Persona 4 Golden is a reasonably well-covered recreation 15 years after the unique launch. It’s unlikely that this evaluation is the primary time you’re listening to about it, and there’s a good probability you understand its status as some of the beloved entries within the franchise. However it’s been a decade since Golden was first launched for the PS Vita. Occasions have modified, tastes have modified, hairstyles have modified, and the collection has advanced. A brand new port to fashionable consoles begs the query: does Persona 4 Golden maintain up? And does the model convey a lot new to the desk?
Let’s hit the excessive factors for these of you who haven’t heard of Persona 4. Persona 4 Golden is a mix JRPG and life simulation recreation the place you’ll break up your time between exploring dungeons to unravel a collection of murders and spending high quality time with mates, changing into a extra well-rounded particular person. These two halves intertwine, with the progress you make within the dungeons serving to to unlock new social hyperlinks with folks all through the city of Inaba and quest traces in the true world, whereas growing stated social hyperlinks results in boons in battle and whereas fusing the titular personas.
These spirits are primarily based on a wealth of mythological and non secular icons. Whereas every social gathering member has just one persona at a time, dictated by the story, your principal character is one thing of a clean slate. He can maintain quite a lot of personas in his thoughts and swap between them freely, fusing much less helpful personas into extra highly effective ones commonly all through the sport. Personas dictate your characters’ battle strengths, weaknesses, and skills, making fusing and bettering these mythological beings important to success.
As a result of in the end, whereas the sport isn’t terribly exhausting (and has a number of customizable issue settings), some thought is concerned. Bosses can vary from steamroll straightforward to seemingly unimaginable relying on whether or not you’ve got persona ready for the problem, particularly when contemplating elemental strengths and weaknesses. On condition that hitting a weak point grants additional turns and alternatives to deal vital injury, they’re key to your victories.
The dungeons themselves have sadly aged lower than gracefully. The plain, building-block-style dungeons had been nothing to write down house about again within the PS2 period, however now that the latest entry within the collection has extra thought-out, constructed dungeons, going again to infinite randomized hallways could be much less inspiring. They do the job, performing as gateways to fascinating battles and granting a little bit of gameplay between stellar plot beats, however in 2023 they undoubtedly present their age.
Whereas there are some occasional clunky bits within the gameplay, the story and characters have held up superbly. These parts are arguably the principle draw right here, they usually stay each bit as charming as they did in 2008. By the point you end the story, it’s exhausting to not really feel genuinely unhappy about leaving the solid behind. With a playtime that may simply prime 100 hours, the connections you make with these mates really feel actual, and this pal group seems like one you’ve genuinely made for your self. Actually, the solid stays my all-time favourite from a collection with some noteworthily superb casts. They carry weight all through the lengthy story, which additionally holds up as top-of-the-line the collection has to supply.
The mysterious murders that your crew got down to remedy are tantalizing, providing a weird homicide methodology and no straightforward leads on motive. You’ll chase fairly a couple of crimson herrings earlier than you get it proper, and the characters who’re put at risk usually hit near house on your character and may make you are feeling extremely motivated to save lots of everybody you’ll be able to.
Regardless that you’ll discover a couple of high quality of life quirks, nothing stops the sport from feeling playable and, extra importantly, bingeable. However that holds true of the unique Persona 4 Golden launch on the Vita, and to the later port on PC. So what does this new model convey to the desk?
Whereas the enhancements introduced by this model aren’t recreation changers, they make the sport simpler to play than ever, and extra accessible with its presence on all main platforms. The sport seems a bit higher, in fact, particularly relating to the buttery easy framerate. That is solely harm by the odd motion blur on characters, which might obscure the brand new framerate. This impact has been current on all earlier variations of the video games and appears to be a stylistic alternative, but it surely held up higher on PS2 than it does on a contemporary console. The sport completely seems the most effective it ever has, but it surely’s not such an enchancment that it’ll blow anybody out of the water.
However a prettier look isn’t a very powerful change. That title goes to a model new quicksave system, permitting you to take a break in the course of a dungeon run and return later. That is an absolute lifesaver for these with out longer uninterrupted gaming occasions, or these like me who have to rush off to assist children on a dime. The period of time between saves within the unique model was at PS2 requirements, which could be tough for immediately’s older crowd, which is extra used to common autosaves.
A brand new issue setting system additionally ranges out the expertise for all gamers, permitting you to tweak particular person settings from injury taken and given to the expertise and cash earned. The power to maneuver every individually is fantastic, as you’ll be able to keep the unique expertise and simply minimize out a little bit of the grind by toggling a couple of choices. Or you’ll be able to plug the whole lot in as little as potential and stroll by way of the fight to expertise the fantastic story by itself.
No matter the way you play the sport, the auditory expertise will carry you thru. The voice performing is a deal with, with top-tier voice expertise bringing out the depth of a diversified and distinctive solid. However it’s not the voice performing that actually units the Persona video games’ audio aside. Persona is all concerning the music, and Persona 4 Golden is not any completely different. Whereas its predecessor, Persona 3, leaned on hip hop and Persona 5 famously invented acid jazz, Persona 4 presents a mixture of pop and dance music blended with a ton of brass and synthesizer to make the soundtrack really feel like a cohesive complete. It’s extremely danceable, which is an efficient solution to hold lively in your seat through the dozens of hours the sport will hold you busy.
Persona 4 Golden is a tremendous port of a tremendous recreation, however one shadow nonetheless looms giant over a couple of components: the collection appears incapable of dealing with LGBTQIA+ themes with respect. With out going too deep into spoiler territory, two of your social gathering members current fairly strongly as homosexual and non-cis, respectively. It’s not lengthy earlier than each are confirmed to be straight and cis. Whereas this by itself might be dealt with effectively sufficient, it’s not lengthy earlier than the remainder of the solid ridicules anybody making the unique assumption. Homosexual panic runs rampant for one character, whereas the opposite is handled much less critically after their delivery gender is revealed. It’s a bummer to run into in the course of the sport, and whereas it’s unlikely to be a deal breaker for many, it’s exhausting to not want for higher.
However don’t let any of this cease you. Persona 4 Golden is a improbable recreation, and this launch is one of the simplest ways to play it. The characters are loveable, the story is driving, and your entire recreation is tough to place down till you’ve absorbed all of it. Persona 4 Golden may simply be the apex of the collection to this point, and actually, don’t you deserve one thing good for your self?
