Summary
With the release ofPersona 3 Reloadon the horizon, now is a great time to check out earlier versions of the game to see how they compare to the remake. Luckily,Persona 3 Portablereleased on all major platforms earlier this year, making it easy for players to dive into the world ofPersona 3ahead ofPersona 3 Reload. Before jumping into any version ofPersona 3, there are some unwritten rules agreed upon by the community that players will want to follow in order to have the best experience possible during their playthrough.
Longtime fans of thePersonaseries may already be aware of some of the unwritten rules forPersona 3, but newcomers to the series who may not have as much experience with the series should be aware of some of the ways in whichPersona 3is different.Persona 3is unique in that it has three different versions that differ slightly between the originalP3,Persona 3 FES, andPersona 3 Portable. Even with these differences, there are some unwritten rules that apply to all versions, but may differ with the release ofPersona 3 Reload.
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Have a Persona for Each Elemental Damage Type
A core aspect of thePersonaseries is the ability to collect and fuse different Personas to use in battle, and there are a variety of different elemental types that represent the different skills each Persona can use. In order to have good coverage against a range of foes, it’s in the player’s best interest to make sure they have a Persona on hand to cover each potential elemental weakness. Theelements inPersona 3are Fire, Ice, Electricity, Wind, Light, and Darkness, as well as three different types of physical damage including Strike, Slash, and Pierce that players will want to make sure are represented in their Personas' move pools.
Only Romance One Character at a Time
Another important piece of thePersonaseries is the social simulation aspect that is represented bySocial Links inPersona 3. As players work to build Social Links with the game’s various characters, certain ones can become romanceable once the player reaches a high enough rank with them. However, attempting to romance multiple characters at once can result in a reversal or loss of ranks with these characters as they will become jealous. To avoid this outcome,Persona 3players should ensure they reach rank 10 with one romanceable character before attempting to romance another one since Social Links at rank 10 can’t be broken or reversed.
Avoid Using Shinjiro, Ken, and Junpei
Like with most JRPGs, party composition can be crucial to success in battle, and there are some characters inPersona 3who are better left off of the team.Shinjiro, Ken, and Junpeiare all relatively weak party members compared to the other options available and players should avoid using them when possible. Junpei is decent as an early-game party member, but gets outclassed later on. Shinjiro and Ken suffer from poor move pools, with Shinjiro only learning physical attacks, and Ken leaning too heavily into underpowered Light skills.
How These Unwritten Rules Might Change in Persona 3 Reload
While these rules apply to currently available versions ofPersona 3, they could change with the release ofPersona 3 Reload,as the remake seems to be changing up some of the mechanics from the original. For example, Social Links inPersona 3 Reloadcan’t break at all, but reversals can still happen, meaning romancing multiple characters at a time could have different outcomes. Additionally, some party members like Ken might be more useful withLight and Darkness skills getting an overhaul inPersona 3 Reloadto include the Kouha and Eiha skills fromPersona 5, which will also likely mean having Personas with Light and Darkness skills will be even more important.
Persona 3 Reloadis releasing on July 25, 2025, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
