Despite being in the somewhat enviable position (depending on your perspective) of being a Japanese videogame translator, I have traditionally taken little away from my time with JRPGs. Well that is not strictly true in that, like many of my age, I did spend far too much time in my early teens obsessing over classics such as Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger, Tales of Mana etc., but in general, as time has passed, my interest in the genre has faded. I dabbled in the beautiful Ni no Kuni on the PS3 and also in later entries in the Final Fantasy series (even managing to derive some element of pleasure from XII), but otherwise the genre has been lost to me for over a decade now.

But when passing through the pages and forums of the gaming magazines and websites I respect and enjoy, I all too often come across the sentiment that I am missing out on something truly special if I do not give the Persona series a fair chance. Not doing so, it seems, is at best just being willfully ignorant, and at worst tantamount to sacrilege. So when Persona 4 Golden appeared on a recent PSN sale I felt compelled to purchase it. Despite my leanings away from the genre, I was curious and was eager to see what all the fuss was about. I did not go in expecting to be converted to a JRPG fan overnight, but I did hope to gain some insight into what it was that inspired such fandom in so many people.

First impressions were entirely favourable. A grounded and slightly sinister animated opening followed by an unorthodox, yet intriguing, set up. The game brimmed with potential. I couldn’t wait to see how it explored the many complexities of Japanese teenage-life, balancing the often contradictory demands of attending class, taking exams, forging an identity, making friends, avoiding bullies and dealing with an existence in a strange and slightly alien countryside town. Add to that a narrative thread that promised to delve into the complex relationship between your now guardian uncle, a single-father all too often absent through work, and his precocious yet lonely daughter, and I was hooked. As the first day of school ended with police sirens and a dead body dangling awkwardly over a household’s television aerial, I felt like I was on the verge of something great.

It is difficult to say exactly when it was that Persona 4 Golden lost me, but by the time I saw the credits roll all I felt was elation that I had finally escaped the drudgery. So much of the promise shown early on in the game had given way to the exact same trappings that had turned me off other titles in the genre previously, namely repetition and a puerile take on storytelling. What could have been unique and interesting side activities, such as going to football practice or joining a social club, quickly became dull, monotonous experiences that were nothing but a chore to sit through. What promised to be a mature look at teenage life was soon watered down to a level that would make Saved by the Bell appear edgy in comparison.

Grinding, be it through these side activities or through the main game’s dungeons (in their various forms), is, like every other JRPG I have played, a central core to the game’s progression. For all the subtleties involved in the Persona and Social Link systems, the battles still essentially come down to a contest of stats, and that, after a while, just becomes a slog. Fail to level yourself up enough and you run the risk of being defeated in one fell swoop, regardless of your approach to the battle. Now I will freely admit that it is unfair of me to hold this one aspect against the game when levelling up is common throughout many genres (and is present in many games that I love), but when it is combined with the uninspired JRPG dungeon-crawl then I simply cannot find enjoyment within its structure.

I could perhaps forgive the side activities at least if there was some element of interactivity to master in them, but the game would not even give me that. Instead what I got was a number of short and almost entirely passive scenes through which the game delivered me boosts in certain personality stats. Again this can almost be looked past given that some of these mini-dramas were actually quite interesting in concept, if not execution, but the truth is that when my time in the town of Inaba came to an end I felt a lonely character. Upon reaching a max level social bond with my football teammates they suddenly stopped asking me to practice. Upon achieving the maximum level bond with Chie, she suddenly stopped asking me to go out on dates. Sure, I may have achieved certain unique abilities or boosts in battle and in my Persona card dealings through these friendships, but from a story perspective what was the point in my spending so much time with these people? I guess I could always have tried to become better friends with Yosuke or Yukiko or whoever, but as I found their personalities a little grating, why would I force myself through that? It’s a role playing game after all and I played the role as close to reality as it would allow me. Maybe my ultimate loneliness says more about me than the game, but still that is how I chose to play the game and that is as valid as any other way.

