'Persona 4' Part IV

I'm done. I am practically screaming at a brick wall within my own psyche by this point. I just cannot bring myself to enjoy Persona 4. The more I think about it, the more problems I find and want to bitch about.

But I'm done. Once I finish this review, I will just live my life as if this installment meant nothing to me. I will ignore the abhorrent concept of Dancing All Night existing, and I will keep my Vita's skin, even if I hate the majority of Golden's content. I can tolerate Arena because I get to see some of the old members of SEES again. I'll still play Persona Q just for everyone in SEES coming back.

Maybe one day, I'll pick up the original Persona 4, just to get a better sense of the gameplay. Otherwise, if I have killer hangover and have the need to be blinded by yellow, I'll just watch the anime.

Now, let's finish this review. Onto things I am more positive about before I give out my already controversial final verdict.

I was tempted to throw in a gag about how much I hate the concert scene again since I may not have the chance... BUT I'll stop being petty. At least thirty blood vessels exploded in my skull thanks to that god-awful piece of -

...Yeah. Okay, I'm done. For now.

Technical Presentation

In spite of my failing to agree emotionally with the majority of the Persona 4 fans, I can understand why they praise the game on a technical level. I did complain about the reduced difficulty, but I also highlighted the fact that Persona 4 still plays well. The AI is competent, the insta-f-you powers of hama and mudo still serves as a tradition - underutilized, but still present, a boss will screw you over if you are underleveled, and everything Persona 3 had was tweaked and modified to make a more fluid experience. Most credit to Persona 3 Portable's improved gameplay, though still upholding the installment's rules and elements - originates from the improvements from Persona 4.

When it comes to the presentation, however, Persona 4 blows its elder brother out of the water on nearly every front.

Graphics

There's nothing grand or spectacular about them, but Atlus knows how to make an aesthetically attractive game on a very small budget next to AAA giants. Since my mother mocks me for having expensive tastes, I grew up understanding and appreciating frugality. I am all for game developers being smart and careful with their wallets and bank accounts. So as usual, Atlus made a colorful, creative, expressive title with a lively atmosphere and personality.

Yes, I like how upbeat and colorful this game is. Persona 4 tonally is alien next to the vast majority of Shin Megami Tensei and Persona games, but at least it's really cool to look at. For many years of my life, I hated the color yellow. This game proved to me that yellow can be used in a very pleasing way. It matches the mood of the game perfectly, and the supporting color hues and schemes were worked like peanut butter and chocolate. Yes, I'm being subjective on my taste on the coating of Skittles, but let me be happy about a color I really, really hate even more than hot pink.

That aside, the 3D models were very similar to the ones used in Persona 3; however, they were upgraded with better textures and slightly better animations. It is more noticeable in the small moments, like Yosuke knocking Teddie over when he's not in his human form. Sadly the characters spent a ton of time either standing around attempting to move the comatose plot or sitting around continuing to attempt to move the comatose plot. That being said, I enjoyed the facial expressions the models had. This was present also in Persona 3, but the character models here seem more expressive. Yukiko looks so adorable when she's laughing during the King's Game, especially when her torso seems to move in a circular motion while she's grinning childishly. I love how Teddie's massive eyes are so dynamic in his bear form. And seeing Kanji, Yosuke, and Chie freak out on loop in the midst of an argument is hilarious.

This seemingly more vigorous take on the models makes up for the slightly downgraded profiles. They aren't awful, no, they are quite nice. The designs are a bit less striking than Persona 3's, but you could either chalk it up to Shigenori Soejima making more realistic-looking characters or him evolving as an artist. What slightly disappointed me is the lack of dynamic poses. Everyone seems to have a uniform position with only their facial expressions changing. It's always just a smile, just a glare, just a sideways glance. Persona 3 had changing expressions as well as postures, mainly when something more dramatic or sudden happens. But it's an observation that's so small, it doesn't hurt the game in anyway. So I'll abort this nitpick so it won't affect the final verdict.

