Persona 3 has seen a number of iterations through its FES and Portable counterparts, with the latter receiving ports for modern-day platforms. While P3P's accessibility has been a way to bring the original's story to the newer fans of the franchise, it misses a few features from FES that contribute notably to the title's narrative. Given the rumors surrounding a Persona 3 Remake, 'The Answer' epilogue may have a chance to return, telling the aftermath of the SEES Team following the protagonist's untimely death.
Persona 3 FES extended its story beyond 'The Journey' into its feature of 'The Answer,' acting as a playable epilogue with Aigis front and center. Its runtime was shorter than the base game though still quite substantial, converging cutscenes with standard Persona combat while foregoing its social link fare in favor of a narrative surrounding the main cast. These constraints resulted in a bit of a divisive reception among fans, with some regarding the epilogue as too combat-driven; despite this, The Answer features quite a few stand-out moments in its narrative and presentation, while its difficulty sets the bar for a challenging yet rewarding experience.
The Persona 3 FES Epilogue Could Return in a Modern Light
While The Answer could be a bit grating through its unforgiving enemies and bosses, the challenge posed by its combat felt perfectly in line with its narrative. Throughout the epilogue, the Persona 3 SEES Team falls short of being on the same page, as the group is in discordance over the events of the base game. Each member has been affected by the loss of their leader and deals with it differently, resulting in a drastic turn through one of the epilogue's core events. This narrative incites Aigis and Metis' fight against the other SEES members in a clash of ideals, spurred on by the protagonist's fate and the desire by some to turn back time.
The resulting fights with the SEES members make for an intense and innovative approach, especially in consideration of the Persona series' focus on friendship and bonds. It also plays into the epilogue's introductory cutscene, which sets notable intrigue for what the player will soon experience. The atmosphere is amplified through one of Persona 3 FES' most powerful music tracks, Heartful Cry, which plays exclusively during the combat sequence, cementing it as a moment worth modernizing through a Persona 3 Remake.
Other boss fights along the course of the epilogue work to aid in a similar tone, marking just how important the wild-card ability given to Aigis is. While it's understandable that some have struggled with The Answer's approach to game design given its Tartarus-like traversal without the reprieve of Persona 3's social-sim component, the epilogue still makes for a compelling experience that could be made available in a modern context.
Its difficulty may also help to bridge the gap between die-hard SMT fans and enjoyers of the Persona series looking for an added challenge and further closure to Persona 3's story. With The Answer not being quite as difficult as the series' super-bosses, the epilogue provides a fitting level of adversity while testing what players have learned throughout their combat encounters in the base game.
In addition, given that Persona 3 FES did not allow the player to control their party members, bringing the epilogue back in a remake could technically make The Answer much more accessible by letting players select which actions the cast takes in battle. Getting to see the epilogue's cutscenes modernly rendered would also be a beneficial feature, working to heighten the title's story while making its events even more emotionally resonant. Following in the success of Persona 5 and building on the strengths of its predecessors, a Persona 3 Remake could shine among Atlus' repertoire, bringing its story's epilogue back in a modern light.
Persona 3 Portable is available now for the Nintendo Switch, PC, PSP, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.