Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis – The Answer DLC Review

To know The Answer is to additionally give away essential elements of Persona 3’s authentic conclusion, because it picks up proper after its ending. Despite the fact that you aren’t required to complete Persona 3 Reload to entry this DLC, you don’t actually have any enterprise with it in the event you haven’t. It facilities across the SEES crew coming to phrases with the passing of their good pal (Faucet to Reveal), which comes with a sure melancholy in the way in which each character conducts themselves. Generally that creates a clumsy stress that intensifies as a result of these are characters with contemporary wounds that hardly had time to heal. Because the DLC’s title would point out, you now management Aigis as the primary character – accounting for her arc within the base sport, she’s wielded tremendously because the vessel for The Answer to look at how ugly but crucial the therapeutic course of is. It’s additionally simply very nice to see her in a management position as she works by way of her personal private struggles. And thru her perspective it’s made clear that just about every little thing in The Answer, from its very premise to the actions you are taking, are an extension of its broader message.

With the Darkish Hour and Tartarus having been conquered by the tip of Persona 3, what may probably occur now? Nicely, time is at a standstill on March thirty first, the day earlier than everybody has to maneuver out of the Iwatodai dorm, your de facto headquarters. And beneath the dorm spawns the Abyss of Time, an ethereal airplane underground with 100+ flooring which might be functionally the identical as Tartarus. It traps everybody inside the dorm with nowhere to go however by way of every door that results in units of flooring to resolve the thriller. And the newcomer Metis, an android who’s a direct distinction to Aigis, pops as much as make a powerful first impression by mistakenly wreaking havoc on the crew and the dorm. This units up plenty of questions that don’t actually come into focus till the very finish; at that time, it results in an unbelievable payoff that is undoubtedly price working for.

Since there isn’t a every day construction, day-evening cycle, or time-administration aspect, The Answer’s gameplay focus is on the grind of its flip-based mostly RPG fight and dungeon-crawling exploration. As you do within the base sport, you battle towards shadows sprinkled all through its randomly generated, maze-like flooring that make up the Abyss of Time. As a consequence, taking part in by way of The Answer can get monotonous with out the opposite gameplay parts that assist complement fight for a full Persona expertise. Nonetheless, the reward for trudging by way of its flooring are the bits of story on the finish of every block. These are comparatively temporary cutscenes that peer into essential turning factors in every character’s previous – whereas not typically revelatory, they construct towards one thing larger and go away simply sufficient of a breadcrumb path to encourage you to push by way of the Abyss of Time.

Fight in The Answer continues to be constructed upon Persona 3 Reload’s tried-and-true flip-based mostly system the place you account for elemental affinities, hit weaknesses for additional turns, and tactically knock down enemies to arrange all-out assaults. With Aigis as the brand new lead, she additionally obtains the ability to wield a number of personas, and the Pokemon-like nature of constructing her roster through persona fusion stays intact. It’s as sharp because it’s all the time been, however when that’s what you’re doing for a big majority of your time it may begin to put on skinny, particularly when blocks of dungeon flooring have been clearly recycled to pad out the roughly 25-hour runtime. I didn’t essentially thoughts going by way of the motions, since I do benefit from the act of taking part in Persona 3 Reload, and the artwork model and character of its characters nonetheless shine by way of in fight. Whether or not intentional or not, it’s thematically becoming, I simply want it did extra to combine up the gameplay dynamic all through.

When you don’t get the sort of administration and social sim parts typical of a Persona sport right here, there are charming little interactions you may provoke within the dorm which might be new to this model of The Answer. All through the Abyss of Time you’ll discover objects in particular chests that unlock cutscenes between Aigis and particular social gathering members. A few of them are a bit cheesy, for certain, however that is additionally the way you earn further perks that supply substantial advantages in fight. If something, I used to be simply pleased to spend extra time with this forged and fill a void from The Answer’s authentic model, even when these new interactions didn’t actually result in something narratively essential.

After I look again at The Answer, I discover its gameplay secondary to what it’s truly about, regardless of it taking over most of its runtime. The interstitial cutscenes and character moments assist flesh out the SEES crew a bit extra, but additionally units up an even bigger image for what Aigis is experiencing as somebody who’s wrestling along with her emotions, having misplaced the very individual her life revolved round. From the expansion she demonstrates within the authentic story to the ultimate monologue she provides earlier than the credit roll in Reload, Aigis is the proper character to signify what it’s wish to bounce between the phases of grief. And sharply written traces with a unprecedented efficiency from voice actor Daybreak Bennett elevate Aigis as she ponders the massive questions on life, loss of life, and objective.

I additionally recognize the truth that whereas The Answer tries to provide equal stakes for every character, it very clearly places particular ones within the highlight. Whereas the remainder of the social gathering shares an intense disappointment, the dynamic of Aigis and Metis showcases the interior wrestle that occurs when the burden appears too nice to bear. Despite the fact that I’m dissatisfied that Metis continues to be considerably underdeveloped as a personality, her position as a storytelling gadget and a foil to Aigis is so efficient in direction of the tip. And whereas the remainder of the SEES crew have their moments, it’s Yukari who’s given a extra outstanding position within the story for instance of how tragedy modifications an individual. It is excellent not simply because she is my favourite of the crew, but additionally as a result of her arc feels very actual.

All of this doesn’t actually come into focus till the previous few hours of The Answer, so for as tedious as it could be to get there, the finale is price it to see simply how highly effective the Persona collection might be. And for all its metaphorical gadgets by way of its gameplay construction or general premise – the time loop, the repetitive dungeon flooring, chasing the shadow of somebody who’s not there – the message of The Answer is a really considerate one which comes collectively elegantly.

In a yr full of video games which have made me confront my very own mortality and the premature exit of these expensive to me, it’s sort of poetic for The Answer to bookend the bunch. Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Ultimate Fantasy VII Rebirth, 1000xResist, Ultimate Fantasy XIV Dawntrail, and naturally, Persona 3 Reload have all supplied their very own distinctive views on life’s massive questions, which I’ve expressed in every of my opinions of these video games. They usually’ve all been anchors as I be taught to stay with loss, whether or not or not it’s from loss of life or circumstance. At a time after I’ve wanted these classes most, having develop into a demonstrably totally different and extra emotionally exhausted individual, Persona 3 has come again round in 2024 to tackle a brand new which means, even because the story stays the identical. And of all of the aforementioned video games, The Answer is the one that offers essentially the most definitive reply for what it means to maneuver on.

Admittedly, I put plenty of inventory into the story of The Answer, to not absolve it of its shortcomings, however as a result of that’s what I’ll bear in mind most. It’s one of many instruments I’ve been in a position to make use of as I expertise the therapeutic course of myself since its strongest moments so intently signify what it has been like. In some unspecified time in the future within the story, Aigis says to herself, “If that is what it’s like now, then I want I may simply be a machine once more.” I’ve thought rather a lot about cherished recollections changing into painful to recall, and residing inside your head craving for what was once. So once you’re going by way of it, it’s tempting to provide into apathy and detach your self from all of it as a reprieve. However by having a help system, taking motion, and giving herself the house to hunt readability, Aigis is afforded the chance to redefine closure, breaking free from the cycle of feeling trapped in time and endlessly in regret. And so, the reply isn’t to overlook the ache or let it eat you – as a result of it by no means actually goes away – however to just accept it as an essential piece to the mosaic that makes you who you might be. It’s a lot simpler mentioned than executed, however generally you simply must see it to consider it.