(this is a repost of my Steam review for this game with some slight modifications. you can read the original review here: https://steamcommunity.com/id/huuishuu/recommended/1113000/)
Frankly...I don't know what I could say about Persona 4 Golden that hasn't been echoed by so many folk during the game's time on the Vita. Persona 4 Golden is a great time. It's a great game with an interesting story and satisfying gameplay.
Although, since I had just finished Persona 5 Royal mere weeks before Persona 4 Golden came to Steam and had a chance to finally play it, I had a lot of things I really needed to readjust to. So if you've played Persona 5, the original or Royal, and are thinking of going back to Persona 4 Golden to see what this game was about, keep in mind that you may have a bit of a tough time re-adjusting to certain aspects of gameplay.
I'll actually start off things I disliked about the gameplay itself, which - excuse me if it'll sound like I'm just too spoiled by Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. But nevertheless, these are things that bothered me throughout my entire playthrough.
Things I didn't like:
- Dungeons
They felt...boring. The dungeons in this game were very very boring for me, as most of them were pretty much randomly generated sets of hallways covered with fog, teeming with shadows but also treasure. There have been countless times where going through the dungeons I genuinely felt like I was going to fall asleep. Thematically they are really good, I love the themes for dungeons that are presented here. I just wish navigating them was more fun than going through hallways, opening doors and grabbing treasure until you find the next staircase.
- Engaging shadows
Engaging shadows feels incredibly clunky. I had this same issue with Persona 3 Portable but the same issue persists here too. I didn't like how shadows could see you from any angle you approach them, making a stealthy approach impossible unless you draw the Avoid Encounters card during Shuffle Time. I got the hang of it by the time I entered the third dungeon of the game, as it's about making your move during the second the shadow notices you and the "!" appears. But even after figuring that out, I still feel it was very clunky.
- Lack of encouragement for most social links
There's not really much incentive to do social links in this game. Maxing out links with your party seems like a no-brainer - they get a bunch of awesome benefits as you level them, useful skills as you go through, the works. But maxing out non-party social links feels unsatisfying. If you don't care about earning additional money or raising your social stats, most of them feel pretty pointless. Of course 2 of them are required for story progression if you want to go forth to the true ending, but aside from them - there's not much point to social links aside from missing out on Arcana Bursts and money/social stats.
That's about it for the things I disliked about Persona 4 Golden. Now what about the things that I really liked about it?
Things I liked/loved:
- The story and characters
I still prefer Persona 5's story because it's a lot more relatable to me personally, but I really enjoyed Persona 4 Golden's story. Really! The murder mystery alongside a quiet town aesthetic, while a bit cliche, was very interesting to follow along. I honestly enjoyed how it continued to throw you for a loop, and some parts of the story actively made me jump out of my seat and go "woah what the hell?!". Of course it did have its low-points, but there's a lot of quotable lines from this game's story and it's overall very interesting to follow along. It knows how to pace itself, when the proper time to crack a joke, the works. Also screw Teddie. I found Teddie very annoying all the way through.
- The soundtrack
PERSONA 4'S MUSIC IS GOOD. REALLY GOOD. I prefer the PS2 opening of the game to Golden, but I won't deny at all that this game's soundtrack is a serious bop. The song that plays right before dungeons, known as "Studio Backlot", is seriously my favorite song from this game. It's just so good.
- The gameplay loop
Yeah, I mentioned that I thought the dungeons were boring and that engaging shadows was clunky, but to be perfectly honest - the gameplay loop itself is very good. A good variety of meaningful mechanics and enough time to learn about, adjust to and then abuse the hell out of your enemies. The gameplay, despite being jank in some aspects, does often feel incredibly rewarding.
Do I recommend Persona 4 Golden? As if you thought I was going to say "no". Persona 4 Golden is a great time to be had. And while it is a bit jank and the graphics haven't exactly aged gracefully, seeing as Persona 4 was originally a PlayStation 2 game made in 2008, neither of those facts change that this game is phenomenal. And you should totally give it a shot. There's at least 60 hours worth of fulfilling content in this, if not *way more.
