Persona 3 Reload retains its core hybrid of traditional role-playing and social simulation gameplay, but is overhauled aesthetically, graphically and mechanically to integrate systems and features that have been introduced to the Persona series since the original Persona 3's release, specifically deriving from quality-of-life improvements first implemented in Persona 5 (2016). In addition to foundational overhauls, Reload refines numerous elements of its graphical user interface to reflect the updated presentation of subsequent entries. For story-sensitive tasks, objective descriptions have been added below the display for the date, time of day and moon phase that list actions that must be performed to progress the narrative, which is functionally similar to Persona 5's heads-up display.

However, in an interview with Famitsu, translated by Siliconera, the development team confirmed that the focus will be on the base version of the game. According to Personal 3 Reload producer Ryouta Niizuma, the game “…is a project that prioritized remaking the original Persona 3 for modern consoles.

The revamped RPG also comes with a preorder bonus, giving fans the Persona 4 Golden BGM set with several battle themes and the results music.

We scored this a 9 because of the voice acting, amazing animated cut scenes and overall story. The repetitiveness towards the end was the main reason this was not a Masterpiece for us. At the end it got slow and we had to push ourselves to finish it. Now there are two paths and if had chose to end the game early, we probably would not have felt this way. However we wanted the best ending and took longer then we both expected. This was still a solid game and we both enjoyed the game.

AG: Agility. Assumed to be base stat for chance of hitting/dodging an enemy. Also seems to determine turn order.

The game's official box art drawn by Shimada persona 3 reload gameplay is an intentional recreation of Persona 3's Japanese PlayStation 2 key art, featuring the protagonist alongside the Persona Thanatos. Multiple revisions were made to update the homage, as Soejima and Yamaguchi discussed whether to just feature the protagonist and his Persona, or alongside the other main characters in the game.

You will manage your time between school lessons, socializing with your peers, and fighting against monsters to prepare for stronger threats.

If my main character goes down and the other party members are still alive, then why should I not be given the option to revive them? After Soul Hackers 2 and Persona 5 Tactica ditched this rule and incorporated smarter and more logical penalties for not keeping the main character alive, I thought Atlus had finally decided to remove it from future mainline Persona titles.

Next up we have the addition of new combat mechanics such as Shift, which functions like the Baton Pass from Persona 5 Royal. After landing a critical hit or hitting an enemy’s weaknesses, you can activate the Shift mechanic to swap to another party member even if their turn has already passed to allow them to attack again.

So, before a full moon arrives, you must prepare for each major boss Shadow encounter by training your party in Tartarus, keeping their gear updated, and creating new Personas for you to use.

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After completing the game, I am happy to report that this remake has exceeded my expectations and cemented itself as one of my new favorite Persona games of all time and one of Xbox’s best JRPGs.

Dungeon crawling through Tartarus is now more rewarding. There are many interesting new activities to do during the daytime to strengthen your party before the deadline for the next full moon Shadow boss fight arrives.

It finally feels like I'm truly exploring, experiencing, and learning the geography of Tatsumi Port Island instead of merely hovering above it. I didn't feel the limitations of a small town in the same way I did prior, where moving from place to place felt more like data entry than a game as the hours wore on. And: I can get a part-time job at the movie theater!