Persona 3 Reload - Episode Aigis preview: Aigis takes on Tartarus

Persona 3 FES' epilogue, The Answer, finally makes it way to P3 Reload as DLC

Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis artwork / Sega

The Persona series has been around for almost 30 years, but it only became mainstream about two decades after the first game launched. 2016’s Persona 5 was such a monumental success that suddenly gaming audiences became hungry for more. Luckily for Atlus, it had five more mainline games to mine for ideas, and combining the remakes, re-releases and spin-offs, Persona fans have been eating good. There is still plenty of Persona for Atlus to drag from the annals of time, and while we’ll likely never see Fuhrer make his comeback, we can look forward to The Answer.

Those who have been fans of Persona long before Joker donned his mask might remember Persona 3 FES. FES isn’t a remake like Persona 3 Portable or Persona 3 Reload — instead, it adds a harder difficulty and an epilogue known as The Answer. This epilogue was known for its brutal difficulty, and unlike the main game, there weren’t options to make things easier. That might have been fine if you could have saved your hundred or so hours of progress from the base game, but everything is reset to level 30. The Answer was a test of pure strategic skill, and one that many players were unable to surmount.

Despite all the versions of Persona 3 there have been over the last 20 years, only FES had The Answer. That will be until Episode Aigis – a The Answer remake – is released as DLC for Persona 3 Reload. Through Episode Aigis most people will be starting The Answer for the first time, and even more players will be finishing it for the first time. It’s something that players have been consistently asking for– a way to experience all of Persona 3’s story without the repeated crushing defeats. Usually, when I hear the words ‘faithful remake’ it makes me think that the game doesn’t need remaking at all; The Answer is different.

Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis screenshot / Sega

Episode Aigis remains faithful to The Answer’s characters, story, and most of the gameplay, but includes the quality of life updates that came with Persona 3 Reload. Characters still have their updated battle mechanics like the ability to control your allies, shift between them to cover weaknesses, and the powerful Theurgy attacks, which already helps to make things easier when compared to the original. Combine that with a number of other quality of life improvements like reworked graphics, music, cutscenes, and blissfully a range of difficulty settings, and you’re already onto a winner.

Unlike the main game of Persona 3 Reload, which is half dungeon crawling and half the power of friendship, Episode Aigis focuses almost entirely on the combat. There are cutscenes with the other characters between dungeons, but there are no social links to improve. The other main difference is that you now play as Aigis instead of the protagonist. Following the events of Persona 3, the team ends up stuck in the dorm when they notice that the day is always March 31. After an initial violent encounter, Aigis’ ‘sister’ Metis joins the team and tells you about the world under the dorm which is causing the time distortion.

Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis Bufula / Sega

The hour I played Persona 3: Episode Aigis was mostly spent exploring the dungeons below. Gameplay inside dungeons is similar to that of Tartarus in the base game, except that the team is reduced to level 30, Aigis is mandatory, and you can also bring Metis along. Aigis gains the power to switch Personas, which means that she isn’t bound to the physical attacks with recoil damage that she has in the main game. This gives you the same flexibility as playing the protagonist, even though you still have to grind the team back to their previous power level.

If you were hoping that Episode Aigis would be more forgiving than The Answer, then you’ll get your wish, but it is still far more punishing than the main game. I took part in the preview session with three others, one of whom didn’t make it to the end, despite Atlus loading us up with items. I didn’t see their gameplay, but it goes to show that you won’t be able to mindlessly click the attack button and still make it to the end. Atlus has preserved the strategic elements from the original release of The Answer, but I hope that doesn’t include the grinding requirements.

Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis, Aigis finisher / Sega

Those who are tempted to purchase Episode Aigis because they loved the characters and social links of the main game will end up disappointed. The Answer was and is for those who love the strategy of Persona 3’s combat and felt the joy of completing all the floors of Tartarus. There is a story for fans to discover, but getting to it will be a slog if the combat doesn’t appeal — particularly when the DLC is around 30-40 hours long. The quality of life updates introduced in Reload are a much wanted upgrade over the original, and finally opens the epilogue up for more of its passionate fanbase to enjoy.

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