Unlike its successors who have one definitive remake each — Persona 4 with Golden and Persona 5 with Royal — things aren’t as clear-cut for Persona 3. The base game has two alternate versions; Persona 3 Portable and Persona 3 FES. While Portable arguably offers more features and includes Kotone, Persona 3’s female protagonist, there’s no free movement ability and anime cutscenes have been completely removed. FES includes The Answer epilogue but doesn’t offer a female protagonist or the ability to control party members.

Due to the overwhelming success of other recent Persona ports and remakes, 2006’s Persona 3 has finally received a complete modern overhaul in the form of Persona 3 Reload. Released on PC and all current-generation consoles aside from the Nintendo Switch, one of the most beloved games in the Persona series is now more accessible to fans, while including a ton of additions and changes that make Reload the definitive experience when compared to the versions that came before.

10 There Are New, Rewritten, And Optional Story Scenes In Persona 3 Reload

Longtime fans of Persona 3 who have already played through one or more of its original releases won’t have to worry about Persona 3 Reload being a stale experience story-wise. The main story remains unchanged, but it’s been expanded in several areas to give players more insight into the world and its characters — most notably, characters from Persona 3 FES that didn’t get enough screen time before.

Some original story beats have been rewritten, but not to the point of being drastically different from the original. Additional optional story sections have also been added that let players spend more time with their favorite key characters.

9 Persona 3 Reload’s Combat System Is Much More Similar To Persona 5 Royal

Persona 3 Reload’s combat system has received some major overhauls that make it feel more akin to Persona 5 Royal than the original Persona 3. Naturally, players can now control all their party members, unlike in Vanilla P3 and FES. The menu for selecting options during combat has been simplified and now works on single-button presses like Persona 5.

There are now five difficulty options total to choose from, ranging from Casual to Merciless, which can be switched at any time. If players advance to the highest difficulty and then lower it again, however, they won’t be able to go back up to Merciless. Persona 5 Royal’s Baton Pass system has also been brought to Persona 3 Reload, but it’s called Shift instead. Light and dark elements have been added from Persona 5 Royal as well, and all Persona 3 Reload party members now have an ultimate that charges as they perform actions in combat.

8 Persona 3’s Voice Cast Is Entirely Overhauled For Persona 3 Reload

Being a modern-day upgrade of an almost twenty-year-old game, Persona 3 Reload has an all-new voice cast bringing fan-favorite characters to life this time around. Protagonist Makoto Yuki is voiced by Aleks Le, the English dub voice of Zenitsu from Demon Slayer. Yukari Takeba’s voice performance is done by Heather Gonzalez, who recently voiced Cocolia in Hoyoverse’s Honkai Star Rail.

Zeno Robinson, best known for voicing My Hero Academia’s Hawks, plays best friend Junpei Iori in Persona 3 Reload. Akihiko Sanada is played by Alejandro Saab, who gained notoriety in the gacha community for voicing Cyno from Genshin Impact. Mitsuru’s voiced by Allegra Clark this time around, who’s best known for voicing Dorothea in Fire Emblem. Suzie Yueng, who voices Fuuka in Persona 3 Reload, is most notably the English voice actress for Chainsaw Man’s Makima.

7 Personas From Persona 5 Are Available In Persona 3 Reload

Before Persona 3 Reload even launched, the existence of day-one costume DLC for the students and personas of both Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal was revealed. That’s not all, though, as Personas that weren’t added to the series until Persona 5 are also now available to use in Persona 3 Reload. Along with this, the Light and Dark elements from Persona 5 have been added to Persona 3 Reload, along with new skills for existing Personas.

Pre-existing Personas from the original Persona 3 have also had their weaknesses updated in Persona 3 Reload, to accommodate the addition of Light and Dark elements. Some of Persona 3 Reload’s story events now offer key items that let players obtain new Personas.

