“Persona 3 Reload” produced by ATLUS will be launched on February 2nd. We were invited to complete this long RPG this time. This time we will talk about it in the way of Wu Lei’s experience. My experience playing “Persona 3 Reload” this time.
This time I played the PC version, and the game ran fairly smoothly throughout the entire session. There are no serious crashes, dropped frames, etc.
The main plot of “P3” this time has not been significantly changed compared to the original version, but I believe that many players will still want to take this opportunity to try this work, so we will not reveal any plot in this article. Before reading further, you can first review the experience of playing “P3R” for the first time that we published a while ago. We will not repeat some of the content.
Extended reading: “Persona 3 Reload” first trial experience: an undefeated classic reborn with high graphics quality
A heavier story
As mentioned in the first experience of playing last time, “Persona 3 Reload” describes that there is an existence called “Shadow Time” between 24 hours a day. During Shadow Time, most people will be unable to Action and being sealed in a coffin, there will be no memory. However, humans who can move freely are attacked by shadows, and in reality they suffer from the strange disease “Anaplasia”.
Only those with the “Persona” can fight against the shadows. After the protagonist with the power of the Persona transferred to Gekkokan Academy, he awakened his power and formed a special extracurricular activity with classmates who also had the Persona. Department (SEES), face the shadow together and uncover the story of the mystery of shadow time.
This time it was remade using the UE engine. In addition to 2D hand-drawn animations, there are also some animations created using 3D modules. General performances are roughly similar to the performance mode of “P5” with higher-standard modules. It is much better than “P3P” and gives people a good sense of plot substitution. However, in a few side plots, I feel that it would be more interesting if there were more complex actions.
It can be said that compared to the cheerful atmosphere of “P4” and the rebellion-themed “P5”, the plot of “P3” is relatively heavier in the main plot and COMMU. And in terms of plot arrangement, “P3” is a game in which the climax of the plot occurs one after another in the middle and later stages. The preparation time in the early stages will be longer than in today’s games.
Climb to the top of Tartarus
After experiencing “P3R” this time, let’s finally make a general review of the battle.
Most of the battles in “P3” take place in the tower “Tartarus”, which is a tower with more than 250 floors. If you want to know what it looks like inside, a very appropriate example is the “Impression Space” of “P5”. This time, the overall mechanism of Tartarus in “P3R” is more like a slightly upgraded version of the Impression Space.
Although the basis of constantly fighting monsters and climbing up has not changed, Tartarus will add a little new mechanism every time a new area can be opened.
For example, the monster has an abnormal state at the beginning, or carries a lot of treasures, and requires the player to chase its rare monster, so that the player can still get a little freshness. In addition, there are some more destructible settings in the tower, and you have the opportunity to obtain items that can be exchanged for gold, HP or SP, which is also very helpful for the overall strategy.
Due to the addition of the new “rotation” and “divine” mechanisms, as well as the ability to quickly select monsters with known weaknesses and corresponding magic with one click, the entire battle process has become smoother. The addition of passive skills to “Goddess” and partner characters makes the overall strategy faster.
Of course, this does not mean that “P3R” is a fun game to play. The cultivation of the persona greatly affects the difficulty of the strategy. Only by cultivating the persona as much as possible can the strategy become easier. However, the monster’s instant death skills and critical hits will cause 1 More to attack again, which will still occasionally make the situation out of control.
It’s up to you whether you want to be a lover or a friend
In addition to fighting, the most interesting thing about this series is the daily life with a certain degree of freedom. In the afternoon and evening after class, you can freely move around the Iwatodai area, go shopping, eat delicious food, etc. to improve the three personality indexes (commonly known as measurements), and develop friendships with community characters (COMMU) that can build relationships.
In this COMMU where you can socialize, some plots are sad and some guys have bad intentions, but there are also some quite interesting plots, and there are even plots where the mystery is not revealed until the end. Please be sure to give it your full attention Strategy for the target.
Let me give you a hint. This time, developing body measurements also has a lot to do with establishing COMMU. In particular, the female friends who are also SEES have a “high” demand for body measurement development.
Therefore, during the first semester and summer vacation, you should make good use of the free time and grasp the information provided by the newsletter at each time. This time, it is completely possible to push the COMMU of all characters to the highest level in one round.
In the past, when the protagonist of “P3” reached full COMMU with a female character, he would be forced to become a lover. Even in the first version of “P3”, if he ignored the other party for too long, “Inverted Arcana” would be triggered, which would increase his favorability. Once you hit rock bottom, it’s almost impossible to recover.
In this “P3R”, the settings of the later “P5” are also borrowed. In the final confession session, you can choose to become lovers or remain friends. Therefore, players of this generation can treat one person exclusively. Whether they want to be a scumbag who cheats on many people depends on the player himself.
Another very important addition this time is the dialogue plot with SEES partners. This function will be opened in the middle of the game. Although when it is opened, there may be several COMMUs to face at the same time in the night stage, but compared to the daytime , there is relatively a lot of time at night.
But this new link is actually very important in the game. On the one hand, it deepens the character and plot of the entire extracurricular activities department. In addition, after advancing these plots, the character will awaken the second passive ability, and some plots will increase the value of the persona, which will be of great help in later battles.
Finally, there is the reflection part
Re-examining the “Persona” series, it is a game with both “restriction” and “freedom”. In both combat and life, players can decide what they want to do most of the time. This is a very free place. .
However, the design of attacking weaknesses in combat will create “restrictions” due to the player’s SP. In life, the requirements for body measurements and COMMU favorability are also “restrictions”, and these restrictions affect the strength of the persona, and thus Returning to the impact battle, the three interlocking links are what makes this game so fascinating.
This remake is very complete. Just like the previous review, this game has absorbed a lot of the successful experience of “P5”. Many of the continuations are small places, but these small places put together make the game experience very good. It is smooth and even reduces the sense of work when fighting monsters, and will make players who have played “P5” feel familiar.
In addition to the background time of the entire game being set in the 2000s, it has been completely remade with a UI and soundtrack that are as fashionable as today’s standards. This time “P3R” is a work that does not feel chronological at all when played.
But in addition to the darker plot and the fact that the entire story will only start in the middle period, there are still two points that need to be paid attention to in “P3R”.
The first is the Tower of Tartarus, which has more than 250 floors to climb. Although it is a step-by-step guide and the details have been redesigned, it is still essentially different from the themed “Temple” of “P5” and is more like two places. Double the impression space, the long battle along the way will still test the player’s patience a little. If you really can’t hold it in any longer, you can lower the difficulty to deal with it.
The second thing that many old players know is that the plots of “P3F” and “P3P” are still not included this time, which is a bit of a pity. However, after seeing the ending of this remake and comparing it with the old version, it seems that it is roughly OK. It is understandable, now that the series has more new players, why the official chose not to include the plot of “P3F” that will be discussed later.
Of course, “P3P” and “P3F” are part of the past. Whether they can be remade in the future still depends on the official thinking.
Although this game has been completely remade in terms of character scene modules, UI, and music, it is a remake after all, and the plot and basic game structure cannot be changed. Therefore, I dare not say that it completely surpasses “P5”. But it can be said that each has its own merits, and I believe each has its own benefits for players.
Regardless of whether you have played “P4” or “P5”, as long as you are interested in this series, or you are an old player who has been exposed to “P3”, “P3F” or “P3P” and wants to review it. “Persona 3 Reload” is a game that is definitely worth playing, and it can even make people guess what ATLUS’ next generation works will look like.
“Persona 3 Reload” is expected to be released on February 2, 2024 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, and Steam.
