Do be warned that this article contains spoilers for the main story and ending of Persona 3 Reload.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Persona 3, with it being my official introduction to the series. Persona 3 Reload recaptured everything that made that game special — the isolation, the teenage angst — and put a shiny coat of paint over it to make it more palatable for a modern audience. That worked for the most part, and while a lot of my gripes with the original release still applied to Reload, it was still one of the best JRPGs I’d ever played.
Unfortunately, I can’t quite extend that same level of praise to Episode Aigis, which is a remake of The Answer, the additional story chapter that got added to Persona 3 FES on the PS2. The Answer served as an epilogue chapter of sorts to the main story, and while it was nice to get some closure and a little bit of an explanation as to just what happened at the end, it was also bogged down by pacing issues that made it feel like a slog.
Episode Aigis does try to alleviate these issues with some gameplay and quality-of-life improvements here and there. But ultimately, it’s still the same game with the same pacing issues, and the same drawn out story that really only undermines what served as a fitting bookend to a fantastic game.
Before I get into the review proper, let this be your final warning that this review will contain major spoilers for the ending of Persona 3 Reload.
The Five Stages of Grief
Episode Aigis kicks off a little while after the events of the main game. Our SEES members are just about to move out of Iwatodai Dorm, and they’re celebrating their last night together with some expensive sushi. Courtesy of Mitsuru, of course.
It’s a bittersweet moment, though, as the gang is clearly still in the process of mourning the loss of their leader. Not to mention the fact that Yukari and Akihiko aren’t even planning on showing up. The game also puts us in control of Aigis, and she isn’t planning on returning to school in the next semester. There’s just a moody air all around, and it’s painful to watch at times.
But before you know it, disaster strikes again as the gang quickly realizes they’re stuck in a time loop. They’re perpetually stuck in March 31, as a new dungeon called the Abyss of Time opens up right below the dorm. At the same time, a new android named Metis shows up, and she bears quite a few similarities to Aigis.
The entirety of Episode Aigis takes place within this March 31 time loop, as SEES explores the Abyss of Time to try to find a way to break out of it. As you progress through the dungeon, you also get to revisit past memories of each member. The early hours of Episode Aigis are its strongest, as these memories help to flesh out the characters even more, and also provides some insight into why they’re processing grief the way that they are.
The flashbacks for Junpei and Mitsuru are particularly compelling, as we learn more about Junpei’s family background and his relationship with his father, and we get to see Mitsuru’s first encounter with a Shadow.
Yukari is also a standout in Episode Aigis, as she was in The Answer. I recall hating her character with a vengeance when I first played The Answer because it was just so difficult to root for someone who was acting in such an unpleasant way, but when it becomes clear that it’s just a front, you can’t help but feel for the poor girl. Yukari got toned down a lot in Persona 3 Reload, and it’s the same in Episode Aigis as well. She’s still cold and distant, but her VA lends just a hint of warmth to the character, making her a little more approachable.
All of the little character moments in Episode Aigis are great, and if this DLC was literally just a trip down memory lane and watching them process grief in their own way, I would’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Things start to fall apart in the later half of the DLC, when the game decides it’s time to try to overexplain the ending of Persona 3 Reload, adding a wholly unnecessary layer of complexity that kind of cheapens the main story’s impact.
Newcomer Metis is also easily my least favorite part of Episode Aigis — as she also was in The Answer — and while I did enjoy watching her serve as a foil to Aigis, that just isn’t enough. Metis feels like an out-of-place addition to the SEES dynamic, and the story certainly could’ve worked well without her.
Tartarus Part Two
The real problem with Episode Aigis, however, is the terrible pacing.
I want you to think about Persona 3 Reload for a minute. Think about what makes it work. It’s the gameplay loop of dungeon crawling, hanging out with your friends after school, singing karaoke or playing arcade games late at night, and just juggling your regular life with your nighttime activities. Being able to jump between real life and Tartarus is the secret sauce of Persona 3 Reload, and it’s completely absent in Episode Aigis.
Because of the nature of the story setup, Episode Aigis is essentially a 25-hour dungeon crawl with story segments in-between, and that’s just terrible. You’ll slog through 10 levels of the Abyss of Time (and that number goes up as you progress, by the way), watch a cutscene, then repeat.
To Atlus’ credit, there are a few quality-of-life improvements here that help make it feel like less of a drag. There are little upgrades you can make to Aigis’ body in-between sections that will make it easier for you to ambush enemies, the gardening system is back, and you can also accept Elizabeth’s requests to help break up the monotony. There are also items you can find in the Abyss of Time, such as dog treats and DVDs, and you can bring them to your party members back at the lounge to spend quality time with them. This is a nice touch that prevents Episode Aigis from just being an endless combat simulator, but it’s not quite enough to alleviate the pacing issues.
For me, this just wasn’t enough to save Episode Aigis. The absence of Social Links really hurt the pacing of the game, and it’s further proof that a Persona game absolutely needs that balance duality between dungeon crawling and daily life to be compelling.
It really doesn’t help that, just like Tartarus, the Abyss of Time is also a terribly boring dungeon with endless floors and mini-bosses in-between. Combine that with the lackluster story, and you’ve just got a very subpar package here that doesn’t add much value to the story of Persona 3 Reload, which was already very rich by its own merit.
I was never a fan of The Answer even when I played it on PS2, and I’m certainly not a fan of it now. I had hoped that Episode Aigis might’ve been able to shake things up a bit to get me to change my mind, but unfortunately, that just isn’t the case. If you’re just desperate for even more Persona 3 Reload content to consume, then by all means, check out Episode Aigis. The character moments are poignant, and it’s refreshingly realistic to watch these characters deal with their own trauma and feelings. If you’re on the fence, though, aforementioned character moments just aren’t impressive enough for me to recommend a sluggish dungeon crawler with bad pacing.
Verdict: Mediocre
A code for Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on Xbox via Windows 10.
Published: Sep 9, 2024 08:00 am