Persona 5 was the game that skyrocketed the Persona series’ popularity outside of Japan, but it was Persona 3 that defined what a modern game in the franchise could be. Breaking even further away from the Shin Megami Tensei spinoff status that gave birth to Personas 1 and 2, Persona 3 cemented several important gameplay features that have now come to define the series, such as the calendar. For those revisiting this game, and those experiencing it for the very first time, here’s everything to know about Persona 3 Reload.
Since the release of the original Persona 3 in 2006, the game has already received several revisions before Reload. Persona 3 FES was a director’s cut release of the game, and Persona 3 Portable was a port of the title for the PlayStation Portable handheld. Both renditions added new content to the game, but that content won’t be a part of Persona 3 Reload, which is simply adapting the original game, so features such as the epilogue of FES and a female playable protagonist are absent. The core of Persona 3 Reload’s gameplay is mostly similar to that of the original game. Players will take control of a nameless student from Gekkoukan High School, and will not only participate in turn-based combat with Personas, but will also attempt to improve their social dynamics with other characters.
Persona 3 Reload will release for both previous and current generation consoles (minus the Nintendo Switch) and PC on February 2 2024. The standard edition will cost $70, and preordering will net you several background music tracks from Persona 4 Golden. The Digital Deluxe and Digital Deluxe Premium editions cost $80 and $100, respectively. While both include a digital artbook and soundtrack, only the Premium edition includes the DLC pack, which includes cosmetics based on other Persona games as well as the background music and a select amount of the personas from Persona 5 Royal. The content in the DLC pack can be purchased separately.
