I can still remember my reaction upon playing Persona 3 FES for the first time. Up to that point, my main exposure to Japanese RPGs had been the likes of the Pokemon series, plus the occasional Final Fantasy game. In my simple mind, the quintessential role-playing game was something that occurred within a realm of fantasy, something that involved either a world inhabited by dangerous monsters or a fantastical approach to medieval Europe (at this point, my only exposure to Final Fantasy was III, IV and V – before they left the knights and dragons behind for something a bit more futuristic).

With this in mind, I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when I first inserted the disc into my Playstation 2 and watched as the intro played.

Immediately, I was captivated. This intro was unlike anything I had seen before. The lyrics, almost minimalist art style, and the sheer modernity of it all – it was dripping in intrigue, the liberal application of Latin and French adages almost tipping it to the point of pretension. But make no mistake, this is no pseudo-intellectual attempt at depth; after completing the game, one can almost see the entire plot laid bare in this 90 second animation.

Although this layer of meaning may have been missed by my young, foolish self when I first played Persona 3, as I got older and (repeatedly) replayed it, the pieces slowly began to click into place. I began to learn not only what Persona 3 meant to me as an individual, but also what it meant as whole – what statement it was actually trying to make. Looking at it now, as someone who has been through and coped with some of the harshness that comes with “becoming an adult”, my young self’s naiveté in regards to the message seems somewhat embarrassing, despite the opening – and even the game itself – essentially smacking you in the face with it for its entirety.

For the uninitiated, let me make this as clear as possible: Persona 3 is about death.

Let it be known that we will soon be entering spoiler territory, so if you’re at all interested in experiencing the game for yourself with your knowledge untainted, you probably want to leave now.

To cover some background, Persona 3 FES is an updated re-release of Persona 3, the third (technically fourth) game of the Persona franchise, which is a spin-off of famed JRPG developer Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei series. When P3FES first released in the west, it was met with acclaim, and although I would argue that the series only met real mainstream success with the likes of later titles Persona 4 and Persona 5, Persona 3 was definitely a major stepping stone on Atlus’ bid to conquer the modern day JRPG landscape.

The story concerns itself with the main character (it is left up to the player to name him, though the movie adaptation gives him the dubiously canon name of Makoto Yuki) and his fellow group of highschoolers (along with a couple of outliers, such as a middle schooler, a robot and a dog) who are gifted with the ability to summon their Persona – a physical manifestation of their will – and use it to defeat a mysterious enemy known as Shadows, which are in turn a physical manifestation of the flaws and doubts that people wish to keep hidden and locked away. Those familiar with Jungian psychology may recognise this terminology, with a “persona” being a metaphorical mask that you wear in your day-to-day interactions (i.e. acting professional while at work), whilst a “shadow” is your negative traits that you either can’t or won’t acknowledge. The game, and series as a whole, takes these concepts and melds them expertly into gameplay concepts; summoning your Persona, a literal force of will, to overcome the embodiment of self-doubt and negativity.

Within the context of the game series, Personae tend to take the form of mythological or legendary figures, with the characters the Persona represent often having some kind of parallel or connection to the myth the Persona itself comes from. Persona 3 in particular takes inspiration from the Graeco-Roman pantheon, with the likes of Hermes and Cerberus showing up as the Persona of different team members. From Persona 3 onwards, the main characters of the games tend to be able to equip almost any of the hundreds of available Personae, though this is really only used as a gameplay mechanic – in the context of the story, the protagonist’s original Persona, along with their final “ultimate” Persona, seem to be the only ones with any real narrative importance. Similarly, other characters that are a part of your team have an original Persona that they have at the beginning of the game, which evolves and becomes more powerful after they come to terms with their own shortcomings – again a reflection of the Jungian influences present throughout the series.

The characters lead fairly normal lives for the most part, until the clock strikes midnight, at which point they enter the Dark Hour, a hidden hour that occurs between one day and the next. Only those with the ability to use a Persona are aware of the Dark Hour, with everybody else not only freezing in time, but also replaced by a coffin (one of many heavy-handed references to death). During the Dark Hour, shadows are free to roam and cause chaos, potentially harming those transmogrified into coffins. The main characters, part of a team known as the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or SEES, take it upon themselves to destroy shadows, in an attempt to curb the amount of destruction that takes place.

The main character is a transfer student, who unknowingly walks into a situation in his new dormitory in which the SEES is under attack by an enemy shadow. While the team is struggling to deal with the incoming threat, the protagonist gains the ability to summon a Persona, which awakens and takes the form of Orpheus – the hero of a Greek tale in which he foolishly travels down to the underworld in an attempt to reclaim his recently deceased lover from the clutches of death. If this oblique nod to the story’s thematic elements was not enough, Orpheus is torn to shreds from within, as the protagonist’s other unique Persona (he gets more than one unique persona because the main character has to be special, obviously), Thanatos, emerges from the remains. In Greek mythology, Thanatos is the very personification of death, and the fact that death itself is shown to exist within the psyche of the main character is a prominent point in lore of the game.

