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People familiar with Persona 3 and Persona 3 Portable know October 4th is an important day. However, in Persona 3 Reload, things are slightly different. Most events proceed as in the original male protagonist’s route, but there’s a new special storyline starring Shinjiro Aragaki in Persona 3 Reload.
How can I see the Shinjiro Aragaki side story in Persona 3 Reload?
Editor’s Note: There will be no spoilers for the events of the side story below. However, possible responses to pick and details about him in Persona 3 Portable appear in the final paragraph.
Once Shinjiro Aragaki automatically joins your party in Persona 3 Reload as part of the story, you’ll want to keep an eye out for messages in your phone from both Mitsuru Kirijo and him. The first one arrived for me After School on September 14th. Choosing to automatically report in takes you to Mitsuru in the first floor hallway near the Faculty Offices. She’ll then mentions you talking to him about returning to school and giving him a re-enrollment form.
Mitsuru will hint at where he is by mentioning “that gathering spot near the station.” The Port Island Station on the map will have an exclamation point on it, and fast traveling to Station Outskirts will take you right to Shinjiro. Choose to “Spend Time with Aragaki.”
The responses I chose during this section were:
- “She asked me to.”
- “I just wanted to help.”
- “How about right now?”
Finishing this section gives you a point for your Courage stat.
I got the next text message on September 16th during the After School period. This time, it came directly from Shinjiro. He’ll ask you to stop by after school. You can opt to fast-travel directly after reaching the message to go to the Station Outskirts where he’s waiting. He’ll then take you out for that meal he promised.
I chose the following responses for this conversation and the one that follows between him and Mitsuru, but really I think any response works and continues the storyline.
- “That’s not it.”
- “You didn’t turn in the paperwork?”
- “You can’t force him.”
- “Bad timing.”
After this talk involving Shinjiro, Mitsuru, and Akihiko Sanada, you’ll get a Charm point bolstering that stat a bit.
The next text message arrived on September 17th After School for me, and it involved Shinjiro asking me to stop by to talk again. Fast travel to the Station Outskirts again, then talk to him. He’ll ask you to deliver an Extension Form to Mitsuru. Again, this seems like a situation when any of the responses will work and continue the side story. Here are the responses I chose:
- “Turn this in yourself.”
- “All right.”
After this, you’ll get a point added to your Academics stat. It will be a while before the Shinjiro Aragaki Persona 3 Reload side story will continue, so I recommend you make a save file.
The next message I got appeared on September 24th After School. While Shinjiro mentioned giving Mitsuru the form, she’ll actually text you to continue this side story. This is the important one from what I saw, as a wrong answer here won’t result in a final scene that kicks off at the usual Station Outskirts location. So if you haven’t before now, I recommend you create a Persona 3 Reload save before you talk to Mitsuru and finish up the Shinjiro side story. After you do, I recommend choosing the following dialogue options.
- “Tell me what’s going on.”
- “Why’s his attendance so vital?”
- “Wait a minute.”
If you choose these options, you should get the Extension Form back. After that, head to the Station Outskirts. There’ll be exclamation points on that spot on the map, showing you should go there. Shinjiro Aragaki will be at his usual spot in Persona 3 Reload if you picked that option. Spend time with him again. From what I saw, there weren’t any additional scenes from here and the responses I chose closed out his additional storyline.
Here are the responses I picked:
- “I couldn’t hand it over.”
- “Don’t forget your promise.”
You’ll get a point added to your Courage after this talk.
Things will then proceed as they did in the original Persona 3 and Persona 3 FES, with a certain event happening on October 4th. You can not change the events that will occur.
A final event will trigger the evening of October 28th. Ikutsuki will ask you to clean out Aragaki’s room. You will find an envelope with a form in it and speak with Mitsuru, as well as get all of Aragaki’s past equipment and a Blade of Fury skill card. The form is a key item that unlocks the Hell Biker Persona fusion. You can make it with a Naga Raja and Throne fusion, though you do need to be at level 65.
In which Persona 3 game can I save Shinjiro Aragaki?
You’ll need to play Persona 3 Portable if you want Shinjiro to pull through and make it through the game. To do so, you’ll need to play as the female avatar. You’ll also need to start the social link for him on September 7th, finish it before October 4th, and get his pocket watch from Officer Kurosawa at the mall’s police station store to give to him.
Persona 3 Reload is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
