Persona 4 Golden is my favorite game of all time.

2016. I was a depressed, angry, suicidal teenager who had just graduated the year before and had spent his post high school life wandering aimlessly through life and pushing away everyone he had ever cared about.

I had not felt joy in years and the hobby that had previously brought me comfort now only bored me. A friend of mine convinced me to get a Vita and a copy of this game so I gave it a shot. I was not ready for what I was about to experience.

Persona 4 Golden is a genuine work of art. It is a truly beautiful game... and it saved my life.

-Story-
Persona 4 Golden is a very long game, but it uses that length to it's advantage by giving the story plenty of time to breathe. You spend a lot of time taking in the sights, exploring the town and talking to its residents. Even more time however is spent getting closer to and learning about your party members and a few select special individuals. You truly learn a lot about these people, and this town and you really get attached. The story itself I will not spoil, but it is a murder mystery with a super natural spin and all the twists and turns are very interesting and keep you engaged from start to finish and for an 80+ hour game that is a major victory.

-Gameplay-
The SMT series as a whole is constantly revamping the JRPG turn based formula and Persona 4 is no exception. The game is split into two halves. The "real world" where you live your life as a normal high school student, getting closer to your friends working jobs, going to holiday gatherings, and living in this new town and the "shadow world" where you fight the existential horrors of mankind given form. The balance between the two keeps things from getting stale and the actual battles themselves are made ever more engaging with the unique spin on turn based combat that incentivize using the proper moves on the proper enemies to steal turns away. Play your cards right (pun intended) and you can finish fights without even giving your opponent a single turn.

-Music-
The Persona series is full of amazing music and this game is no exception. Don't even waste your time reading my words talking about it, just go listen to the soundtrack right now even if you don't play the game! Persona music is just simply THAT good!

I love this game so much. It really is one of the most special experiences I have ever had the joy of playing through and I will NEVER forget my time in Inaba. I love the entire series, but this game will always have a special place in my heart as the game that literally saved my life.

Thank you for listening.