Throughout the game, SEES are compelled to travel through a mysterious tower that appears during the Dark Hour called Tartarus – named after a place in the underworld in Greek mythology wherein punishment is meted out against those who earned it in their life, similar to Hell. As they travel through the tower, they are also forced to quell 13 powerful Shadows that appear within the city they live in, lest they cause casualties. All the while, the main character is haunted by a mysterious yet friendly boy named Pharos, whom seemingly nobody else can see or contact. As the 13 shadows are slowly eradicated, the bond between the protagonist and Pharos strengthens, though he continuously drops prophetic, and almost fatalistic, hints towards the nature of his destiny. Once the 13 shadows have been eradicated, it turns out that rather than saving the day, you have unwittingly released a grave and impending threat upon humanity; it is no coincidence that at this moment, Pharos bids the main character farewell, but not without again noting the bleak future that lays ahead.

As the story progresses and the team becomes filled with more characters, it becomes evident how death is intertwined in all of these people’s lives – in order to persevere, they must either come to terms with the death that haunts them from their past, or face it head on throughout the duration of the story. It is only upon accepting the inevitable nature of death and steeling themselves to move forward with their lives regardless that their Persona evolves to a more powerful form, weaving the narrative and gameplay elements together in a cohesive arrangement. While no character is left untainted by the cold touch of death within this narrative, nobody is affected more so than the main character himself.

Throughout the latter section of the game, the player learns more about the past of the protagonist. We are told of a catastrophic incident many years ago, involving shadows and resulting in numerous civilian deaths. The main character, a young child at the time, was caught in the middle of this fray, along with his family. Not only did both of his parents die in the ensuing chaos, but the shadow itself was too powerful to destroy and instead was sealed away in the nearest receptacle: the protagonist himself. As discussed previously, shadows are the negative affinity within mankind made manifest – this shadow in particular was an avatar of death and humanity’s lingering desire for absolution, though by this point, the player will likely know this presence by a different name: Pharos. His sealing inside the protagonist is why the protagonist’s secondary Persona is Thanatos, and also explains why nobody else could see or hear Pharos; he was an entity that only existed within the player character, a literal form of death that he carried within himself. By defeating the 13 powerful shadows terrorising humanity from within the Dark Hour, Pharos was inadvertently released from his prison within the protagonist, in turn causing more problems for SEES.

Eventually, SEES befriend a new transfer student at their school named Ryoji. Most people playing the game will likely realise he looks very much like a previously introduced character, if not slightly older – that is because Ryoji is another form of Pharos has taken, now as a young adult rather than a child.

Pharos, now in the form of Ryoji, eventually approaches SEES after befriending them, assuaged by guilt. He explains exactly who, or what, he is: he is the avatar of Nyx. Within the Greek mythos, Nyx is the goddess of the night, and mother of Thanatos. Within the world of Persona 3, however, Nyx acts less as a deity and more like a natural disaster brought on by humanity’s apathy; Ryoji states that as Nyx’s avatar, he is duty bound to summon her to Earth with the intention of wiping out all life, as humanity’s collective negativity and apathy towards life has reached breaking point. He lets the protagonist know that they have only a few weeks left before the inevitable occurs, but offers them one last choice in an attempt to bring them some peace. Here, he proposes a single idea: he offers to let the main character kill him there and then, which would in turn render everyone unaware of their inevitable fate. The cast would live their lives happily, oblivious to their approaching fate, until it was too late. If you accept his offer, you receive a premature and depressing ending sequence, with the game obviously disappointed in your choice. By refusing his offer, the protagonist stakes his claim to fight for everyone’s lives in spite of the impossibility of it all, and as such opens the path to the true ending.

It is here, at this moment, that the crux of the game’s message reaches a climax. Although it has been seen throughout the SEES’ interactions throughout the game as they come to terms with the nature of mortality, this choice amplifies that notion to a cacophonous level. The game doesn’t just want you to acknowledge the inescapable and overwhelming nature of death, it wants you to fight on despite it all. It wants you to realise that even though we may eventually all turn to dust in the end, there may still be some meaning in what we achieve during our finite time on this Earth.

If you choose not to kill Ryoji and instead choose to fight against Nyx itself, Ryoji leaves with a sombre reminder that there is only a short time left before Nyx arrives to remove all signs of life, in an act known as “The Fall”. SEES unanimously agree, as they have grown together as a team to become near-inseparable comrades over the course of a year, to rally together in the face of adversity. They take a moment to make a pact, declaring that they will all be there for the graduation day at their school, an event which will take place well after the events of The Fall, and will reunite then to celebrate.

Despite this optimistic outlook on their future, the atmosphere during these last moments of the game is a heavy one; the once poppy and hip-hop influenced soundtrack makes way for a much more downtempo and serious motif, whilst many unimportant background characters who once added life to the various areas of the game now simply stand and wait in silence, with some of them even joining a doomsday cult, all too accepting of their impending fate.

Once the day comes for The Fall to occur and Nyx to arrive, SEES mount an offensive and march towards their enemy who awaits them atop the tower known as Tartarus. Here, Ryoji appears in the form of Nyx Avatar, a harbinger for the end of times. While SEES eventually overcomes Nyx Avatar, they find themselves literally unable to stop their incoming deaths, overwhelmed by the sheer force of Nyx itself.

