The rumored remake of Persona 3 has finally been brought to light, leaving fans excited about the modernization of such a classic among the series. The spontaneous reveal was a bit of a surprise from Atlus West's Instagram account, mistakenly debuting early. The trailer has already been circulating among social media, offering a glimpse into the game's presentation. With a visual overhaul and familiar locales, fans have already been speculating about the changes Persona 3 Reload will adopt among its gameplay.
Persona 3's Tartarus is set to make its return, continuing the tower's significance as the game's main combat backdrop. The trailer offers a brief look into exploration, showcasing the male protagonist striking a Shadow and engaging in combat alongside Junpei and Yukari. Interestingly, the trailer depicts a higher level of Tartarus, falling under the Tziah Block rather than its beginning Thebel Block. The depiction of the Tziah floor demonstrates some of the ways Atlus has sought to remake its layout.
Persona 3 Reload's Tartarus Seems to Have More Structures
For starters, the graphical overhaul of Tartarus is evident, though it appears to take on a bit of a drearier tone in its ambiance than the original game's golden Tziah Block. This could be in direct reference of the Dark Hour's sky, tying the gloom of the outside within the walls of the tower itself. More importantly, a look at the game's minimap suggests a different structural approach to Tartarus' floors. While the original Persona 3 game relied heavily on tight, branching corridors to disorient the player, its depiction in Persona 3 Reload seems to imply more openness to each level. This could be an interesting change of pace in regard to Shadow ambushes, depending on their placements to rush towards the player.
Secondly, Persona 3 Reload's minimap depicts a few icons that are worth noting. While enemies seem to be clearly delineated through red dots, the surrounding blue dots could be noteworthy as structures of importance. This could imply more interaction from the player among Tartarus' floors, whether that be a switch to activate a bridge like the one in the trailer, or more complex puzzles integrated within the levels to make proceeding difficult. There is also the chance that the dots could be non-interactive while still providing a refreshing change of pace to the Persona game's exploration.
Because Persona 3's Shadow system has enemies move towards the player when aggroed, small structures like statues could help with juking enemies, offering a place for the player to loop a shadow while evading their reach. This could be especially important in the case of the Reaper, who isn't feasible to defeat until later in the game, but appears nonetheless if the player explores a floor for too long. Alternatively, these structures could indicate places where items are available, tying into Persona 3's party split mechanic should it make a return. Being able to collect precious treasures at points along each floor could add a risk and reward system, where the player might be required to bait high-level shadows out of a certain spot in order to gain access.
With more news surrounding Persona 3 Reload sure to follow within the next few months, a better glimpse of Tartarus will likely be on fans' minds. It will be interesting to see how faithful the remake ends up being to the original depiction, though the game's existence suggests that Atlus will work to modernize much of what could be construed as 'dated' from the source material. This could be the perfect opportunity to make Tartarus shine, letting it be as interactive as Persona 5's Palaces.
Persona 3 Reload is slated to release in early 2024 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.