Persona 3 Reload is great for newcomers but long-time fans may be left wanting

PERSONA 3 Reload is the fourth release of the game that originally launched in the PS2 era and a ground-up remake of Persona 3.

It brings updates across the board, but also lacks some features available in other versions.

Long-time Persona 3 fans remember the release of Persona 3 FES, an extended version that added an epilogue to the story.

Persona 3 also received an enhanced re-release as Persona 3 Portable for the PSP, which got the remaster treatment in 2023, bringing that version to modern consoles.

With the huge success of Persona 5, it was only natural that publisher Atlus would want to bring a full remake of one of the series’ best games for new fans to enjoy.

Each re-release of Persona 3 has added something new while also missing something from the versions that preceded it, and Persona 3 Reload is no different.

Persona 3 FES was a post-game expansion with some much-needed improvements to the original game.

Portable added a female protagonist, changing up the story a bit and bringing new social links to the game, but lacked the additional content from FES.

Persona 3 Reload is a complete remake of the original game, updating P3 with new visuals, music and new mechanics that put it on par with Persona 5.

Expect P5’s stylish menus, transitions and animations, modern graphics, but also overlong cutscenes for special attacks that you cannot skip.

Combat brings the shifting system from Persona 5 and a new powerful move called Theurgy, which you need to charge before use.

Tartarus, the main dungeon in P3, has a completely new look, and new Great Clocks auto-level underpowered party members to match your level.

This and the addition of armour specific to your party members, encourage you to switch between characters during combat more often than in any of the previous versions of P3.

New scenes with characters that don’t have social links have been added, to compensate for the male protagonist being the only option to play.

Despite the welcome additions and updated graphics, Reload does not feature the female protagonist available in Portable, or the additional epilogue chapter from FES.

Nevertheless, Persona 3 Reload is a great version of one of the best games in the series.

It will definitely appeal more to recent fans of the franchise, who hopped on when Persona 5 came out.

Yet, long-time Persona 3 fans will be left wanting more, as Reload is another release of P3 that falls short of being a “definitive edition”.

Score: 4/5

If you’re looking for more reviews of recent gaming releases, check out our Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth review.

Written by Stoyan Ovcharov on behalf of GLHF.