While the Phantom Thieves' initial and second-tier Personas were released as DLC for Persona 3 Reload, there were a handful from Persona 5 Royal's DLC that did not make the cut. Among these was Izanagi no Okami, which made a Persona 5 Royal run incredibly easy. DLC-aside, there were several Personas from previous titles that made a return in Royal that could have stayed for Persona 3 Reload.

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Had they made it into Persona 3 Reload, it's likely that the non-DLC P5R Personas would have a different Arcana. This could be a good thing, considering that it's recommended to have a Persona of a matching Arcana when doing Social Links. Having access to lower-leveled Personas of later-Social Links (ex, Tower) in the earlier stage of P3R could save on Fusion and Persona cards in Shuffle Time. Not to mention, access to the DLC Personas could potentially make the game easier for newcomers.

6 Koppa Tengu

Tower Arcana

Koppa Tengu is of the Temperance Arcana in Persona 5 Royal, and it has two weaknesses and one resistance. This Persona stands out with its Growth 1 and Rage-inducing Skills. Growth 1 will allow Koppa Tengu to gain some experience even if it isn't used in battle. Rage War and Taunt can induce the Rage ailment enemy, which greatly boosts their attack at the cost of their Defense and Speed/Accuracy.

If Koppa Tengu was in Reload, it could be used in Fusion to transfer Rage War or Growth 1 to "earlier" Personas. While these Skills ultimately lose their value as the protagonist unlocks stronger Personas, they're good for building a Persona that will act more as a Saboteur/Support than a fighter. Koppa Tengu in Royal was a Tower Arcana Persona, starting at level 11. The earliest Tower Persona that players will get in Reload is Eligor (level 31). Having Koppa Tengu in Reload could have cut back on "cost" when summoning it from the Compendium for the Tower Social Link.

5 Makami

Temperance Arcana

Makami is a Temperance Persona in Persona 5 Royal, and it has a balance of magic skills and support skills. Its best stat is Strength upon obtaining it, but it may work better for zeroing in on enemies with Nuke weakness or for inflicting Confuse. Makami is weak to Electric, but it will eventually learn Dodge Elec at level 20.

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Having Makami in Persona 3 Reload would fill the same niche as Koppa Tengu: A good "beginner" support Persona. It would be a wise decision to unlock its Evade Elec ability to transfer that to another Persona in a Fusion. In battle, Makami could act as a backup "healer," curing anyone afflicted with Fear, Despair, or Confuse with its Energy Drop Skill. Also, since Nuke doesn't exist in Reload, its Mafrei Skill could be swapped for Megido or even Virus Breath if its initial level were to be higher than 15.

4 Bugs

Fool Arcana

Bugs, or Bugbear, is a Persona of the Fool Arcana in P5R. It specializes mainly in Physical Skills, but it learns Psiodyne, Evade Phys, and Fast Heal. Unfortunately, Bugs is one of the "later" Personas, as its base level is 49. In fact, the first run-in the Phantom Thieves may have with it is the level 65 "Killer Teddy Bear" Shadow in Mementos.

If Bugs were in Persona 3 Reload, it would likely retain its P5R base level (ie, 49). Its Triple Down Skill would be changed from Gun (P5R) to Pierce (P3R), and if it kept Miracle Punch (or a P3R equivalent), then it would become a Strike Skill instead of Melee. Bugs would be outranked by stronger physical-focused Personas, and its Psiodyne Skill would need to be replaced, likely with an Almighty Skill (as they did with Anat's Cosmic Flare).

3 Fafnir

Hermit Arcana

Fafnir was one of the more challenging enemies to appear in Royal. He could only be fought in Maruki's Palace and also served as the guardian of its final Will Seed. Fafnir's attacking Skills always deal Colossal or Severe damage. It even has Nuke Amp and Concentrate to double its damage in-battle. This isn't counting its Debilitate Skill, which lowers the Attack/Defense/Speed/Accuracy for one target. If Fafnir wasn't taken out quickly in Royal, it could prove to be quite the frustrating opponent.

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If Fafnir were in Persona 3 Reload, it would likely have served as a boss for one of the Monad Passages on the higher floors of Tartarus. With its innate ability to Absorb Fire, Reflect Physical Skills, and essentially having no weaknesses, it's not a Shadow that would be found on Tartarus' regular blocks. It would also be nice to have a Persona that could innately reflect, resist, and absorb various Affinities. Since it's another Nuke-heavy Persona, Fafnir would likely be an Almighty-attacker and debuffer (Debilitate).

2 Raoul, William, Celestine, etc

Phantom Thieves Third Awakening Personas

Persona 5 Royal introduced "third awakening" Personas for the entire cast and the at-the-time new Phantom Thief, Kasumi Yoshizawa. This wouldn't be the first time Persona had third-tier Personas, as Golden did the same with the Investigation Team (excluding the protagonist). The third awakening Personas could only be used in the third semester, and only after January 14th, when Joker can speak with each of his teammates one-on-one. This also wastes Joker's afternoon time.

The Royal DLC Set for Persona 3 Reload included the initial and second-awakening Personas of the Phantom Thieves. It's a wonder why the third-awakening Personas weren't included as well or even in place of the second-awakenings. However, given that each third-awakening Persona has their own unique Skill, it's likely this was to prevent P3R newcomers from being too overpowered. Another argument is that Royal's third ultimate Personas doesn't fit the "theme" of Persona 3 Reload.

1 Izanagi no Okami

World Arcana

Izanagi no Okami is probably one of, if not the best, Persona that could be summoned from the DLC pack in Persona 5 Royal. He is the Persona 4 protagonist's ultimate Persona. Izanagi no Okami's best Skill is arguably his Myriad Truths, which deals x3 heavy Almighty Damage to enemies. Stack this with an Almighty Boost passive Skill and Concentrate, and even bosses won't have time to retaliate.

Looking closer at Izanagi no Okami's stats and Skill List, it's not too surprising why he wasn't added to Persona 3 Reload's DLC or expansion pack. He's overpowered and can essentially make the beginning stages of Persona 3 Reload a cakewalk. Still, there are plenty of Persona 3 Reload players that wouldn't mind having the overpowered Izanagi no Okami.

Persona 3 Reload

Franchise

Persona

Platform(s)

PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One , PS4 , PS5

Released

February 2, 2024

Developer(s)

P-Studio

Publisher(s)

Atlus