Should I Play Persona 4 in 2018?
Hi guys and welcome to our place! 😀
Today we are going to talk about a game that is inserted in one of my favorite franchises ever! Persona 4! 😀 As you know Persona 3 AND Persona 5, both are in my top 10 list! Persona 5 is new so I don’t need to say nothing about it, regarding Persona 3, the game is masterpiece and although “old” it is a must play for any fan of the RPG genre! But, today we will be talking about:
Persona 4
Story:
Synopsis
Persona 4 is about a guy who just moved (as always) to a small town on the countryside, after a short while a great amount of murders start happening where the cause of death is unknown. Right from the beginning he has a “dream” where he finds Igor which tells him in an enigmatic way that the hero is the one with power to solve those crimes.
All crimes have the same process, the person starts missing from one day to another and then on one really foggy morning the corpses are found dead. Meanwhile there is a rumor on the protagonist’s school that if you stare at your Television at midnight in a rainy day the TV will turn on and be able to see your soul mate. It is true that someone appears, but it’s not the soulmate, instead it appears the person who is in fact missing.
You will be following the protagonists trying to find who is behind these murders by entering the TV inside a new realm where shadows and people’s’ hidden emotions live. At the same time you try to save the people who have been missing which you find quickly that are being thrown inside the Televisions by the murderer.
Review
The story is good! It really is! It has mystery which you won’t be able to guess who is the murder until the game wants you, making you feel impressed and shocked.
One thing I love about Persona 4 Story is how they introduce you the characters. I see Persona 4 as the step Atlus had to take to go from Persona 3 to Persona 5 and I think that the thing that shows that the most is the story of each “palace” (it is not the name they give in Persona 4, but the idea is the same). Persona 4 introduce us this new concept, contrary to Persona 3 it’s not just grinding in a tower and then kil big shadows everytime there is a full moon. Here you will go to completely different dungeons who transmit you the idea of the person’s hidden feelings and desires. Although not as polished as Persona 5, since each dungeon is about one of the characters that will be in your team it really makes you get more interested in the character because it shows that all of them are complex who have a good and a bad side!
In conclusion, the story is great! Although when it comes to main plot I prefered Persona 3 it is really well executed and it gives you a way more introspection in the characters’ evolution and personality. Even the Confidants’ relationships are way more polished than the previous one and more interesting!
Gameplay:
The battle system continues the same as Persona 3. It’s turn-based and you will need to use the strategy of changing your Personas to be able to do attacks which the opponent is week to be able to do an all-attack / attack two times.
However, there is a small detail that was changed that completely makes the difference and makes the fights way more difficult. Contrary to Persona 3, downing an enemy will not make him to skip their next turn (the same goes for you) unless you attack with their weakness twice in a row. This of course makes it completely the difference! We all know that in Persona it only takes one turn for the enemies to be able to wipe you out, even if you are fighting regular shadows.
As I already said, they changed the dungeon crawling to having different dungeons which are open for a certain time and then they close (no, here there is no mementus). In parallel to this you stop to be able to come to the beginning of the dungeon and heal yourself. This, of course makes everything more difficult since you want to use the least number of days in dungeon crawling so you can work in your confidants’ relationships.
Talking about confindants’ relationships, Persona 4 is way harder to max them all comparing to Persona 5 (which is easy) and Persona 3 (which is already hard by itself). This being because in Persona 4 you have 5 different social skills instead of only 3 has in Persona 3. The thing is, all the social skills are hard to master as in Persona 3. So, if you want to max all confidants’ in one playthrough don’t forget to follow a guide and do everything it states! (The same it goes to Persona 3).
Graphics/Audio:
The graphics are better than Persona 3 and the thing that really gives this game life is all the different dungeons! All of them are specific to the character and the boss at the end of it also represents their inner feelings! I was out of my head when I’ve played it for the first time! I love the animation and the design of the game!
Audio is the only thing that I have a problem with this game! They made conversations more fluid than it was in Persona 3 which is great! However, they made the mistake of taking out a lot of background music which is a shame!
Don’t take me wrong, I love the soundtrack of Persona 4, Atlus is always able to make something different but that works really well. However, there are many parts on the game where there is no background music whatsoever, which is a shame and playing it today it’s just not possible to oversee it. Nevertheless, my favorite ost is:
I think that this ost really shows the mystery and darkness that the game tries to achieve.
Playability:
In conclusion, the game is a must for any RPG fan. The game is really enjoyable to play! The story is good enough, characters are lovely, gameplay there is only improvement versus Persona 3. Nevertheless, the sound really ticks me off! I’ve tried to replay it not so long ago and I ended up dropping it because of that! I don’t know if they improved this in the Golden Edition for PSP, I hope so! 😛
Basically, if you like RPGs then this is a must for you to play! If not, well if you like Anime this is a must to play! xD If not, well… If you like mysteries this is a must play! Ok, the game is a must play even with its faults! In my perspective it’s not as good as Persona 5 or Persona 3, but it’s way better than other games out there! 🙂
Comment down below what you think of Persona 4! Have you played or not, are you thinking on playing it this year? Tell me everything because I love to hear from you! ^.^
I love the Shin Megami Tensei. I think Persona is the best in the franchise. I actually played P4 before P3, and I was surprised how much grinding is involved in P3. I often die being over confident and fighting an enemy that hits your weakness. I t also happens in P4, but it’s easier to strategize. The stats are harder to grow in P4 as well, but I am a massive grind lover, so I finish a dungeon in 1 week and I use the rest of the week discovering the links and building the stats.
