While this technically isn't part of the Velvet Room, this info can be viewed in the same location as Elizabeth's Requests. Residents can get trapped in Tartarus. These always happen on specific days, and you have until the next Full Moon to rescue them.

Two of these residents are Social Links, and failing to rescue them will prevent you from spending time with them the rest of the playthrough. If the Social Link has already been maxed beforehand, then they won't appear during the epilogue.

Quality of life improvements like text messages help keep track of what's available daily during the day and night, and the em linha activity tracker gives you an idea of what other players have prioritized. Both are clutch for quickly deducing what's important and discovering much of the new content that bolsters Persona 3's existing world.

Life doesn't always go as planned, and you—as the protagonist—transfer into Gekkoukan High School, located at the center of the man-made Tatsumi Port Island only for a terrifying creature to attack your dorm.

Shimada and Soejima also updated the look of the Evokers; a small gimmick was added to emphasize the impact of Persona summoning, describing how the Evoker's pistol slide blows back and emits a red light after being fired.[15]

The next major gameplay component of Persona 3 that Persona 3 Reload revamped was the dungeon crawling. I remember Tartarus in Persona 3 FES being a repetitive slog as every floor from top to bottom was a never-ending series of samey corridors with different colored wallpaper.

Tomohiro Kumagai, a lead UI designer at P-Studio on Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (2013), as well as both Persona 5 and Royal, serves as Reload's art director. Kumagai was among Yamaguchi's earliest hires for the project shortly after he assumed the role as the game's director. Kumagai became attracted to the prospects of working on the game having been captivated by the original Persona 3's art design, and its notion that a user interface could have powerful synergy with the game's themes. He explained that Reload's menu interface drawing on the imagery of being submerged in water, was developed from his initial perception of the original game's heavy usage of blue in the menus, which was further iterated on by the UI design team.

Reload even makes a concerted effort to address the fact that non-e of the male party members previously had Social Link routes. While they're not traditionally structured, distinct opportunities to spend time with them now pop up throughout the story and eventually lead to revelatory moments for those characters. Since these are freshly written for Reload, there's a noticeable contrast in quality compared to the original social sim conversations, making me wish the old dialogue had been punched up to match the heights of these new interactions.

If the attacker uses a Skill that hits multiple enemies, they only need to knock down one to get a One More. You cannot gain a One More from an enemy already knocked down.

The few unlucky humans who don’t get turned into coffins become prey to horrifying creatures called Shadows, who only appear during the Dark Hour.

Beyond Tartarus, bespoke story-centric boss fights await you on each full moon throughout the story. Although they're relatively quick in how they unfold, all the new mechanics and visual flourishes of Reload give these battles a bit more gravity and spectacle, especially as you inch closer to Persona 3’s bold, daring, and moving conclusion.

Its social life mechanics were the new unique hook, providing a palette-cleanser from its relentless turn-based RPG fights and procedurally generated dungeons.

A member of Strega, a group of three that uses the Dark Hour as a means to carry out requests for revenge.

The character models are richly detailed, and the cutscenes and battle special effects animations are well-done and flashy, with vibrant and eye-catching environments. Tartarus, in particular, received the most significant visual enhancement, as each persona 3 reload gameplay major section of the dungeon is now richly detailed with unique architecture, map layouts, and art styles to make them look more distinct, alleviating repetition while exploring them.