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You saw it coming: Persona 3 and Persona 5 Tactica officially revealed

Atlus revealed Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the 2006 Persona 3 game, as well as Persona 5 Tactica, a strategy game title, during the Xbox Games Showcase.

Persona 3 Reload
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The former is set for an early 2024 release, while the latter will launch on November 17. Both games will be included in Xbox Game Pass. Persona 3 Reload is a full remake in the style of Persona 5, while Persona 5 Tactica is a tactics-like game with Chibi-like cartoon graphics similar to the Persona Q and Q2 games released for Nintendo 3DS.

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The reveal trailer shows the main cast, including protagonist Makoto Yuki, fighting against dark Shadow enemies throughout the tower of Tartarus. However, the female protagonist, who was included in Persona 3 Portable, was not shown in the trailer. There was also no mention of The Answer, a playable epilogue in the enhanced Persona 3 FES version from 2007, so it’s unclear whether these two features of the game are in Reload.

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While these are pretty exciting reveals, they aren’t exactly unexpected ones. The Persona 3 remake leaked in April, but the accompanying footage from a supposed internal Sega Japan meeting wasn’t verified at the time. Domains p3re.jp and p5t.jp also appeared, with the former referring to Persona 3 Reload and the latter to Persona 5 Tactica. Earlier this week, Atlus accidentally leaked both reveal trailers on its Instagram page ahead of the Xbox Games Showcase, but deleted them shortly thereafter.

In January, Atlus released Persona 3 Portable for PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One, so you’ll still be able to play the old version of the game if you aren’t interested in the remake. There’s nothing else in the Persona series quite like Tactica, though, so that’s a title to keep an eye on. Both Persona games announced today will be on Xbox Game Pass when they launch, but are also expected to release for PlayStation and Nintendo platforms.

George Yang
George Yang is a freelance games writer for Digital Trends. He has written for places such as IGN, GameSpot, The Washington…
Persona 3 Reload tries to balance the series’ light and dark sides
Party members prepare for an attack in Persona 3 Reload.

I had never played Persona 3 until almost exactly one year ago. I remember loading up its Switch rerelease during a long, cross-country plane ride and finally digging in after years of curiosity. I adore Persona 5 and love the vibe of 4, so I figured I knew what to expect when I started my save file. I was dead wrong. The vibrant, plucky world I’d grown accustomed to shattered the first time I watched one of my characters put a gun to their head and pull the trigger.

Persona 3 is a dark game. It’s pitch black compared to the entries that succeeded it. That makes the idea of its modern remake, Persona 3 Reload, a bit of a challenge for Atlus. It's clear that the goal of the project is to create parity with Persona 5, bringing its signature style to the game that paved the way for the series. But can you really slap one game’s spirited panache onto a much more haunting story?

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Best skills to get in Persona 5 Tactica
Erina holding flag of freedom in Persona 5 Tactica

The Persona series has always treated skills in a unique way. While different from its JRPG older sibling, Persona 5 Tactica takes a slightly more traditional approach to how you will get new skills and abilities. Instead of being tied exclusively to leveling up and fusing your Persona together, this time each of your characters has their own skill trees that you work through. The trees themselves are broken into various categories, including elemental moves, passive buffs, and A Rebellious Resolve that impacts HP, SP, and movement. These trees aren't too complex, but GP doesn't come so easy in the early game, and plotting out your path is just another part of the tactical experience you need to master. Here are the best skills to get in Persona 5 Tactica that your enemies will never see coming.
Best skills to unlock

While each character's skill tree is unique in the sense that the branches have different names, the way they function is similar (except for Futaba). The only real difference is what element you're upgrading for each character's specific Persona. Remember that you can always respec your character if you want to rebuild them for a stronger set of skills.
Soul Repose
Every character needs Soul Repose, and it's almost nonnegotiable. Just like in the mainline games, SP, or your mana, is always at a premium. This is required to use any of your Persona powers, which are by far the most lethal moves you have. Being a limited resource, you will be forced to pick and choose when you can afford to spend it as it won't come back for free. Soul Repose alleviates that somewhat by restoring a bit of your SP when that character is in cover.
Elemental boosts and Single-target elemental attacks
Now that you don't have to worry as much about casting spells, it's time to buff them. Simply increasing your Persona's elemental strength is great, but we would also suggest focusing on the single-target version of their attacks as opposed to ones that can hit multiple targets. These are stronger, but also actually can hit more than one target if they're close enough. Plus, you'll be glad for the increased damage on a single unit when facing the bosses.
Healing
Also in the main Persona tree are the healing moves. Depending on the character, you will either start with a single- or multi-target healing move and then upgrade to a stronger version that almost always also becomes multi-target. Once you know who you want your healer to be, get them going down this branch first.
Everything for Futaba

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Persona 5 Tactica is making the tactics genre more approachable than ever
Gameplay from Persona 5 Tactica

After being a beloved series in the RPG community for almost 15 years, Persona 5 finally launched the wider Persona franchise into the mainstream in 2017 thanks to its over-the-top, slick, and stylish presentation. Since then, developer Atlus has tastefully built off that success. We’ve received an updated version of Persona 5 with its Royal edition, Joker joined the fight in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and the Phantom Thieves starred in a variety of spinoffs that dipped into the action-RPG and rhythm game genres. Now, the Persona 5 crew is taking on the tactics genre in the fittingly titled Persona 5 Tactica.

While my PAX West demo of Persona 5 Tactica was brief and did not contain any story content, it still showed me how the strategy game is making itself approachable for casual players in a way that’s not so different from what Persona 5 did for RPGs so many years ago.
New genre, same strategy
I love tactics games, but I’m admittedly not very good at them. I almost always enjoy a good challenge, but the genre tends to be heavy on complex management that can leave me overthinking every choice. Battles can be long and slow too, so if I end up losing, I feel like I lost a lot of time. That said, I love the strategy behind many tactics games, which usually lets me push past that friction.

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