Shin Megami Tensei Persona 4
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is a console role-playing game (RPG) for Sony’s PlayStation 2. Chronologically the sixth installment in the Persona series, Persona 4 is a suspenseful countryside murder mystery with multiple twists and turns in the plot that will have you guessing all the way to the end.
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Chronologically the sixth installment in the Persona series, Persona 4 is a suspenseful murder mystery. View larger. |
The silent male protagonist wields a two-handed sword weapon. View larger. |
Using Mayonaka TV, you can phase into the television set and enter a shadowy world. View larger. |
game play and style are similar to Persona 3, but there are plenty of new twists and additions. View larger. |
Myth and Occult Mixed with Contemporary Japan
Megami Tensei was originally based on the novel series Digital Devil Story by Aya Nishitani. A major franchise in the RPG genre, MegaTen games take place in the contemporary or near-future Japan, mixing occult and cyberpunk elements. The games feature mythological references from multiple mythologies, and the player is often asked to make moral or philosophical choices that affect the game’s storyline and ending.
The silent male protagonist who represents the player in Persona 4 attends Yasogami High School with Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko. His entire personality and name is decided and portrayed by the player’s in-game actions and decisions. He wields two-handed sword type weapons, but unlike Persona 3, he doesn’t use alternative weapons.
Mysterious Murders Abound
Persona 4 takes place in a rural town named Inaba where mysterious murders occur whenever there is fog after heavy rain. The town has a television channel that airs only at midnight called Mayonaka TV, during which it is said that one can see their “other half” while staring at the screen. After hearing about a recent unsolved murder, some characters realize that they had witnessed the murder victim while watching Mayonaka TV.
The protagonist discovers that during midnight when the channel is on, his body can phase into his television set, using the set as a gateway to another world infested with shadows. Mayonaka TV and the town murders seem so connected that it’s possible that the victims may in fact victims of Mayonaka TV itself. The characters decide to solve the mysterious murders by exploring the hidden world of Mayonaka TV.
Brand-New Yet Familiar game play
Persona 4’s game play and style are similar to the popular Persona 3. Players familiar with Persona 3 will quickly recognize the social links and dungeon crawling game play, as well as the engine itself. The battles also have some similarities, such as the One More system, All-out attack, and the AI controlled support characters.
However, unlike Persona 3, characters can be set to take commands from the player, new glasses allow characters to see through the heavy mist inside Mayonaka TV, and tarot cards can be shattered to summon the characters’ respective Persona. Other changes include an increase in player stats from three to five, and the removal of health status, allowing players to explore dungeons continuously.
Let the Action Begin
Battle-wise, Persona 4 lets you directly control the actions of other party members and continually exploit an enemy’s weakness. Post-battle card shuffles have added Arcana Chance, which bring you good or bad status depending on the Arcana. Battles now occur after school instead of at midnight, like in Persona 3, giving the player less time in which to do social activities. This turns out to be significant because Social Links now have a greater effect on battle.
At higher levels, the player’s allies progress from occasionally protecting the protagonist from a deathblow, through occasionally offering follow-up attacks, to eventually allow the persona of the corresponding ally to evolve into another persona. And persona can retain or even lose weaknesses and can be immune to certain kind of magic attacks. All allies who have their corresponding Social Link levels maxed out now have a chance to survive an otherwise fatal attack, leaving them with one remaining HP.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Better than Persona 3 in every way
Persona 4 was created immediately, so it’s been said, as a result of feedback from Persona 3’s new system. At this point, I haven’t completed the game yet. But the improvements really show.
This game is better than Persona 3 in almost every way, from story to game play. Remember those long runs in Persona 3 where nothing would happen, between the full moons? Gone. Being in what seems like the same dungeon over and over again? Also gone, kinda. Well, the repetition is not as bad. Let’s leave it at that.
And how about not being able to control the other characters? Yup, that’s changed too. Of course, this makes the game much easier, especially for people who slaved through the Answer.
Other good changes: The story is better. Remember those 20 somethings who disguised themselves as teenagers and populated the Gekkokan High’s SEES dormitory? Well, they’re way more realistic now. Meaning, they act and talk like real teenagers (Junpei being the exception in the original).
Some things have changed, but not for better or worse.
