Persona 3 Reload Has Added “Something” to Compensate for No Male Party Member Social Links

Japanese outlet 4Gamer recently interviewed Persona 3 Reload general producer Kazuhisa Wada, director Takuya Yamaguchi, and producer Ryota Niitsuma. One question and response concerns how the male party members will be treated in this remake.

While vague, Wada stated that to compensate for the lack of male party member social links in Persona 3, “something” was added to feature interactions between them and the main character. Unfortunately, Yamaguchi did not discuss specifics, so we can only speculate for the time being. Still, this is a pretty nice change to look forward to.

The following exchange was translated by our team’s Ryuji:

Interviewer: Since this remake is based on the original Persona 3, there seem to be no additional elements from P3 FES or P3 Portable. But are there new story elements and Social Links?

Yamaguchi: The stories and Social Links are just like how they were in the original, so that means we did not add the later story of Persona 3 FES [The Answer], nor did we add the option of a female protagonist like in Persona 3 Portable. However, that does not necessarily mean that elements from those games aren’t included.

In addition, there are new scenarios that dive deeper into the world and characters in other ways. For example, the male companion characters in the original game did not have Social Links, so we could not depict their relationship and interaction with the main character as we did with the male characters in Persona 4 and Persona 5.

Because we’re choosing to preserve the original, we can’t simply add them as Social Links. Still, we prepared something that portrays their relationship with the main character in a different way. I can’t discuss specifics yet, but I hope you stay tuned.

Persona 3 Reload is a remake of Persona 3 made in Unreal Engine. The game is confirmed to release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows in early 2024. It will also be playable for Game Pass subscribers on launch.

In case you missed it, check out our announcement coverage of Persona 3 Reload, comprising a trailer, screenshots, English voice actor information, and more.

Atlus also confirmed that Persona 3 Reload will receive special teasers on “each official full moon.”

• The producer clarified that the game will feature added main story content from Persona 3 FES but lack The Answer epilogue and the female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable.
• Staff confirmed that Tartatus will feature new elements, such as a dash function, to make exploration more enjoyable.
• Will feature new events to focus on characters who did not receive as much focus in the original game.
• Development Began in Late 2019
• Development for Reload is in its Final Stages; Will be a Deeper Dive, Not an Evolution
• New Commercial
• Implied Fatigue System Removal
• Every Social Link Rank Up Scene Voiced; Highest Amount of Voiced Lines in the Series
• Maxing All Social Links is Easier
• Fleshed-Out Tartarus Dialogue & Breakable Objects

Persona 3 was initially a PlayStation 2 title that birthed the concept of Social Links that would follow in Persona 4 and Persona 5. Then, a director’s cut version named FES launched later, featuring a new playable epilogue called The Answer and added enhanced gameplay features.

Years later, Persona 3 Portable was released for the PSP, which removed The Answer and the ability to walk around town but added the option to play as a female protagonist and new post-game challenges.