Playtime: 80 hours and 16 minutes

Current Feelings: I spiraled into a day of depression after I watched the ending.

Holy crap. This was the sequel Persona 3? Holy crap. Holy crap.

So, cool game. Great game. Awesome game. Unforgettable game. True, this game is a lot like Persona 3, but if you didn't like Persona 3 (like me), then you should still give Persona 4 a chance. It made the right adjustments and gained a real sense of focus. Persona 4 was way more story and character-driven.

And that's really what I clung to me for the entire game. Social links don't tie into the main storyline very well, if at all, but still. The middle of the game started to get really predictable, but still. The writing does have a tendencey to get cyclical and it does like to restate plot points, but still. Dungeons have their own visual motif, but they aren't really all that different from another. But still.

Looking back at my 80 hour and 16 minute playtime, I couldn't help but remember all the great moments that gave Persona 4 so much heart. It's the characters that really anchored and supported this entire game and for me, they'll easily go down as some of my all-time favorites. Yes, they're pretty static after you rescue them, but all of them had really well-defined personalities and they were always entertaining to be around. I can't imagine Persona 5 working for me unless they reuse the entire cast from Persona 4. I just can't.

Since P3 and P4 were my first SMT games, it's gotten me to order Digital Devil Saga 1, which came in the mail two weeks ago. I've put maybe an hour into it, mostly going crazy at WHAT THE HELL LOOK AT ALL THESE PERSONA 4 ITEMS IN THIS GAME, but I think I like DDS's combat system more. It's faster and the way turns are handled are 100% sweet.

But whatever. Persona 4 really resonated with me. That ending still gets to me, even though it was filled with cheesy lines. I think this game needs to be played and even if you don't like it, you can at least tell that I'm wrong and you're right.