How Persona 3 Reload’s upcoming Episode Aigis draws parallels to the main game’s big choice
Persona 3 Reload’s upcoming Episode Aigis – The Answer DLC has been getting mixed reception. While The Answer provides more story content for Persona fans, many view it as a cash grab on Atlus’s part due to the DLC being a separate purchase (none of the pre-order versions of Persona 3 came bundled with the DLC). This means that only those who are willing to purchase the DLC will experience the full story as it was told in the original game.
Based on content that was released as an extra disc for the original game and included in Persona 3 FES, The Answer will have players take control of party member Aigis as she navigates the events at the end of the game’s good ending. While purists see The Answer as the definitive ending for Persona 3, some will find themselves content with finishing just the main campaign. Take note that this article includes HEAVY SPOILERS for Persona 3 and Persona 3 Reload.
Persona 3 Reload’s good ending wraps everything up nicely
Towards the end of Persona 3 Reload, it is revealed that defeating the game’s major Shadows brings about the re-emergence of Nyx – the Death Shadow. Nyx is an unbeatable harbinger of the world’s end who was sealed by Aigis inside the protagonist when Mitsuru Kirijo’s grandfather first unleashed him onto the world ten years before the events of the game. The seal on the protagonist was broken when all the major Shadows were defeated by the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES), creating the Appriser – a harbinger that takes the form of Gekkoukan High School student Ryoji Mochizuki. Ryoji presents two choices for the SEES team: either kill him to erase their memories of the Dark Hour or spare him and fight a losing battle against Nyx.
While living in ignorance of the apocalypse may seem like a safe bet, it is only by sparing Ryoji that players can experience Persona 3 Reload’s final month. But even after climbing the last floors of Tartarus, defeating the remaining members of Strega, and taking on all of the Nyx avatar’s forms, Death still takes over the Earth’s moon and starts falling towards the planet. It is here where the protagonist summons a mysterious power called the “Universe” and stops Nyx in its tracks. The game skips to Graduation Day, where all the SEES members meet on the rooftop of Gekkoukan High School. The protagonist, exhausted from saving their friends and the world, smiles and lies down on Aigis’s lap for a well-deserved rest. The screen cuts to white and the words “fin” appear – signifying the story’s end.
Playing The Answer means making another difficult choice
Choosing to stop at the end of Persona 3 Reload’s good ending is a lot like choosing to erase one’s memories of the Dark Hour. The main story ends on a good note – with Tartarus destroyed, Nyx sealed, and the Apathy Syndrome gone. The members of SEES can be seen rejoicing over their victory and looking towards a bright future.
But that is not how the story ends. The Answer reveals that the protagonist ended up sacrificing themselves to seal Nyx. This causes the SEES members to deal with their grief as they navigate a never-ending March 31st. The original The Answer tackled difficult themes such as depression, regret, and eventually acceptance. New players looking to get back into Persona 3 Reload’s story come September might find it hard to do so because of how it breaks the illusion of a happy ending. Choosing not to play The Answer is a justifiable choice as Persona 3 Reload’s good ending is satisfying enough that there is no need to play the epilogue. But, if players want to see things through to the bitter end, then The Answer will give them exactly that.
Persona 3 Reload’s Episode Aigis – The Answer will be released sometime in September 2024.
