Persona 4 Review
After a long ten year hiatus from the world Persona 3 came in and re-invented the wheel. Now, with the Persona series at a rebirth period, Persona 4 comes in to capitalize on it. While not entirely a whole new experience, Persona 4 adds just enough detail, adjust some game play mechanics and adds a bunch of new features that Make it seem like it is.
You (the silent protagonist) are being transferd from the bustling city to the quiet town in Inaba to live with your Unlce Dojima and his Daughter Nanako for one year. After entering high school you quickly befriend Youske a cool and comedic guy, Chie a hyper active tomboy and Yukkiko a shy and smart girl. As the good times begin to start rolling they unfortunately do not last very long. As a series of mysterious deaths begin to haunt the town of Inaba, along with the rumor of the Midnight Channel where it is said that if you look into a blank TV alone at midnight you will see your true love.
Upon certain circumstances you decide to investigate the matter along with your friends. As it turns out you have the ability to enter a TV and be brought into an alternate world where it turns out the this world is where all the murders are taking place. You and your friends decide that only you can save all other possible murder victims from certain doom and must also solve the weird case and world surrounding them.
In this world, you have the ability to summon a Persona, a alter ego of yourself. In game play terms Persona are used as a means to be your skills and abilities. While all other party members are just restricted to one Persona you are capable of holding many. You can hold up to nine Persona’s at once while other ones will be help in a compendium for you to summon (with a certain price) at a later time. And you can switch between them (one per turn) during battle.
Battles are the regular turn-based system with a twist. Both you and your enemies have certain weakness affinity’s so trying to figure out the enemies weakness is important. Not only do you deal extra damage for exploiting the weakness, but the enemy goes into a down position. Manage to down all the enemies on screen and you can preform and All-Out Attack which is a comical, cartoonish attack where all members in your group preform a type of dog pile on the enemies for massive amounts of damage. Not only do the enemies become downed when you exploit there weakness but you are given an extra turn to attack. So if all enemies are the same type, you can basically keep attacking till there all down to preform the All-Out attack. However, the enemies are given the same opportunity to exploit each of your party’s weakness and also get that extra turn. So it sometimes becomes a race to find the enemies weakness and exploit it before they exploit yours.
Shin Megami games are known for it’s rather high difficulty and this game is no exception. Properly strategizing your moves and remembering what each Persona is weak to what can become key to victory. In some occasions they deliberately make you fight a more fearsome foe but with proper strategizing it can be a much easier hassle. Boss battle tend to get harder at a very fast pace and the hidden bosses posses much more strategy. A lot of the time it comes down to having the proper Persona and proper skill. Most other Shin Megami tend to heavy on the stat buffing and de-buffing in battles, but Persona 4 seems to keep at a less frequent pace.
Gameplay is split into two halves. One being a classic dungeon crawler as you try to save each potential murder victim in a uniquely themed dungeon. While the other is a type of dating sim where you control the main character on a day by day basis. While you and your party members are trying to solve the murder case you are still a High School student. You must study for exams, make friends and just about anything else relating to High School. Social Links also make a welcomed return in to Persona 4 which is somewhat of the dating sim mentioned before. Social Links are obtained when befriending someone related to a tarot card theme. As you spend time with each Social Link character you grow closer as friends which also strengthens every related Persona of the corresponding tarot card. Befriending party members not only strengthen Persona’s in there category but also give you advantages in battle ranging from saving you from a mortal blow or simply smacking you back to your senses. So it really does benefit you to befriend as many people as possible.
Story is not progressed in terms of plot placed destinations but rather on a daily schedule. As a high school student, you have to manage your days between improving your S.Links or improving your own personal stats. These stats are more like personality stats which are needed to develop S.Links. They range from Courage, Knowledge, Understanding, Charm and Expression. When trying to improve your S.Links you’ll be given dialog choices that will either improve your relationship or just keep them as is. However, there are times when you will want to say something but can’t because your lacking in that area. Without enough courage you may not be able to express your love to some girl you like, without understanding you may not be able to say the right thing, if you don’t have enough knowledge some people may not even want to talk to you. So improving your personal stats and improving your S.Links are a must. The problem is properly managing between the two. The games day by day system limits you on the things you can do. You can’t split your afternoon between hanging out with a friend and then go and work on your charm you have to choose either or. Early on, you may seem to get the feeling that your not really improving bet rest assured that so long as you are doing something it will add up in the end.
As hard as it is to properly manage between the two it gets even harder when a new dungeon must be explored. As you try and solve each possible murder case you must enter the TV world to save the victim. Each victim has there own corresponding dungeon with it’s own psychological theme involved. As the victim enters the TV world they must deal with there inner self and you must save them before they our devoured by the shadows of that world. If that so happens you will be sent back one week to try again. Having different themed dungeons brings a much needed change of scenery that Persona 3 was lacking. The only way to enter the TV world is by choosing to do so in the afternoon which will most likely alter your plans. Choosing exactly when to go ahead and enter the dungeon can alter your time management and deciding to either to do the dungeon all in one go or take it at a slower pace is entirely up to you. Fortunately the game saves where you left off in the dungeon so you don’t have to worry about reaching a checkpoint.