6 Persona 3 Reload Introduces A Boatload Of New, Engaging Additions To Tartarus

Tartarus is Persona 3’s iconic one-hundred-floor dungeon, offering a distinctly different experience than Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal after it. Persona 3 Reload has made a ton of positive changes to Tartarus, most notably eliminating the original Persona 3’s Fatigue system. There are new breakable items that offer items or Twilight Coins that can then open rare chests, and Tartarus now has more frequent teleporters for easy transportation.

There are also new, random elements added to Tartarus to spice up gameplay, in addition to Monad Doors, which let players challenge optional bosses for extra rewards. These doors also grant vision for the current and following floor of Tartarus, making exploration easier. Finally, Persona 3 Reload includes a Clock Room that lets players level two allies to the same level as the player, removing much of the need for tedious grinding.

5 There Are New Items, Equips, Skills, And Shuffle Time Rewards In Persona 3 Reload

Unlike the two-year gap between Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal, almost two decades passed between Persona 3 and Persona 3 Reload. In the two mainline titles — and two remakes — that followed, many new items and skills were added to the Persona series. Many of these items, skills, and equips have been brought to Persona 3 Reload, offering longtime players a breadth of new but familiar choices.

There are also new crafting materials in Persona 3 Reload, which then allows players to craft new armor, accessories, and footwear at the antique store. Persona 3 Reload’s Shuffle Time now includes additional rewards and shows players potential rewards, a feature that was in Persona 4 Golden.

4 Tons Of Helpful Adjustments Have Been Made To Daily Life In Persona 3 Reload

The social, day-to-day elements of Persona 3 are some of its most dated, and Persona 3 Reload thankfully makes a ton of quality-of-life adjustments to make players’ non-combat activities feel better. For one, outside of combat or dialogue, Persona 3 Reload can now be saved at any time. Iwatodai Strip Mall’s cybercafe sells one-use PC software that grants players stat boosts or even new abilities to use in Tartarus.

After players visit a restaurant or shop for the first time, text notifications turn on for that store, letting players know when there’s a special sale going on or they’ve restocked their goods. Elizabeth’s side missions for the player now have extra tracking on the map as well, to make completing them a bit less tedious.

3 Social Links Directly Message The Player When They’re Free In Persona 3 Reload And Have New Events

Social links in Persona 3 Reload are the same as their vanilla counterpart, though some now unlock in different ways, and they’ve gotten some much-appreciated quality of life. Much like in Persona 5 Royal, social links in Persona 3 Reload now directly text the player when they’re free, and players can directly teleport to them after replying to their text.

New social events have been added to Persona 3 Reload on days when there’s no school, as well as evening-time social events to deepen players’ bond with other SEES members. Cooking and gardening are just two of these new events, and they can also raise players’ social stats as an added bonus.

2 Romance Works More Like Persona 5 Than 3 In Persona 3 Reload

Most importantly, players in Persona 3 Reload are no longer forced to romance characters to complete their Social Links. Instead, romance works like in Persona 5, where players choose whether to enter relationships with characters through key dialogue choices. There are also no negative penalties for choosing not to romance someone.

Players are still able to romance all or multiple characters in Persona 3 Reload if they wish, but there are consequences in-game for doing so. Some Social Link events tied to romance have been rewritten as well, and there’s additional dialogue in Persona 3 Reload depending on who players romance.

1 Persona 3 Reload Does Not Include Any Content For Kotone, The Female Protagonist

Persona 3 Reload offers a ton of additions and improvements that build on Persona 3’s already successful foundation, but it’s also worth noting what it takes away. Kotone, the female protagonist introduced in Persona 3 Portable, is not included whatsoever in Persona 3 Reload. As of now, there are also no plans to include Kotone as DLC.

While this is heartbreaking for fans who wanted to see Kotone remastered alongside the rest of the Persona 3 cast, it’s an understandable decision. Kotone’s route in Persona 3 comes with a ton of all-new dialogue, events, and romantic options. Persona 3 Reload instead focuses its efforts on one core experience, rather than trying to split it into two, ensuring what fans were delivered is polished.