Persona 4 Golden is one of the PS Vita’s flagship games. First released in 2008 and an enhanced version of Persona 4 for PS2, Golden is widely regarded as one of his best JRPGs. It’s still easy to see why.
Many would argue that the Atlus series really came into its own with Persona 4. Realizing the setting and focusing on the social aspects of gameplay.
The game mainly takes place in the rural town of Inaba, one of the most memorable locations in the genre. For teenagers, it’s an idyllic and boring place, but things go awry as soon as you arrive here as a transfer student from the big city. A series of puzzling murders has rocked Inaba to the core, and it’s up to you and your new high school friends to uncover the truth about this terrifying mystery.
However, in this particular case, we are not looking for clues or questioning suspects. Instead, you enter your TV screen and explore an alternate dimension filled with dangerous, shadowy creatures. This is probably thanks to the title’s incredibly likable cast.
Admittedly, these are some outstanding characters. From the strict detective Dojima and his lovely daughter Nanako, to his classmate Chie the tomboy, to the gentle delinquent Kanji, Persona 4 is full of friendly and highly entertaining personalities. You can also get to know most of them through the game’s social link system. This allows you to interact with potential allies and bond with them.
If you’ve played Persona 5, you already know that strong bonds mean building strong personas. These manifestations of your inner self aid you in the aforementioned battle against the shadows and act as a link between the game’s dungeon-crawling action and everyday high school socializing. It’s a great design that’s been handed down over the years, and it’s especially balanced and meaningfully implemented in Persona 4.
As usual, the process of fusing increasingly strong personas is quickly addictive. All the while, you meet interesting new people, delve into increasingly dangerous dungeons, and power up your party with experience points and gear. Once you do, you’ll have a hard time breaking out of the great gameplay loop.
There’s only one thing that gets in the way of the game’s fantastic flow, and that’s the dungeon design (which Persona 5 specifically tries to improve). Although the visual style is different, Persona 4’s dreamy lair consists of the same corridors and not much else. The layout is randomized each time you enter a floor, but you can’t get around how monotonous it can be to navigate. It’s the main attraction — but depending on your expectations, it can be hard to stomach.
But as we say, it’s the battle that holds your attention. On both a mechanical and visual level, combat carries over directly from Persona 3, but especially when it comes to facing off against boss enemies. More balanced here. Hitting your opponent’s weaknesses with certain skills and abilities is still the name of the game, gaining additional attacks and other party-based bonuses. It’s a familiar and familiar system, but it’s still very well executed in Persona 4.
So how does Persona 4 Golden hold up on PS4, away from the famous PS Vita’s crisp screen? Enhanced texture work adds welcome detail to Inaba’s complex locales. Plus, everything runs at a solid 60 frames per second. However, I’m not a big fan of his motion blur effects that occur indoors. A sometimes unnecessary distraction.
And of course, we can’t jump to the conclusion of this review without bringing up the soundtrack. Packed A banger you’ll be humming for years.
Conclusion
Despite being a flawless RPG packed with good characters and built on a nearly flawless gameplay loop, Persona 4 Golden is still hard to surpass. There’s no doubt that Persona 5 does a lot better, but bright colors, uplifting soundtracks, and a great setting give Persona 4 a unique appeal that sets it apart from the rest. An absolute gem of a game.
