Should I go on a date today? Or maybe I should go beat up some Shadows and get stronger? Or maybe hang out with my best bud? Then again, there’s an exam next week so maybe I should study? Just some of the many questions you ask yourself while playing Persona 4 Golden. This is my very first Persona game so did I enjoy it? Onto the review!
Persona 4 Golden is a bit of an oddball. It has you taking on the role of…well…yourself. The main character of the game is basically “you” as you can name him whatever you want. I chose to name him after me as to add to the immersion and I’m glad I did. What did I mean when I said the game is a bit of an oddball? Well, it’s definitely a JRPG however it also mixes in a Life Sim gameplay which sounds awful on paper but works wondrously once you start getting into it. The game starts out slow but it introduces its interesting set of characters and setting at a decent pace so that you won’t get bored right away. There isn’t a whole lot to do at first but it gives you a firm idea of where the game is going once it’s done setting everything up.
The RPG part of the game is your typical JRPG flair: you fight monsters for drops and experience, you gain experience in order to level and get stronger, you gain levels in order to equip better equipment and be able to fight stronger monsters. However, in this game the monsters are “Shadows” and it’s not only you that levels up but also your “Persona” which are basically like monsters you can control. The game does a way better job at explaining what “Personas” are, trust me. You can also form a party which consists of four members. Each member has different Personas which means different strengths, weaknesses, and skills so you’ll have to mix and match in order to make a solid team. The main character of the game is able to wield different Personas however your companions are stuck with the Personas they start off with so you’ll have to pick a Persona that fits well with your team’s abilities. It’s fairly simple but picking one wrong Persona or team member could have devastating results in battle. It’s pretty much the game’s way of saying “don’t get too lax now”. You may get stronger Personas as a reward for beating shadows or by fusing two or more Personas. The game also works as a fairly simple dungeon crawler. You explore dungeons and traverse through floors looking for a staircase that leads to the next floor until you get to the boss room.
The Life Sim part of the game actually comprises a big part it. At least it’s a lot bigger than I thought it’d be. The game progresses by “day” and during the day, doing certain events passes time. Most of your free time is during the “After School” period or “Afternoon” and it is during this time that you are free to do as you please. You may go hang out with a friend, watch a movie with a friend, ride your scooter around town, explore a dungeon, and more but you are only able to do one of these things during your free time as doing so would take time and skip to the next time period which is usually “Evening”. Certain periods allow you to do certain events specific to that time period. “Lunch Time” allows you to invite a friend over for lunch, “Early Morning” has you walking to school and chitchatting with a friend, “Morning” has you listening to lectures in school, “Evening” lets you talk with friends before going to bed or you may study or read books. This is where your decision making ability will be put to the test since you’ll have to balance this part of the game with the RPG part.
You may explore a dungeon after school and get materials and level up but you’ll be so tired after exploring that your character will want to do nothing but rest once you get home. Sometimes a friend will ask to hangout after school and you have the option to accept or decline their invitation. You may not want to dismiss the idea of hanging out with friends because the game has “Social Links” which is a gauge to determine how close you are with a certain person. For example, earning a level 3 Social Link with a party member may give him/her additional abilities in battle and more every 3 level ups until 10, earning a level 10 Social Link with a girl may make her fall in love with you and give you the option of making her your girlfriend, earning a level 10 Social Link with anyone will give you the ability to fuse a powerful Persona.
Aside from these bonuses, each character has a very interesting backstory and you may want to boost Social Links just to see their story until end. Lastly, you may also want to consider studying, reading books, or working in order to boost social qualities such as courage, knowledge, understanding, etc. Some girls may only talk to you once you’ve reached a certain level of courage, some dialogue options may require a certain level of understanding, so you’ll also have to spend some time on the side raising these qualities.
In terms of story, Persona 4 Golden is one so immersive and wonderfully scripted and paced that it’s so hard to put it down. It’s got a few twists here and there and its progression always has you thinking “I wonder what’s going to happen next?”. Aside from an already solid main story, the backstories of the characters during Social Link events also grab your attention and sink you in. You’ll start getting excited when your friends invite you to hang out and hope that you’ve gotten close enough to trigger a Social Link event. There is always something new to see and learn whether it’s about the characters in the game or the world you’re in or something about the mystery you are trying to solve. Having certain real life events such as Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve happen in the game also adds to the immersion and you start to feel as if you are truly forming bonds with the characters in game.
All in all, I was surprised to see how the game worked out. I was expecting a typical RPG but wasn’t expecting a part where you live out life as a typical high schooler. What surprised me more wasn’t how the two gameplay aspects mixed together so well but how I actually enjoyed playing Persona 4 Golden as a Life Sim. I enjoyed seeing the main character hang out with friends, go on dates and getting a girlfriend, join school clubs, and enjoying dinner with family. I enjoyed seeing teachers call out the main character in class in order to answer questions, seeing funny reactions of friends when you pick a ridiculous dialogue option, answering exam questions and getting into the top ten, and more. Simply put, I enjoyed that part of Persona 4 Golden a lot. I absolutely loved it. I also enjoyed the dungeon crawling and RPG aspect and it definitely added to the overall experience.
With a fantastic set of characters, a great setting, gameplay so immersive, and an amazing story, Persona 4 Golden is an unforgettable experience that was hard to put down. After a joyous 70 hours, I still wish the game kept going on.