As with the corresponding in-house activities in Persona 4 and Persona 5, performing these tasks will strengthen each of the protagonist's Social Stats which can be used to later pursue specific interactions with Social Links. For example, reading books will increase the protagonist's Academics for school, while gardening yields the reward of the protagonist being able to learn new Tactics in battle. Furthermore, the protagonist can partake in each of the aforementioned activities alongside another party member, which will grant them additional buffs for combat scenarios.[4][5][seis]

Over a decade and a half later, Atlus has decided to bring back this beloved title and give it a next-gen makeover in the form of Persona 3 Reload. This remake aims to reimagine the original Persona 3 with improved graphical fidelity, new gameplay mechanics to spice up combat, and quality-of-life improvements from modern Persona games such as Persona 5 Royal to make it more newcomer-friendly.

The Velvet Room is what connects daily life and dungeon life together. This section gives a brief introduction to its services. The Velvet Room offers the following resources to use during the game.

To say that this remake’s presentation is an improvement over the original game would be the understatement of the century. Persona 3’s graphics have gone from looking like a PlayStation One game to a polished, next-gen HD anime visual fiesta in Persona 3 Reload.

Although I'd argue there's a particular vibe and style to PS2-era RPGs that just can't be replicated, Reload’s visual overhaul is a meaningful way to reframe a world I've spent countless hours in, as if this was how I always wanted these places to look. At first it was a bit surreal to see Tatsumi Port Island recreated and these beloved characters remodeled for a new generation – something as simple as giving them sweet jackets, superpowered armbands, and black gloves are neat touches to complement the fancy new combat animations.

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.

Also, thanks to all the quality-of-life improvements and new combat mechanics, Persona 3 Reload’s difficulty is much more lenient than the original game, even when played on the harder difficulty modes. While old-school fans of Persona 3 may be disappointed by this, I didn’t mind it as Persona 3 was only as difficult as it was because of the aforementioned Fatigue system and that you couldn’t control your AI-driven party, which tended to do inane things like waste healing items or attack enemies resistant to their special moves.

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.

You can save anywhere you like except for in dungeons. When in a dungeon, you can only save at the entrance or in certain areas. There are 15 save slots to use.

You will manage your time between school lessons, socializing with your peers, and fighting against monsters to prepare for stronger threats.

We scored this a 9 because of the voice acting, amazing animated cut scenes and overall story. The repetitiveness towards the end was the main reason this was not a Masterpiece for us. At the end it got slow and we had to push ourselves to finish it. Now there are two paths and if had chose to end the game early, we probably would not have felt this way. However we wanted the best ending and took longer then we both expected. This was still a solid game and we both enjoyed persona 3 reload gameplay the game.

Dungeons now share the perspective of Persona 4 and Persona 5, where the camera is behind the player rather than top-down. Series staples such as recruiting and combining demons are the same as before, though it’s been speculated that there are additional social links.

The new and improved version of Persona 3 preserves the story and characters fans know and love while introducing new quality-of-life mechanics and a complete graphical overhaul.

There's a timelessness to Persona 3 – its story of confronting death with imperfect courage and carrying on in the face of tragedy left an everlasting impact on me when I first played it on PS2, even as RPGs evolved and the Persona series continued to grow. As I've gotten older and experienced the very things it's about, I've grown to cherish the earnestness of its message, the way it's framed, and the characters who embody these struggles even more.