There’s also no more dark hour. Instead, you enter into the Midnight Channel, a weird kinda warped TV set that connects you to dungeons. The setting is more rural. The animation is also a bit different, but you can just look screen shots to see that.
I don’t want to get into the story, because it’d be too many spoilers. But let’s just say this is more of a mystery novel. Or at least it seems to be.
In a way, this review is completely unnecessary. Persona 3 was a game that needed few improvements, and this installment managed to provide almost all of them. Anyone who wanted to buy this game before it came out is going to love it, and I’m jealous of those new people who are going to get to experience Persona 3 and 4 for the first time. I’d love to do that again.
5 Stars Persona 4 “Classic”
Persona 4 is one of the best rpg’s i have played this generation (2005-2008) so far. Atlus has truly released a Classic in my eyes. They listened to their fans and changed a couple of things in p4. First of all Atlus added the option to directly command you units. For those of you who have played Persona 3 you will know how much of a godsend this is. The characters A.I. in P3 was very good but sometimes they would do moves that were just down right stupid and you would usually end up dying from their mistake. In p4 they solve this problem by letting you command what moves the other characters in your team preform. Another great addition is the ability to be able to just warp to the map instead of having to walk all the way out of the area. What i mean is in P3 you would have to walk all the way out of the school area in p4 they made it to where you just press square and a nice little menu comes up asking what you want to do or where you want to go. A great time saver.
The combat is mostly the same as p3 but there are new added persona. Also when you get knocked down now you do not have to was a turn getting up.
The story is very good its a murder/mystery and you are trying to figure out what the heck is going on around you.
Overall the characters are great and the game is just fantastic if you are an RPG player i suggest not passing this game up.
5 Stars Sending the PS2 Off in Style
Pros:
+Incredibly deep storyline
+Well recognized art style
+Very well written story
+Fairly good voice acting
+Great soundtrack
+Improvements in the battle system are welcome
+All around absorbing gameplay
Cons:
-Sometimes you’ll feel the pacing needs work
The market for JRPGs is pretty crowded when it comes to the Playstation 2. There are a multitude to choose from. If you must pick up one JRPG for your Playstation 2, however, it should be Persona 4. Just when it seems like we should send the Playstation 2 off, along comes a game that makes it worth playing again.
The Persona games, in particular, are known for their incredibly absorbing and mature storylines. This one plays out a lot like a murder mystery that you and your allies must solve. It begins fairly slowly but it’s a lot more complex than simply trying to solve murders and mysterious disappearances. This isn’t your typical JRPG. It’s a pretty dark game with some heavy themes. But for the most part the presentation is very well done. It takes a moment to really take off and get going, but when it does you’ll find it to be like a ride you never want to end. It’s a deep and enticing story filled with rich characters. The dialog is well written and has its own charms to help Persona 4 stand out as easily one of the best RPGs ever made.
Part of solving things is getting yourself into the Midnight Channel. Your characters will have to go into the Midnight Channel and rescue missing people. You’ll have to be weary, though. As changes in the weather can have a pretty big impact on things. You must go into the Midnight Channel and save someone before the fog comes or else they will succumb to death.
At its core, Persona 4 plays very similar to Persona 3. You’ll go roaming around dungeons that are swarming with enemies. Battles are contact based, but you’ll find yourself wanting to battle. It’s surprisingly addictive to do so. The battle system itself is pretty easy to learn as it’s very straightforward. If you’ve played Persona 3 it isn’t really that different.
One of the biggest problems with Persona 3 was the inability to control other party members in combat. This resulted in some of them doing things that could potentially do more harm to you in the long run than help. You can actually control everything that goes in in battle in Persona 4. Persona 4 also isn’t really a hard game. You might have trouble with bosses but for the most part it’s a lot easier to plow through than the previous installment.
Of course, you’re not always spending time in the Midnight Channel. You have a life to lead outside of that as a student, and that’s fairly important as well. This helps to really flesh out Persona 4’s character development as you have to also be a student. Yet this plays a very large part in the game. As a student you have stats that are helpful in forging other relationships with characters. You’ll want to improve your social status as well. It can have plenty of benefits to you in combat.
The only real problem with the student life mechanic has more to do with the pacing of the game itself. Persona 4 is a very absorbing and breathtaking story, but there are times when you wish it would speed up or pace a little faster. As much as living the student life can be interesting it isn’t nearly as rewarding as the Midnight Channel. At the very least, though, Persona 4 is a very deep and complex game.
