Aegis: The First Mission

Aegis: The First Mission (アイギス THE FIRST MISSION, Aigisu Za Fāsuto Misshon) is a game designed for Japanese feature phones that stars Aegis set in May of 1999, 10 years before the events of Persona 3.

Controls
Aegis is controlled using the phone's directional pad. 0 is used to attack, and enter causes Aegis to jump. Pressing jump twice allows Aegis to perform a double jump. The right software key summons Palladion. The left software key is used to bring up the menu. Aegis gains experience and money by defeating Shadows. The experience allows her to grow stronger, unlocking new skills and equipment to purchase, and the money is used to purchase items from the laboratory.

Combat
Aegis may use three weapons: guns to shoot faraway multiple targets, the grenade launcher for a single target and the drill for melee. Aegis may also summon Palladion, which has four abilities learned by leveling up. Two are physical attacks on enemies that are impervious to Aegis' normal attacks, while the third one includes a "stun" attack, and the fourth ability is an escape ability, allowing Aegis to escape from battles or the dungeon to return to the Kirijo Laboratory.

Plot
The storyline follows Aigis, an Anti-Shadow weapon transported to the Kirijo Ergonomics Research Laboratory in Yakushima Island in May 1999. Aegis wakes up on the island in the lab to Souta Aizawa, her trainer. She is dazed, and Aizawa believes that she is broken. Later, Yuu Kimijima, who now leads her development after taking over from her predecessor arrives and they argue for a short time. After that, Aegis participates in her first exercise, where it is revealed that the facility are using modified shadows for the purposes of Aigis's training. Yuu and Souta argue over whether Aegis should talk and act like a robot/soldier, which leads to Yuu tearing up over how Aegis is treated only as a machine and how harsh Souta is towards her.

On the second day of the exercise, we are introduced to 2 other researchers at the facility: Kyouka Sayama (Who is in charge of equipment and armaments) and Eiichiro Takeba. Aegis is shown how to summon her Persona, Palladion, which leaves Souta in awe of her power. Later, Aegis travels outside to participate on a field exercise where she must gather passcodes to open a gate. After this, she is tasked with defeating a much more powerful shadow on the peak of a mountain. After this, Souta and Yuu meet with her on her way back, however as they meet, a stray shadows appears. Aegis engages it on a bridge, however the bridge collapses and she is sent falling down into a river heading to the sea.

On the third day, Aegis awakens to a young boy named ‘Takashi Tomari ’ after washing up on a beach. Takashi is amazed upon learning that Aegis is a robot, and he apparently has some form of ‘interest’ in her (Which is heavily implied to be love) Aegis acts aloof but is charmed and intends to return back to the lab upon experiencing these new emotions. She begins to question why she exists and whether these feelings are a malfunction or her intended programming.

She then meets with Kyouka. Later, Aegis encounters more shadows. Kyouka is amazed by this as the exercise was called off and the shadows are outside of the exercise area. She then instructs Aegis to return to the lab immediately, acting as her navi due to Souta not being able to communicate with her. On her way, she meets with Takashi again where she comes close to expressing her feelings with him. Kyouka comments on this and implies that she believes that Aegis is interested in Takashi romantically, even though she is a machine that should not be able to have such emotions.

After facing another powerful shadow inside a passageway that allows her to travel over the cliffs, Aegis is reunited with Yuu.

After that the team reconvene and are given orders to halt all exercises and focus their efforts on destroying the shadows. Suddenly, Kyouka picks up a large signal from a shadow on a beachside. Aegis is sent out immediately to dispatch it. However, she is interrupted by a monkey that leads her to a young child that appeared to have fallen down sometime earlier. Aegis carries the child back to the lab, concerned for her safety. Later, Souta argues with Yuu again claiming that she doesn’t care about the child or human life, but they are interrupted by the realisation that the girl is missing. Aegis is sent out again the next morning to look for the girl.

After finding the girl, Aegis is promised that if she takes some photographs of Yakushima for the girl she’ll give her a key that she needs to progress. Yuu tells Aegis about some of the popular tourist sites on Yakushima as she does this, and reveals that she lived on Yakushima until middle school. She makes particular note of a Tree called the ‘Miroku Cedar’ that is said to have strange powers. Aegis returns and gives the photos over to the girl.

They arrive at the beach, the shadows appear to have left. They decide to wait in case the shadows arrive at night. Some time later Yuu starts talking to Aegis about her past and her childhood. She reveals that after moving from Yakushima, she was lonely and had few friends, but Aizawa would protect her and was a close friend. Even though Yuu appears distraught at revisiting these memories, Aegis perceives that she is happy in doing so. Aegis acknowledges that her main purpose is to destroy shadows, but implies that she wishes her life to have a greater meaning. Yuu confesses that Aegis is the source of her happiness and so long as she has her she will continue to be happy. Aegis continues to struggle with her emotions and what ‘happiness’ is, but Yuu believes that one day Aegis will understand what ‘happiness’ truly means, even if she is a machine.

