Mother of God.
Yup, yup, I know what you're thinking. Oh man, WildCard's hooked on another JRPG. Oh that WildCard, when will he learn Japanese games are crap.
Sorry guys, newsflash. Japanese games are awesome. No, seriously. Why are you laughing? Well the whole NA vs JP arguement will have to wait for another time because after literally 30 hours of gameplay is less than a week (six days to be exact) I have so much to say about Persona 4: Golden.
First off this is part of Atlus's Shin Megami Tensei series, though it cut down on the nomenclature of sorts. It also originally came out on PS2 back in late '08 despite the PS3 already being established at the time. This is the reason I didn't pick it up originally. Everytime a game comes out on last generation's hardware when where is a current gen, it almost always gets 'ported. This goes mostly for bigger publishers, but Atlus seems to have this as a rule of thumb. So I skipped the PS2 version and regretted it for many years... until now. It took a little longer than I expected (4 years... really? REALLY!?) but that wait is over and man was it worth it.
From initial concept Persona 4: Golden is already an exemplary title in the JRPG library. You can take control of every character in your party which is so refreshing considering so many RPGs have gotten away from the turn based format for the action/RPG hybrid games I find so hit or miss personally. You can also let them control themselves with basic AI behaviors you can select. Combat is exciting with all the cutaways, battle animations, extra attacks, and all-out attacks that really make the game a feast for the eyes. The story is killer (no pun intended). The characters are surprisingly likable. Kanji Tatsumi in particular shocked me, as it's not every day the concept of a man being sexually confused in a Japanese video game makes it to print. It was a bold move, but one I truly admire as the issue of acceptance is his true desire, and one we can all relate to despite being straight, gay, or whatever. Social links are totally addicting as well. As you decide how best to spend your time afterschool or on Sunday, you'll begin to notice there are so many things and so little time. You can enhance your social links which strengthen the Personas you create, and even enhance your party members proficiency in battle as well. You can also do stuff like eat out, study, and train which will help you raise your social attributes, which in turn help you enhance your social links. You of course can also jump into the TV world to complete story missions, grind, or complete quests. It's all pretty daunting, but in a good way.
That is all really just in the main game itself. The "Golden" in Persona 4: Golden is really, well... golden. The Vita version has new features like the dungeon SOS, a "call for help" function what will allow people to send you small amounts of HP and SP between battles to help keep you on your feet. There is also the "Voice" feature that will display the choices of what players connected to the PSN while playing chose to do that day. It's actually handy to be able to see who has chosen to do what, and sometimes you can see choices you didn't know you even had. There is also more animated cutscenes and voice overs, both of which are awesome. There are new songs and new school events such as festivals and other things that would exist during a normal Japanese high schoolers life. There are new social links with Tohru Adachi and the new character Marie. There are also new Personas and new ways to spend your time such as gardening. Combine this with the already humongous amount of content in the original release... and the choices are staggering.
Yeah, I know it's getting a little obscene. Just trust me when I say I am literally addicted to this game. From the excitement of combat, to the addictiveness of enhancing social links, I cannot put this game down. Like, at all. It's so bad I've spent a total of 24 hours in my first five days playing. What?! Seriously, I may have a problem.
Either way if you own a Vita and have even the slightest patience for RPGs, you will need this game. Even if you don't know you need it yet, trust me, you do. There is a reason why this game was a much needed boost for the Vita overseas, and why this is one of the Japanese games actually making waves over here in the US. It is that good.
I'm almost sad to say I'm not reviewing this game, but Beatboxtaun is handling it so it should turn out to be a great review. Considering she is as addicted to this as I am I think I can safely say we probably would review this to a similar score anyways. That's right, I trust her!
(That's saying a lot!)
Anyways there you have it. Everything about this game seems pretty spectacular, and I haven't encountered a single thing that isn't. I always have something negative to say about a game, at least something. This time though, nothing. You know what to do Vita owners!
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