Recently, we were given early access to a preview build of Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis on PC. And if there's one thing that we've learned about the upcoming expansion, it's that, just like Reload itself, this will be another incredibly faithful remake. Those expecting any kind of deviation from the rather divisive original will likely be left very disappointed indeed.
We write 'divisive' because that's exactly what Persona 3 FES' epilogue continues to be, close to two decades after its initial PS2 release. Without spoiling anything specific, The Answer — as it was then called — dealt with the aftermath of Persona 3's main story. It further explored the Dark Hour and its impact on the core cast, while simultaneously spotlighting the party members that you had fought alongside throughout the game.
It's the epilogue's treatment of these largely beloved characters that can rub fans the wrong way. And again, we've been assured that Episode Aigis won't make any notable changes to the plot's overall flow. If The Answer pissed you off in the first place, you'll probably have a similar reaction to this reincarnation.
As its name implies, Episode Aigis has you play as Aigis, the humanoid, shadow-slaying weapon who grew so close to the protagonist during the base release. Essentially, some additional sh*t hits the fan, and the S.E.E.S. gang is pulled back into the fray, only this time, Aigis is leading the operation. She's handed the same persona-swapping powers as the protagonist, and you're quickly tasked with exploring an all-new dungeon with the help of a new, similarly mechanical ally named Metis.
Much like Tartarus, this dungeon has randomised elements and a procedural layout. It's also stuffed with shadows, and so combat is pushed to the forefront of the whole excursion. Generally speaking, Episode Aigis has the feel of an endgame escapade, but you won't be carrying over any progress from the base release. Instead, everyone's pushed back to level 30 or so, and you'll need to start identifying enemy weaknesses from scratch.
The expansion's asking a lot — especially if you've just spent 100-ish hours beating Reload — but structurally, it does stand apart from the main game. With no social links in sight, Episode Aigis is basically a dungeon crawler (another element that put a lot of people off the original), and it can be a demanding one at that. Even back on the PS2, The Answer could be cruel in a classic kind of Shin Megami Tensei sense, with enemies often taking full, brutal advantage of a missed attack.
Based on what we played, the remake seems to retain that difficulty on a fundamental level — but Reload's own, significantly overhauled combat system can obviously make things much more forgiving. As such, we're left wondering how the DLC's difficulty curve will pan out across its whole runtime, because the original FES version sported some infamously punishing opponents.
On one hand, we don't want Episode Aigis to lose that part of its identity. But on the other, The Answer had a bad habit of just being frustratingly cheap. For example, Persona's battles are all about striking an enemy's weakness in order to score extra turns. However, the epilogue boasts numerous foes — including bosses — that have a high chance of outright avoiding attacks that they're weak to. So, you can know exactly how to best an enemy, but actually hitting them boils down to the flip of a coin.
Much to our dismay, that design is still present in Episode Aigis, and it still feels like the game's actively wasting your time. Our hope, then, is that Reload's revamped combat — and dungeon exploration — will smooth out the rest of the experience, and the frustration won't be so prominent overall.
And that's really our big takeaway from our time with the preview build. Reload refined Persona 3's gameplay to a deeply impressive degree, and the same should apply to Episode Aigis. It's still going to divide opinion — of that we have no doubt — but at least in terms of the actual dungeon crawling, the grind should be much easier to stomach.
Are you looking forward to Episode Aigis? Did you play the original epilogue in Persona 3 FES? Vote in our poll, and then get ready to open that door in the comments section below.
Have you played the original Persona 3 FES epilogue? (301 votes)
- Yes, and I liked it
- Yeah, it was okay
- Yep, but I didn't like it
- No, I never played it
Comments 28
If anyone's got any questions about the DLC, I can try to answer them based on what I played.
Can also answer questions about the actual epilogue too, based on the original FES version (although I can't go into spoilers).
@ShogunRok Is this new content or old content sold again?
