Summary
Persona 3 Reloadis already set to include a lot of features fromPersona 5, including the Shift system adapted from Baton Pass, as well as quality-of-life features like auto-recovery and dash. While these features lifted fromPersona 5will likely helpPersona 3 Reloadfeel like a much more modernized version of the original, there are other elements ofPersona 5that could appear in the game as well. It’s possible thatPersona 3 Reloadwill directly referencePersona 5using character cameos, but the game may have to take some creative liberties with how these cameos are implemented.
Character cameos and crossovers are nothing new for thePersonaseries, with severalPersonaspin-off games, likePersona Q: Shadow of the LabyrinthandPersona 4 Arena Ultimax, featuring characters from multiple entries. However, there is a precedent for character cameos in the mainPersonaseries as well, withPersona 4’s Yukiko appearing as a younger version of herself inPersona 3 Portable, and Chihiro Fushimi fromPersona 3appearing inPersona 4during the player’s visit to Gekkoukan High School. These cameos make it likely that aPersona 5character will appear inPerson 3 Reload, but the timeline gap between games could complicate things.
Persona 3 Reloadis in a strange position when it comes to including a cameo fromPersona 5since the game takes place between 2009–2010, whilePersona 5takes place in 2016. This large gap in the timeline means that characters inPersona 5are going to be 6–7 years younger than they would be inPersona 3 Reload, making it difficult to naturally work them into a cameo. As such,Persona 3 Reloadwill likely only feature a cameo from a character who was already an adult inPersona 5.
1996
1999
2009–2010
2011–2012
Persona 5
2016–2017
to deal with this timeline disparity,Persona 3 Reloadcould offer fans a cameo from an older character inPersona 5as a younger version of themselves. A great candidate for this type of cameo would bePersona 5’s Sojiro since he is one of the game’s main characters outside the Phantom Thieves and would still be an adult around the timePersona 3 Reloadtakes place. To go along with Sojiro,Wakaba Isshiki, Futaba’s mother, could also appear in this cameo since she would still have been alive during the events ofPersona 3 Reload.
Another potential cameo candidate isPersona 5’s Sae Niijima, the older sister of Makoto and a crucial figure in the Phantom Thieves' activities. Sae is a young adult and public prosecutor of the Tokyo District Special Investigation Department inPersona 5’s timeline, but she could still have been in high school during the events ofPersona 3 Reload. Perhaps players will get to see a version of Sae that is around the same age as the SEES gang inPersona 3 Reload.
The perfect opportunity for aPersona 5cameo inPersona 3 Reloadwould be during the school trip to Kyoto which occurs in November. School trips in thePersonaseries are typically where cameos are hidden, and the player’s trip to Kyoto would be an ideal chance to feature a cameo forPersona 5 Strikers' Zenkichi Hasegawa. Although Zenkichi was a resident of Tokyo until the death of his wife, Aoi, three years before the events of the game, she is originally from Kyoto so it would make sense that Zenkichi could be in town visiting her family duringPersona 3 Reload.