Despite this, the protagonist still finds himself with the ability to fight, and with the moral support of his allies, enters a final battle against Nyx itself. While this is presented as another boss battle, it is really more like an interactive cutscene, using the gameplay to convey the ongoing narrative elements – the enemy attacks relentlessly, each time causing more damage than is possible to withstand within the parameters of the game. Despite this, the main character never falters; they simply pull themselves back up, defiant to the very end. They continue to brush off what should be fatal attacks, each time cheered on by the friends they have made throughout their journey. Those relationships are shown to be the protagonist’s reason for living and sustains their drive to overcome death, until they can make their final move. You find yourself able to use a unique, never-before seen attack called “Great Seal”, which has the power to seal Nyx away. There’s a catch though: it costs all of the protagonists’ health. Nonetheless, you must press on, finally overcoming death itself… or so it seems.

After your climactic battle with Nyx, the game skips forward a few months, to the fated graduation ceremony that SEES swore to reunite at. The memory of Nyx has seemingly been wiped from the memories of everyone involved, aside from the main character, and your robotic companion Aigis. The two rest on the roof of the school, while the rest of SEES watch the ceremony unfold in the school auditorium. One by one, they begin to remember the pact they made before The Fall, and abandon the graduation in a desperate rush to reunite on the roof. In the final moments of the game, the narration mentions how heavy the main character’s eyelids feel as he rests his head on Aigis’ lap, before closing his eyes one last time as he hears the sound of his companions in the distance. The main character, having used all of his strength to seal Nyx away, finally is able to pass on after fulfilling his one final promise to his comrades: to meet with them again after The Fall. As his friends approach, the main character takes his final breath, a smile on his face.

This ending is one that has always stuck out to me in all my years of gaming. It is hardly the only time a main character has died at the end of a game, but the manner in which this specific instance is portrayed is masterful. It combines two of the major themes of the game: firstly, that death is inevitable; and secondly, that you are best making use of your time to forge bonds and memories with those that you care for the most.

Despite this, there’s no denying that the ending can be a saddening one; after all you have achieved, you die, unable to live on and enjoy life with those you fought so hard to protect. It’s no coincidence that the protagonist, who sacrificed himself to seal away a great evil for the sake of humanity, has his final Persona take the form of the “Messiah”. While it may have been for a good cause, it almost feels like you’ve lost the battle despite winning the war. Nonetheless, there’s a reason the protagonist dies smiling.

You see, something which I think is regularly overlooked about Persona 3 is that while it is most definitely about death, it isn’t just about death. There’s no denying that from the moment you input the disc into your console, it starts hammering home the message that death comes for us all, and it even ends with the protagonist dying. But it builds on that message. To just say “remember you are mortal” is simply an assertion, an empty message that means nothing. Persona 3 instead takes every instance to remind you that despite your life being a fleeting blip within the vast reaches of time immemorial, it can be a wondrous and meaningful blip.

The climactic battle against the embodiment of apathy and death is a blisteringly clear allegory towards making the most of the time you have, and to bravely live on despite your inevitable end; similarly, the manner that the doomsday cult grows in number towards the end of the game is a clear admonishment of such passive behaviour. The bonds you make with characters in the game (be they those within SEES with whom you share your burden, or ordinary characters who you meet during the more mundane parts of the game) are there as a reminder that forging relations is a worthwhile endeavour. Not only that, but the manner in which you help your friends overcome the adversity in their lives shows that even if you aren’t able to stop an overwhelming cosmic force in your real life, you can at least have a positive influence by simply being there for the people you care about.

To cultivate relationships, to spend our time trying to make the world a better place, or even just to spend time doing what makes us happy – all of these are worthwhile pursuits that make our life more than a measly moment of tedium within the history of the universe, and this is what I think Persona 3 is trying to make us realise with its story. It’s not meant to be a study on nihilism, drenched in pseudo-intellectual platitudes with a bountiful sprinkling of Latin aphorisms, but rather a celebration of what can be achieved in a lifetime. It serves as a reminder that while death does eventually come for us all, it does not necessarily mean that everything we do before that is without value.

I think, through all of this, it’s the strangely optimistic creed that Persona 3 lives by that draws me back to it again and again. Despite being a world destined for death, the game is vibrant and colourful. The characters are not simple two-dimensional cliches, but are charming, fleshed-out personalities that grow and progress as they struggle and overcome numerous ordeals. While it has its sombre moments, the majority of the soundtrack is buoyant and upbeat. In fact, every element in this game seems determined to be optimistic in spite of the darker thematic elements prevalent throughout. While some may say that could cause a tonal clash, I would argue that it’s simply a culmination of the idea the game is trying to convey – the idea of living life to the full in the face of adversity.

I suppose it’s because of such elegant thematic elements that the very idea of me replaying Persona 3 is an inevitability in my life. In that sense, I imagine it’s very much like paying taxes… and, of course, death.