Persona 3 Reloadconfirms that a big change will be coming to the social link mechanic.Persona 3 Reloadwas first announced at the Xbox Games Showcase, confirming a series of rumors and leaks that were spread throughout the year. The game is looking to be a complete remake of the 2006 original RPG, having a more modernized feeling and quality-of-life fixes that bring it closer toPersona 5. This includes changes to the Tartarus dungeon and social sim aspects.
Fans have felt likePersona 3’s mechanics needed an overhaul, as the way the game was made back in the mid-2000s is very different from the expectations fans have now. This includes things like the fatigue system of Tartarus and the social links needing to be refined. The social links in particular felt like they needed some changes, which were all commented on in an interview between thePersona 3 Reloadteam.
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In an interview betweenPersona 3 Reload’s director, Takuya Yamaguchi, and 4Gamer (with translation courtesy of MbKKssTBhz5 on Twitter), he confirms that the story andsocial links of the originalP3are going to be kept intact, but there will be new scenarios for the characters in the game who didn’t have social links. In the originalP3, male party members didn’t have any social links with the protagonist, which weren’t implemented until later games likePersona 4and5. While theP3remake won’t have them implemented as social links, there will still be scenarios that develop their individual personalities and relationships.
The other big change is that any social link scenarios will be entirely voiced whenever a player moves up a rank in the link. He would also confirm thatPersona 3 Reloadwill have the largest amount of voiced dialogue to date. This will consist of all newly recorded dialogue as well, so fans can hear a new interpretation of events they experienced before withPersona 3 Reload’s new English voice cast.
Otherchanges to the gameplay elements inPersona 3 Reloadwere also detailed, such as how the player now being able to directly command their party members like in later games, or how players can find breakable objects. The director also describes how the player can also encounter small conversations between their party members while exploring Tartarus, along with how the Unreal Engine is being used in ways to make the randomly generated labyrinth less visually monotonous.
Persona 3 Reloadlaunches early 2024 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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