5/5 ★ – asoola's review of Persona 3 Reload : Episode Aigis -The Answer-.

Before I start I should say that I watched a full walkthrough of Persona 3 fes The Answer back in 2023 so I knew the story and what to expect so naturally I had high expectations for Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis - The Answer and I’m glad to say it exceeded my expectations. The reason I never played the original was because I did not have a copy of the old game or an old console to play it on so the best way to experience it after playing Persona 3 Portable was to watch a walkthrough and I really loved the story, the themes and how the characters develop throughout the story. I always hoped The Answer will be remade after Persona 3 Reload was announced because I wanted to play it and experience it myself and one year later I finally got to play it so thank you Atlus for remaking this important and well written epilogue. Now that’s over I can say my honest and spoiler thoughts about Episode Aigis - The Answer. The story is handled with so much care and every little thing is spot on and sometimes even better than the original version! I’m not quite sure if that’s what they did and if it’s the intention but I noticed some dialogue is different here and there from the original and I wonder if it’s because the translation is more accurate to the Japanese script this time around? I don’t think that’s a bad thing I think it’s a good thing since I play with the Japanese voices anyway! I think the themes are also handled well and while it was sad to see, the feelings of grief, depression and regrets were an important thing to see. The members of S.E.E.S lost an important friend a friend that impacted their lives and helped them when they needed it, of course they weren’t gonna magically be okay especially since they never knew what happened and thought he was sleeping ☹️. It just felt very real, grief is a not a pleasant emotion obviously so the way they presented how grief affect a person is amazing for example Aigis lost her will to live she wanted to be a machine again she was in a state of depression I think, Yukari bottled up her emotions and convinced herself looking forward and not dwelling on the past is the best way to deal with this, Junpei also tried to be as optimistic as he can to not deal with his own grief properly, Akihiko went back to training as hard as he can again to not deal with the grief he feels, Mitsuru had so many regrets, Fuuka was trying to convince herself she’s fine, Ken wanted to make sense of the situation for closure’s sake, Koromaru I’m sure misses Makoto considering he was gonna go with Makoto when the dorm closes and the fight is over. All of them were dealing with the situation in their own way, and it didn’t become any easier when they were trapped in the Abyss of Time something they subconsciously caused. Yukari became jealous and angry due to Aigis awakening to the Wild Card ability, and I don’t blame her for feeling this way while it’s not right it’s understandable why she felt this way she’s grieving and not just that she wanted proof that she was making progress with how she was living now as she says. I can go on and on about this but I think you get the memo it’s handled so well and it’s very real and I’m sure anyone who experienced the same thing the members of S.E.E.S experienced will relate. The new character, Metis is amazing and I always loved her character but the new scenes here and there made me appreciate and love her character even more. I love how she is related to Aigis and I always love how Metis reminds Aigis of the important things she ran away from or pushed aside because the pain of losing Makoto was unbearable. ☹️ Story and characters aside I think the new animated cutscenes are so well done! All of them were spot on except one and I have to talk about that one because it’s my favorite scene both in the original and the Reload version and that scene is, The regrets of S.E.E.S given form ??? after the boss fight scene YOU KNOW THE ONE. Seeing a shadow that took the image of the beloved previous protagonist because of S.E.E.S regrets is a shock and in the original after you defeat the Shadow there’s a very disturbing yet well animated scene (that’s how I describe it) that scene is handled differently in Reload and I can’t say which one I prefer honestly I love both versions! While watching the Reload version I can only say that the new scene is hauntingly beautiful and I think that’s the best way to describe it, like it was a bit haunting but so beautiful at the same time and I don’t know how they pulled it off. I’ll say my thoughts that I had after watching both scenes here: The original focused more on the aspect of death I think ??? who took Makoto's image was going through the stages of a decaying body (or the stages of death) I think yet still the player and characters see the real Makoto the one they knew smiling before fading into butterflies. This one however focused more on the members of S.E.E.S reaction to ??? the Makoto figure still disappears and it's beautifully done, the hand twitching was a bit haunting to me but it's a reminder of what happened to Makoto. Aigis reaches out even though she knows that's not actually him but seeing his image again made her want to reach out to the person she cared for the most ☹️ (That's how I interpreted the scenes by the way so that's just my own opinion) Also the soundtrack in the new scene is beautiful! And although not a single word was said in the entire scene you can still feel the emotion of every character. Now that the discussion about that scene is over let’s get back to the other animated cutscenes I think I prefer the Episode Aigis - The Answer ending animated cutscene! It’s just so good! When Aigis stands at the dorm door and looks into the room and it looked like she’s looking into the camera I felt so emotional because to me anyway it felt like she’s saying goodbye to the player. The entire shot was beautifully animated I have so many memories of the Iwatodai Dorm and I felt so emotional like I said to say goodbye to these characters and the dorm. Aigis and her friends are moving on now to their next chapter in their lives. I think the shot I described is my favorite part of the scene because it made me feel something that I can’t explain in words ☹️. Animated cutscenes aside I think lots of the normal scenes were handled well especially Yukari’s emotional breakdown scene, again this scene as sad as it is is my favorite scene because it’s an important scene for Yukari’s character! There were changes I noticed and I loved the changes they made Mitsuru say more about her own feelings and her new goal of protecting people she care about which wasn’t in the original if memory serves! (Also I really loved the members of S.E.E.S all reacting to Yukari’s reaction now it’s just an emotional and well written scene.) New gameplay changes I can’t talk much about since I never played the original however I will say the gameplay is very fun and I loved playing as Aigis! The bosses were great and challenging it was a fun experience in the gameplay department! (My favorite boss is ??? boss fight) Also the new events that happen at the dorm when you find an item in the Abyss of Time were amazing to see it made me sympathize with the characters more ☹️. Not only dorm scenes but I feel some of the new scenes made characters roles in Persona 4 Arena and Ultimax more understandable, especially Mitsuru! I’m not sure if Elizabeth is truly a time traveler but personally I felt like lots of the things she says are hints at her new journey that was revealed in Persona 4 Arena! (But at this point it could be both we all know she’s capable of time travel or whatever she did in Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight if you played that game that is.) The soundtrack is fantastic and the new tracks are so good, I love all of the new songs and the old ones that were remade, Brand New Days especially because it will always be a favorite song of mine and it’s Reload version is amazing. As far as new songs as I said I love all of them but I think Disconnected is my personal favorite the lyrics and the way Azumi Takahashi sings those lyrics made me emotional you can hear the sadness and desperation of wanting to move on but not knowing how. (Feelings not only Aigis but also the members of S.E.E.S felt) It’s definitely a song that I will always remember. Well that’s all I wanted to say Episode Aigis - The Answer is such a well written, emotional, and impactful epilogue and I’m so glad it was remade and now the story of Persona 3 is truly complete and I’m happy yet emotional about that, some scenes in Episode Aigis really made me sit down and reflect on my own way of life and the conclusion I reached is to live life happier, to enjoy life more and to truly live! It’s a lesson that will always stay with me so thank you Episode Aigis -The Answer- Aigis’s journey will never be forgotten by me. With that being said Until Next Time Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. (Hopefully at some point Kotone Shiomi gets her well deserved Remake) ❤️