The visual style of Persona is very unique. There are some animated cutscenes which are just astounding to watch, but the art style in and of itself is worth noting as well. It doesn’t take the Playstation 2 to its limits, but it’s art over substance approach help it out a little. The environments are quite pretty to look at and the game, for the most part, runs pretty consistently. The battle animations are pretty solid and fluid. The music is also very stylish and fits perfectly with the rest of the game. The voice acting isn’t the greatest but it isn’t too annoying.
The only thing that has the potential to hold Persona 4 back is the pace at which the story moves along. This is actually pretty easy to forgive, however, as you’ll probably be too busy forming and improving your social status and battling to care too much that the story is sometimes moving a bit too slow.
Other than that one small problem, Persona 4 is a good enough reason to bring out your Playstation 2 for one last JRPG experience. Persona 4 is a masterpiece that isn’t to be missed by any JRPG lover.
5 Stars Brilliant, just brilliant
It’s becoming ever more apparent that the PS2’s days are numbered, but just like they did last year, Atlus has delivered once again. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 continues what Persona 3 (and Persona 3 FES) started in completely re-inventing the RPG series, and while it doesn’t leave quite as large an impact upon the gamer as the last game, Persona 4 is a brilliant game in it’s own right. After meeting up with your group, strange killings begin to happen, leading you into being able to travel into the mysterious Midnight Channel, where you are able to unleash personae and navigate randomly generated dungeons. While the dungeon floors aren’t nearly as deep as the last time around, the game is all the more fresher because of it, and once again you’re entrusted in keeping up relationships and personal growth in order to succeed during combat. The characters and story are deeply developed, the combat is fun, and the multiple themed dungeons are inventive, varied, and beg to be explored. If there’s any drawbacks to the game, it’s some occasional camera issues, and the fact that presentation wise, virtually nothing has changed since the last game. That aside, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is an engaging, addictive, and brilliant RPG that offers so much to keep you occupied, and may very well be the last, great game we’ll see on the PS2. If indeed it is, what a way to go out.
5 Stars An Overall Great Experience.
For many of you who enjoy the Megaten series (Persona, DDS, Nocturne, etc), you will instantly enjoy this. Two years ago, Persona 3 (P3) broke onto the PS2, creating an influx of newcomers and old school gamers alike. It provided a unique battle system, an intriguing dark story, a plethora amount of characters, and overall a great experience. Persona 4 is a standalone game, bringing many of the features, settings, and atmosphere from P3.
You are a silent protagonist who transfers into a rural area. Soon enough, you find something mysterious and dangerous. On one rainy night, you look into a television. Voices begin to ring, the storm seems to enrage, and the television flickers on and off. Reaching into the t.v, you are sucked into a whole new dimension.
Interesting, is it not? You’ll find many mysteries held within the storyline. Unlike the city life in P3, you’re in a very small town called Inaba.
The battle system holds it’s true colors. Although, this time around, there are some tweaks for the good. In P3, you were unable to control your allies, they were under the influence of the AI. All you could really do was give them certain commands. This time around though, you are able to control their every move, from item using, attacking, defending, etc. The all-out-attack is still implemented and the battle mechanics overall are ALL the same.
For those who have played P3, Tartartus was a large dungeon with many different themes and atmospheres. Instead of that, the dungeons in this game are spread out. Giving a more variety in gameplay.
Many of the things you find in P3 and, to an extent P2, are all found in Persona 4. If you love the Persona series or you are a newcomer, pick this up, it’s well worth your money.
(Side Note: For those who pre-ordered this game, the art-book is quite large (100 pages) and provides a few major spoilers. It’s highly recommended you wait to look at it later. Although, the presentation of the package is wonderful, giving both the artbook and soundtrack is awesome).
Pros
+Fast-paced action.
+A great, long story. Develops quite fast.
+Interesting concept. Different from many other RPG’s.
+Amazing soundtrack and character voices. It won’t disappoint.
+Different Endings create a twist.
+Characters have a lot of depth and stories behind each one (Social Links)
Mid
+-Graphics are good for the PS2.
+-No drastic changes have been made from P3
+-A lot of talking, get ready for some good sit-back dialogue.
Cons
-Long adventure may tire some people out.
-Town is somewhat small, not many places to explore.
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