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Persona 4 Golden(JP), otherwise abbreviated as P4G and released in Japan as Persona 4: The Golden, is a role-playing game developed and published by Atlus for the Nintendo Switch. Originally released in 2012, it is an enhanced port of Persona 4 (2008), the fifth main installment of the Persona series, itself a part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. It was released worldwide on January 19, 2023.

Sypnosis[]

The protagonist is a teenager moving from the big city to the remote countryside town of Inaba to live with his uncle Ryotaro Dojima and cousin Nanako, while his parents are working abroad for the entire year. He is just starting his first year as a transfer student at Yasogami High School when rumors begin to spread of a fabled cable network known as the "Midnight Channel", capable of helping individuals discover their soulmates by staring into a television set during a rainy night. The Midnight Channel further becomes a point of suspicion to the protagonist and his new friends as Inaba is suddenly disturbed by a chain of serial murders, involving civilians being strung up on telephone wires after a mysterious fog settles over the town. Upon discovering his ability to enter the TV, he awakens to his Persona, a physical representation of his heart that allows him to survive in this alternate realm. Using this newfound power, he and his friends form the Investigation Team, dedicated to traversing the world inside the TV and rescuing innocents, all while unravelling the identity and intents of the perpetrator.

Gameplay[]

Persona 4 Golden is a role-playing game involving players assuming control of the protagonist, a high school transfer student living out in the town of Inaba while attending Yasogami High School over the course of a full school year. Like Persona 3 before it, the game merges traditional RPG gameplay with elements familiar to social simulation games. The protagonist has a total of five individual Social Stats, up from the three that were associated with the Persona 3 protagonist: Knowledge, Expression, Dilligence, Understanding and Courage. These can all be improved over the course of the game by partaking in a combination of leisurely activities around town, or signing up for part-time jobs and after-school clubs that focus on a specific Stat. In addition to the day/night cycle of the overworld much like its predecessor, Persona 4 introduces various weather effects that influence what activities are available to the player, or what individuals they are able to accompany during that day through the returning Social Link system, which enables the protagonist to converse with various characters they meet throughout the narrative, whether they be major party members, students from school, or minor supporting characters. New to Persona 4 (and later added to Persona 3 Portable) is the ability to start Social Links with the male party members, as well as the option to simply befriend a female party member as opposed to outright progressing into a romantic relationship. Additionally, party-related Social Links are now directly tied to the growth of their Personas, as ranking them up to a specific quota will grant the character's corresponding Persona, a "Social Link Skill" which is otherwise unobtainable through standard levelling. Maxing out a party member's Social Link will also cause their Persona to evolve into their Ultimate Form, as opposed to said incarnations being tied to story progression as in Persona 3. Furthermore, when specific Ranks are reached with a party member, they will be able to perform specific actions in battle, such as helping the protagonist recover from being Knocked Down by a Shadow or from a particular inflicted ailment, or taking a fatal blow from an attack intended for the protagonist.

Like Persona 3, the standard school-going life is accompanied by another portion of the game with more familiar elements to prior Megami Tensei titles. In accordance with when a new victim appears on the Midnight Channel, or if the player elects to, the protagonist and his friends as the Investigation Team will have to enter the TV to explore an alternate dimension known as the "TV World", whose gameplay consists of more traditional role-playing gameplay such as dungeon crawling and turn-based battles. Instead of a single, recurring dungeon like Tartarus, the TV World instead comprises of multiple, shorter dungeons that are themed after various victims trapped in this realm, though they are still progressed through procedural generation with randomized layouts on each floor. These dungeons are likewise populated by Shadows, nameless creatures who feed on the subconscious and serve as the common enemies in combat, as well as treasure. If such an item is on hand, the protagonist can use a Goho-M to transport himself and the accompanying party back to the entrance of the TV World, where the player can choose to heal their party for a fee, visit the Velvet Room to equip, register, summon or fuse Personas, or simply save their game before returning to the last floor they were on. These dungeons can only be visited during the daytime, and newly erected ones will have to be completed within a given period of time in order to advance the story, as failing to do so will result in an automatic Game Over with the perpetrator successfully getting away with murdering the victim in question. The deadline to complete a dungeon is typically visualized by the game's weather forecast system, as the player has to keep track of how long they have between the night they watch the Midnight Channel during a rainy night, and when the yellow fog is expected to engulf the town again, at which point the victim will be trapped inside the TV permanently.

