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When you're (figuratively) fighting for your life, you don't want it to be in a bland environment that is largely identical to everything else you've seen lately. Folks, this doesn't happen very often in the world of gaming.The Bottom Line:As long as you can stomach several novels worth of dialog, buy it. Combat is quick, and has a smooth flow that makes it seem dangerous without seeming tedious. Too short, and the encounters seem like tedium that artificially inflates the game's lifespan. Your patience will be rewarded. Expect to drop 70-80 hours if you want to finish the game with an appreciable level of completion. Every time something disappointed me, five more things would crop up that took my breath away. There are a few distinct sequences that are heavy on action, or dialog, but those are few and far between.
The Good:I'm honestly not sure where to start. So slowly, in fact, that I spent nearly two hours getting through the game's long introductory sequences, and actually entering one of the many "dungeons". That's how this game can pull off a five star rating, despite having several glaring detractors. Nevertheless, something told me to push forward, and my perseverance was rewarded with a rich tapestry of character interaction, and a serviceable story to boot.Randomly generated dungeons aren't my cup of tea, as they almost universally lack sufficient creativity and expression to breath life into important game environments. Too long, and the encounters become stale, drawn out experiences that players dread. P4 manages to strike a pleasant balance between the extremes, aided by the ability to easily escape or outright evade enemies entirely. I'm tempted to say "Everything that isn't listed in the 'Bad' category," but that would be poor form indeed.Graphically the game is consistent in its presentation, and stylish in the extreme. Whether you're speaking of backgrounds, characters, or menus, the entire game is lavishly detailed and animated to an extent few games will ever aspire to.
Again, this is an example of a cheap design decision that is wholly overcome by general excellence everywhere else in the game. This was an immediate letdown since I was expecting something more complex than a simple Rogue-like, but eventually I learned to tolerate it, and actually enjoy it at times. A rarity, indeed.The Bad:The game starts out slowly. My backlog of games is numerous, and there's really no reason to stick with something that is under-performing in this day and age. Item drops occur at an acceptable level to ensure a steady, yet carefully restricted, flow of cash.The localization, voice acting, and dialog (in general) are beyond reproach.
and those are much more inventive and enjoyable.I'd like to state for the record that forcing a "Game Over" when the main character falls in battle, even when others are present who can revive him, is a dick move that I seldom tolerate. As was said by a more eloquent gent than I: "I left my heart in Inaba." Indeed. P4 doesn't do much to break this mould, but at least there are a few dungeons in the game that are static. The game's striking gold/black motif is shoved in your face from the very first screen, but it is so tastefully handled it never seems obtrusive -- on the contrary, the quirky color choices in the game (slate/orange for text boxes, red/black for "shadow" effects, etc) add to the game's already generous 'flavor.' I really don't have a better word to describe it at the moment.The game's pace ebbs and flows fairly predictably, with trips through dungeons eventually being sublimated by class trips, dates, and frequent romps through town strengthening your social connections. As a game designer I find that statement exceptionally difficult to spit out, as my general practice is to shelve a game when it presents me with such a serious disappointment.
In the world of video games, this one hit the ball out of the park, and into the parking garage across the street. To me, that means best ending + most (but not all) social ranks maxxed. The character abilities are well balanced, and grow in strength steadily and predictably.
Pick two or more Persona and they will, more than likely, Fuse to make a new, more powerful Persona. The game does take commitment and without it you can't thoroughly enjoy the game. The story is a bit weird but here it is: You are a high school student who discovers that on any rainy day, at exactly midnight you can hear murders happening. There's some stodgy camera work in the dungeons obscuring your view at points but this is very minor. After waiting an eternity for this game I can say I am glad I waited.
On Sundays in the game, you can do what ever you want until midnight, then it's back to the alternate dimension for you. The murders happen inside another dimension, only accessible by walking through your TV. The game provides a decent challenge, but nothing so difficult that you'll want to bash the TV into a wall and snap the game disk in half. All I can say at this point to summarize this review is BUY IT RIGHT NOW. You won't be fighting bad guys all the time though. Building strong relationships is just as important as saving people from becoming murder victims.
Persona 4 is a fantastic game that gets you hooked right from the start. After entering the alternate dimension, you must traverse a randomly generated dungeon fighting random bad guys until you reach the end for a final showdown. You must be committed to going to school from Monday through Saturday and every Night going and saving the next victim in the alternate dimension. It's an RPG that has a close to home feeling to it, since You are a high school student and have to build relationships with friends and what not. You also have to go to school and make friends and attend classes. There's also an intricate "Persona Fusion" system.
The interesting part. You can take two partners and on top of that helpers called "Persona." The battles are final fantasy style and turn based.
For all you anime fans: Persona 4 is closer to "Paranoia Agent" than "Record of Lodoss War" in theme. (gotta enslave them all). Persona 4 is a RPG masterpiece set in "our" world. The player can spend days in a simulation of day to day adolescent pursuits. Put away your princess and stable your dragon.
