The biggest vibe shift was wandering the tower of Tartarus, which is now the creepiest of all the Persona dungeons. The aura is truly unsettling in the chunk of floors that I played, with the intent to closely emulate the themes of death in the game, producer Ryota Niitsuma and director Takuya Yamaguchi told me after the demo. Reworking Tartarus was a high priority for the team and it shows.

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Escape: Attempt to run from battle. The party will try to run from battle three moves after you choose escape. Not always a reliable way to escape.

Reload removes the ability for the player to completely break Social Links with supporting characters as was possible in both Persona 3 and Persona 4 (2008), although the player is still able to reverse them through choosing the protagonist's dismissive responses to interactions.[7] A new social element will be introduced, that exists separately from Social Links. It is meant to contextualize supporting characters who weren't as prominent in previous iterations of Persona 3, through the inclusion of side-story arcs that will deepen the protagonist's relationship with them, which will also extend to the male party members due to the lack of dedicated Social Link stories for them.[oito][9][10]

Through an incredible new voice cast that embodies these unforgettable characters and an endearing soundtrack to reforge its identity, Persona 3 Reload tells a powerful, timeless story of tragedy and hope with sharp emotional sincerity. This is the kind of remake I’ve hoped for, and even after spending 70 hours to see it all the way to its conclusion, I still find it hard to believe it's real.

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 persona 3 reload gameplay gloves are neat touches to complement the fancy new combat animations.

I had only just played Persona 3 Portable in the last few years, so that hundred-hour saga felt relatively fresh in my mind going into my demo of Persona 3 Reload. I was excited to hang out with all my old pals, but a bit skeptical that it would be different enough to warrant the time investment all over again.

So it doesn’t contain the epilogue from FES or the female protagonist from Portable. However, that doesn’t mean that the new additions to the main story that was added in FES won’t be in Reload.”

Act Freely: Does whatever they determine is the best move. Decent, but doesn't understand advanced tactics you may want to employ.

In the input field, type a question that could be answered with "yes" or "no." You can ask up to 20 questions before the game is over

Plus, the desktop computer that sits in the lobby is also usable to juice personality stats. Yamaguchi and Niitsuma acknowledged that the dorm was always a special environment for these games, and the effort they put into creating a home-y, social space gives the S.E.E.S. HQ a welcome warmth against the game's largely bleak main narrative.

After completing the game, I am happy to report that this remake has exceeded my expectations and cemented itself as one of my new favorite Persona games of all time and one of Xbox’s best JRPGs.

I was so glad the Fatigue system had been removed for Persona 3 Reload. This meant that as long as I had enough healing supplies to keep my characters’ health and Spirit Points full, I could spend as much time as I wanted in Tartarus without worrying about arbitrary systems forcing me to leave.

You can journey to the east as a lone sword master and enjoy over cem hours of rich narrative driven exploration of a lush and exotic world filled with exciting adventures.