWWorldwide March 12, 2024 |
Adds tracks from Persona 5 Royal:
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WWWorldwide May 31, 2024 |
In addition to the costumes for S.E.E.S., this adds the following background music:
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WWWorldwide September 10, 2024 |
Adds The Answer from Persona 3 FES:
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Version Differences
Version 1.07
Released on September 10th (JST).
- The background music selection tool has been expanded:
- Players can set different BGM preferences for standard battles and boss battles.
- Players can register BGMs as favorites, and set favorites to play (Which will play a random track from the list of favorites).
- Default game tracks can also be set as favorites.
- Adds Episode Aigis: The Answer.
Listings
Characters
Bosses
Personas
Shadows
Skills
Items
Equipment
Locations
Translations
Merchandise
Credits
Development
One of the contributing factors that led towards the decision to remake Persona 3 was its presence in the annual customer surveys hosted by Atlus.[5] The game entered its planning stage in early 2019, and went into full-scale development after work on Persona 5 Royal was completed.[10][11] Development concluded at some point in 2023.[12] An important goal the team kept in mind during development was striking the right balance between Persona 3's rough edges and the gameplay of later entries.[11]
The character models and environments were all recreated from scratch, though the character models from Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight were used as reference material for the former.[13] In comparison to Persona 3, the environments were recreated on a larger scale to match the proportions of the new character models and make room for more scenery.[5] The decision to give the members of S.E.E.S. new outfits for use in Tartarus was partially inspired by the more-accurate proportions of the new character models.[14]
The new interface's water motif was inspired by discussions with the staff of Persona 3, who stated that the developers of the original interface had the image of moving water and bubbles in mind when they designed it. A unique model of the protagonist was created and fine-tuned specifically for the menu screens. The interface was also designed with the intent of making the localization process easier.[9]
All of Persona 3's soundtrack was rearranged in collaboration with Lotus Juice, with the goal of bringing the music up to modern standards. A new vocalist, Azumi Takahashi, was chosen to breathe new life into the soundtrack while catching the attention of any fans overseas.[14]
Approximately 50 design proposals for the logo were created before the team settled on the final design. In the end, they chose to keep the original logo with a new subtitle under it to communicate the balance between the original version of Persona 3 and the new elements.[9] The "Reload" subtitle was chosen to mirror the "R" in P5R and reference the evokers used by the members of S.E.E.S.[11] Discussions were had on whether or not to include the entire cast on the boxart.[13]
The female protagonist of Persona 3 Portable was considered to be brought back for Reload but ultimately was scrapped because the cost and dev resources would have likely outweighed the expected sales, even when compared to including The Answer as DLC.[15][16]
Nomenclature
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese
|
ペルソナ3 リロード | Persona 3 Reload |
 Simplified Chinese
|
女神异闻录３ Reload | Alternate Goddess Tale 3 Reload |
   Traditional Chinese
|
女神異聞錄３ Reload | Alternate Goddess Tale 3 Reload |
 French
|
Persona 3 Reload | |
 German
|
Persona 3 Reload | |
 Italian
|
Persona 3 Reload | |
 Korean
|
페르소나3 리로드 | Persona 3 Reload |
 Brazilian Portuguese
|
Persona 3 Reload | |
 Spanish
|
Persona 3 Reload | |
Gallery
Notes
- ↑ Referred to as "Triumph" on Persona 5 Original Soundtrack.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Atlus, Persona 3 Reload Official Website. Published June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023. Atlus.com.
- ↑ Official ATLUS West, Persona 3 Reload — Meet the S.E.E.S. Trailer. Published August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023. YouTube. Video.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Official ATLUS West, Persona 3 Reload — Announcement Trailer. Published June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023. YouTube. Video.
- ↑ Reggy, Persona 3 Reload PV03 Trailer Released, New Character Descriptions, New Battle Mechanics, Screenshots. Published September 20, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023. Persona Central.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 川島KG, 『ペルソナ3 リロード』日本メディア最速インタビュー。. Published June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023. Famitsu.
- ↑ Translation: "Niitsuma: While you can deepen your bonds with female party members through regular Social Links, the idea behind adding Link Episodes was to provide episodes for the male party members as well. You can engage in Social Links at any time, but Link Episodes occur as the main story progresses. If you spend time with a character during a specific time, the next episode will follow. If you miss the first episode, you won’t be able to see subsequent episodes, so it’s recommended that you meet the character as soon as possible after he or she contacts you. / Yamaguchi: Since they are time-limited, you’ll be able to enjoy episodes that have a strong connection to the main story. In Persona 3 especially, the characters’ emotions change significantly as the main story progresses, so the Link Episodes will allow you to interact with them during different periods. So please don’t miss out on this aspect as well." Famitsu Interview Translation. Retrieved September 27, 2023. Persona Central.
- ↑ Logan Plant, Persona 3 Reload Won't Include Content from FES or Portable, Including the Female Protagonist. Published June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023. IGN.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Persona 3 Reload: Expansion Pass Interview with Wada and Hashizume", Persona Magazine. Published by Kadokawa. Japanese. Vol. #2024 Spring p. 70. ISBN-13: 978-4047337183.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 川島KG, 『ペルソナ3 リロード』開発者に独自インタビュー。おしゃれなメニュー画面のために“専用”の3Dモデルまで用意。制作過程のデザイン案も公開. Published November 29, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023. Famitsu.
- ↑ IGN, Why Persona 3 Reload Is Set to Be The Series New Best Entry Point | Summer of Gaming 2023. Published June 13, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023. YouTube. Video.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 4Gamer.net, ［インタビュー］「ペルソナ3 リロード」は，どのような考えでP3を“再装填”した作品なのか。開発のキーマン3名に話を聞いた. Published June 16, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023. 4Gamer.net.
- ↑ Brent Koepp, Interview: Persona 3 Reload Director Discusses Remaking a Classic JRPG Faithfully. Published January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024. Siliconera.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 川島KG, 『ペルソナ3 リロード』独自インタビュー。アイギスの“永劫”コミュは本作にもある！ 『3』の決定版として作っているという本作について、気になるあれこれを開発者に訊いてきた. Published August 23, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023. Famitsu.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Persona Central, Persona 3 Reload Developer Interview on Theurgy Mechanic, Link Episodes, Box Art. Published September 27, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ↑ Kann Serin, Persona 3 Reload producer apologizes for excluding the JRPG's female protagonist, but explains that adding her would cost "two to three times that of Episode Aigis". Published March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024. Gamesradar.
- ↑ "Kazuhisa Wada: "I’ll begin with an apology, but unfortunately, the appearance of the female protagonist in P3R will not happen. Of course, we considered the inclusion of the female protagonist alongside “Episode Aigis,” but the more we delved into it, the more hopeless it seemed… The development time and costs would likely be two to three times that of “Episode Aigis,” making it challenging to entrust entirely to external companies and exceeding our capabilities. Even if P3R and the “Expansion Pass” were to exceed our sales expectations and resolve the cost issues, the release would still be far off. Additionally, the expectation is also that we make completely new games, not just remakes, so we need to allocate limited development resources accordingly. I deeply apologize to the fans who have supported us for a long time, but we are happy that P3R has been released and that “Episode Aigis” will be as well, and that many are interested in playing those. This would be the moment if we could do it, so I’m very sorry to the fans, but I don’t think there’s any possibility to make it happen in the future either."" Published by Persona Central. Persona 3 Reload Episode Aigis Developer Interview, Discusses Additional Content. Archived: P3R Episode Aegis Interview Archive. Published March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.