Shuffle Time

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Shuffle Time in Persona 3 Reload.

Shuffle Time is a recurring mechanic in the Persona series.

Overview

Shuffle Time occurs after battles occasionally, and is one of the main ways to obtain Personas, along with fusion. The exact mechanics differ between installments.

Mechanics by Game

Persona 3

Shuffle Time is introduced in Persona 3 and works about the same in the original game, Persona 3 FES, and Persona 3 Portable. The player is shown five cards and then the cards are turned over and moved around on the screen. The cards can be a new Persona, a blank card, or a card representing one of the four Minor Arcana suits (Sword, Wand, Cup, and Coin). Minor Arcana cards have different levels, and the level is higher the further the player is in Tartarus; the higher the level, the more substantial the reward. The Sword gives a weapon, the Wand increases experience, the Cup restores HP, and the Coin gives money.

The cards can move about three different ways:

1. Two cards swap places.
2. The cards are moved off screen and come back from left to right in the order they went up.
3. Three cards are stacked and are unstacked in the order they originally were.

Occasionally, the player has the chance to double up after selecting the card. If the player accepts, then they enter another Shuffle Time, and can get multiple cards in the same battle this way. However, if a blank card is picked, then the player will obtain no cards after that battle. Multiple double ups can occur in a row.

Sometimes, cards can be cursed. This is represented by a skull-and-crossbones overlaid on the card's face. If a cursed card is selected, it will reduce the time for the Reaper to appear.

Persona 3 Portable

Persona 3 Portable modifies Shuffle Time to be more similar to Persona 4. The variants are mostly identical to Persona 3, except the "off screen" variant is replaced with one where the cards are constantly revolving around and the player will select whatever is in the center of the screen at the time the button is pressed. Blank cards now behave identically to their Persona 4 counterparts, including triggering the 1 More mechanic, and Double Up no longer happens.

Persona 3 Reload

Main article: Shuffle Time in Persona 3 Reload

Shuffle Time returns in Reload. The cards are no longer face down or moving. Players can now obtain Major Arcana cards in addition to Minor Arcana and Personas. After obtaining a certain number of Major Arcana, the maximum rank of all Minor Arcana cards increases +1 until you leave Tartarus.

Persona 4

Shuffle time is expanded upon in Persona 4. Unlike in Persona 3, Minor Arcana cards cannot be drawn and only three types of cards exist.

• Persona card: The card depicts a certain Persona. When drawn, the player receives the depicted Persona. The Persona is not received if its level is higher than the main protagonist's.
• Blank card: This card is marked with a shattered glass effect. When drawn, the player receives nothing other than the experience points and money gained normally.
• Penalty card: This card is marked with a white cross pattern with red highlights. When drawn, the player does not receive a Persona, experience points, or money from the battle just won.

There are a number of variants added in Persona 4, such as a Concentration-like matching minigame, and a slot machine-like minigame where the player must stop three rotating columns of cards.

Two additional mechanics can be triggered randomly when drawing a Persona or Blank card. The first, 1 More, allows the player to retry their luck at drawing a different card. The second, known as Arcana Chance transforms the card into a card of the Major Arcana. If the player chooses to proceed with Arcana Chance, they will either receive the Major Arcana card in the upright or reverse position. The associated effects of each are listed below.

Arcana Chance Effects

Arcana	Upright effect	Reversed effect
Fool	Triggers a random effect of a different Arcana in any position	None
Magician	A skill on a Persona is upgraded (See list)	A skill on a Persona is downgraded
Priestess	Can view all Analysis information for all enemies for a while	Cannot view any Analysis information for a while
Empress	All party members' HP is restored to maximum	All party members' HP is reduced to 1
Emperor	All battles will begin with a Player Advantage for a while	All battles will begin with an Enemy Advantage for a while
Hierophant	Reversed effects in Arcana Chances will be negated for a while	Arcana Chances will be more likely to produce a reversed result for a while
Lovers	Powerful Shadows will not appear for a while	More Shadows will be Powerful Shadows for a while
Chariot	A random Persona's Agility is increased by 1~3	A random Persona's Agility is reduced by 1~3
Justice	A random Persona's Strength is increased by 1~3	A random Persona's Strength is reduced by 1~3
Hermit	Can view the entire minimap of the floor for a while	The minimap is fully hidden for a while
Fortune	A random Persona's Luck is increased by 1~3	A random Persona's Luck is reduced by 1~3
Strength	A random Persona's Magic is increased by 1~3	A random Persona's Magic is reduced by 1~3
Hanged Man	A random Persona's Endurance is increased by 1~3	A random Persona's Endurance is reduced by 1~3
Death	The entire party is returned to the entrance of the dungeon, with 1 HP but fully regaining SP	The entire party is returned to the entrance of the dungeon, with 1 SP but fully regaining HP
Temperance	Temporarily increases the amount of money obtained after battles	Temporarily decreases the amount of money obtained after battles
Devil	A random Persona changes into a higher-level Persona with only its base skills	A random Persona changes into a lower-level Persona with only its base skills
Tower	Opening chests grants money in addition to an item for a while	Opening chests may cause a Shadow attack for a while
Star	1 More will occur more frequently in Shuffle time for a while	1 More will occur less frequently in Shuffle time for a while
Moon	Temporarily increases the amount of experience gained after battles	Temporarily locks the amount of experience gained after battles to 1
Sun	Temporarily replaces all blank cards in Shuffle time with Persona cards	Temporarily replaces all blank cards in Shuffle time with Penalty cards
Judgement	All party members' SP is restored to maximum	All party members' current SP is halved

Persona 4 Golden

Main article: Shuffle Time in Persona 4 Golden

Persona 4 Revival

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Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	シャッフルタイム Shaffurutaimu	Shuffle Time
Simplified Chinese	洗牌时间	Card Shuffle Time
French	Tirage de carte	Card Draw
German	Karten Mischen	Shuffle Cards
Italian	Mano arcana	Arcane Hand
Peninsular Spanish	A barajar	Let's Shuffle

Gallery

• 
  Shuffle Time in Persona 3
• Shuffle Time in Persona 3 Portable
  Shuffle Time in Persona 3 Portable
• 
  Shuffle Time in Persona 4 Golden
• 
  Shuffle Time in Persona 4 Revival

Getting a Persona via Shuffle Time in Persona 4 Golden

References

General

• "Chapter 1: Systems: Shuffle Time", Persona 4 The Golden: The Complete Guide, Dengeki Playstation Editorial Staff. Published by Kadokawa (2012). Japanese. p. 65-69. ISBN-13: 978-4048866637.

Specific