Persona 3: FES doesn't do much in the way of introducing new mechanics to the original title, but it throws enough new things into the mix that makes a second play thru of the original completely worth the time. Along with the new additions to the reworked Persona 3 you also get the Episode Aigis epilogue, labeled as "The Answer", which you can opt to play from the beginning if you're not feeling the need to run thru the original again (which is labeled as "The Journey".)

If you've completed Persona 3 already, you can start the equivalent of a "New Game +" in the Journey, which will carry over your Persona compendium (a list of the Persona you found in the original title), your current stat levels, and any of your maxed Social link items you've received but haven't used yet. Outside of that you'll start over again at level 1, and play thru the entire scenario again that more or less plays out just like the original title.

My number 1 complaint from the original Persona 3 is still present in FES, which is the slightly annoying design when it comes to the character menus. You still have to approach each character individually to change out equipment or check their current level, and I was definitely hoping that they would take this opportunity to streamline the process a bit more.

However, my other issue with Persona 3 has been addressed, but not completely. In the original title whenever you changed weapons that would always be represented on screen during combat, but other equipment changes were never reflected outside of the stats changing on the menu screen. Now though, certain outfits you find in both "The Journey" and "The Answer" will actually alter your character's appearance in not only battles but in moving thru Tartarus, which is definitely a nice addition to see.

FES also introduces a Hard Mode to "The Journey" which you can select from the very beginning. Keep in mind that when they say Hard, they really mean it. Enemies will play a bit smarter, and they hit a lot harder. You'll have to really focus on tactics for boss fights to keep things under control. It provides a great challenge for people that felt the original became a bit too easy when you became used to the mechanics of the battle system. Not only that, but "The Answer" is defaulted to Hard Mode, and you can't change it, so you'll eventually be forced to play smarter if you want to complete both sections.

Rounding out the additions made to "The Journey", there are a number of new Persona that can either be found or fused, and the S. Links have been slightly retooled to make the scheduling aspect more manageable. I think you'll still have a hard time getting 100 percent on your initial play through, but it's definitely possible at least. There are a few more additions that have been made, some of which are a bit more cosmetic at best, but I don't want to spoil everything for you.

"The Answer" section of the game picks up shortly after the events of "The Journey", and focuses primarily on Aigis, casting her as your new main character. All of the characters will have their levels set back to 25, so obviously you'll end up needing to rebuild their levels and Persona's again. However, "The Answer" focuses primarily on the combat side of things. The S. Links are gone, along with the day-to-day school life, Academia/Personality stats, and the ability to wander about an overworld map. Instead the majority of the game will be spent in the new dungeon that has appeared beneath the dorms, with only one additional area unlocking later on.

Persona building has also been downgraded in "The Answer", and you can only fuse 2 or 3 Persona at a time. There's no compendium either, so you need to be more careful in who you choose to keep or get rid off. I found myself focusing on leveling certain Persona a lot more than I did in the "The Journey", trying to max out their skill set so when I did choose to fuse them I could at least carry over some key abilities to the next one.

My only real complaint with "The Answer" is that I would have liked to have seen a bit more that would set this new dungeon apart from Tartarus. The interior levels are pretty much identical to everything you'll find in Tartarus, and the regular enemies you encounter are just palette swaps of the ones you've already seen. I realize that there is supposed to be a relation between the two places, but a little variety would have been appreciated.

Really though, my complaints against both sections of the game are pretty damn minor. The whole package is still a lot of fun, and really addictive once you get all the mechanics down. The same great music is featured in both (now with the option to change between a few tracks inside the dungeons), and it's nice to see the entire story of these characters you've grown attached to over 90 hours of playtime come to a complete close.

Hell, at $30 the game is a steal anyways, and definitely gives you the most bang for your buck outside of Valve's Orange Box package. Pick this one up while you can still find it, even if you've already played the hell out of Persona 3. Absolutely worth the time, and it'll hold your attention for the entire ride.