Golden Indeed
Yes, Persona 4 Golden is a remake of a PS2 game for a struggling and expensive platform. Two things that are normally deal breakers for most games end up being insignificant blemishes on this updated classic.
Going in to this review you can already tell what I think of it. They perfected an already incredible game. Persona 4 for the PS2 is highly regarded as one of the finest JRPGs despite being launched so late in to the life of the PS2, well after the launch of the Xbox 360 and PS3. Upon playing you will quickly realize that it doesn't feel old for that very reason. A modern game launched on an aging platform. So here we have Persona 4 Golden, a re-release of a modern game, this time on a modern console.
For those of you new to Persona, the series is known for having strong JRPG roots while including social sim elements where you play out each day, go to school, make friends and in your off time explore dungeons. Much like Final Fantasy each title is separate and doesn't require previous entries. If this is your first Persona game, you picked a good one.
Your character arrives in the secluded town of Inaba, Japan to live with his Uncle for one year while your parents are away on business. You'll go to school, take jobs, join clubs and help raise your cousin Nanako. Not all is peaceful in Inaba though. Mere days after arriving you'll find yourself deep in a murder mystery where bodies are turning up on foggy days in the town and you must explore a mysterious world inside TV sets (yes, you crawl into a TV) to battle shadows and rescue victims.
The game is split in two with social gameplay allowing you to make friends, decide how to spend your day and make choices that impact your relationships. The other half of the game is made up of classic JRPG dungeon crawling with turn based combat, leveling up even includes a Pokemon like system where you collect different persona, and can use them in your fights.
If you've already played the PS2 release you'll be familiar with how you play, but for this re-release they have added a lot of content to draw you back in. Gameplay elements that were lacking have been tweaked and fixed to make it a much smoother and enjoyable experience such as the ability to select Persona fusions from a list rather than trying over and over. The biggest bonus here is additional content that will make existing fans happy and provides a larger and much richer experience for newcomers. New events scattered though the year, a new character for social links (the game's form of 'friendship') and a whole new dungeon. There are also more months added on to the end of the game including a very special epilogue that will please previous players. Fanservice seems to have been the focus of this edition.
I was really impressed with all the extra social events. It would have been easy to re-colour some enemies and throw in a few new dungeons, but they didn't. It has the polish and scope of a full RPG even in the new content. Ultimately, being able to spend more time with the characters is a great excuse to pick this up again. On the Vita no less! The best game on the system, and a system seller if you don't already own one.
Buy now, lose yourself in Persona 4 with that added golden touch.
