The Persona series has been around for nearly 30 years, but it didn’t go mainstream until about two decades after the first game was released. 2016’s Persona 5 was such a huge success that gaming audiences were suddenly hungry for more. Luckily for Atlus, there were five more mainline games to draw ideas from, and when you add up the remakes, re-releases, and spin-offs, Persona fans have had plenty to feed on. There’s still plenty of Persona for Atlus to pull from the annals of time, and while we’ll probably never see Fuhrer’s comeback, we can look forward to The Answer.

Those who were fans of Persona long before Joker’s Mask may remember Persona 3 FES. FES isn’t a remake like Persona 3 Portable or Persona 3 Reload – instead, it adds a higher difficulty level and an epilogue called The Answer. This epilogue was known for its brutal difficulty and unlike the main game, there were no options to make things easier. This might have been fine if you could have saved your hundred or so hours of progress from the base game, but everything resets to level 30. The Answer was a test of pure strategic skill and one that many players couldn’t overcome.

Of all the versions of Persona 3 that have existed over the past 20 years, only FES has had The Answer. That will remain the case until Episode Aigis – a The Answer remake – is released as DLC for Persona 3 Reload. Episode Aigis will be the first time most people start The Answer, and even more players will finish it for the first time. This is something players have been asking for time and time again – a way to experience the entire Persona 3 story without the repeated crushing defeats. When I hear the words “faithful remake,” I usually think that the game doesn’t need a remake at all; The Answer is different.

Episode Aigis stays true to the characters, story, and most of the gameplay from The Answer, but includes the quality of life updates that came with Persona 3 Reload. The characters still have their updated combat mechanics like the ability to control your allies, switch between them to compensate for weaknesses, and the powerful Theurgy attacks that already help make things easier compared to the original. Combine that with a number of other quality of life improvements like revamped graphics, music, cutscenes, and happily, a range of difficulty settings, and you already have a winner.

Unlike the main Persona 3 Reload gameplay, which is half dungeon crawling and half power of friendship, Episode Aigis focuses almost entirely on combat. There are cutscenes with the other characters between dungeons, but there are no social connections to improve upon. The other main difference is that you now play as Aigis rather than the protagonist. Following the events of Persona 3, the team is stuck in the dorm when they notice that it’s always March 31st. After an initial violent encounter, Aigis’ “sister” Metis joins the team and tells them about the world beneath the dorm that’s causing the time distortion.

The hour I played Persona 3: Episode Aigis was mostly spent exploring the dungeons beneath it. Gameplay in the dungeons is similar to Tartarus in the base game, except the team is reduced to level 30, Aigis is mandatory, and you can also bring Metis. Aigis gains the ability to switch Personas, meaning she isn’t tied to the physical knockback damage attacks she has in the main game. This gives you the same flexibility as when playing the protagonist, though you still have to return the team to its previous power level.

If you were hoping Episode Aigis would be more forgiving than The Answer, then your wish will be granted, but it’s still much harder than the main game. I attended the preview session with three others, one of whom didn’t make it to the end despite Atlus stuffing us with items. I didn’t see their gameplay, but it shows that you can’t mindlessly click the attack button and still make it to the end. Atlus has kept the strategic elements from the original release of The Answer, but I hope this doesn’t include the grinding requirements.

Those tempted to buy Episode Aigis because they enjoyed the characters and social connections of the main game will be disappointed. The Answer was and is for those who love the strategy of combat in Persona 3 and enjoyed beating all the floors of Tartarus. There’s a story for fans to discover, but if the combat isn’t engaging, it becomes a chore to get there – especially when the DLC is around 30-40 hours long. The quality of life improvements introduced in Reload are a much-desired improvement over the original, and finally open up the Epilogue to more of its passionate fanbase.

Persona fans shouldn’t miss Atlus’ Metaphor: ReFantazio either.