Highlights

  • Persona 3 Reload fixed Persona 5's party outfit mistakes, setting a potential path for Persona 6.
  • P5 only made party member outfits available in DLC, while P3R features many costumes that anyone can unlock through gameplay.
  • Unlockable outfits add variety and depth without the downsides of DLC, so they ought to return in Persona 6.

Persona 3 Reload undid one of the mistakes that Persona 5 made, and that could be an omen for Persona 6 following in its footsteps in that regard. Persona 3 Reload largely sticks to the original Persona 3 story-wise, but mechanically, it benefits from years of advancement. While Persona 3 Reload is a remake, it still has plenty to offer, both as a game and in terms of the series' future. This includes a few areas where Persona 5 actually dropped the ball. Hopefully, Persona 6 will be able to take cues from Persona 3 Reload's smarter decisions.

As part of the current trend of video game remakes, Persona 3 Reload does an admirable job of being an upgrade over the original. Many of the more frustrating aspects of Persona 3, such as the fatigue mechanic, have either been reworked or removed, and the infamous AI-controlled party members are now an option rather than a necessity. Persona 3 Reload even picked up a few things from Persona 5, most notably the Baton Pass mechanic, reworked as Shift. Overall, it did a good job of bringing the game to the modern era, and gives hope for other older Persona titles to do the same.

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Persona 3 Reload's Improved Features Set the Stage for a Persona 4 Remake

Persona 3 Reload shows that classic games in the franchise can be brought up to date effectively while remaining faithful to their roots.

Persona 3 Reload's Approach to Unlockable Outfits Outshines Persona 5

Persona 3 Reload's Outfits Are a Delightful Addition

One detail worth noting is the outfits available in Persona 3 Reload. In a feature carried over from the original game, every member of the party has alternate outfits that can be equipped, giving them a different style in Tartarus and in battle. These outfits are primarily unlocked either through finding chests in Tartarus, or completing certain requests. While the outfits are just a cosmetic reward, they add a little more variety to the player's dungeon-crawling adventures. Since Persona 3 Reload embraced these alternate outfits again, there's a decent chance that they could return for Persona 6's party members.

Persona 5's Only Extra Outfits Were DLC

Persona 5 did not have a similar approach to alternate outfits. Instead, Persona 5's downloadable content was the only source of alternate outfits in the game. Granted, some of the DLC packs were free, and Persona 5 Royal made the original game's DLC free to players of the newer version. However, that still meant there were no outfits that could be unlocked through gameplay. DLC is a frequent source of discussion and controversy for several reasons, especially paid DLC. For all of Persona 5's additional outfits to be DLC-only is a disappointment compared to what Persona 3 Reload has to offer.

Persona 3 Reload also has some DLC outfit packs, but they exist in addition to the in-game unlockable outfits.

Persona 3's Method Of Unlocking New Outfits Is One Worth Bringing Back

There is a major advantage to in-game rewards compared to DLC, and it stands as a point where Persona 3 Reload outshone Persona 5. When a player can earn these extra rewards in-game, there's a sense of accomplishment that comes with them. This is doubly true since the rewards in question are purely cosmetic. In general, it's more satisfying to earn something in-game than it is to pay for it. There's also the fact that some players will not want to purchase DLC, or are unable to. In general, in-game rewards are not only more exciting, but they're more accessible as well.

The return of unlockable outfits in Persona 3 Reload was a welcome development, and hopefully an omen for the future. It's a great lesson for Persona 6 to learn from Persona 3 Reload, and the feature would be well worth reviving again. Additional outfits are a lot of fun, and Persona 6 would have a whole franchise full of ideas to pull from if it includes some of its own. If so, it would be better off following the example of Persona 3 Reload in incorporating them.