Animated cutscenes, however, I cannot ignore. Finally they look good. No more close-ups to make shortcuts or hide a badly proportioned body part. No more inconsistent coloring, proportions, and hiccups! No more fugly spinach film blanketing the entire screen! We get to see entire groups of characters talking or interacting rather than zooming on a face or backing up too far away to avoid drawing a face. Heck, the cutscene where Dojima is chasing a truck in his car was a pretty damn good scene that Persona 3 wouldn't have the balls to tackle in "The Journey". The budget looks well spent and I'm no longer distracted by any detail that would apparently ruin immersion. Thank the superior being(s) for this competent production! Is it the best animation in gaming history? No way, but it's presentable and pleasing.

Soundtrack

As much as I detest that all the attention goes to the shallowest aspects of the game, I'd be lying if I said I hated the music. Like how it was done in the visual department, the music does fit the tone of the game well. In other words, Persona 4 succeeded in the most superficial aspect of art and video games. But at least they put their all into it, which a realistic pessimist like me cannot deny. And its Shoji Meguro, so I can't complain.

I mostly liked the original tracks far more than the ones added to Golden. Only one vocal track from the port stuck with me, "Shadow World". Others like the eternally stigmatized and damned "True Story" and the bland "Snowflakes" just don't add anything I would sorely miss. Actually, I hardly enjoyed any of the vocal tracks in both versions. This may be due to the overemphasis on the theme of gods being massive trolls. ... Or searching for the truth. Or being true to yourself. Or reaching out for the truth when it's right in front of you. Or denying the truth that Japanese mythology means nothing within the context of this story because it's tacked on so lazily with no thought put into it whatsoever.

*smacks self*

I really need to stop watching successful opinionated guys and reviewers on the internet. Maybe I should stop watching The Spoony One's videos for a few months.

Anywho. The lyrics sledgehammer the theme of the story rather than drop a hint here or there. It's amazing I don't hate the word "truth" after this ordeal. On the other hand, tracks like "Your Affection", which only plays when it's sunny (aka 10% of the time) and "Pursuing my True Self", the original PS2 opening theme, were probably the songs that stayed in my head in a positive way for the longest time. They don't play much, unfortunately. Especially "Backside of the TV". That is the best song in the goddamn universe. Fact.

Lyrical tracks aside, the rest of the soundtrack is pretty decent. This time the music contains lots of pop and some rock that is very upbeat and easy on the ears. Many tracks have some traces of electronic here or there, such as the vastly underplayed "Backside of the TV" or "Sauna". Other times the tracks will have nice piano pieces, such as in "Alone", "Memory", or "Smile". Persona 4's soundtrack feels more calming and relaxing as a whole, which fits the down-to-earth nature of the setting and story.

Regardless of the praise... I find many tracks a bit hit or miss. I tended to enjoy some of the dungeon themes, mainly "Castle" and "The Long Way", while I found others boring, such as "Theater" and "Game" for Rise and Mitsuo's dungeons respectively. I even disliked most of the event tracks, excepting "Alone" and "Reasoning".

At the end of the day, however, I can't say this soundtrack beats Persona 3's. In fact, I think both soundtracks are excellent. The last several boss themes in Persona 4 feel more epic than they have any right to be - considering that this story is a local small town murder mystery, not preventing armageddon in life-threatening fights against uber-massive gods. Still, they are well performed enough that I can leave my negativity by the wayside.

Great soundtrack overall with a few boring tracks and a stinker here or there. B+.

Voice Acting

I touched on most of the major actors already, but I'll mention some of them again. Everyone did very well with the material they were given. The overall production of Persona 4 is much better than Persona 3's, even Portable's. Aside from some lines that sound like they came from the early days of work on this game, the acting is very fluid and natural-sounding. Though I have a love-hate relationship with him due to him being trapped in predictable roles, Troy Baker is excellent as Kanji. He had a tough role to work with considering the controversial nature of the topics surrounding characters like Kanji, but he did well. So well that I can't bring myself to like most other characters he portrays since they all feel cliche and flat... most of the time.

