This takes places directly outside of the Velvet Room, but Elizabeth will offer requests to complete. These can range from Persona fusions to obtaining specific items. Elizabeth will provide new requests depending on story progress and completion of other requests.

I fully appreciate this improvement to the presentation, as the well-done voice acting made the Social Link interactions much more enjoyable to sit through and had me more invested in their stories than in the original version, where they were mostly unvoiced.

And the original story stands the test of time because of how sharp it was in bringing those darker themes together. Several characters examine their will to live when there's so much suffering to endure, but Persona 3 fires back with fulfilling, bittersweet answers that it doesn’t always have to outright say.

As is tradition for Shin Megami Tensei games, the turn-based RPG combat revolves around accounting for elemental affinities, knocking down enemies to earn extra turns, and setting up those iconic All-Out Attacks. Persona 3 Reload uses the same foundation as the original but builds upon it in ways that mitigate the monotony of churning through battle after battle. The aforementioned Theurgy attacks are relegated to a meter that fills during fights, each serving a strategic purpose given their limited use and character-specific effects, be that massive damage or major stat buffs – and they all come with some fantastic animations, too.

Interacting with the Great Clock will allow two of your party members, currently not in your active party, to level up to the main character’s current level, severely cutting down the time required to level grind back-up party members.

lets you play with up to four friends to venture into the world and write your legend along with them.

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.

The next major gameplay component of Persona 3 that Persona 3 Reload revamped was the dungeon persona 3 reload gameplay crawling. I remember Tartarus in Persona 3 FES being a repetitive slog as every floor from top to bottom was a never-ending series of samey corridors with different colored wallpaper.

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.

If you’ve played the original Persona 3, you’re going to love how much this game pays homage to the source material while standing on its own merits. On the other hand, if you’re a relatively new Persona fan who discovered the series through Persona 5 Royal but were too hesitant to try Persona 3, Persona 3 Reload is now your best option to experience it.

That often has to be balanced with managing a slew of devastating status ailments and hard-hitting attacks, so things can spiral out of control if you don't play it smart. The best examples of this come from Monad doors, which are all-new rooms within the Tartarus floors – specifically, the boss gauntlets found at progress checkpoints. These fights throw somewhat unconventional combat scenarios at you that bring out the best of these satisfying turn-based battles whether you line up a sequence of attacks perfectly or barely make it by the skin of your teeth.

Here's everything you need to know about the P3 Reload release date, including gameplay trailers and latest changes to the PS2 era RPG.

Check out our Persona 3 Reload review if you want to know more. Here are all the details surrounding the P3 Reload release date, including gameplay changes, trailers, and news about any previously available expansion features.

Its social life mechanics were the new unique hook, providing a palette-cleanser from its relentless turn-based RPG fights and procedurally generated dungeons.