Creating a perfect example of a quality JRPG, Persona 4 masters the traditional yet doesn't shy away from being unique.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is the fourth game to be released in the Persona line of SMT sub-series. Following up on 2007's SMT: Persona 3, P4 abandons a few mechanics from the prequel and refines just about everything else.
The story revolves around an odd string of murders that occur in the rural town of Inaba. The protagonist moves to Inaba soon before the incident takes place, so, curious teenagers that they are, the main character and the motley crew of friends he meets at school investigate the murders and their connection with the mysterious Midnight Channel.
The Midnight Channel is an urban legend that states that on a rainy night, a switched-off TV set will power on of its own accord and reveal to the viewer their soul mate. While watching the program for the first time, the protagonist is literally dragged inside the television and discovers a completely new world.
This world is where the meat of the game lies: whenever a person in Inaba goes missing, the main party enters the TV world, weapons in hand, to rescue said person. The world inside the "tube" is fog-ridden. This fog helps to keep Shadows, the resident enemies of the Persona universe, at bay. When it rains three days in a row in the real world and a fog sets in, the fog from the TV world lifts, allowing the monsters to prey upon the missing person. Players must frequently check the in-game weather channel to see the next time rain will fall for three days, and complete the rescue before it's too late.
It's an interesting alternative to Persona 3's moon cycle system of progression, and gives the game a sense of urgency. However, the most time it takes to complete each rescue is far less than the time allotted. Thus, the weather system is weak and destined to be largely disregarded.
The inside of TV land is the equivalent of dungeons in traditional RPGs. In P3, there was one extensive, towering dungeon. This time there are multiple, 10-floor zones, each with a varying motif. However, because "spirit points" and items are required for healing yet are of short supply, traversal of some floors multiple times is to be expected. Hostile shadows lurk within the corridors of the randomly-generated dungeons. Combat, like in any RPG, is vital to progression. Also improved from P3, all characters in the party are under the player's direct command, rather than being AI-controlled.
Each playable character has a Persona, or manifestation of their spirit, that allows them to fight in battle, save for the main character, who has the ability to use a large variety of different Personas. Personas allow the characters to cast magic, among other things, and are an integral part of combat. Igor, a quirky, butler-looking fellow, will record all the Personas in the players possession and fuse the creatures together to form stronger versions.
That aside, they also have an important effect on the story. In order to obtain their Persona, the central characters must "face themselves," or overcome an adverse challenge regarding their personality or troubles in life. Character development represents a large part of the exposition, so it's good to see it executed well.
Not only does this sort of development occur during scripted story sequences, it also is one of the main purposes of a Persona series staple: social links. After school gets out everyday, the player has the choice of diving through the TV screen and tackling the dungeons, or conversing with major and minor characters alike to strengthen the bonds they share.
As the friendship increases (or even blossoms into romance), the bonds between the character and the protagonist are tempered. Each social link is assigned an arcana symbol. When social links are leveled up, Personas fused by the main character that correspond to that arcana will receive an experience boost.
Be warned: Persona 4 is an adventure not created for the impatient. It's long. And by long, I mean it is LONG. The main quest itself reaches upwards of 70 hours, not to mention time spent doing quests or tinkering with Persona fusion. The game challenges players' patience, not only time-wise, but in a having-to-do-the-same-thing-repeatedly way. P4 is extremely hard, even on normal (although easy is a bit too much so). Now, it's not necessarily tough, per se, but enemies hide cheap tricks up their sleeves. One minute the party is dominating, the next you're shaking hands with the game over screen. Because of frequent game overs, it's probable that players will replay some areas more than once.
Another point of interest is the soundtrack. Persona 3's music had a mix of hip-hop and synth-ridden electronica that gave the game a funky feeling, in a good way. P4 features a soundtrack with many Japanese rock and pop tracks. A number of the tracks are sung by Japanese vocalists singing in English. This may turn off many people, which is unfortunate, because the soundtrack is large, diverse, and obviously had a lot of effort poured into it by the composer. On the bright side, the game includes the first disc of the soundtrack for no additional cost.
Additionally, the vast majority of the game is voice acted. And done surprisingly well, I might add. Many people tend to favor Japanese voices, which are nowhere to be found here, yet the English vocal track in P4 is done quite well.
Unique monster-training and dating sim mechanics aside, Persona's gameplay is, at its core, a traditional Japanese role-playing game. That is a point which cannot be refuted. Quite an odd combination, to be sure, yet surprisingly efficient when melded together. All the mechanics form a cohesive and incredibly well-balanced game. For a budget price right off the bat, included soundtrack CD, and 75-hours worth of adventuring, the only reason not to buy this game would be an aversion to finely crafted RPGs. Yet if that's the case, why would you have read this review in the first place?