For some reason, Johnny Yong Bosch is a hard guy for me to recognize, and I never could find out why, but I think I finally put two and two together. He was how Jennifer Hale was for me in Mass Effect: once I got the name, heard them voice a character I really enjoyed, I can remember them much easier from now on. So it took many years of watching anime, but Johnny Yong Bosch is finally registered on my radar after his performance as Adachi (and Yu in the anime).

Others like Erin Fitzgerald and Sam Reigal as Chie and Teddie took a while to grow on me. They had their grating points that thankfully don't last long. Heck, as a plus, Karen Strassman was decent as Nanako, so hopefully this more than makes up for what I said about Aigis. Seriously, though, I can't list a single bad voice actor in this game. Even the background voices were far less annoying. Not everyone was worthy of being the best voice actor ever, but the whole package was just wrapped wonderfully. And hey, I have nothing against Yuri Lowenthal and Laura Bailey, I enjoy them both, but it's bad luck they voiced my least favorite characters. For Mr. Lowenthal, that's two Persona games in a row. Owch.

Preferred Version?

In an ideal world, I'd say the original. Due to my never playing it however, my opinion would be invalid in many regards. Be it from the specific videos I've seen or it being a part of the game itself, I noticed a slight lag at points. Though it might also be due to the fact Persona 4 vanilla is a console RPG, which tends to feel slower in pace compared to handhelds in my experience. ... That's my only complaint that tailors exclusively to the original Playstation 2 title. As for the Vita version... it feels more streamlined and fluid, even though it is a theoretically polished version of the original.

That being said, the additions put into Persona 4 Golden are a great hazard. It's bad enough that the PS2 version feels like a shallow enough upgrade with "slightly easier" difficulty, but Golden takes it too far. The challenge is greatly missing, and there are gaping loopholes to jump through to take advantage of rewards like an alcoholic in a swimming pool of liquor. Worst of all are the additional scenes that add nothing to the plot on top of already meandering scenes with no constructive purpose. The beach, the Hatsune Miku Project Diva advertisement, and the Halloween at Junes filler were just astroids that only make a catastrophic New York traffic jam of a plot go nowhere for even longer, only with even more considerable damage. Marie, her Social Link, and her unique bonus dungeon may be an optional feature that serves as an exception, but it does nothing to fix the last-second plot reveal of Izanami that continues to ring hallow. Hell, many fans hated her anyway, which is a shame. At least Atlus tried to add more to the big bad's stupid plan.

On the bright side, Golden does add Okina as an explorable location with stores for buying costumes and a movie theater to help boost your friends' Persona stats. You can reach there once you gained enough experience with riding your motorbike around Inaba. Even Cafe Chagall makes a brief appearance, since I visited it on special occasions/dates in Persona 3. Furthermore, you can cultivate a garden in your yard to grow items to use in dungeons rather than spend a fortune all the time in stores. Not all easy things added were bad, I guess.

The Chihiro cameo was nice, but Edogawa's the best. FACT.

The main menu has some additional features that unlock as you complete the game. Some things include anime cutscenes from the story, performances from the Persona live concerts in Japan, fascinating short lessons on Jungian psychology taught by the best sensei in the universe, and a quiz game in which you have to be a die-hard Persona 4 fan to know the smallest background details.

There are probably other new things I may have missed. But does it all make Golden worth a purchase over the original?

If it's your first time playing Persona 4 or you really dislike anime tropes in your games, then no. If you really are interested in the game, get yourself the original for the Playstation 2. The fundamental plot problems I addressed multiple times from this installment were broken from day one, but at least you'll spend 20 fewer hours on the original than the over-bloated, absent-minded, overly digressive mess that is Persona 4 Golden. Besides, you're more likely to have a Playstation 2 in your possession than a Vita.

