Summary
Fans of theShin Megami TenseispinoffPersonaare in for a treat this February 2024 with the release ofPersona 3 Reload. While it’s advertised as a remake of the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable classicPersona 3,P3 Reloadlooks like an entirely new game. This is because Atlus upgraded its engine and graphics to be comparable toPersona 5, the latest installment in the franchise. Players will feel some of the most significant gameplay changes when they enter Tartarus, the main dungeon inPersona 3 Reload(and its previous versions).
Persona 3follows a protagonist who moves to a new school, discovers a supernatural manifestation of himself known as a Persona, and joins an extracurricular group that investigates temporal anomalies at night. Players must also manage their character’s daily life and relationships, affecting their Personas' combat capabilities. This school simulator-by-day, turn-based dungeon crawler RPG-by-night formula is the foundation ofPersonagames and is interpreted differently in each sequel. For example,Persona 5has pre-made dungeons called Palaces, which represent the psyches of its antagonists.P3’s Tartarus, on the other hand, is the game’s massive singular dungeon with more than two hundred floors. Some have bosses that players need to defeat to advance, while others are blocked until a certain story beat is reached.
Judging from the official trailers, developer interviews, and Atlus’ webpage,Persona 3 Reload’s Tartarusexploration and combat system received a major overhaul. Here are the most important changes:
Tartarus should be a dangerous and uncomfortable place forPersona 3 Reload’s protagonists, but it shouldn’t be a pain for players to navigate. This is why the developers at Atlus carried over the dash and auto-recovery features ofP5into this new game. The former lets players run faster, at the cost of being easier for enemies to detect. The latter recovers the party’s HP at the cost of SP. These features make it easier for players to explore and survive Tartarus’ 250+ randomly generated floors.
The developers also removedPersona 3’s Fatigue mechanic, which made the characters weaker in combat after spending some time in Tartarus. Now, players can roam around the dungeon as long as they have enough HP and SP to fight Shadows.
How Twilight Fragments Work in Persona 3 Reload
Persona 3 Reloadalso adds an item called Twilight Fragments. They can use this to open locked treasure chests dotted throughout Tartarus. These can also be used to activate the Entrance Clock, which fully recovers the HP and SP of the whole party. Players can acquire these by gathering loot from breakable objects within Tartarus.
AnotherP5concept that this gamewill borrow is the Baton Pass, which lets players choose which character takes an extra action after hitting an enemy’s weakness. This mechanic is calledShift inPersona 3 Reload. It’s unclear if this will borrow elements like the stat boosts and HP/SP recovery fromPersona 5 Royal.
There’s also Theurgy, a brand-new combat feature inPersona 3 Reload. It’s a powerful skill that players can activate when their Theurgy Gauge is full. The gauge can be filled up by doing normal attacks and activating skills, but it can increase even further by doing character-specific actions. This is like a souped-up version ofPersona’s classic All-Out Attack, although it seems best reserved for tougher opponents like bosses and rare Shadows.