They are interrupted by a large group of powerful shadows that emerge from the beach shore. After defeating them, Aegis returns to the lab. The day after, they are given orders directly from Takeharu Kirijo to fight to the death to ensure the safety of the civilians on the island. Takeharu also mentions that it is likely that the fighting will result in the loss of Aegis. Yuu is taken aback by this, and leaves to compose herself, however she doesn’t return. Souta takes her place as leader immediately and insists that they continue fighting as per Takeharu’s orders. Kyouka reports a large signal near the waterfall, and Aegis is sent there to engage the shadows.

Upon arriving, Aegis finds a maze-like set of caverns behind the waterfall. After obtaining keys (that seem to imply this is a shrine of some sort), she fights another powerful shadow and exits onto an opening on a large cliff face. After traversing this, she finds herself back at the beach. Takashi happens to be there and calls out to her. Takashi talks to Aegis and reveals that he went to Yakushima to relax from a stressful life, with his main goal of passing entrance exams and going to university. However, he says that even with that, he doesn’t quite know where he sits in life, and he would like to stay on Yakushima. He implies that Aegis is able to quieten his anxiety and apparent depression.

They are interrupted by Yuu who questions who Takashi is. Yuu notices that they are emotionally close, forbidding Aegis from meeting with Takashi in future and signalling her to leave. But before leaving, she says that Takashi must be special to attract Aegis’s attention, and that he must have a ‘special power’. She says that if Takashi is interested, he should go to the lab and talk to her. Takashi is intrigued by her proposition.

Later that night, Yuu and Souta meet outside the lab. Souta confronts Yuu on disappearing earlier and Yuu admits that she feels pointless in the research group, and that she should move on and that she was foolish for not doing so. Souta admits that he thinks of her as a genius and that she should be proud of Aegis. Yuu admits that Aegis is her life, but acknowledges that Aegis isn’t the same as a real human and that she wants to make her like so. Souta leaves and Yuu stays, making a remark about how she won’t be ‘held down’, before the scene ends.

The next morning, the team meet at the lab again, but Yuu is nowhere to be found. They gather and discuss, and Eiichiro reveals how the shadows function to Souta. The shadows appear to be mutating and increasing in numbers. While it is possible for the shadows to consume people and turn them into shadows, Eiichiro says that the majority of the shadows on the island are mutated from animals native to the island. They also detect that the shadows appear to be converging at a central point, and that they may be fusing to make an even larger shadow. They decide to send Aegis out to find Yuu, worrying about her safety, before continuing on with the mission.

Just by the Miroku Cedar where they met previously, Aegis finds Yuu. Yuu says that she isn’t going back to the lab, and talks to Aegis about what it means to have life. Aegis still does not understand the concept of living outside of having a purpose as a machine, but Kimijima confesses that she sees Aegis as more than a machine and that she wants others to see her true beauty and humanity. Aegis becomes increasingly conflicted by her role as a machine and her ability to have human-like emotions. Yuu says that she has business to attend to and sends Aegis on her way back.

At the lab, Aegis reports her interaction with Yuu, it is discovered that a controller has gone missing from the lab, and it is believed that Yuu took it before leaving. Eiichiro says that while it can control shadows, it has only a small range and could only ever affect a few shadows at a time. A large signal is detected at the Miroku Cedar just where Yuu was earlier, and Aegis is sent out to investigate.

Aegis arrives at the Miroku Cedar and discovers a strange light emitting from the entrance, and it is thought to indicate the source of the shadows. Aegis enters into another maze-like set of caverns, lured deeper and deeper into the maze by a stray shadow that she believes to be the shadow she fought on the bridge that collapsed earlier in the game.

Upon reaching the bottom of the maze, Kyouka reports that there is a large signal nearby just behind a door. Upon opening it, Aegis discovers a vast arena-like space with stairs that lead up. Aegis hears a woman’s voice at the top of the stairs and discovers that it is none other than Yuu Kimijima, who has been waiting. Aegis cannot comprehend why Yuu would be doing this and believes that it is her fault and that she is defective in some way. Yuu denies this and re-asserts that Aegis isn’t a machine and tries again to explain that she isn’t a machine; that she has a heart, a personality and Yuu’s main intention in leading her development was to allow her to become just the same as a human. Aegis still doesn't’ understand and Yuu becomes frustrated with her.

They are interrupted by Souta who rushes into the arena and tries to talk Yuu out of her plans. Yuu declines, and reveals what she has been working on and the source of the large signal; a colossal shadow that is revealed to be a fusion of Takashi Tomari and other shadows, Aegis recognising Takashi by voice. This leads Aegis into a crisis of whether to destroy the shadow and consequently potentially kill Takashi as per her programming or to leave it and protect the life of Takashi; this was Yuu’s intention, her apparent frustrations with Aegis’s inability to accept her emotions led her to this experiment to see whether she would value her programming over saving Takashi.