Look, I know the PS2 version is not always that easy to find, but you're better off with a version that has less unskippable filler and more gameplay challenge. Recently I found a used copy for about $30, which may be in part due to the Vita port. And since more people are likely to have a Playstation 2 over a Vita, I say to look on Amazon.com if your stores don't have it. Unless you like downloading games off PSN and have a large list of new games to play for it, it's not worth taking out hundreds of dollars to get a new Playstation Vita and a memory card just for Persona 4 Golden. But if you have that struggling handheld like me and are depressed that the entire library is so badly advertised, I can't dissuade you. Maybe you won't be stuck in the same boat of disappointment like I am.

Overall

From a technical standpoint, I like this game. Content-wise, I hate it.

It's not the kind I have with that jerkass battle-axe wielding Ensemble Darkhorse, who got me thrown into a mental institution for displaying homicidal and suicidal tendencies. It's not the kind I have for Sonic 06, which failed many basic elements of storytelling, but it was also atrociously programmed from a technical standpoint. It's not the kind I have for Prometheus, which was so pretentious in its symbolism that the story forgot to be just as impressive, memorable, and unique. No, I hate Persona 4 for the same reason I hate Oblivion. While that frustration Tom Cruise flick had many good ideas either awkwardly illustrated or upheld by massive plotholes and depthless characters, Persona 4 doesn't even try to make its mythological references fit in the confines of the story, which was not that well pieced together in the first place.

What makes things worse is this article I found on the making of Persona 4. New members joined the development team and no one knew how to write a murder mystery or how to write a story to compliment the features fans of Persona 3 wanted the new title to have. Basically, the developers chose all the cool makeup and clothes but had no idea how they all would work on a viable model to make the whole package work. But I think the issue is just deeper than that. Rather than have disjointed and clashing articles of clothing, everything fits well, but the woman is suffering a grandmommy of all colds. Something is wrong internally, and the designers try to mask it by making her look even more beautiful up until the deadline to hide her true condition. Ironically, this completely contradicts the very message Persona 4 has been preaching from day one.

Persona 4 looks well, it sounds well, and it plays reasonably well, but the content is so mediocre at best, I can't forgive it for its pacing and disappointing payoffs. I just don't care about the world, the conflict, and the majority of the cast. Character development equated to doctor's appointments and nearly half of the teammates do not need to exist because they add very little to the story... I think you get the idea if you read parts 2 and 3.

What helps little is that as of 2014, there is still no new development on the origin of the TV or of Teddie. The games ignore the opportunity to expand more on these fascinatingly underdeveloped concepts in favor of milking of the shallowest aspects of Persona 4: the vocal music and the overtaxed everyday fun times fanservice. And above all, it pisses me off that this game is even off-handedly referred to as being a suspenseful murder mystery when it's only advertised as a dating simulation with high school hijinks.

Other than gods are trolls, there is another moral to learn from this game: everything in moderation. I don't like games where simulation is the main crutch and happens to have a mediocre plot tacked on. Something like The Sims works for me because from the get-go, the games are interactive life simulation games with tons of freedom and customization. Something like Persona 3 or Persona 4 is on a shaky platform. Because they marry roleplaying games with dating sims, the balance between the two genres can be risky. Too much focus on one can cripple the other. In my opinion, Persona 4 focused too much on the simulation that I felt that the story, themes, and characters were dismembered ideas that could have been amazing if the developers knew what they were doing. Then when the story did go anywhere, it was mostly anticlimactic, giving back unsatisfying payoff and a lack of confident direction.

