Acquiring the legendary Twilight Butterfly involves fighting one's way through the unforgiving world of Episode Aigis on its Heartless difficulty setting. This sports the same heart-crushing challenges that Merciless mode does in the base game: all enemies are monstrously more vicious, and player-inflicted damage is lowered greatly. In fact, the only way to select the Heartless difficulty is at the start of a new game; changing any difficulty settings afterward removes that opportunity to revisit Heartless.
After Episode Aigis's defeat, the player is granted a dramatic dialogue sequence with Aigis that leads to eventually gaining the Twilight Butterfly. This can be saved into a Clear Data file, which allows one to reload the moment right before the final battle with Erebus. When one loads this saved file, the Twilight Butterfly will immediately show up within the inventory. This mechanic is reminiscent of how the Blue Envelope is obtained within the main game itself, as it similarly shows up upon completion of the game on Merciless difficulty.
The Meaning of the Butterfly
Unlike how the Blue Envelope can be brought over to New Game+ playthroughs, Episode Aigis does not have such a feature. Due to this, the Twilight Butterfly can only be obtained via the Clear Data save file. Like the Blue Envelope, the Twilight Butterfly doesn't have any functional purpose in the actual game but exists rather as a physical trophy to mark the fact that the player has managed to finish said game at its highest level of difficulty. Doing so is surely something to boast about given the difficulties posed during the initial parts of the game.
Unlike the Blue Envelope, the description of the Twilight Butterfly does not hint at anything specific in the game. The Blue Envelope was believed to be a tease for the then-upcoming Episode Aigis, known as The Answer outside Japan - and proved to be indeed correct. However, the Blue Envelope cannot be carried over into the DLC chapter and is, therefore, ultimately useless. Similarly, the Twilight Butterfly has no actual in-game value either.
Heartless Difficulty
Heartless's setting in Episode Aigis easily challenges even the most seasoned players of Persona 3. Enemies hit far harder, while the player hits far softer. That makes every single encounter incredibly tense and strategic, needing a very cognitive plan of action. The increased challenge also shows mastery of the game's mechanics and the use of effective strategies.
Heartless Mode, all told, is for those players desiring a great and rewarding challenge. Fair warning, though, it can be punishing for those players unprepared for it.
The Twilight Butterfly as a Trophy
Ultimately, the Twilight Butterfly serves as a physical trophy that seals the accomplishment the player reaches once Episode Aigis is finally completed on Heartless setting. While it doesn't bear any value in-game, it's a huge milestone to reach and can be shared with other players-a matter of pride, so to speak.
For those players that enjoy the struggle and sense of satisfaction from overcoming a challenging endeavor, the Twilight Butterfly rewards a tangible prize well worth the effort and frustration-the testament of one's skill and perseverance in being able to triumph over the former.
Now that you know How To Get the Twilight Butterfly in Persona 3 Reload Episode Aigis, follow our guide to find it easily.