Personas can be fused together in order to create more powerful Personas for battles. Higher ranks in Social Links results in extra experience given to Personas you fuse of the matching arcana.

Through the fusion system, which allows your main character to wield different personas Pokemon style, you can unlock a bunch of unique Theurgy attacks, and some of them are as destructive as they are hilarious. Those who've played Persona 5 will recognize the Shift mechanic, too, which works just like the Baton Pass; when you hit an enemy weakness, you can pass the Em excesso turn to a different party member who can keep the pain train rolling or hit remaining foes even harder.

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! 

As is tradition for Shin Megami Tensei games, the turn-based RPG combat revolves around accounting for elemental affinities, knocking down enemies to earn extra turns, and setting up those iconic All-Out Attacks. Persona 3 Reload uses the same foundation as the original but builds upon it in ways that mitigate the monotony of churning through battle after battle. The aforementioned Theurgy attacks are relegated to a meter that fills during fights, each serving a strategic purpose given their limited use and character-specific effects, be that massive damage or major stat buffs – and they all come with some fantastic animations, too.

All those additions become part of the daily routine and add a genuine texture to characters I thought I knew so well already. But the tangible reward comes in the form of combat perks like permanent stat buffs and status effects, and more substantially, Em excesso Theurgy attacks – basically new Limit Break-style moves that each party member can unleash. It's one convincing way for the power of friendship to be made manifest.

There's a timelessness to Persona 3 – its story of confronting death with imperfect courage and carrying on in the face of tragedy left an everlasting impact on me when I first played it on PS2, even as RPGs evolved and the Persona series continued to grow. As I've gotten older and experienced the very things it's about, I've grown to cherish the earnestness of its message, the way it's framed, and the characters who embody these struggles even more.

The Dark Hour is a hidden hour of the day where once the clock strikes midnight, most of humanity gets transmogrified into coffins while they sleep, and Gekkoukan High School transforms into a gigantic tower known as Tartarus.

This is where building Social Links becomes a crucial part of the gameplay loop. Social Links can provide bonuses allowing you to instantly level up Personas when fusing them in the Velvet Room or unlock new recipes to create powerful Personas you won’t find from destroying Shadows.

Azusa Shimada serves as Persona 3 Reload's main character designer, with original artist Shigenori Soejima taking on a supervisory role. The two collaborated to refine the existing designs, as well as update the S.E.E.S. equipment when entering Tartarus. This includes a new armband, which was teased by game director Takuya Yamaguchi to have ties to a new mechanic during Shadow encounters, and a combat attire unique to every party member.

Dungeons now share the perspective of Persona 4 and Persona 5, where the camera is behind the player rather than top-down. Series staples such as recruiting and combining demons are the same as before, though it’s been speculated that there are additional social links.

Dive into an immersive world featuring interconnected nature and persona 3 reload gameplay society with realistic weather conditions, real consequences from natural disasters and human conflicts.

looks set to continue the divide between social simulator as you go about your day as a student, and turn-based JRPG combat at night as you fight various shadows in Tartarus.

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A textbook example of how a remake should be done. It has an in-depth storyline and complex characters. Its unique gameplay blend of turn-based combat, dungeon crawling, and high school simulator is addictive. And it is packed with tons of improvements and new content which old and new fans alike will enjoy.