Preview: Persona 3 Reload Episode Aigis Gameplay Feels so Smooth

Persona 3 FES always offered an extra sense of closure with its The Answer storyline, giving us a last chance to tie things up and experience an adventure with characters, and Atlus will do that again with Persona 3 Reload and its Episode Aigis DLC. After spending a little hands-on time with it and delving into the Abyss of Time for the first time in years, it feels as solid as the remake.

For those unfamiliar, Episode Aigis: The Answer takes place after the ideal ending in Persona 3 Reload. On March 31st, members of S.E.E.S. are gathering together for a meal in honor of everything that happened and to turn in their Evokers. However, at what should have been 12am on April 1st, something unexpected happens. The noticeable shift is initially thought to be the Dark Hour returning, but Aigis, Fuuka, Junpei, Ken, and Mitsuru realize that instead time looped back to 12am on March 31st. It’s then that another anti-Shadow weapon named Metis appears and attacks the group in the name of defending Aigis. 

In a clear case of defeat means friendship, the battle between the two results in Aigis being knocked out for a few days and Metis agreeing to work alongside the group. Which is good, because an Abyss of Time dungeon is now in the dorm basement, time keeps looping, Akihiko and Yukari are now also there, and nobody can escape or move on until things resolve.

Of course, the first thing I noticed is how good Episode Aigis: The Answer looked. After all, it’s been a while since we’ve seen The Answer! The recent Persona 3 rereleases were based on Persona 3 Portable, and we only got this additional story with the PS2 FES release. The initial story scene and cutscene with Aigis and Metis looked good, updating that additional story segment for the modern release. Likewise, the first hop into the Abyss of Time looked good and consistent with what we saw with the remake of Tartarus in the base game.

Likewise, a big focus of this additional excursion originally was the opportunity to head into fights. The bulk of my time was spent playing diving into the new dungeon and getting the lay of the land. Aigis is now the “wildcard,” complete with ability to equip and use multiple Personas. She functions much as Makoto did now, and does a good job of filling out that role. However, Metis now fills the “Aigis” role in terms of moveset. This also means she’s the new Orgia Mode unit in a fight, and she does a good job of acting as a major DPS force from what I saw in that initial journey into the abyss. You still get a good, solid force for a first run into the new depths, and Metis having Bufula and Garula right from the outset is helpful in case you don’t invite Mitsuru or Yukari along. However, I did experience one situation where I almost fell in a fight because I chose to include Akihiko in my initial party of four alongside the mandatory Aigis and Metis and one bout put me up against four Lovers Snake enemy variants that kept spamming Ice attacks.  

My run through the Persona 3 Reload Episode Aigis: The Answer DLC opening ended up being a really solid and pleasant experience. Going through the tutorial and initial segment helped me get acclimated again, and also acted as a possible assurance that the Abyss of Time and Metis still look as good and work as well in the remake as they did in the original game.

Persona 3 Reload is available now on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and Episode Aigis: The Answer DLC will debut on September 10, 2024.