Time is running out fast for July 2025's Amazon Prime Day sales week, as only a few hours remain until it ends today. As a result, you will only have a short time left to take advantage of Amazon's discounts, like this mammoth-sized 49% discount for Persona 3: Reload.
Persona 3: Reload is a remake of a classic Atlus JRPG called Persona 3 that has received critical and fan praise for updating the original PS2 title with beautiful, next-gen graphics, quality-of-life and narrative improvements, and a refined turn-based combat system.
This game is regularly sold at an MSRP of $69.99, but it's currently being sold for a much cheaper price at $35.35 at Amazon until the end of today, so make sure you get on this discount while you can.
Why should you buy Persona 3 Reload?
If you're not familiar with this game, Persona 3: Reload is a remake of a classic 2006 PlayStation 2 JRPG made by Atlus called Persona 3. It told the story of a group of teenagers attending Gekkoukan High School in Japan who uncover a hidden hour of the day called the 'Dark Hour'.
During this hour, the world shifts to an alternate dimension where 95% of the human population transform into coffins, and those that remain normal are hunted down by mindless beasts called Shadows.
Our teenage protagonists are able to fight back the Shadows by wielding a mysterious power called Personas. Armed with this power, the teens form a group called S.E.E.S. (a.k.a. Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad) and vow to protect humanity from Shadows while uncovering the mystery behind the Dark Hour's creation.
Last year, I was given the honor of reviewing Persona 3: Reload on Xbox due to my experience with playing various Atlus JRPGs like Persona and Shin Megami Tensei titles over the years.
By the time I hit the credits, I was in awe over how much Persona 3: Reload improved upon the original PlayStation 2 game that I gave it a perfect score of 5/5 and stated it was one of the best Xbox JRPGs I've ever played.
The story is a slow-burner that gradually builds up to an emotionally gripping tale of self-discovery, existential dread, and coming to terms with your mortality.
The characters are a likeable-yet-flawed bunch of kids with endearing personalities and fulfilling character arcs.
Plus, the remake has included new scenes and rewritten dialogue that adds further depth to the characters than the original did, expands on the game's lore, and helps Persona 3 tie in better with its successors, Persona 4 and Persona 5.
On top of that, the graphics are a feast for the eyes. The original game's choppy PlayStation 2 graphics have been reborn with next-gen visuals, crisp 1080p resolution, 60fps, and an improved, more vibrant art direction.
Gameplay-wise, Persona 3: Reload is mostly unchanged from the original game, in that it's a turn-based JRPG that combines dungeon crawling with elements of visual novels and life-sim management.
Throughout the day, you will be attending high school to socialize with classmates, citizens, and various townsfolk to unlock Social Links, which can reward you with passive benefits and unique Personas.
During the night, you will be exploring the Dark Hour by traversing a massive tower called Tartarus and battling Shadows in turn-based battles to uncover this world's mysteries.
You also have deadlines to meet where you must prepare your party to face a boss Shadow hunting helpless humans during the Dark Hour, and if you're not, it's pretty much game over.
It is a strange gameplay loop, to say the least. However, once you get the hang of it, it becomes really fun to micromanage your time so you can unlock useful Social Links that can help you out later in the game.
Turn-based combat is also a blast. The enemies are challenging yet fair fights, each playable character has cool, powerful Personas to use in battle, and it incorporates mechanics from other Persona games like super-moves and the Baton Pass (where you can give extra turns to other party members for hitting an enemy's weakness) from Persona 5 to make it faster paced and exciting.
Persona 3: Reload even manages to get rid of the biggest flaw of the original game's combat, that being incompetent AI-driven party members, by allowing you to directly control them in battle. With this, combat is no longer unnecessarily, frustratingly difficult like the original game, and any mishaps are now purely from the player's human mistakes.
However, even with these improvements, Persona 3: Reload isn't for everyone. Due to its visual-novel styled storytelling and gameplay, there are many hours where you will talk with NPCs and listen to characters in narrative-heavy cutscenes.
If you're the kind of gamer whose thirst for videogame violence needs to be satiated every few minutes without story content getting in the way, then you're better off with action-heavy titles like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (which is currently having a 51% Amazon Prime Day discount)
If that stuff doesn't bother you, and you live for narrative-focused JRPGs with turn-based combat, then Persona 3: Reload is a must-buy.
Thanks to Amazon Prime Day, you can get your hands on this modern JRPG classic for just $35.35 at Amazon and save $34.64 in the process.
With the leftover money, you can spend it towards snagging a discounted Xbox Wireless controller for $46.49 at Walmart, or the Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma for the reduced price tag of $88.99 at Walmart, to help you play this game with the best, most accurate controls possible.
Also, if you're buying stuff on Amazon, consider trying out its Amazon Prime Membership program. By becoming a member, you can gain access to faster shipping options and have Persona 3: Reload delivered to you quicker.
In addition, Amazon Prime Membership can grant members other useful benefits. Examples include access to Amazon's multimedia streaming apps and access to exclusive deals not found anywhere else, like this 26% discount for the Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S, so you can get extra room to install Persona 3: Reload on your Xbox Series X|S.
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