Obtaining Persona’s are done in two ways. First on e occurring during your battles where you may be given a choice to play a card mini game. If you choose a Persona card then you obtain it, choose any other and different cards have different effects such as zero experience or just nothing at all. The other method is by way of fusion. You can manually choose either two or three different Persona’s to fuse into one stronger one. The new Persona may carry on certain skills of the old one that it otherwise wouldn’t of learned. One thing you must get accustomed to is letting go of your weaker Persona’s, once they level up high enough they will stop learning skills so it is advised then to fuse them into a stronger Persona. There are also other special Persona’s that can very from fusing four to eight certain Persona’s. All of the information of which Persona you have obtained is kept in a Compodium which you can go and bring back old Persona’s you’ve used in the past for a certain price.
Graphically Persona 4 isn’t a technical marvel but it still has a nice look to it. Persona 4 relies on a stylized look which combines its anime art style with a blend of trendy designs. Persona 4 used more of its style to get its point across rather then rely on a cinematic feel. Anime cut-scenes once again make an appearance and look a lot better then what was in Persona 3. Although the in-game engine hasn’t really received a big upgrade they changed this around with the new camera perspective. It’s more third person then over the top and the camera isn’t fix in towns, it moves with you. Though the town itself is just broken apart into small sections they are a lot bigger and there’s more of it to explore.
In the audio department the music remains true to the art style, unique. Best way to put it is think J-Pop but in english. While Persona 3 had a bit more fast paced vibe it went well with the location of a busy city, so in Persona 4’s case it’s a lot more laid back in nature. There will be times when a certain song will be overplayed for certain events but that is the only negative. One may be disappointed that Reach Out to the Truth is the only battle song you get (aside from boss battles),but that song is highly addictive so it never feels old.
You always expect a certain higher degree of voice acting from Atlus and Persona 4 is no different. Yuri Lowenthal is back again but this time as the comedic friend and he plays his part very well. It’s nice to know not only can he play a different different character then the regular emo driven warriros he’s given but also play these roles as well. Amanda Win Lee, Troy Baker and Jessica Straus all bring there characters to life with the proper emotion needed. Johnny Bosch who duel roles as the Main Character and Adachi plays his roles well. The Main Character is limited to very few words and it seems to be in his favor, as he just sounds bad ass all the time. As for Adachi, being the fumbling detective it goes well with his laid back voice that he has. This is probably Johnny Bosch in his best video game role yet. Another stand out is Dave Wittenberg who plays the cheerful mascot Teddie. Again much like Yuri Lowenthat, Dave Wittenberg surprised me when he can go from a silent cool guy to well… this. It really shows how well of a cast this is. Laura Bailey who plays Rise is good in her cutscenes but when it comes to in battle chatter she seems very dead which goes against her character. The one big problem was Tracey Rooney who plays the role of Chie. Tracey Rooney has been out of the Voice Acting business for some time and seeing her get a role like Chie is, well, odd. Her voice doesn’t naturally fit with the character and while I can tell she is trying her best it just seems like a poor casting decision.
Persona 4’s story is just as unique as its predecessors. There’s nothing like trying to tell a friend that the story consists of a murderer throwing its victims in to the TV and must go inside of it to rescue them. While the search for the murderer is your main quest there are a lot of moments in the story that make you understand your party more. Persona 3 tended to have a very serious tone through out the game with a bit of comedy on the side but in Persona 4, there’s a bit more of a balance. Each character has a bit of a quirky side and it makes each character more relatable. While you go through your everyday trying to level up your S.Links certain plot points come during the month come around that will break up the pattern for a much needed break. All in all Persona 4 presents a story unlike any other and will leave you caring about the characters.
One of Persona’s themes are about self realization. And it comes into play with the S.Links. Each S.Link character will have his or her own problems to face. By talking to the Main Character they begin to understand themselves bit by bit until they fully understand themselves. S.Links are a very nice change from the main story line as it just shows that what you are doing is oblivious to just about everyone else as they have there own problems to deal with. Most stories can be rather generic but it’s a fun ride while it lasts. Probably my favorite one is the Strength S.Link as it deals with two best Friends and yourself so it doesn’t always feel like there just talking to a wall. One problem I had with the S.Links are with the main party. It’s nice to see another side of your party’s characters but a lot of the story lines end up being very predictable or just some story that was poorly written. Though those are only a few so it won’t happen too much.
Self realization not only comes into play with the S.Links but with the story as well. As each murder victim enters the TV world a dungeon is created to suit there inner self. In the dungeon they must deal with the deeper feelings they have about themselves and others. These bits of story are both varied and entertaining. Ranging from someone who thinks everything is a video game to someone who deals with there sexual preference. It gives you great motivation to continue exploring the dungeons as they express themselves on each floor. Also seeing the murder victims dealing with there inner self can be fairly entertaining and in some cases surprising.
Persona 4 is a game that will leave you feeling satisfied both in terms of quality and quantity. A possible second run with max personality stats is enough to wonder how things may change early on and also a secret boss. While the story will leave you engaged and motivated the battle system will leave you satisfied and wanting more. Persona 4 doesn’t just rely on how good of a game Persona 3 was and uses it to create another game, but also uses it as a base to start off on and improve on all aspects of it. If your looking for a game that will have you feel for the characters and have you engaged in a unique story line Persona 4 is definitely a good choice.
