A unique adventure with a special twist. *long review, some spoilers included*
The story behind the game is simple yet intriguing- you are a nameless protagonist who is sent by his parents to live with his uncle Dojima for a year, in a quiet suburban town called Inaba. Of course, once you arrive all hell breaks loose, when a series of bizarre murders occur and you along with two friends find the only means necessary to stop them. The twist of the plot is the TV world that presumably people get thrown in to, and the shadows who inhabit the TV world eat them alive. Although how they end up hanged on lampposts in the real world isn't really explained.
Apparently, the so called Midnight Channel is a well known urban legend, and it seems a lot of people watch it as well. Yet it doesn't seem odd to anyone that the people who were first shown on it, disappear and then die horribly. Another perplexing aspect is that while most people wouldn't try touching the TV screen to see what happens, the protagonist did so, and apparently the killer too. So how come other people didn't do the same? Anyway, as far as a story element that drives the plot forward, its pretty unique.
Persona 4 has an abundance of swearing, suggestive nudity, alcohol, and drug references as well as usage. I'm surprised the back of the box only has a "16+" tag on it. Also, the parents are apparently so worried about their kids drinking alcohol, but selling them sharp objects doesn't seem like much of an issue.
*Minor Spoiler*
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I find it a bit stupid that the heroes are stunned to learn that Naoto isn't actually a boy, when "he" apparently had the voice of a woman. The way I see it, Naoto isn't really a gifted kid at all, its just that most of the people around her are complete morons.
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A few notable problems I've had with some of the story aspects:
*Spoiler*
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As a professional teacher, the guy who is referred to as "king moron" has a very high tendency to swear and insult his students. How could this guy have been given a job to educate kids in a real world is beyond me, but I guess it was necessary to depict him as a huge bastard to make you feel something special when the guy gets mutilated and hung upside down like a Christmas tree ornament.
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The emotion Icons that pop up above a character's head when he is feeling something is very unnecessarily japanese. I know that Anime do that a lot, and admittedly I like watching them, but in a game such as this, i.e one that tries to imitate real life, really puts a damper on the immersion. Another peculiar things is the voice overs. While every character in the game has a voice actor, the main protagonist doesn't. Which raises the question - why not?
There is no reason why the main character couldn't have been voiced, it would have been much better to hear him talk since everyone else does. Speaking of voice acting, the translation from Japanese to English has turned some dialogues in a laugh riot. Admittedly, that was the purpose of some of these conversations in the first place, but I find some of the jokes and "punchlines" a bit childish. Also, the characters express really peculiar enthusiasm when someone mentions the word "Watermelon, Junes, or big city" around them. I had no idea someone could be so excited over such everyday items. It's like they are one step away from being Japanese hill-billies, if that makes any sense at all. To the game's credit though, there were quite a few genuinely hilarious cut scenes and I quite enjoyed that.
The plot itself also has many sub plots, and the amount of time given is barely enough to see half of them through in the first play through. Which is a shame because there are some really good bits there, and some of the plot lines only become available very close to the end of the game, when its practically too late.
Game play wise, if you want to just pick up and play this game then forget it. I actually timed how long it took me to get from the starting cinematic to the point when the game hands over the controls to you - 2 hours and 50 minutes, seriously.
Characters control certain creatures called "Persona" which are the entities that cast magic in combat, and apply their attributes, weaknesses and strengths to the person who uses them.
But one problem I had with the game play is that while there are many persona's to be had, there is no way for you to pick one and level it up all the way. There are a few reasons for it:
Firstly, the amount of experience required to level your persona is so high that its more worth your time to just create new ones, and forcing you to do so is a bit unsatisfying.
Secondly, the personas only gain a set number of new abilities. So in order to get higher level abilities, you will need to create higher level personas, forcing you to fuse them constantly if you want to stay on par with the game's difficulty. Also, many encounters require you to switch between them constantly, spreading the already slim amount of exp gained between three or four personas.
There are more than 150 personas to get, either by fusion or through cards. The more personas you get, the more will be available later on with special fusion techniques.
By the way, why is there a persona with a 3 foot dangling penis? And just when you thought it might have been something else, the guy thrusts it your way like he is trying to reach out of the screen are rape you. Seriously, that's some disturbing **** right there. Damn.
Anyway, moving on..
After a battle has been won, you may get a chance to play a special "card drawing game". If you draw the right card, you get the persona on it. Additionally, there is a slight chance that a special Arcana card will appear that may apply either negative or positive effect to you depending on which side it lands when you flip it. Unfortunately, some of these cards either provide totally useless bonuses or screw you over no matter which side they land on. For example, the Devil and Death cards. Which is rubbish!
Outside the TV world, the game takes a monotonous life simulator tone. Going to school, spending time with a friend, then going to sleep, rinse and repeat. The only saving grace of the plot is that it frequently breaks up the monotony with either some hilarious cut scenes, or progresses the plot forward. So the game play doesn't usually get tedious except at some occasions when you are forced to grind experience to be on par with the next boss fight, or have to spend some time socializing with people outside the TV world, in order to gain exp bonuses when fusing personas.
Occasionally, while attending school you will be asked certain questions. If you answer them correctly, you will gain knowledge and sometimes if you hint on the right answer to a classmate - when he is asked by the teacher - it will enhance your relationship with him. Unfortunately, some of these questions are impossible to answer correctly at first play through since they mostly consist of Japanese folk lore, traditions, or stuff you probably never heard of. Also, you will be given many choices of "what to say" in certain situations, but whatever you say isn't going to effect the general plot flow in any way, except at the end.
The soundtrack was very unique and fitted the situation quite well. Composed mostly of pop music and the occasional rock soundtrack (boss fight music) was quite inspirational. I can still hear the tunes running in my head sometimes, and as a general rule of thumb its usually a good sign.
The ending was special to say the least. I wouldn't hint any further about it, but it marked a change in my relationship with the game. It marked the transition point that turned this game from an above average RPG to a pretty excellent RPG. Just to give you an indication of how long it took me to finish the game - 70 hours and I still haven't seen all it has to offer. Probably not even half of it, since I barely even found 60% of personas in the game, and haven't completed most of the social link quests (these are the sub-plots). Despite all my nitpicking I enjoyed Persona4. It may take some time getting use to, but when you finish it you will be satisfied. Just for the uniqueness of the experience, I deem it "must buy".