Alongside the new information released for Persona 3 Reload, Famitsu has conducted an exclusive developer interview with general producer Kazuhisa Wada, director Takuya Yamaguchi, producer Ryota Niitsuma, and composer Atsushi Kitajoh.
Box Art Design Process
- The box art for Persona 3 Reload, an homage to the original, had to go through major revisions. Discussions with character designer Shigenori Soejima and the director Yamaguchi were had on whether to feature all of the main character, or only the protagonist and his persona.
Redesigned Outfit Elements
- The redesigned, battle armband in Persona 3 Reload is teased to have new battle-related features by Yamaguchi. More information on that will be released in the future.
- The evokers have had a slight redesign: “[..] a small gimmick has been added. In this title, the pistol slide of the Evoker blows back and emits a red light during a battle. This is moment we’ve captured in the key art.”
Koromaru
- Featured in the new trailer is Koromaru. The director was quite particular in capturing his puppy-like charm in battle and outside of it. The previous element of being able to take him on walks in Persona 3 FES was preserved as part of this.
- Koromaru now has a dedicated voice actor with Shinya Takahashi, who played him in the Persona 3 The Movie series (and whose name was unknown before now). It’s the first time Koromaru has had a VA in the games, as a preexisting library of barking noises was used before.
- A new side story expanding on Koromaru’s past has been added in Persona 3 Reload.
Shinjiro Aragaki and Ken Amada
- Shinjiro Aragaki also has a new side story highlighting his charm.
- The same has been given to Ken with a new side story, as the original game didn’t delve much into who he is outside of the main story. Keeping the balance between Ken being an elementary school student and the serious circumstances of his upbringing were important.
- The security camera footage that could be seen in the dormitory in Persona 3 FES have been kept.
Aigis
- The Aigis Aeon Social Link will be returning in Persona 3 Reload.
- P3D models of the characters were used as a base in P3R, however the models were still created from scartch with various adjustments made, including Aigis. Her proportions have been made to emphasize that she is a unique being within the world, compared to the ordinary students.
New Battle Theme
- The new song, “It’s Going Down Now,” is the battle hteme that plays when players ambush an enemy, similar to the new songs introduced in Persona 5 Royal and Persona 4 Golden. To give it a nostalgic feeling, the “baby baby” sound from Mass Destruction was used, and the chord progression from “Memories of You” was used in the chorus.
- The original music has been rearranged with the male vocalist, Lotus Juice’s guidance and requests. Changing choruses, adding phrases, chord progressions, etc. have been made to create the final version of the music that Niitsuma felt would be appropriate for a remake on modern platforms.
- The team decided to breathe new life into the Persona 3 music by introducing the new vocalist Azumi Takahashi. The team wants the game to resonate globally, so they looked at who would suit vocals not just for Japan, but overseas as well.
Development
- The team is entering the final stages of Persona 3 Reload‘s development.
— Famitsu