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.

Of course, I can’t talk about Persona 3 Reload’s presentation without giving a shout-out to the soundtrack. Persona 3’s beloved hip-hop and rap-rock soundtrack has been remastered for Persona 3 Reload and even features a couple of new songs.

These attributes are the type of attacks in the game. Personas and enemies have susceptibilities to certain attributes. Susceptibilities are listed first, and attributes are listed from left to right as shown on analysis screen and Persona status screen.

The first Persona that awakens within him is Orpheus, but he turns out to be a special case who can swap between multiple Personas at will, giving the player great flexibility in battle strategy.

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As with the corresponding in-house activities in Persona 4 and Persona 5, performing these tasks will strengthen each of the protagonist's Social Stats which can be used to later pursue specific interactions with Social Links. For example, reading books will increase the protagonist's Academics for school, while gardening yields the reward of the protagonist being able to learn new Tactics in battle. Furthermore, the protagonist can partake in each of the aforementioned activities alongside another party member, which will grant them additional buffs for combat scenarios.[4][5][6]

In July 2022, Atlus conducted a consumer-led survey in Japan gauging interest in potential remakes and re-releases of past games from the publisher, specifically in the Megami Tensei franchise.

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.

Tartarus itself has been revamped to give it a sinister new vibe and a more distinct look for each block of floors. From Giger-like biomechanical labyrinths to shapeshifting industrial halls, Tartarus is at least more visually interesting than before, and the floors themselves are generally laid out less like tedious, sprawling mazes. It's not a drastic overhaul that will completely stave off the repetitive nature of ascending Tartarus, but it's just enough to prevent it from feeling like the weak link it could have been.

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.

Fights come with a swift momentum that's effortlessly stylized to match the kinetic look and pace of combat. And that's key for a turn-based RPG, keeping things moving and never letting you get bogged down as you go through the motions of what could otherwise feel like pretty similar battles.

Following the game's official reveal, Atlus shared several additional details about Reload. P-Studio chief director Kazuhisa Wada and game producer Ryota Niitsuma clarified their intentions of producing a completely faithful recreation of the original Persona 3 experience, including implementing multiple "new scenes and events" beyond the retained narrative. However, the pair confirmed that as a result of remaining solely faithful to the game as it was originally released, none of the story content integrated into either Persona 3 FES or Persona 3 Portable would be remade for Reload, such as the epilogue chapter "The Answer" or the second female protagonist and her associated content.[14] Wada clarified following this interview however, that other story and gameplay elements first added to the main story scenario in FES would still feature in the game.[3] During a separate interview published in Weekly Famitsu, Wada, Niitsuma and game director Takuya Yamaguchi also expressed enthusiasm towards introducing alterations to the existing game's controls and map design, highlighting that the game's main dungeon, Tartarus, would undergo a "particularly large change" in structure from the original game due to the increase in environmental density, as well as interactive features and landscapes within existing areas.

Generally speaking, if an activity leads into a cutscene, it will pass time. The exceptions to this are spending time with Elizabeth, and visiting the School Nurse. Story events are always on the same day, and some activities are during a certain day of the week. The game takes place over roughly a year, so your time is limited.

The Reload naming was conceived as a result of the developers wanting to use another moniker with the letter "R" to convey its status as a definitive edition of Persona 3 as Persona 5 Royal was to Persona 5, feeling as if simply calling it "Persona 3 Remake" persona 3 reload gameplay was not fitting for the naming conventions of the series. The Reload name was also used to reflect the pistol-like Evokers used by the party to summon their Personas during battle.[13]