If I come across as a little cynical then I guess it is because the game genuinely promised so much, but ultimately (for me) delivered little. Even when I thought it was going to be brave enough to tackle the issue of a young male character (Kanji) learning to accept his apparent homosexuality it pulled up short. I have read interviews with the developers explaining that they wanted the gamer to draw their own judgements on whether Kanji actually was or wasn’t gay, and heard arguments from others defending the assertion that Japanese sensibilities to these issues do not naturally accommodate such black or white conclusions, but for me that is a cop-out. The game goes to great lengths to show us how every other character MUST come to accept their true selves if they are to be happy, yet with Kanji that acceptance seems to be one of accepting that he is in limbo rather than one of accepting his true feelings (be they gay, straight or bi). It is just another example for me of the infantile approach the game takes to what are actually incredibly interesting issues. The same can be laid at the feet of the story between Nanako and her father. The game constantly hints at their fraught relationship, yet never has the balls to confront it directly. There are moments, such as Ryotaro coming home drunk and aggressive, or Nanako’s desire for her “big bro” to keep her company where it comes close to breaching this wall, but again the conclusions are always skin deep. Perhaps if I had chosen to develop my bond with Nanako further then I may have learned more, but through the prism of my playthrough I found the whole affair shallow and more than a little disappointing.

Persona 4 Golden is a game that has a decidedly partisan fan base, and I doubt my thoughts on the game will do anything to change that. As with all opinions they are entirely subjective, and what I might take from a game will be completely different to what the next person will. Therefore , I do not wish to denigrate others who did actually enjoy their experience with the game, just simply express a counterpoint to what seems to be a commonly held assertion that this is a classic of the genre. Sure, many of my opinions are probably clouded by my general dislike of JRPG tropes, but I would like to think myself old and experienced enough to overcome these biases. I gave the game a fair crack of the whip, and for a while, I was right there with it. But when I took that last train out of Inaba and back to the big city I felt little in the way of sadness or longing. I simply felt relieved that I could finally leave that episode in my life behind.

Did Persona 4 Golden re-spark my interest in the JRPG genre? Sadly, the answer would have to be no. If it would have had the confidence to stick to its early guns and tell a more thoughtful and mature story with none of the more monotonous genre trappings then I might be sitting here singing its praises, but as it is I find myself exhausted, deflated and in dire need of venting. I think for me, the genre will forever be defined by my first experience with Final Fantasy VII, and while I accept that many love this style of game and find no frustrations in the places where I do, in the end it is probably best I just accept (as the game wills me to do) that I simply do not like it. Final Fantasy XV though… Hmmmm

Here are a few comments and questions I have. (Not to change your mind of course. I'm just curious/feel like saying a few things)

• When you say you beat the game, did you get the True Ending? This won't change your overall opinion, but I'm just curious if you managed to see ALL of the story. Did you go back to Junes on your last day in Inaba and saw who was really behind everything? Did you get the extended epilogue when you go back to Inaba?
• Did you Max out Marie's Social Link? Somebody who is playing Persona 4 for the first time probably wouldn't know this, but Marie is one of the bigger additions to P4G. Her Social Link increases some interaction with the rest of your party members. (Example: You go downtown and bump into Chie and Yukiko) I've also heard that if you don't max out her Social Link, then the game runs shorter and you also don't go inside Marie's dungeon and get that mini-arc during the winter vacation trip. This might also affect whether or not you get the epilogue, I think.
• Which Social Links did you max out? I ask this because Kanji's Social Link goes more in depth with his character. It doesn't comment so much on whether or not he is gay. Instead it takes a different approach to his character where he sort of accepts that he is into crafts, sewing, etc. and it doesn't matter that he isn't worried about appearing manly, tough, etc. Also, Nanako and Dojima's Social Links go into their struggles. (Nanako being alone. Dojima throwing himself into his work. Both of them not over the fact that they had a death in the family.) This isn't really developed in the main game. Instead if you want more closure on these arcs, you should ideally max out both Social Links. It sounds like you didn't max out Nanako, but did you see the rest of Dojima's arc?
• To me I always viewed the school and Social Link parts of the story as a visual novel. So that's why I'm fine with a lot of those activities aren't focused on mini games. (Like you go to band practice and don't have to play a band mini game) I could see somebody wanting more things to "do" during these periods, but I was always fine with it. As an aside, Persona 3 has more regular breaks between dungeon crawling and school life. Typically that game has shorter cutscenes (I love them all, but there are times when the story in P4G just goes on and on for a while) Also in terms of the gameplay mechanics, P3 has a fatigue mechanic which prevents you from staying in the dungeons forever and you are always working on clearing the dungeons in preparations for a full moon, instead of waiting for somebody to be kidnapped.

I'm curious in what you did or thought of those couple of things, because I love these games to death. I would say P4G is my favorite game of all-time.