Persona 4 felt too unbalanced, clinging on one extreme or the other. Many times it felt too easy, too annoying, too simple, too slow, or too nonsensical. Yet there were moments that were really funny, really lighthearted, really honest. If I take off my jaded, analytical glasses, I will laugh and cry at points in this game, from happily cheering over Chie beating up Yosuke and the King's Game erupting into madness to choking up over Nanako's death and Teddie's existential despair. At least the game did make me emotional. I did feel something. That's why Teddie's character arc and the familial love in the Dojima house are the best parts of this questionable plot.


By itself, despite my preferences in how a story is told, Persona 4 is a technically good game. Better than average. If anyone's eyes so much as fall upon a recent AAA game of this or last generation, I would drag you away and make you pick up this game in a heartbeat. Gamers, do yourself a favor and give Atlus money before you think of Activision, EA, or Capcom.

HOWEVER, once other Persona or SMT games crop up in the same room, do yourself a favor and save Persona 4 for a third purchase at LEAST. You cannot play this first, then jump to Persona 2 Innocent Sin, SMT III: Nocturne or Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers and expect to have a fun time. The mood and difficulty whiplash will mortally wound you.

But I should close on a happy picture before the final verdict. People will hate me for the score, I'm sure.

Time to play "Who's Who: Persona 4 Edition" with your host Trish!

Pros:

+ improved randomized dungeons

+ wonderful voice acting and English localization

+ generally nice soundtrack

+ striking atmosphere and creative tone

+ colorful and expressive graphics and animation

Meh:

~ alright Social Link content

~ Golden's gameplay too streamlined

~ overall difficulty greatly reduced

~ too many inconsequential [side and main] characters and slice of life scenes

~ Marie's character arc barely fixes plotholes

Cons:

- Nanako's revival was bullshit

- lack of agency, interest, and progression in fighting and solving mystery

- sluggish pacing throughout, highlighted by calendar system

- repetitive rescue quests and Shadow confrontations

- THAT JUNES CONCERT.

- Japanese mythology feels irrelevant within story context

Rank:

2.3 out of 5

Mixing happiness for the technicals with only a handful of decent characters and an overwhelming amount of time-wasting, what could have been a 3 plummets to a rank closer to a 2 in my books. My opinion won't tarnish the outrageous number of high scores this game gets (1). Still, no game with a plot as painfully told with pretty pictures or music can justify anything above a 3.  I'd rather finish Death Note than play this game again. I'd rather rewatch Oblivion than pick up P4G again. There are just to many things that I hate about this game, even with the few really charming and competent things it has going for it.

I tried, internet, but the bandwagon is just too crazy and overrated for me to join in on. I can't relate to anyone who enjoyed one of the last imaginative games for the Playstation 2. However, Persona 4 is a fresh breath of air from all the realistic, gritty military crap the industry vomits ad nauseam since 2007 or so, but I have a different context. So it succeeds in another regard. In 2014, Persona 4 and Persona 4 Golden are solid games with style sacrificing substance in distressing frequency. With how it all came together, this overmilked gem is just not my cup of tea. But is sure as hell beats the generic crap we're still being fed since the military shooter dominated the market.

So all I ask of you is to be careful of this game, as well as other beloved gems like this. Don't let the endless praises distort your own feelings on what the game actually is: a flawed piece of art. Nothing is perfect and everything can be improved upon. If you fall in love with this game, that is wonderful. If you can't bring yourself to understand the hype, know this truth: it's alright, you aren't alone.


Well, let's end this on a bittersweet note.

And a bonus thanks to the anime.

I love them both equally since they fit perfectly with the atmosphere. Despite the rocky ride Atlus paved, I had some fun at least with their game. That's another minor positive point I guess. "みんなありがと" indeed. Thanks for the effort, Atlus.

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Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

~~~~~~~NOTES:~~~~~~~

(1) - On the bright side, at least Persona 4 has more player involvement, character depth, and reasonable plot points than the entirety of Final Fantasy 13's "saga".

... Okay I'm done for real. Voltech might come after me with a denailing contraption if I reawaken too many of his demons. @_@