Largely, Persona 3 Reload follows the base game rather closely. As a member of the SEES, you will explore Tartarus, the altered form of the school that is now a dungeon that changes nightly.

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.

Then, once you have knocked down all enemies by targeting their weaknesses, you can finish them off with the classic All-Out Attack mechanic from the original game where all party members gang up on vulnerable Shadows to give them a very satisfying beat down.

Embark on a one-of-a-kind adventure taking you from the tranquil countryside surrounded by majestic wilderness to lively cities flanked by mysterious caves and treacherous canyons.

Shimada and Soejima also updated the look of the Evokers; a small gimmick was added to emphasize the impact of Persona summoning, describing how the Evoker's pistol slide blows back and emits a red light after being fired.[15]

With a stellar visual overhaul and countless small but impactful changes, Persona 3 Reload tells a timeless story of tragedy and hope with sharp emotional sincerity.

Persona 3 was the first game in the Persona series to adopt this unorthodox gameplay formula, and sadly, some of it hasn’t aged well compared to its sequels or its PlayStation Portable counterpart, Persona 3 Portable.

In my playthrough that ran more than an hour, though, I didn't feel at all like Reload was covering the same ground, even if it basically is. The added gameplay elements, updated graphics, tweaked areas and social links compel me to sink another handful of months into getting to the bottom of Apathy Syndrome with the S.E.E.S. crew.

Alexander is always on deck to help our readers conquer the industry's most difficult games — when he can pry himself away from Monster Hunter that is! 

The new, upbeat battle theme “It’s Going Down” you hear when surprise attacking enemies during exploration complements the soulful classic “Mass Destruction” nicely, and I didn’t mind failing to jump the persona 3 reload gameplay enemy so I could sing along with an enthusiastic "Ooooh yeah! Dada-dada, dada-dada!" the same as I did years ago. However, it’s the beautifully chill night time theme “Color Your Night” that sets the mood with familiar instrumentation and lyrics that wistfully reflect on the events of Persona 3 – I can guarantee it’ll become a fan favorite.

He also envisioned slower animations and softer aesthetics in the menus, in order to contrast Persona 5's emphasis on aggressive movements and pop-punk influences, deriving inspiration from the sea surrounding Tatsumi Port Island, the game's primary setting. A special 3D character model of the protagonist was created by the animation team for use exclusively in the game's menus, with a large number of animation skeletons and polygons used to express the character's emotions, and the shimmering effect conveying the feeling of being submerged in water. Kumagai stressed that it was equally important that the team retained the ease of navigation and responsiveness present in Persona 5's user interface.

And just like watching each of them take an Evoker shot straight to the dome to cast spells, I never got tired of seeing my party’s personas shatter their portrait cutouts when hitting a weakness.

Plus, the desktop computer that sits in the lobby is also usable to juice personality stats. Yamaguchi and Niitsuma acknowledged that the dorm was always a special environment for these games, and the effort they put into creating a home-y, social space gives the S.E.E.S. HQ a welcome warmth against the game's largely bleak main narrative.

While these two segments may feel somewhat separate, your social interactions during the day will often have an impact on your stats and relationships in the combat and dungeon-exploring elements of Persona 3 Reload