Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 abandoned the original spirit of Persona (and SMT by extension) and instead opted for a comfortable, jovial atmosphere, more akin to a children's cartoon than the usual cruel, dark nature of the previous entries.
Despite this, the differences are merely surface level. Persona 4 actually excels in bridging the psychological discord of Persona 2: Innocent Sin with the modern format inaugurated by Persona 3. In several key moments, Persona 4 tackles much deeper personal issues that previous games (both series and the medium) dared not speak up on. Gameplay-wise, Persona 4 continues the format of 3 in what can be unfortunately described as an overall downgrade. Combat is lauded as 'fixed' for finally letting players take control of other party members, but the tedious change in dungeon design sours much of the gameplay. While Persona 3 also relied on repetitive, randomly generated dungeons, their design was more compact, whereas Persona 4's dungeons focused on the elongated, boring structure of hallways dotted with single rooms. This design remained the same throughout all dungeons, regardless of their aesthetic differences.
The game delivers a sense of harmless fun in a drastic thematic change reminiscent of Final Fantasy VIII. It focused less on the oppressive, disturbing atmospheres of past games, instead relying on a plot-wide murder mystery that is less chilling and more humorous. Only occasionally do the disturbing pieces of previous games ever rear their heads, yet are sequenced effectively nonetheless. The characters mirror the game's cheery yet subversive tone, but are often too annoying or simply not memorable enough for their powerful subplots to truly take effect.
Despite this, the differences are merely surface level. Persona 4 actually excels in bridging the psychological discord of Persona 2: Innocent Sin with the modern format inaugurated by Persona 3. In several key moments, Persona 4 tackles much deeper personal issues that previous games (both series and the medium) dared not speak up on. Gameplay-wise, Persona 4 continues the format of 3 in what can be unfortunately described as an overall downgrade. Combat is lauded as 'fixed' for finally letting players take control of other party members, but the tedious change in dungeon design sours much of the gameplay. While Persona 3 also relied on repetitive, randomly generated dungeons, their design was more compact, whereas Persona 4's dungeons focused on the elongated, boring structure of hallways dotted with single rooms. This design remained the same throughout all dungeons, regardless of their aesthetic differences.
The game delivers a sense of harmless fun in a drastic thematic change reminiscent of Final Fantasy VIII. It focused less on the oppressive, disturbing atmospheres of past games, instead relying on a plot-wide murder mystery that is less chilling and more humorous. Only occasionally do the disturbing pieces of previous games ever rear their heads, yet are sequenced effectively nonetheless. The characters mirror the game's cheery yet subversive tone, but are often too annoying or simply not memorable enough for their powerful subplots to truly take effect.
Reviewed on Jan 09, 2021