Persona 4 is a near flawless RPG, that leaves nothing undone, and will more than just satisfy players
GRAPHICS:
In 2008, the graphics of this game no longer impress tremendously. However, they do push the graphical capabilities of the PS2, with a real intention to detail, and isn't afraid to show many colors and minimal details at once. Props also to the animations, which look nice, and are rather varied, be they only in the face close-up or the models. The artwork in this game is also very unique, and all the areas are original and creative. Sure, they reuse many backgrounds on the dungeons, but that is something of the genre, not fault of this game. It is, definitely, one of the most sharp and stylish PS2 games ever. 5/5
SOUND:
The music in this game is simply amazing. I could go on and on about how great it is, but to put it simply, it is all catchy electronic music, that conveys the right mood always. There are many tunes that will stick to your head after you beat it.
The voice acting is also a cut above many other JRPGs, with beliveable voices that fit their characters. 5/5
STORY:
The game takes place in Inaba, a small Japanese town. There, two murders occur and, after trying out an urban legend called Midnight Channel, you and your friends get involved in them, and are the only ones that can truly stop the kidnappings and murders.
This may have sounded brief, but it was suposed to, since this story is so great I don't really want to spoil much. It is original, has many, many twists and turns and will have you thinking about it while and after you play it for a long time. The mystery set up is already original for a JRPG, and keeping up with the school motif of previous games in the series, you have a surprisingly fit combination.
The cast of characters also helps a lot. They are beliveable teenagers that we can sympathise with. They have common fears and problems, and their resolutions and behavious feel very natural and complimentary with one another. Back from Persona 3 are the Social Links, which are basicaly side stories that have an effect on the battles. And the stroy part is often enough encouragement to do them alone, since they can range from interesting, to touching, to creative. Sure, there are a few duds here and there, but they are well handled and present us more sides to the many characters of the game, which all develop well.
Much like Persona 3, there are many philosofical issues brought up, and some will really leave you thinking. This game is also much lighter in tone compared to its prequel; while its main theme was "remember your mortality", this game is "always search for the truth, even when you lost hope". The cast is also a bit more lively and not as much hate inducing as some characters in P3 (looking at you Junpei...), also not as depressing. Sure, this game has its depressing moments, but they are balanced by the moments you will feel happy, acomplished and will just outright laugh will the characters.
While I have praised the story imensely here, there are a few problems with it. The most notable is how slow paced it is, which can infuriate players, specialy in a repeted playthough. Also, some might not like how different it is, specialy compared to its predecessor and the other games in the series. Still, these are minor, personal problems that one can have, which do not bug me much.
In the end, the story is a driving force in Persona 4, Creative, fun, mysterious and enjoyable, it will surely keep you hooked throughout your playtime. 5/5
GAMEPLAY:
The game is an RPG. You control the protagonist (will here be refered to by his anime name Yu), as he has to go into the TV World to rescue people who have been kidnaped. Along with that, you have to maintain a social life and academic life.
The battles are mostly unchanged from Persona 3. You have a party of 4 characters that you can choose from, and, since they are all pretty different from one another, you can have some really interesting combinations. There are physical characters (Chie and Kanji), magical ones (Yukiko and Teddie) and mixed ones (Yosuke and Naoto), so you can get creative with your party.
They all have a set Persona, which is another side, represented by a demon or angel of some kind. Yu, however, is the only one who can change his Persona. While he starts with one (called Izanagi), he can get other ones at the end of battle and latter fuse two or more together to create an even stronger deity. It is a main part of the game to create strong Personae, and you can really vary their moveset, and one of the main replayability factors in this game is that you can play the game again using an entirely different team.
Battles are turn based, where the fastes characters moves first. You can also ensure a preemptive strike on the enemies, since you can see them in the overworld, but so can they can get a free hit on you. One of the major improments from Persona 3 (and FES) is that you can control all your party members, which is a god send in many tight situations. While the AI was great in P3, they would still do things you wouldn't want, but here, they do what you want, which is really, really good. The difficulty is also a bit lower compared to P3, but there are still battle which will really kick your butt, specially in the begining of the game. It never feels cheap, and never feels too easy. With a combat system that just gets more intersting the more you get into it, and you have a winner.
Besides battle, Yu also has his private life. You can create Social Links which friends, which improves your persona-fusing abilities, and you get their neat own stories. It is important to note that in this game is highly recomedable that you max the Social Links of your main party, since only then they will evolve, getting stronger. Social Links are a lot of fun to do, and you can really get into them, and finishing all the 19 optional ones in one playthough is an interesting self imposed challenge.
Also, you have to keep a look on your academic life and other stats. While P3 had Charm, Knowledge and Courage, P4 ditches Charm, instead going for the other two mentioned and Dilligence, Expression and Understanding. Having good on these stars have many impacts on your progress: getting a good grade in a test raises your Social Link and gives you prizes, and only with a certain level of the other ones you can do certain Social Links. So it mostly goes back to them, but it still is very important to take your time to study, read a book or do some origami.
As you can see, there is a lot to do in Persona 4. A first playthough will most likely take around 70-80 hours, and this game is just so fun to experiment again that it is one of the only two really long RPGs I played twice. The other? Persona 3.
With tons of content to keep you busy, Persona 4 is not a case of style over substance. 5/5
OVERALL:
I do not mean to make it sound like this game is flawless, but all of its little flaws get little space to breath, since this game is so fun, so interesting and so addictive. There is hardly anything else to ask in an RPG. This is a near perfect adventure from start to finish, and one that any gamer owes themselves to play.
The good:
-Stylish graphics that push the PS2 to its limits
-Amazing soudtrack and some superb voice work
-Story is original and engading
-Great cast of beliveable, well developed characters
-Battle are just complex enough to be fun as hell while not too complicated
-Social Links are still very interesting and fun to do
-Very lengthy adventure that can incite more playthoughs
The bad:
-Very slow moving story