Persona 4: The Official Geekscape Review

You have some interest in role-playing games, or RPGs. Admit it to yourself. Unless you’re a maniacal fan of this website who must read EVERY SINGLE word on its pages, you clicked on this review because you like role-playing games. No? I hear you mumbling to yourself; “…Mhm, I like ‘em okay, I guess. I pick-up a Final Fantasy from time-to-time, but I wouldn’t call myself a fan.” No problem. You’ve never heard of Persona 4, or the Shin Megami Tensei series, but you clicked the link that lead you here because of the bright, endearing anime characters in the little picture. Well, for you part-time RPG fans, we ask you to please keep reading. (As for the rest of you – long-time RPGers in-the-know, or those who played last years stellar SMT: Persona 3, you already know you’re in the right place.) Yeah, I’m here to tell you that the new Persona 4 is nothing short of a brilliant RPG – a massive, deliciously creamy layer cake of a game that is oh-so satisfying.

See, a good role-playing game should give you choices and options out-the-whazoo, while still remaining relatable and compelling. Publisher Atlus has made sure that Persona 4 does this to a tee. It all stems from the series’ ingenious setting. Where most RPGs have you locked in some fantastic realm of magic, be it in the past or some other dimension, the Shin Megami Tensei series (and more specifically, the Persona series) takes pains to create stories that take place in the real world. Yes, the characters inevitably end up in strange places casting magic spells, but they begin as normal high-school teens. This ‘dual-life’ dynamic sets it apart from so many other RPGs. Your in-game days are spent going to class, studying, and jugging social calendars, while most nights are devoted to solving the mysteries blossoming around the town.

For those of you who would scoff at the idea of going to school INSIDE of a video-game, let me say that I didn’t imagine that it could be exciting either. But there are advantages. See, the Persona games are all about gathering around your various Personae, or ‘shadow-selves’ who do your magical bidding once you need some ass-kicking done. Your ability to wield these magical beings (who’re based on mythological creatures from all sorts of different worldly origins) changes as your character advances. While you’re at school, and in your time spent around town, your friendships with your real-life buddies grow and change. These friendships are what the game calls “Social Links,” and there are many to be found. The better your character does in school, the more friends he makes, the more your Social Links evolve, the more bonuses you receive when you collect and create your Personae, and the more ass you get to kick! I hate to use this comparison, but this dynamic is like a beefy, muscular version of P—–n (sounds like “Okee, mon.”) It’s totally addicting. There are, I believe, over one hundred Personae in the game – all with different spells and abilities, and it’s incredibly easy to pour hours into the game tinkering with combinations in order to ferret-out the ones you want.

All of this should be very familiar to fans of the series, but what makes Persona 4 a must-own for any RPG fan is the way the designers have not only streamlined their ideas and play mechanics to further perfection, but they’ve gone the extra mile in making the characters and the story relatable and interesting. Firstly, in place of Tartarus, the endless and mysterious dungeon of Persona 3, P4’s battles take place in universes that come from the characters’ minds. The same dungeon-crawling elements remain as before, but now they don’t consist of floor after faceless floor. All dungeon-crawling is literally spawned from the experiences and personalities of the characters involved in the story, which only further strengthens the themes and motions of the plot.

Which reminds me: I don’t remember the last time I actually enjoyed the sheer presentation of a group of video game characters so much. With but one notable exception, the voice acting of the game is top-notch. While a full Japanese language track is not available, the American voice cast is truly remarkable, which is impressive considering most full-blown American games can’t achieve said feat. Not only are the characters voiced well, they’re also given a wonderful script. Where P3’s dialogue was sometimes stilted and straightforward, P4’s script is surprising and exciting; Atlus’s translation is just fantastic. On top of this, the character designs of Shigenori Soejima are expressive and enchanting. (Though this reviewer does miss the stylings of Kazuma Kaneko….) To boot, the overall presentation of the menus, settings, and graphics have a beautiful, lively, and kinetic feel.

Overall, the only real thing that will disappoint some gamers is the series’ legendary difficulty. While not an otherworldly challenge, the Persona games are known for their numerous beat-downs. As with Persona 3, battles are based on using enemies’ weaknesses against them to your advantage, effectively knocking them down. Once knocked-down, enemies are easy to conquer. Unfortunately, your Personae are similarly vulnerable. If an enemy chances to catch you off-guard, battles that were shoe-ins suddenly tip radically in their favor – sometimes leading to humiliating failures versus common sewer rats. Some gamers will cry foul at the game’s liberal see-saw mechanics, but most will appreciate the attention that the game requires from each and every skirmish. Persona 4 is not afraid of involving you in a bit of trial and error as well, but the game is structured so that it’s easy to level-up your characters and score that elusive Persona you need to escape the big boss battles alive. And, when you finally do best that boss, the sense of accomplishment is often times overwhelming. (If you haven’t played an SMT game before, you’ll be happy to see that an Easy mode is selectable, though it’s in no way a cakewalk – be warned!)

Persona 4 invites you into a massive world of dual-life goodness. One part high-school drama, one part monster collecting/smashing marathon, and another part Japanese-anime-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink wackiness, it never fails to surprise, delight, and compel. It’s my RPG of the year, no question – and it’s on the PS2!

Enjoy.