Turn-based combat once again involves the "1 More" battle system introduced in Persona 3, with battles involving a party of four including the protagonist, against an enemy or set of enemies that have to be defeated in order to progress. Like previously, combat involves exploiting enemy weaknesses with a combination of physical attacks that cost health (HP), and Magic-based Skills that cost Magic Points (MP). The protagonist is once again bestowed the Wild Card ability, which enables him access to multiple Personas that the player can cycle through to determine strategy. If an enemy is successfully knocked down by their corresponding weakness, said party member who performed the action is granted "1 More" turn to execute an additional action, and all members are able to stack up their turns by knocking down an entire group of enemies or landing a Critical hit for extra damage. Persona 4 additionally introduces Co-op Attacks, involving two specific party members joining their Personas to perform a combined Skill that does higher damage to said enemy or enemy group. When a Shadow or group of Shadows is completely Knocked Down, the player is presented with the option to have the party engage in an All-Out Attack, an unavoidable Skill which involves the entire party piling up on an enemy or enemy group for significant Almighty damage. On specific occasions after concluding a battle, the player is redirected to a seperate screen to play a minigame known as Shuffle Time. Shuffle Time involves players watching a set of cards yielding specific rewards as they are shuffled out of their original order, prompting them to select one in order to obtain an additional after-battle bonus. These bonuses can range from additional money or experience, where the amount received is dependant on the card's Rank, a card that can potentially restore a set amount of HP (Hit Points) or SP (Skill Points) for either just the protagonist or the entire party, or on some occasions, a new Persona which can be acquired for use in battle if the protagonist's Persona stock isn't full, at which point they are forced to either discard an existing Persona or forget the one they've been presented with.

In and outside of the TV World, the protagonist is able to visit the Velvet Room, operated by Igor and his attendants Margaret and Marie. New Personas can be created by visiting the Velvet Room and fusing together multiple Personas, passing along certain moves from the Personas used. The current level of the protagonist limits the Personas that a player can create. Additionally, the strength of a newly summoned or fused Persona is dependant on their Arcana, which itself corresponds to the strength of the protagonist's Social Link with the Arcana's correlating character. Upon fusing or discarding formerly used Personas, those that were previously obtained can be re-summoned from the Persona Compendium for a fee. The Velvet Room additionally allows players to take on quests, such as retrieving certain items, in order to obtain a reward. An element unique to Persona 4 is the "Fusion Forecast" system, where certain weather conditions on specific days may yield additional bonuses for Personas of a specific Arcana that are fused, such as additional Skills or experience gained upon fusion.

Gameplay Changes & Additions[]

Persona 4 Golden introduces numerous additions, alterations and improvements that build on top of the original release:

  • Two new Social Links. Both Social Links are capable of unlocking new story content.
    • Marie, a Persona 4 Golden exclusive character, of the returning Aeon Arcana from Persona 3 FES.
    • Tohru Adachi, a character from the original Persona 4, of the new Jester Arcana.
  • A new dungeon - If the protagonist maxes the Aeon Arcana Social Link before defeating Ameno-sagiri, the Investigation Team will visit the new dungeon, the Hollow Forest, which must be cleared to unlock the new epilogue.
  • A new bad ending - If the protagonist discovers the true culprit near the end of the game, but decides not to tell his friends about them, on March 20, 2012, he is given the option to meet them and destroy the evidence of their crime, turning him into their accomplice. If he does so, the mystery of Inaba's murders will never be solved and the protagonist will leave Inaba with the true culprit getting away with everything they had done. The credits then roll with "Corridor" playing in the background.
  • New difficulty levels have been added, similarly to Persona 3 Portable. On New Game+, or from the start on the PC version, the difficulty can be changed and even customized levels for individual game elements in the configuration menu. The pre-set levels of difficulty are:
    • Safety (Very Easy in NA Version)
    • Easy (Left untouched in NA Version, used to be called Beginner)
    • Normal
    • Hard (Left untouched in NA Version, used to be Expert)
    • Risky (Very Hard in NA Version)
  • Several new music tracks.
  • Additional voice-over dialogue.
  • Chie and Teddie have new voice actors in the English version.
  • New animated cutscenes.
  • More Personas, including new Ultimate Personas for the Investigation Team.
  • New areas can be visited, such as Shichiri Beach. Okina City, which was only seen during certain Social Link scenes, can now be accessible during the protagonist's Daily Life.
  • New events, such as a Halloween event and a ski trip.
  • The protagonist can now explore Inaba in the evening when Dojima is not home. Places to visit are limited, just like in Persona 3.
  • The protagonist and his friends now have motorized scooters to explore various areas. The protagonist may spend time riding it, which after several rides is the means to unlocking Shichiri Beach and Okina City.
    • Additionally, riding a scooter with a teammate will teach them new skills.
  • Costumes are now available to buy at Croco Fur, in Okina City. Costumes have their own slot for equipment, and affects the Investigation Team's appearance, similarly to Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable. Costumes do not affect the party's stats.
  • New Garden and Bug Catching activities.
  • A Trophy system has been added.
  • The ability to choose which skills can be inherited by the Persona the protagonist is fusing. (However, inheritance restriction still applies.)
  • The Vox Populi (Voice of the People) and SOS are new additions to the game, available while connected online.
    • The Vox Populi can be used to see what other players of Persona 4 Golden have chosen to do during the current day in the game. The feature is also available in the Velvet Room to see what Personas other players are currently fusing.
    • The SOS feature calls other online players for help in dungeons, allows you to send help to others, and is received as a gift of a minor amount of health and spirit.[1] The amount restored by the SOS is very little and isn't restricted by the current health status of your party.
  • New scene skipping function.
  • If the necessary criteria for at least the good ending are fulfilled, daily activities are expanded to February 14, 2012, giving more time for events and Social Links.
  • New epilogue has been added for the True Ending.
  • The list of Requests and the Fox' emas have been modified.
  • The flow of battle has been tweaked:
    • Some shadows/enemies had their elemental attributes or area spawn changed.
    • Shuffle Time has been revised.
    • Characters have been rebalanced.
    • The "Confuse" status has been renamed to "Panic" in the English verison.
    • Rise can now assist the Investigation Team in All-Out-Attacks.
    • Tag Team attacks: two members can team up to perform a united attack.
    • Cavalry Attacks: Attacks from members of the Investigation Team that are not currently in the party. These usually are a follow up to Weak/Critical attacks that down an additional enemy or two, allowing for an All-Out Attack.
    • Some spells have reduced usage cost (Megidolaon now only costs 38 SP and Morning Star costs 55 SP.)
    • Spell buffs and debuffs can now be used on the same character to prolong the effect.
  • A new gallery menu has been added: "TV Listings." It displays bonus content unlocked through the main game at any time. Bonus content and the game itself are presented as television shows. The various shows are:
    • Song Battle 2012 - Various clips from Persona Music Live 2008 in Akasaka Blitz and Persona Music Live 2009 in Wei City Tokyo.
      • Persona Music Live 2008 in Akasaka Blitz includes "Pursuing My True Self," "Mass Destruction" and "Reach Out To The Truth."
      • Persona Music Live 2009 in Wei City Tokyo includes "P3 FES," "Deep Breath Deep Breath" and "Never More."
    • Mr. Edogawa's TV Classroom - Lectures on the various themes of the game and their relation to psychology.
    • Midnight Trivia Miracle Quiz - A quiz show with questions regarding minor aspects of Inaba and the Shadow World. The character dialogue in this content is fully voiced.
    • Daily Personamations! - A hub for rewatching the game's animated cutscenes. Scenes are unlocked as they are encountered during play.
    • P4 Golden - The main game, this program serves as a link to return to the game.
    • Our Summer Vacation - Replays the events of the ending. This is unlocked after clearing the Story.
    • Giants of P - A series that shows Persona 4 concept art with commentary on each piece. Additional pieces of art are unlocked as the story progresses.
    • HEE! HEE! HOO! Music King - An in-game music player for listening to previously encountered music. Additional tracks are unlocked through playing the game.
  • Floors and chests in dungeons can now reset by changing floors instead of leaving the dungeon and TV world, or visiting another dungeon.