Aegis is forced to fight the shadow and consequently potentially kill Takashi, deciding it to be the ‘greater good’ to protect a greater number of people. After defeating the shadow, Takashi appears on the ground, unresponsive. Yuu walks down from the stairway to talk to Aegis and Souta. She reveals that the main reason for her ploy was to make Aegis feel some sort of emotion; to allow her to know where her heart should lead her and the true value of a human life, as she was frustrated with her inability to previously. Yuu acknowledges that her actions would likely result in the death of Takashi Tomari, and Aegis feels that this was her fault and apologies to Yuu, who denies this and tells her not to apologise.

Their conversation is interrupted by a stray shadow that appears just behind Aegis. Yuu warns her but pushes her out of the way to shield her from the shadow, resulting in her being mortally wounded. Aegis is incredibly distraught that she wasn’t able to protect Yuu and that that is her purpose as a machine. In her last moments, Yuu asserts that Aegis is not a machine and that she will always see Aegis as human.

As Yuu acknowledges that she has little time left and that her and Aegis will be forever separated, Aegis finally understands her emotions and what it means to be alive and to have a heart. She pledges that she will try her best to become the human that Yuu always wanted her to become. Before she takes her last breaths, Yuu makes her final apology to Aegis and professes that she will always be hers, even in death. Yuu’s eyes close for the last time, Aegis kneeling at her side and Souta standing watch over her; both are grief-stricken and call out her name in anguish.

His grief notwithstanding, Souta instructs Aegis to chase after the shadow that killed Yuu and to defeat it in retribution for the death of his dearest friend. It is supposed that this shadow is the ringleader for the rest of the remaining shadows on the island. After passing through another door at the top of the staircase, Aegis is taken back to the island. She notices the escaping shadow trying to escape into the Miroku Cedar, and upon chasing it she finds it attempting to fuse with the tree itself.

A bright light appears from the tree's entrance, and Aegis is taken to a strange space which appears to be underground. The shadow has mutated with the tree to produce a highly powerful version of itself, a winged being that roughly resembles a tree. Upon defeating the shadow, Aegis is taken back to the island; it is surmised that with the death of the ringleader and the rest of the shadows contained within the Miroku Cedar, all of the shadows have been defeated.

The next scene features Souta Aizawa talking to Kyouka Sayama outside the lab. They express sadness and bitterness at the death of Yuu Kimijima, and Souta reminisces about his childhood memories with her on the island. Takashi Tomari is revealed to be alive and with no serious injuries. However, Kyouka reveals that following the incident, headquarters have decided that Aegis should have all of her memories erased, which infuriates Souta who now apparently sees Aegis in the same way that Yuu did. Kyouka also says that her and Eiichiro are going to be the ones reporting to the Kirijo group, and asks Souta if he wishes to join them. Souta says that he can’t and reveals that the reason he can’t go is that he has a child to take care of, which surprises Kyouka.

Further in their conversation, they that they must do something in Kimijima’s memory, implying that they should try and help Aegis in some way. Later, Aegis returns to the lab and talks to Kyouka and Eiichiro there. Kyouka reveals that she is going to resign in pursue a life where she builds things other than weapons. Which prompts Aegis to reveal that she is not even a year old. Eiichiro says that he intends to stay as a researcher because of ‘important matters’ and that he will follow the example of those that are greater than him.

After that, Aegis returns to the beach to talk with Souta. Aegis knows that she will have her memories erased and that she will forget about all the time that she spent with everyone. She also recognises that what Kimijima did was wrong, but she doesn’t express any anger towards her for that. She also expresses that despite her ability to feel emotions, she is a weapon and that soon she will be called upon again to complete her duties. But, she hopes that one day she will become the human that Kimijima wanted her to be. She clarifies that Yuu was the one that designed her to be able to feel emotions, and that Yuu’s legacy will live on for as long as she exists. They then go on to a more lighthearted discussion about whether or not to swim in the sea, Souta declines and says that Aegis is free to do whatever she wants to do, including speaking like a human and being called by her name.

Aegis thanks Aizawa for his assistance, then exits. The scene fades out, and the exercise is finally concluded. The credits roll and the player is taken back to the title screen.

Characters

 * Aegis (アイギス, Aigisu) - the humanoid Anti-Shadow weapon developed by the Kirijo Group.
 * Yuu Kimijima (君嶋夕) - the scientist who took over from her predecessor as Aegis' development chief. She is friendly and treats Aegis like a human being, and the one who gave Aegis the red ribbon.
 * Souta Aizawa (相沢総太) - Aegis' head instructor with an unlikeable attitude, and at times at odds with Kimijima.
 * Eiichiro Takeba (岳羽詠一郎) - one of the researchers, and Yukari Takeba's father.
 * Kyouka Sayama (狭山京香) - a bespectacled girl who is in charge of Aegis' equipment and items.
 * Mitsuru Kirijo (桐条 美鶴) - daughter of the head of the Kirijo Group.
 * Takashi Tomari (泊 隆志) - A young boy sightseeing on Yakushima that meets with Aigis at various points in the game

Trivia

 * In early press releases by NTT Docomo, the game was entitled "Aegis Zero" but this was soon changed to the later title.