Highlights

  • Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the classic game, features upgraded graphics and gameplay comparable to Persona 5.
  • Tartarus, the main dungeon in Persona 3 Reload, has undergone major changes, including the removal of the Fatigue mechanic.
  • The game introduces new features such as character conversations, breakable objects, and locked treasure chests, as well as new combat mechanics like Shift and Theurgy.

Fans of the Shin Megami Tensei spinoff Persona are in for a treat this February 2024 with the release of Persona 3 Reload. While it’s advertised as a remake of the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable classic Persona 3, P3 Reload looks like an entirely new game. This is because Atlus upgraded its engine and graphics to be comparable to Persona 5, the latest installment in the franchise. Players will feel some of the most significant gameplay changes when they enter Tartarus, the main dungeon in Persona 3 Reload (and its previous versions).

Persona 3 follows 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 of Persona games and is interpreted differently in each sequel. For example, Persona 5 has 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.

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Persona 3 Reload Trailer Shows Off School Life and Social Links

Japanese video game developer Altus releases a brand-new trailer for Persona 3 Reload, highlighting aspects of school life and social links.

Persona 3 Reload’s Tartarus Gets the Persona 5 Treatment

persona 3 reload tartarus

Judging from the official trailers, developer interviews, and Atlus’ webpage, Persona 3 Reload's Tartarus exploration and combat system received a major overhaul. Here are the most important changes:

  • Removal of the Fatigue mechanic
  • Dash and auto-recovery functions
  • Character conversations in Tartarus
  • Breakable objects and locked treasure chests
  • Floor search and Entrance Clock revisions
  • New combat mechanics: Shift and Theurgy

Quality of Life Improvements in Persona 3 Reload’s Tartarus

Tartarus should be a dangerous and uncomfortable place for Persona 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 of P5 into 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 removed Persona 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 Reload also 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.

Persona 3 Reload Adds Character Conversations and New Combat Mechanics

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Another P5 concept that this game will borrow is the Baton Pass, which lets players choose which character takes an extra action after hitting an enemy’s weakness. This mechanic is called Shift in Persona 3 Reload. It's unclear if this will borrow elements like the stat boosts and HP/SP recovery from Persona 5 Royal.

There’s also Theurgy, a brand-new combat feature in Persona 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 of Persona's classic All-Out Attack, although it seems best reserved for tougher opponents like bosses and rare Shadows.