Atlus has confirmed that it will be making a significant quality-of-life change inPersona 3 Reload, removing a feature that punished players with broken Social Links.Personafans are well aware that Social Links are a core part of the franchise’s gameplay, allowing players to form bonds with major characters throughout the story.Persona 3went so far as to permanently break certain Social Links depending on the player’s choices. That won’t happen inPersona 3 Reload, however, for a variety of persuasive reasons.InPersonagames, players progress Social Links by spending time with different characters day to day. Developing Social Links furthers the relationship with a character, opening new dialogue and encounters, while also empowering thePersona associated with the appropriate Arcanafor combat. In the originalPersona 3, Atlus treated these like genuine relationships. If a player ignored or betrayed the trust of a character, they could reverse their Social Link or break it entirely.RELATED:Persona 3 Reload Shows Off New Gameplay DetailsAtlus has now confirmed thatPersona 3 Reloadwill be making changes to the punishing Social Link system. The possibility of breaking a Social Link will be removed fromPersona 3 Reloadentirely. While this will make it less of anauthentic recreation ofPersona 3, it’s a decision that Atlus has already followed through on withPersona 4andPersona 5. It’s difficult enough to develop Social Links inPersonawithout worrying they’ll permanently break.
While Atlus is removing the possibility of breakingSocial Links inPersona 3 Reload, it’s retaining Social Link reversals. In other words, a Social Link won’t break if players make the wrong choices, but they can regress to an earlier state and the player will have to redevelop them. Atlus does say that triggering a Social Link reversal will be more difficult than it was in the originalPersona 3, though.
SomePersona 3fans will be disappointed with Atlus' decision regarding Social Link reversals and breaks. After all, many players went through the entirety ofPersona 3dealing with broken Social Links. It was a core part of their experience. ButPersona 3 Reloaddoesn’t have to be exactly the same game asPersona 3. It can be a different, more accommodating experience that’s better fitting for thePersonafandom that’sgrown withPersona 4andPersona 5.
Just because Atlus is making Social Links less punishing inPersona 3 Reloaddoesn’t mean it’s going to be easy to complete everything. It will still take careful scheduling and maneuvering to manage Social Links inPersona 3 Reload. It just won’t potentially ruin a Social Link without realizing it until it’s too late.
Persona 3 Reloadreleases in 2024 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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