Frankly...I don't know what I could say about Persona 4 Golden that hasn't been echoed by so many folk during the game's time on the Vita. Persona 4 Golden is a great time. It's a great game with an interesting story and satisfying gameplay.
Although, since I had just finished Persona 5 Royal mere weeks before Persona 4 Golden came to Steam and had a chance to finally play it, I had a lot of things I really needed to readjust to. So if you've played Persona 5, the original or Royal, and are thinking of going back to Persona 4 Golden to see what this game was about, keep in mind that you may have a bit of a tough time re-adjusting to certain aspects of gameplay.
I'll actually start off things I disliked about the gameplay itself, which - excuse me if it'll sound like I'm just too spoiled by Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. But nevertheless, these are things that bothered me throughout my entire playthrough.
Things I didn't like:
- Dungeons
They felt...boring. The dungeons in this game were very very boring for me, as most of them were pretty much randomly generated sets of hallways covered with fog, teeming with shadows but also treasure. There have been countless times where going through the dungeons I genuinely felt like I was going to fall asleep. Thematically they are really good, I love the themes for dungeons that are presented here. I just wish navigating them was more fun than going through hallways, opening doors and grabbing treasure until you find the next staircase.
- Engaging shadows
Engaging shadows feels incredibly clunky. I had this same issue with Persona 3 Portable but the same issue persists here too. I didn't like how shadows could see you from any angle you approach them, making a stealthy approach impossible unless you draw the Avoid Encounters card during Shuffle Time. I got the hang of it by the time I entered the third dungeon of the game, as it's about making your move during the second the shadow notices you and the "!" appears. But even after figuring that out, I still feel it was very clunky.
- Lack of encouragement for most social links
There's not really much incentive to do social links in this game. Maxing out links with your party seems like a no-brainer - they get a bunch of awesome benefits as you level them, useful skills as you go through, the works. But maxing out non-party social links feels unsatisfying. If you don't care about earning additional money or raising your social stats, most of them feel pretty pointless. Of course 2 of them are required for story progression if you want to go forth to the true ending, but aside from them - there's not much point to social links aside from missing out on Arcana Bursts and money/social stats.
That's about it for the things I disliked about Persona 4 Golden. Now what about the things that I really liked about it?
Things I liked/loved:
- The story and characters
I still prefer Persona 5's story because it's a lot more relatable to me personally, but I really enjoyed Persona 4 Golden's story. Really! The murder mystery alongside a quiet town aesthetic, while a bit cliche, was very interesting to follow along. I honestly enjoyed how it continued to throw you for a loop, and some parts of the story actively made me jump out of my seat and go "woah what the hell?!". Of course it did have its low-points, but there's a lot of quotable lines from this game's story and it's overall very interesting to follow along. It knows how to pace itself, when the proper time to crack a joke, the works. Also screw Teddie. I found Teddie very annoying all the way through.
- The soundtrack
PERSONA 4'S MUSIC IS GOOD. REALLY GOOD. I prefer the PS2 opening of the game to Golden, but I won't deny at all that this game's soundtrack is a serious bop. The song that plays right before dungeons, known as "Studio Backlot", is seriously my favorite song from this game. It's just so good.
- The gameplay loop
Yeah, I mentioned that I thought the dungeons were boring and that engaging shadows was clunky, but to be perfectly honest - the gameplay loop itself is very good. A good variety of meaningful mechanics and enough time to learn about, adjust to and then abuse the hell out of your enemies. The gameplay, despite being jank in some aspects, does often feel incredibly rewarding.
Do I recommend Persona 4 Golden? As if you thought I was going to say "no". Persona 4 Golden is a great time to be had. And while it is a bit jank and the graphics haven't exactly aged gracefully, seeing as Persona 4 was originally a PlayStation 2 game made in 2008, neither of those facts change that this game is phenomenal. And you should totally give it a shot. There's at least 60 hours worth of fulfilling content in this, if not *way more.