Persona 3 Reload Might Compare More to P3 FES Than the Original Game in One Regard

Although Persona 3 Reload is said to be a faithful remake of the original Persona 3 release, a handful of new features are included in this remake to help the game feel fresh and modern. Atlus has already confirmed that Persona 3 Reload will feature improved combat mechanics and changes to Tartarus, such as removing the Fatigue mechanic that will help make the game more approachable. However, there are some additions to the game that might end up extending its length over that of the original, making Persona 3 Reload more in line with Persona 3 FES in this regard.

The Persona series has become infamous for having very long games, with an entry like Persona 5 Royal taking around 100 hours to complete the main story. Part of what makes these games so long compared to other JRPGs is the calendar system that was introduced in the original Persona 3, which allows players to live out a year’s worth of in-game days balancing their social lives as well as participating in the game’s core dungeon crawling gameplay. While Persona 3 Reload will share this same mechanic with the original, the added content in this remake could end up bumping its total length past what fans may expect.

Persona 3 Reload Might End Up Being As Long As Persona 3 FES

Persona 3 FES was released a year after the original title, taking the base experience from Persona 3 and adding various new features and content to enhance the original experience. Among this new content was an epilogue titled “The Answer” which featured a brand-new dungeon, a new party member, and the ability to control Aigis as the primary protagonist. The presence of The Answer extended the completion time for Persona 3 FES by a hefty 30 hours, making this epilogue feel like a full game on its own and resulting in Persona FES being one of the longest entries in the series.

Unfortunately, Atlus has confirmed that Persona 3 Reload won’t feature The Answer epilogue from Persona 3 FES, preventing this remake from being the definitive way to play Persona 3. The lack of this content has been somewhat controversial among Persona fans, with some speculating that it could be released later as DLC for Persona 3 Reload. However, the other new additions to Persona 3 Reload could potentially make up for the lack of The Answer, and end up pushing the game’s total completion time to a length closer to that of Persona 3 FES more so than the original Persona 3.

New Features in Persona 3 Reload That Could Extend Its Length

• Fully-Voiced Social Link Rank-Up Scenes
• New Dorm Life Activities
• New Side Stories for Certain Characters

While Persona 3 Reload won’t feature new content as individually robust as The Answer, the variety of other additions might be enough to add up to something just as significant. One of the biggest changes from past releases that could extend Persona 3 Reload‘s length is the fully-voiced Social Link rank-up scenes, which will help these scenes feel more immersive and make players less likely to skip through them. There will also be new side stories for certain characters called Link Episodes, which act as a separate mechanic from Social Links, but still feature new scenes and character dialogue.

Beyond the additional dialogue these new and improved scenes will bring, Persona 3 Reload could take longer to beat due to the plethora of new dorm life activities players can participate in. It seems like there will be more to do around Iwatodai Dorm in Persona 3 Reload, with new activities like gardening, reading, and watching DVDs with other characters being available as ways to help players level up their social stats. While a lot of this content is optional, players who want to get the full Persona 3 Reload experience and participate in these new activities could see their completion time increase.

Persona 3 Reload

Released

February 2, 2024

Developer(s)

P-Studio

Genre(s)

JRPG

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence