Persona 4 Golden Review

Persona 4 was first released in Japan for PS2 in July 2008. Outside of Japan, the game was referred to as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 and received a North American release in December 2008 while the EU got the back in March 2009. It’s part of the Persona series which is a spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei series. The game was the recipient of various game of year awards and some outlets have included it in their Best games ever lists.

Persona 4 Golden, or Persona 4 The Golden as known in Japan, was announced in 2011 and received a release in 2012 exclusively for the PS Vita. The game was an enhanced version of Persona 4 by adding new Personas, character outfits, additional spoken lines, anime cutscenes, and two new Social Links. As with Persona 3, Persona 4 also spun off into manga and anime. P4 characters can also be found in Persona Q games and Persona 4 Arena games.

Persona 4 Golden tells the story of Yu Narukami who arrives and experiences life in the rural town of Inaba to live with the Dojimas, his uncle Ryotaro and cousin Nanako, for one year, as his parents are working abroad. Shortly after his arrival, a string of mysterious murders starts occurring across town. During an innocent visit to Junes, Yu and his classmate accidentally discover the TV World; an alternate reality accessible via TVs where evil demonic Shadows reign. After meeting Teddie, a TV World resident, they slowly realize that the murders are somehow related to the TV World. Can they solve the mystery before it’s too late?

As with previous Persona entries, Persona 4 Golden is another entry in the famous JRPG genre, Japanese Role Playing Game, where players, as protagonist Yu Narukami, navigate dungeons, encounter enemies, and level up along with up to three additional party members. You can also find and equip stronger gear to give you a leg up on the opposition as progress through the story. As the story moves forward, you’ll meet up with new friends and classmates that will in turn join in your cause.

When you’re not invading and cleansing the TV, Yu needs to live the life of a normal student and stay out of trouble. You’ll have to go to school, study, maintain friendships to progress Social Links (more on that later), and even find a job; which will imply Social Links, getting some money, and improving Yu’s personal traits.

To aid you in battle, along with stronger gear, are Personas, or demons. While Yu’s pals can only use a single demon that can be upgraded as your Social Links get stronger, Yu has the power to hold multiple demons at once. While you can simply mash your way through battle as long as the enemies aren’t blocking physical attacks, exploiting enemies’ weaknesses (and covering your own), elemental or physical, is key to battle, especially against bosses. Using a weakness will stun or even cause a negative status on them. If all enemies are down, you can pull off an All-Out Attack where everyone just into a scuffle with the enemy(ies).

There are a few ways to collect new demons. The most common one will be via Cards shuffle post-battle. Collected demons can be fused as well to create new and stronger demons. As you progress through the game, you’ll unlock different types of fusions: 2 demons, triangle, four demons, etc. Once a demon has been collected or fused, it becomes available for purchase via the Compendium. Additionally, maxing out a Social Link will also unlock a special demon available for fusion that cannot be obtained otherwise.

And yes, as with any RPG, Persona 4 has a bevy of side-quests. There’s the additional dungeon that can be explored (which was added for the re-release). You can also try and read all books that are purchased and given through social interactions. There are also ultra-strong demons to be battled, trying to max out all Social Links, and a fishing mini-game. And obviously, collecting all demons.

As far as the Social Links go, similar to Persona 3 Portable, when one of your classmates as a “!” above their heads, they are available for a conversation that will progress your Social Link with them. As your Social Link levels up, you get bonus XP when fusing demons from the Arcana matching the Social Link. So for example, if the Chariot Arcana, the relationship with Chie, is at level 2, and the resulting demon of a fusion is of the Chariot Arcana, it will gain more XP and be slightly stronger than its base fusion.

While this is another critically acclaimed game finally reaching Xbox consoles, there are a few minor nuisances. In order to do as much as possible during a single playthrough, you need to follow a guide in order to keep up and max out Social Links efficiently. Also one of the latter dungeons has an annoying layout. The fishing mini-game is annoying as hell and seems to exploit RNG mechanics to feel like capturing the big one is nigh impossible. The Hardcore Risette Fan achievement is also an awful, awful achievement.

Atlus and SEGA did a great job giving Persona 4 Golden a nice little HD facelift for current-gen consoles. While characters do look a bit blocky given the game’s original platform, the game looks great and everything, including character movement, and screen transitions is fluid and fast. The soundtrack is another classic score composed by famed composer Shoji Meguro. While the P3P soundtrack had more of a rock/hip-hop vibe, the Persona 4 Golden soundtrack has a bit of jazzy influence to it that makes it extra special. The voiceover work is also well done here; properly executed and does feel like every actor delivered lines with emotion and sincerity.

Persona 4 Golden is another near-perfect RPG that needs to be experienced. The characters are endearing, the story is gripping, boss battles are intense and well-thought-out, combat is simple yet addictive, and demon collecting is also another addictive trait as you can create your ideal demons via fusion. There are a few minor nuisances mentioned above, but they do not hinder the story and the gameplay one bit; unless you plan on getting all Achievements in as few runs as possible. If you’re a fan of the RPG genre, you owe it to yourself to play this amazing little gem.