Highlights

  • Persona 3 Reload integrates Persona 5 mechanics like Shift and Theurgy for better combat experience.
  • Persona 6 may adopt similar mechanics for combat, but social link messages from Persona 5 should not be overlooked.
  • Persona 3 Reload's social link messages help players manage and prioritize relationships efficiently.

Persona 3 Reload does a great job of translating useful features introduced in Persona 5 to the core gameplay of Persona 3 while remaining faithful to the original release. New incarnations of Persona 5 mechanics like Baton Pass and Showtime returning as Shift and Theurgy in Persona 3 Reload show Atlus' dedication to keeping worthwhile features in new entries in the series. While these mechanics greatly improve Persona 3 Reload's combat, an underrated mechanic from Persona 5 goes a long way to improve Persona 3 Reload's social life simulation system.

With all eyes on the next mainline entry in the Persona series now that Persona 3 Reload has been released, many fans have been speculating on what mechanics included in recent entries will become staples for the series in Persona 6 and beyond. Persona 3 Reload's iteration of several Persona 5 mechanics points to Persona 6 likely continuing to feature similar ones for its combat system. However, Persona 6 shouldn't overlook the ability to get messages from Social Links or Confidants when they are available to hang out with, since this small feature makes managing the confusing social system of the series so much easier.

Persona 5 Confidants Road Fork
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Persona 5 Royal's Confidants Face a Fork in the Road to Persona 6

Persona 5's Confidant system offers better benefits compared to Social Links, but it could be improved further for Persona 6.

An important part of Persona 3 Reload's gameplay is the social life simulation aspect, wherein players spend their daily lives attending school and forming bonds called Social Links with their classmates and other acquaintances around town. Each of these Social Links corresponds to one of the major tarot arcana for a total of 22 Social Links, and increasing the player's bond with a Social Link will allow them to fuse more powerful Personas on that arcana. However, with limited time each in-game day to spend with these Social Links, it can be difficult to manage and prioritize the Social Links that are available to spend time with.

Luckily, Persona 3 Reload includes the ability to receive messages from Social Links via the protagonist's phone when one is available for a hang-out. This helps players keep track of which Social Links are available on which days and allows them to prioritize ones that are close to ranking up when deciding how to spend their time. Additionally, selecting a message from a Social Link allows the player to teleport directly to their location, so players aren't forced to remember where a Social Link is at any given time.

How Persona 6 Could Improve this Messaging System

With this mechanic being first introduced in Persona 5 and then brought back in Persona 3 Reload, it's clear Atlus wants to include this feature as a staple of the franchise going forward. Both Persona 5 and Persona 3 Reload offered a wide variety of daily activities for players to participate in that warranted a feature like this to help players keep their social lives in order, and Persona 6 will likely include even more content outside of dungeons for players to experience. However, there are some ways Persona 6 could make receiving messages from a Social Link even more useful for players when managing their daily lives in-game.

One way Persona 6 could drastically improve upon this messaging system is by simply adding a way for players to mark which Social Links take priority when receiving a message from multiple ones. Given that most in-game days offer players the chance to spend time with one of several different Social Links, it can often be tough to decide which one to choose for a hang-out, since in a game like Persona 5 Royal, certain bonds have to reach a specific rank by a particular day to access the true ending. Allowing players to mark the Social Link they're prioritizing can help them make this decision easily when multiple options are available on a given day.