Nintendo Switch port additions[]

  • Unlike the PlayStation Vita version and Steam port of the game, it is confirmed that the Nintendo Switch port will be localized in French, Italian, German, Spanish and Simplified Chinese.
  • A "Quick Save" function has been added, allowing players to save their game from anywhere without having to manually interact with a save point.
  • A new Album feature is viewable from the protagonist's room, allowing the player to look at previous events with any established Social Links in their playthrough. The Album can also be used to replay a selected Rank event and alter the protagonist's responses to characters in order to see different outcomes.

Development[]

A Nintendo Switch version of Persona 4 Golden was announced on June 28, 2022 during that day's Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase event, as in development alongside ports of its successor Persona 5 Royal, and its predecessor Persona 3 Portable. The Switch version's confirmation followed on from the announcement that the game would be ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and the Windows Store for PC, which was made public two weeks prior.

Release[]

Persona 4 Golden was launched worldwide for Nintendo Switch on January 19, 2023, alongside the Switch version of Persona 3 Portable. Like P3P, the game is exclusively available digitally on the Switch's Nintendo eShop for $19.99 USD/26.99 CAD. Alternatively, Persona 4 Golden is also purchaseable in a digital bundle alongside Persona 3 Portable for a combined price of $39.49 USD/53.99 CAD.

In other media[]

Persona 4's success by the metrics of other titles in the Megami Tensei series is often credited for cementing developer and publisher Atlus, as well as the Persona series collectively, as a mainstream franchise among Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) worldwide, with its reception in the West being significantly stronger commercially compared to the already popular Persona 3. It was due to this acclaim that Atlus used Persona 4 as a launching point for branching the series beyond the numbered role-playing titles and into other mediums, including games in atypical genres for the franchise. In the same year as Golden's original release in 2012, Atlus also collaborated with fighting game developer Arc System Works to release Persona 4 Arena, a themed fighting game that additionally served as a narrative continuation of Persona 4's setting and characters, while boasting a roster that encompassed characters from across Persona 3 and Persona 4. Arena was notable for being the Persona series' first major console spinoff title, as well as the first game in the franchise outside the JRPG genre. Arena's success thereby paved the way for additional spinoff games to be developed, beginning with a direct sequel to Arena titled Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Arena Ultimax boasted numerous improvements to gameplay systems and additional modes over its predecessor based on fan requests, including expanding the roster of fighters to include characters who weren't featured in the prior game, notably P4's Rise Kujikawa alongside Yukari Takeba, Junpei Iori and the duo of Ken Amada & Koromaru from P3, as well as Tohru Adachi, Margaret and Marie from Persona 4 Golden as downloadable content (DLC) fighters. The stories across both games were also highlighted for introducing original characters Labrys and Sho Minazuki to the series' cast, the latter of whom served as Arena Ultimax's primary antagonist and significantly tied into events from Persona 3. The success of the Arena games prompted the development of additional spinoff titles within the Persona series, as well as adaptations in other mediums beyond video games. Spinoff titles utilizing characters from Persona 4 were thereby released between 2012 and 2015, including the crossover dungeon crawler Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (2014) for Nintendo 3DS, which featured the respective casts of Persona 4 and Persona 3 in an original narrative with gameplay inspired by Atlus' Etrian Odyssey games, as well as the rhythm game Persona 4: Dancing All Night (2015), which involved the Investigation Team journeying into the Midnight Stage to rescue pop idols from Shadows by dancing to various songs from Persona 4. Persona Q's success additionally led to the development of a sequel, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth (2018), which crossed over the respective casts of P3 and P4 with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts from Persona 5.

Persona 4 also inspired a serialized manga adaptation written by Shūji Sogabe and published from September 2008 to March 2019 in Dengeki Black Maoh magazine, and localized in volumes by UDON Entertainment. Furthermore, Persona 4 was further adapted into both an episodic anime television series titled Persona 4: The Animation which aired in Japan from October 2011 to March 2012, as well as a stage play titled VISUALLIVE: Persona 4 which played between March 15-20, 2012. Following the original release of Persona 4 Golden, its exclusive story elements were seperately adapted into a standalone anime series titled Persona 4: The Golden Animation, which was televised in Japan between July and September 2014.

External links[]

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