I predict that even a RPG beginner can clear the easy mode as long as they spent enough time "grinding" and collected/fused the top personas for their level.This game is solid and the story has to be experienced to be believed. This is a small gripe, though, as the time you spend "grinding" for drops helps your characters stay on top of their game with yen and experience points flowing in as they battle.The game is difficult (although not VERY difficult) on the hardest mode and amazingly casual on the lowest. He can collect and combine otherworldly creatures (Personas) ala Pokemon. On top of this, you won't know (without a guide) exactly how many items you need to unlock a given piece of equipment. Many of the games characters are plucked from modern Japanese cultural memes. This can be difficult given that these shadows are not guaranteed to drop items and some can be tough to encounter with any frequency. Even western-centered gamers will find some of the threads (like a young girl dealing with the impending death of a father who abandoned her) to be poignant and refreshingly unpretentious. In order to get new armor and weapons players must collect a number of tokens from "shadows" (monsters) in the dungeon.
It's ok, they'll be there when you come back. And, lastly, he can enter randomly generated dungeon crawls that give you roughly 11 levels of battling each and occur enough times over the course of your adventure that you will almost always have something new to kill or something shiny to create.The item creation aspect is perhaps the games only flaw. If you think the modern world's problems pale in comparison to epic struggles of sword on shield, Persona 4 may just change your mind. Not that it's REQUIRED you be a Japanophile to appreciate this amazing RPG, but it certainly doesn't hurt. A Pop Icon, a Boy Detective, and even a silver-haired street tough await you when you take a trip to Persona 4's ficitonal Inaba City.It's worth noting that Persona 4 blends three styles of play together to form a strangely unique amalgam.
It can actually be overwhelming how much stuff you can do and you have to choose what you can fit into your day. First the game starts out very slow with ample character introductions. The other half, dungeon crawling, is surprisingly fun and the battle system works very well. Second is the game can be downright hard on the normal difficulty. They are simply the most likeable, fun, and real characters I have ever seen in a game. Once my favorite genre, JRPGs became really dull and repetitive and I about gave up on them. I more or less stumbled upon this game after seeing all the good online reviews and the one from a popular video game review show. Imagine that.
You spend half the time leading a somewhat normal life of going to school, hanging out with friends and investigating the main mystery. Once you enter the Midnight Channel though the game really picks up. Good thing too, cause there sure is a lot of it. No sweat though, when you start the game choose the Beginner difficulty; it won't be a cakewalk on this level, but using your brain to stratagize is a good thing.I picked up Persona 3 FES and hope to have as memorable an experience as I did with this. Another more famous company--cough SquareEnix cough-- should learn something about this.There are only a few drawbacks. A role playing game where you play a role.You really get to know everyone over the very long time you will be playing this game-- close to 100 hours. Atlus really put a lot of effort into localizing this. I figured why not and gave it a chance.This game has the best cast of characters of any game I have ever played.
The acting for the voice overs is seriously some of the best in any rpg let alone video game. The game is full of downright hilarious hijinks particularly during school events.The amazing thing is that this game does not drag on or become a level grind. Normally the silent protagonist thing irks me, but you are frequently given choices as to what he will say or do, and it really makes feel like you, the player, are the main character in the game. Each character has a very well defined personality.
Persona 4 was one of the few of these which I found.+I was skeptical at first. There are several twists, but they are built upon the long series of days spent within the game rather then occur randomly to poorly enhance the story. While players will strive to level up their characters, if one is to survive within the world of Persona 4, they must also learn enemies' weaknesses in order to maintain the full control of the battle system.+Music plays a key role in enhancing the game as well. Today, I finished one of the better RPGs I have played in my short life. The music adds to the mystery as several tracks are used to define moments within the game which almost speak for the dialogue of the characters.Overall, Persona 4 is a game that is based primarily on story and character development. The creators of the game leave clues everywhere but use common snares in order to throw the protagonist and the player off course with ease. The battle system, the Social Links, and the music all add to the overall satisfaction which is Persona 4.
Little did I know within the first couple hours of gameplay there'd be less cartoon business and much serious business. Very few games I have ever played take as much time to get to know the characters as this one does.+The battle system is incredibly fun, though difficult. Character development is one of the strongest assets of this game. The story is set in a small Japanese town, Inaba. This system not only allows the player to learn more about the characters within Persona 4, but it also enhances the power of your characters and the protagonist.
I've been playing RPGs since I was twelve and have since searched to find those that would quench my thirst in terms of story, gameplay, music, and overall development. Rather, each twist adds character to the story and furthers the mystery.+The story also allows for a lot of character development using a system known as Social Links. The plot is elaborate. The cartoonish appearance didn't quite appeal to me. The story follows the silent protagonist in his quest to solve a series of murders, save the inhabitants of Inaba, and catch the killer within a year.
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