I love the characters in both games, especially the links. The death arcana as a small grandma is a nice touch though
I think the story is kinda predictable, since you kinda knew who the culprit is after the first case. The only thing I hate is that the only time you make an important choice in the game is at the very end where the 3 choices = the 3 endings so you really need to pay attention, lol.
I wish I could play P5 but I have no money to buy the console. haha
Yeah, that’s true. Persona 3 is way more grindy than Persona 4 because all leveling is done in the same tower. However I found Persona 4 more difficult than Persona 3 (at least in hard). Also, contrary to Persona 3, if you end up with low health you have to go out of the dungeon and come back another day which makes you lose way more days than Persona 3 where I would continue fighting even if they were tired as heck xD
I think links are better in Persona 4 than Persona 3 and to be honest I think that the main characters also have more time to grow (And I just LOVE Kuma xD). However, when it comes to story I think Persona 3 is way better! As you said, the story in Persona 4 is predictable if you are the minimum attentive xD
loool that happened with me with all PS3 games and it’s a bummer bah! What I can say is that Persona 5 brought the best of Persona 3 and Persona 4, combined them and made a masterpiece xD However, the story is also a little predictable when it comes to finding the bad guy 😛
oh yeah, you have to befriend the fox before getting healed in Persona 4. I actually complained a bit that P3 was a bit too easy, lol since I played P4 first.
I haven’t finished P3 yet. I’m playing the PSP version and the lack of visuals kinda take me out of the gaming exp, but P3’s story does feel more tied together.
and omg, yes, I love Naoto to death, lol. what do you think of Kanji??
i’m fine with a predictable story like P4 as long as the characters are greater in P5, including the links. and yeah lol, i’ve been saving for a current gen console dsince forver. haha
Oh yeah…. Persona 3 for the PSP does not have half of the enjoyment… Not being able to explore the city map just takes a lot out of the game! Although when it comes to fighting in PSP you can control your teammates which is a GREAT help, specially if you are playing it in the hardest difficulty! 😛
I love Kanji ahahah He is so fun! A really badass who loves cute things! Only the idea is matter of laughing xD
Yeah… It’s not cheap at all… I bought mine in Black Friday so I got a decent discount! Although it’s 500Gb Normal one, not the pro or with 1TB xD
yeah, it is annoying not to control your characters but I do miss the bulky characters in my screen too.
Kanji and Naoto is my OTP, but for weird reasons hahaha
we don’t have black friday here T.T
but I know I’ll get one in the far far far far far future hopefully, maybe xD
For a second I didn’t know who had written this post ahah You can’t just change your avatar like that! Just kidding eheh
Kanji and Naoto… Now that I think about it they really seem to work well with each other xD
Hope you do since there are many games that you just need to try out for PS4!
this is legit the only time I’ve changed avatar. I’m sorry. some people confuse me as a girl, for some reason, so I changed my avatar to a dude.
yes, my OTP. but Kanji is the girl and Naoto is the overly possesive and aggressive guy. Seeing Naoto over power a gangster like Kanji has so many fun potentials, lol
oh, for sure. I mostly want to re-connect with the FF series, since I stopped at 12. I like 12, but I wanna b*rch about Enix ruining my childhood.
Meaning some people you mean me? XD Since I did that ahahah
Uuuuh! When you do that, call me for a collab because I would love to do the same!
I love P4 but grinding was a drag. Still one of my favorite games and it earned my loyalty to the series.
You cannot talk about grinding when you like Tales of Berseria! Isn’t one of the trophies get to lvl 200? xD Just kidding ahah
I think what it really makes the game stand out (or games) are the great stories from the links you need to make with second characters 😛
Oh I love grinding and there isn’t that much in p4 but when you do try to do it, it’s painfully slow
Persona 4 is my favorite game of all time. I don’t know if I can sum up how I feel about the game in one comment but I just love everything about it – the gameplay, the narrative, the atmosphere, the music, etc. It easily got me into the Megaten franchise and JRPGs.
Have you played Persona 3 or 5? 😀
Persona 4 stands in my top20 for sure. Nevertheless I think from those 3 is the weakest link (inside of all being masterpieces of course xD) The only thing that really makes me say that is the background music where there are many times which is complete silent (when it really didn’t need to) and the story is also not the strongest xD Nevertheless, is one of my favorite games ahah I’m just comparing with other 2 masterpieces, so basically all of them are just GREAT!
I own the Premium Edition of 5 but I haven’t been able to play it because of college. Persona is one of those series where I get completely absorbed in it so I’d rather have the time to kill.
I’ve played Persona 3 FES for the PS2 which I did like a lot but having your teammates controlled by the AI was rage quit inducing. I read that P-Studio made that decision in order to make your teammates feel like other people who are in control of their own lives. Considering the main theme of death and resolve, it fits…..it still made me yell at the TV constantly. One of theses days, I hope to get Persona 3 Portable since it lets you command everyone in the party.
I actually had no problem with the use of silence in Persona 4. I’m one of those people who feels that silence can have strong purpose in game design and in 4, I feel like it either captured the mundane atmosphere of Inaba perfectly or it reflected the gravity of the Fog. Again, I would love to go in great detail about Persona 4 but if I did, this comment would end up being a essay.