How long is Persona 3 Reload? The Persona series famously produces some of the greatest, but longest, JRPG experiences.
The seminal JRPG’s full successors, Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal, took roughly 80 and 100 hours to beat respectively.
With all the advancements since the original game’s release, it will be interesting to see how the remake stacks up to the new standards for the Persona series.
How long is Persona 3 Reload
The most recent Persona release was 2023’s Persona 5 Tactica, a spin-off of the fifth entry. As a result, it was a much quicker 24 hours to complete.
Persona 3 Reload is the full remake of Persona 3. Originally released in 2006, Persona 3 had multiple different versions across different consoles: The Answer, FES and Portable.
The most recent version, Portable, was roughly 65 hours long. Per pre-release reviews, the general consensus is that Persona 3 Reload is of similar length at 70 to 80 hours.
This is likely due to the addition of animated cutscenes and similar story elements which add to the overall runtime of the original game.
For a full completionist run, players can expect the game will likely take about 110-120 hours long if they want to see and do absolutely everything.
After all, there are New Game Plus exclusive boss battles and Personas that require a second playthrough.
Still, newcomers to the series familiar with Royal will likely notice the significant drop in playtime. This is because of the game’s structure.
Persona 5 had each story segment have its own exclusive level, called Palaces. Meanwhile, it had its side-quest dungeon separately in the procedurally-generated Mementos.
Persona 3 originated the procedurally generated dungeon. Its version, called Tartarus, is identical to Mementos.
However, it lacks the palaces. This means the players will only be doing the combat gameplay in one extremely long, functionally identical dungeon. The only reprieve will be occasional unique encounters for plot-mandated bosses.
Reload will be a warts-and-all remake in this case, preserving the Tartarus gameplay model. Fans familiar with Royal should be aware that, in this area, will be an inarguable downgrade.
What time will Persona 3 Reload be playable?
Still, this should not deter fans from picking up Persona 3 Reload.
It still boasts some classic beloved characters and should be fascinating in an anthropological sense for newer fans to see where the series originated its identity.
Persona 3 Reload releases on February 2, 2024. Fitting for its plot, it will be available at midnight.
This means that Reload is available from 00:00 EST, or 21:00 PST on February 1.
The game is available for preload. This means players can download the files ahead of time so they can start playing the instant it releases.
In a significant first for the mainline Persona series, Persona 3 Reload will also be available on multiple platforms and multiple languages simultaneously at launch.
It releases simultaneously on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.
For fans accustomed to the repackaged, rereleased nature of Atlus and Sega, they should note that there are rumors of plot DLC later down the line.
This is speculated to include The Answer, the epilogue chapter added in the FES version of the game. However, fans of the female player character from Portable will likely remain disappointed.