That said, it definitely is not for everyone. Gameplay wise it is a dungeon crawler with some Pokemon hooks. The story is long ass hell. (It takes 2 hours before you can even really do anything. That's kinda nuts!) You go through a dungeon with 8 to 12 floors, play rock, paper, scissors with more or less the same shadows for that entire dungeon, you level up, fuse more Personas and repeat. Besides the dungeon crawling, you are just deciding which event you want to do. (Who you want to talk to, do you want to raise Understanding or Courage, do you want to go fishing, etc.) And a person's enjoyment with that is dependent on what they get out of those characters or the story.

One of my friend's favorite characters is Yosuke. After playing the game 3 times and doing an on and off again 4th playthrough, I can tell you I Yosuke is probably my least favorite character from the main cast. Or somebody could pick Theater instead of Band. Again, as someone who played this game way too much, I can say the Band Sun Social Link is more interesting (and just overall better) than what you get from the Theater Social Link. But that's just my opinion. Somebody could connect with Theater more than Band. (Side Note: My favorite characters are Chie and Naoto)

The school/Social Link section of the game is more rewarding based on how much you like those story arcs, characters, etc. I would also argue it depends on how many you see to completion. This is one of the reasons I really love the game's New Game+. You are more or less maxed out with all of your personality traits so you can talk to Dojima almost immediately and become a tutor the day the job is posted. You can beat all of the dungeons in one day, so you can maximize how much time you spend with people. And as I sort of implied earlier, the Social Links with the Investigation Team, Dojima, Nanako, and Marie are more meaningful and have a greater impact than the sports teams. Especially with the Investigation Team, they have confronted their True Selves, but they're still growing/thinking about themselves after the fact.

And yeah, it is kind of weird that when you max out a Social Link, you can't hang out with a person again. Persona 3 is worse actually, because some of those arcs were focused a little bit on the dramatic. So you would meet a person, become their best friend ever, and then by Rank 10 a huge life event would happen (moving away from Japan, moving away from the city, coming to peace with the fact that they are GOING TO DIE OF A TERMINAL DISEASE!!) and basically say "Farewell". On paper, I know this is weird. Like, if Chie or Rise became your girlfriend, wouldn't you be spending A LOT more time with them, instead of practically never hanging out with them again? However, since I sort of treat those parts as a visual novel, I sort of think that "This is the end of the story arc. I have closure on this character/story"

Anyways, long comment. Sorry you didn't get out what you were looking for in P4G.

@clagnaught: Thanks for your comments.

So yeah to be honest I didn't max out a lot of the social bonds and therefore didn't get the full insight into a lot of the backstories. Perhaps I should have spent more time doing that than trying to build up my stats to beat the rice bowl challenge (which sadly I never managed), but like I said I tried to role play it as much as possible rather than "game" it as it were. But I'll hold my hands up and say that's on me so my criticisms there can at least be moderated a little.

As for the ending, then yeah I think I got a normal/bad ending. I saved Nanako, but didn't get to see who the real killer was. I didn't throw your man in the TV and left on a train in the Spring. So yeah I know for sure I didn't get the most out of the story, but it's like I said above, I just wanted to role play it rather than go out of my way to see everything the game had to offer.

Anyway, thanks for the comments. Despite what my original post says, I didn't actually hate the game. I was just a little disappointed in it.

@kmfrob: I get where you're coming from with the role playing aspects. "Gaming" the system, I feel, is a New Game+ sort of thing. To put it simply, it is impossible to do everything since you are on a time limit. With the rainy day meat bowl challenge, you can't really do that until your New Game+ anyway. I mean you could do it in one save file, but there's no real payoff if you actually do manage to finish it.

So if you are curious, here what you are supposed to do to proceed with the story:

So yeah, you actually have a pretty decent chunk of the game left, believe it or not. You have (I won't specifically say what happens or with who, but I'll go ahead and cover this up with spoilers anyways):

• Figuring out who the killer is
• One more dungeon
• Christmas and some holiday events
• (If you max out Marie's Social Link): The winter vacation and an extra dungeon that wasn't in the original Persona 4
• Some spring events
• The day before you leave town
• One more dungeon that leads to the True Ending
• The day you "really" leave town. (As opposed to everybody being sad and you getting on the train and leaving Inaba through the fog)
• The epilogue which is only in Persona 4 Golden

I'm not sure how motivated you are to see any of that stuff, but all of those things are satisfying (The True Ending is actually good, especially when you compare it to the bad ending when you just leave town without figuring out who the killer is). Gameplay wise it's more or less the same, so that might not interest you though.

Again, it's my favorite videogame, so I'm biased!

I read up to the part where you said that the turn based combat is all about stats. That's just not true. They matter, but if you're good at the game, you can beat it without having to grind much at all.

@believer258: Fair enough.