107retrostationQAnime-quality cutscenes are sprinkled throughout. QYou’ll never want to say goodbye to your friends. QChoice is the name of the game in combat.
A
s good as Persona
5 is – and we really
are in love with it,
awarding it a perfect
10 back in OPM #134- it could never erase
our memories of the
previous game in the series. Persona 4
was, and still is, something truly
special. Its warmth, humour, depth,
and incredible atmosphere earned it a
dedicated following across the world.
Oh, and then there’s the soundtrack!
When people discover Persona 5,
one of the first things they’ll enthuse
about is the jazz-funk soundtrack.
Similarly, Persona 4 enjoys one of the
greatest, most memorable soundtracks
in gaming. It’s 90% pitch-perfect J-pop,
and its contribution to the quality of
the experience cannot be overstated.
There’s sunny, happy pop for hanging
out with friends, music with a more
urgent beat for dungeons, the light yet
grand Velvet Room theme... heck, even
the in-game supermarket has a catchy
jingle! It’s full of tracks we love to listen
to outside of the game. We’ll never get
sick of Heartbeat, Heartbreak, ever.
The game may contain a family pack
of Persona tropes (mute protagonist,
high school student characters, the
option to romance female friends, rock-
paper-scissors turn-based combat, and
more) but they’re very easy to accept
alongside all the outstanding aspects.
The story is furiously inventive, the
dialogue and acting both superb and
sometimes genuinely funny, and the
combat will please any fan of turn-
based violence. The beating heart of
Persona 4, however, is to be found in
its characters, and how they interact
with one another.RISE UP
There is a lot – and we mean a lot – of
talking in this game. We don’t begrudge
a single syllable, though. This is how you
gettoknowandlovetheunforgettablecast: the optimistic and goofy Yosuke;
the outspoken and fiercely loyal kung-
fu-fighting Chie; Rise, the idol struggling
to balance her fame with leading a
normal life; our adorable honorary little
sister Nanako; and, er, everybody else.
Although the story isn’t afraid to dig
around in some dark corners, covering
social anxiety, murder, and fear for
the safety of a child, it is ultimately
a warm and loving game full of warm
and loving characters. This is why
people adore the game so.
How else do you explain the fact
that not only the game’s name, but
the main cast transitioned to entirely
new genres? There are two beat-
’em-ups and a dancing rhythm game
tagged ‘Persona 4’, all with lengthy
stories attached. Fans simply cannot
get enough of Yosuke and the rest of
the gang, so they moved sideways into
completely different games. And in
case you were wondering, yes, those
stories are great, too.
Persona 4 Golden, a PS Vita remake
of the PS2 original, came to us in
Europe in 2013. It brought not only
improved graphics, but a whole new
dungeon, and introduced a character,
amnesiac Marie, who, against all odds,
fitted into the story seamlessly. There
were more Persona (beings you collect
and order around in battle) too, not to
mention different animated sequences,
and additional difficulty levels for
anybody who found the original version
of the game too easy or too hard.
Oh, and more dialogue options, story
events, and a new epilogue. P4G set a
bar for remasters and remakes that no
other game has reached.Every month we celebrate the most important,
innovative, or just plain great games from
PlayStation’s past. This month we prove the
exception to the rule ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’
with the definitive version of a legendary JRPG
Persona of interest
Persona 4
Golden
CLASSIC GAMEULTIMATELY A WARM
AND LOVING GAME FULL
OF WARM AND LOVING
CHARACTERS.