This review contains spoilers
Persona 4 Golden is a weird game for me. After finishing my first Persona game, Persona 5, which completely stole my heart (no pun intended), I was left wanting more and naturally looked into the earlier games. From the outside, Persona 4 didn’t appeal to me: for some reason the main color being yellow and the character designs just turned me off at first. At that time, the overall aesthetic of P3 spoke to me more so I went with that game instead. Fast forward a few weeks later, I dropped P3 because it felt too dated for my taste, despite enjoying some aspects, and eventually turned to P4G which became my favorite Persona game.
The main cast of characters is definitely the standout aspect of this game, the chemistry between them is just perfectly executed and none of them feel like they had not enough screen time or were underdeveloped, unlike Haru in P5. Even characters outside the main cast, such as Dojima or Nanako, are so compelling and add significant depth to P4’s story. It’s not without flaws: like every modern persona, the social links in this game are a mixed bag ranging from excellent to downright bad sometimes. Not to mention the very poor and dated writing in some cases, especially with Yosuke which seems like remnants of his cut-out romance.
On the gameplay side, we have the typical turn-based combat that’s been a staple in the franchise and remains as engaging as ever. Difficulty wise, I find it to be more challenging than Persona 5’s combat but less punishing and “unfair” than P3’s, striking a nice balance. The inclusion of a custom difficulty option is still one of my favorite features, and it still baffles me that it hasn’t returned in a more in-depth version in P5 or P3R. The dungeons are visually more varied and feel more engaging than P3's Tartarus, but feel hollow compared to P5's Palaces.
Just a quick rant on the Reaper: this is obviously far and away the worst implementation of it: not only does spawning it require opening chests for 20 minutes, but the best gear for the party can only be obtained by defeating it 14 times (21 if you also want the accesories too), making it one of the most boring and tedious grind I have ever experienced.
The murder mystery aspect of the story is incredibly compelling and had me on the edge of my seat waiting for each new story beat to happen, even though I had already been spoiled about the killer's identity. It's just really well handled for the most part. However, the addition of Marie feels somewhat underwhelming and tacked-on compared to Maruki and Kasumi in P5R, probably because it was their first attempt at something like this. Similarly, Izanami doesn’t quite measure up to my expectation for being the final enemy of this game, and I feel that Adachi/Ameno-sagiri just do a much better job.
To finish up on the visuals and music. The soundtrack, like every Persona game, is an absolute banger and I still regularly listen to some of the tracks because they are just that good. Shoutout to “The Almighty” for being my favorite boss music ever and further highlighting why the Ameno-sagiri fight is just superior to Izanami's. Being a PS2 game, the graphics are obviously dated but thanks to its art direction, still exudes so much charm that it’s not that big of a deal. The menus look very nice and stylish, but obviously are not on the level of P5’s or P3R’s.
This game is just very special to me, probably because I didn’t expect to like it as much at first. I love it so much that it isn’t really possible for me to put it into words. The game still has some rougher parts but nothing a potential remake, that will eventually happen seeing P3R’s success, can't fix. Just a tremendous experience.
The main cast of characters is definitely the standout aspect of this game, the chemistry between them is just perfectly executed and none of them feel like they had not enough screen time or were underdeveloped, unlike Haru in P5. Even characters outside the main cast, such as Dojima or Nanako, are so compelling and add significant depth to P4’s story. It’s not without flaws: like every modern persona, the social links in this game are a mixed bag ranging from excellent to downright bad sometimes. Not to mention the very poor and dated writing in some cases, especially with Yosuke which seems like remnants of his cut-out romance.
On the gameplay side, we have the typical turn-based combat that’s been a staple in the franchise and remains as engaging as ever. Difficulty wise, I find it to be more challenging than Persona 5’s combat but less punishing and “unfair” than P3’s, striking a nice balance. The inclusion of a custom difficulty option is still one of my favorite features, and it still baffles me that it hasn’t returned in a more in-depth version in P5 or P3R. The dungeons are visually more varied and feel more engaging than P3's Tartarus, but feel hollow compared to P5's Palaces.
Just a quick rant on the Reaper: this is obviously far and away the worst implementation of it: not only does spawning it require opening chests for 20 minutes, but the best gear for the party can only be obtained by defeating it 14 times (21 if you also want the accesories too), making it one of the most boring and tedious grind I have ever experienced.
The murder mystery aspect of the story is incredibly compelling and had me on the edge of my seat waiting for each new story beat to happen, even though I had already been spoiled about the killer's identity. It's just really well handled for the most part. However, the addition of Marie feels somewhat underwhelming and tacked-on compared to Maruki and Kasumi in P5R, probably because it was their first attempt at something like this. Similarly, Izanami doesn’t quite measure up to my expectation for being the final enemy of this game, and I feel that Adachi/Ameno-sagiri just do a much better job.
To finish up on the visuals and music. The soundtrack, like every Persona game, is an absolute banger and I still regularly listen to some of the tracks because they are just that good. Shoutout to “The Almighty” for being my favorite boss music ever and further highlighting why the Ameno-sagiri fight is just superior to Izanami's. Being a PS2 game, the graphics are obviously dated but thanks to its art direction, still exudes so much charm that it’s not that big of a deal. The menus look very nice and stylish, but obviously are not on the level of P5’s or P3R’s.
This game is just very special to me, probably because I didn’t expect to like it as much at first. I love it so much that it isn’t really possible for me to put it into words. The game still has some rougher parts but nothing a potential remake, that will eventually happen seeing P3R’s success, can't fix. Just a tremendous experience.