Persona 3

Persona 3, released outside Japan as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It is the fourth main installment in the Persona series, which is part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2006 and in North America in 2007. It has received several enhanced re-releases and ports: Persona 3 FES, an extended version featuring a new playable epilogue and other changes, was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2007 and worldwide in 2008. A PlayStation Portable version, Persona 3 Portable, was released in Japan in 2009, North America in 2010, and Europe in 2011, and ported to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2023. Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the core game and epilogue, was released in February 2024 for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, with a Nintendo Switch 2 release occurring in October 2025. In Persona 3, the player assumes the role of a high school student who joins the "Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad" (SEES), a group of students investigating a temporal anomaly known as the "Dark Hour", during which its members can enter Tartarus, a tower containing monsters called Shadows. They battle the Shadows using a physical manifestation of their psyche called a Persona, which they summon by firing a gun-like object called an "Evoker" at their head. Persona 3 incorporates elements of role-playing and simulation games, as the game's protagonist progresses day by day through a school year and forms relationships that improve their Personas' strength in battle. Reception towards Persona 3 was mainly positive; critics enjoyed its social elements, while some found its combat and environments repetitive. Persona 3 FES's epilogue was said to give narrative closure to the original game, although it was criticized for not featuring its simulation aspects. Persona 3 has also seen other related media, including the fighting games Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, the rhythm game Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, the role-playing games Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, soundtrack albums, musical concerts, radio dramas, a manga, a loosely connected anime series, and an episodic animated film series.

Gameplay

Persona 3 combines elements of traditional role-playing games and simulation games. The game follows the protagonist, who balances their daily life of going to school and building relationships with others with fighting the monstrous Shadows during the Dark Hour. Each day is divided into daytime and evening segments. Except for scripted events, such as plot progression or special events, the player is free to choose how each day is spent, with most activities causing time to pass. The types of activities and characters that can be interacted with vary depending on the day of the week and time of day. Additionally, some activities are limited by the protagonist's three attributes; Academics, Charm, and Courage, which can be built by performing various activities or making certain correct choices. During the evening, players can choose to visit Tartarus, the game's main dungeon, where they can build their party's experience and gain new items. On the day of the full moon, players will participate in a boss battle to progress the story.

Personas and social links The main element of the game is the Personas, creatures and figures associated with the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Each Persona has its own strengths and weaknesses and possesses various abilities, ranging from offensive and supportive abilities to passive abilities that support the character. While each of the game's main characters has their own Persona, some of which evolve during key moments in the story, the protagonist is capable of wielding multiple Personas, which can be switched between battles. New Personas can be created by visiting the Velvet Room and fusing together multiple Personas, with the resulting Persona inheriting certain moves from the Personas used. The current level of the protagonist limits the Personas that a player can create. Personas can also be obtained from Shuffle Time following battles, and previously obtained Personas can be summoned from the Persona Compendium for a fee. The Velvet Room also allows players to complete quests, such as retrieving certain items, for rewards. Persona 3 introduces social links, bonds formed with several of the game's characters which each represent a specific Major Arcana. They are ranked up by spending time with characters. When creating a Persona of a particular Arcana, an experience bonus is granted if that Arcana possesses a social link, with greater bonuses awarded depending on the rank. Carrying a Persona of a respective Arcana can help bring a social link closer to increasing in Rank. Maxing out a social link gives players the ability to create specific Personas of each Arcana. Conversely, negative actions, such as choosing incorrect dialogue choices or dating multiple characters at the same time, can result in a reversed or broken social link, with broken links preventing the player character from using Personas of that Arcana in battle until the link is repaired by reconciling with the character.

Tartarus and combat

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