Atlus gives the PS2 one final farewell with this spectacular RPG.
Persona 4 is about a young man (The Protagonist) who comes from the big city to the middle of nowhere to live with his uncle and little cousin. Soon after arriving, he discovers that he has the ability to enter another dimension that is accessed through his television set. It appears as well that people are dying; a killer is on the prowl and those close to you begin disappearing. It's your job to take on the role of junior detective and solve this mystery as it slowly unravels around you.
First I must say that the storyline to this game has so many twists and turns to it, that you may just begin bleeding from every orifice of your body, if you don't die of excitement. It is an absolutely captivating storyline that keeps you hooked until the very last minute. The characters are so real you can almost touch them. You cry when you feel their pain and you laugh when they crack a smile. Plus, the dialogue is spot on.
The music is different from its predecessor in that it's no longer a hip-hop/J-pop soundtrack, but now more of a rock/J-pop ensemble with catchy vocals that make sure you'll be thinking Persona all day long. Visuals are great and an improvement over Persona 3. There is much more attention to detail, especially on the character designs.
The game play is once again the traditional turn based battle system that is very recognizable at this point in the series. You battle shadows with your persona when in the TV world and your protagonist has the ability to carry more than one. You'll collect these personas through cards gains as spoils from battles and then have the ability to fuse these personas together to create more powerful personas. Each persona is aligned to a certain arcana and these arcana are symbolized in the real world by individual people you meet. This is the most interesting component in the game that takes on a certain date sim theme.
Every time you meet a person in real life, have it be in school, on the street or at your part-time job, you'll establish a social link. This is a bond that you share with the person that as the game states "Brings you one step closer to the truth". You can level up these links by nurturing your bond with that certain person. As you hang out with them and share your afternoons getting to know them, your social link will raise ranks until you make a special bond that can't be broken. This is all completely optional of course, but by spending time on your social links, you can later make more powerful personas when fusing. Each social link will correspond to a certain arcana. I hope I'm not making you dizzy with all this.
If you've played Persona 3 then you already know this, but something that's improved from the last game is that now your social links with your battle companions, directly affect the way they fight with you. By forming strong bonds with them, they'll earn follow-up attacks and take mortal blows for you. Plus it's a great way to learn more about these lovable characters, who all seem to have another side to them they don't show.
The incredible balance of a great storyline, wonderful characters, overall improvements in just about every detail of the game formula and the ingenious integration that makes it so whatever happens in the real world, affects what happens in the Velvet Room, affects what happens on the battlefield. It's all this and more that takes Persona 4 to the next level. It is without a doubt the last true gem on the Playstation 2. There is absolutely no excuse to miss out on this game. I do want to warn the readers that, although I happened to finish it in about 80+ hours, they were 80+ hours I couldn't think anything other than Persona. It is a game so deep, so charming, that I may never forget about it. All you have to do is try and see for yourself.