Never mind its old content sold again if I read it again thats dissapoiting why not put in the base game (as if don't know why).
@Flaming_Kaiser It’s…a remake of the original FES addition like P3R is a remake of P3. Sooooo…both?
With all this dlc, i'm glad I'm waiting for a complete edition.
I never finished The Answer because of the cheap crap you mentioned in the preview. Hoping it's improved here!
Hmmmmm kind of done with games that waste my time, so if that appears to be the case in the final review, I'll probably skip the dlc
I'm just annoyed that you can't buy just the story pack without the other two fluffs I don't care about. So I'll wait for a deep deep sale.
I'm still holding out to see if we ever get a complete release. Atlus has claimed we won't...but they also claimed there would be no The Answer DLC so their word is worth nothing.
If that doesn't happen I'd probably just skip The Answer altogether. I beat it as part of P3: FES back in the day and it was a miserable experience to be honest but I felt compelled to finish it for completions sake since P3 is one of my all-time favorites.
@ShogunRok I played Persona 3 Portable late last year. Can I play episode Aigis without playing the main campaign?
@Ryall I think so, but I'm not 100% certain. From what I understand, you can choose to play Episode Aigis from Reload's main menu, so it's a separate entity from the main game.
However, I don't know if you need to beat the campaign first. I would assume you don't, and you can just play it as soon as you've bought it.
@ShogunRok Is it locked on one difficulty setting like The Answer was or you can choose from different difficulty settings like Reload? Wondering if you can lower the difficulty down to Peaceful (no death in combat) if the combat gets too grating.
@CastelloGG Sadly I'm not totally sure. It does have difficulty options, but in the preview build I played, only one was available — so I don't know if you can change during the game.
Going to assume that you can, though, since Reload allows it.
@Ryall If they left it the same way as P3 FES (which they really should) then it would be possible to jump straight into The Answer from the main menu without completing P3. There are even two separate save files. I hope it's the same with this remake.
The Answer doesn't carry over your levels, or at least it didn't on PS2, so there was no connection between them.
I wasn't pissed off at the original's story but at how boring it was (gameplay included). But that was also the case with the main game. Thank God for P3P.
I have P3R on Game Pass, have the free DLC already claimed, and still can't get into the mood to play it.
Hope some people like this version but it never was good in the first place. It's crazy they want people to pay for it.
I disliked the original answer so I didn't buy it, I took my platinum and dipped
You have to be having a terrific life to let games becomes something personal.
I didn't play episode aegis cause i played portable and not fes.
But, i watched a playthrough of the story and it was not to my liking. I was hoping for a new ending, but that wasn't the case. It's just... filler. Completely passable.
@AndyKazama Remember when they said the original release would be the complete package? I do.
I played the original FES, bought the PS2 classics too, and it's okay. But i'm not yet play P3 remake nor have any plan to play it since i'm burnout with the series.
@dskatter So it's a remake from a DLC that's what I said. I mean why not include and make it a complete edition from the start.
I'm just gonna watch It a story video just to remember what happened all those years ago on ps3 (from digital store) since I rushed through it due to how boring it was.
Good preview
@LikelySatan invoking pepperidge farms 🤣
@Flaming_Kaiser Well, you hadn’t edited your comment yet when I was responding, otherwise I wouldn’t have responded originally
That said…shrug I don’t work for Atlus. I’m just happy to play it in a modern form.
@dskatter Rather have a complete edition at full price.
@QiaraIris It's ridiculous if you dont release it in a complete edition that is not possible to buy it solo especially if it uses different save files.
@Flaming_Kaiser They said they won’t be doing a complete edition at all.
But then again, Atlus says a lot of things that may or may not be true.
I just want them to give Persona 4 a modern remake now. Preferably with Golden’s VAs if possible.
@AndyKazama I didn't even know that I did that, lol. Ugh.
@dskatter I still rather had a complete edition. 😁😁
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...