A good number of years ago I worked for HMV and all was well. I used to get a great discount and being a gamer this really helped. I took it all for granted and alas they eventually put themselves out of business. When this happened I was both sad and unsure as to what I would do next, it was at this point in my life I found Persona 4 Golden. It helped get me through a tough time in my life and forget my woes.
Jacobs. Mini. Cheddars. Mini cheesy biscuits, a great snack and you can never have enough of them. I recently tried a new flavour, Red Leicester, they are a game changer. They are super cheesy, so much so it feels like my eyes were rolling back in my head. Basically, they are good, really good. Playing Persona 4 Golden I found myself asking was this super cheesy biscuit heaven?
Story
The story has you play as the high school student Yu, your parents send to you to the quiet town of Inaba to live with your Uncle. Shortly after you arrive a strange spate of kidnappings and murders occur. It turns out Yu along with some of his newly made friends might be able to stop all of this from happening. That is the bare basics of the premise, and honestly anymore than that might spoil it for you.
There is a slew of side missions and activities to complete so you will never be stuck for something to do. You can hang out with your friends, study, fish, work and that is just some of the things available, all of which have their own stories.
Overall Persona 4 Golden has a really great well-paced story, and anytime you want to take a break from saving the town of Inaba you will find plenty of other things to do.
Visuals
When you are dealing with a handheld console you automatically need to reduce your expectations visually, if for no other reason then the fact they aren't powerful as a standard games consoles. However, playing Persona 4 Golden my expectations were exceeded greatly. The cute style of the town looks great and works really in making the various dungeons you will visit stand out more. As if this was not enough they also have a healthy sprinkling of high-quality anime sequences which look amazing.
The character designs are really cool, especially the Personas you can summon, and some of the enemies look so outlandish, but in a good way. Similar to the story I don't want to mention any of my favorite areas as it is difficult to do so without revealing too much.
Overall Persona Golden is visually impressive and a delight to explore.
Music
The score is like an onion, that has many layers to it. There is the upbeat pop style layer, the somber layer, and the 'things are getting intense' layer. This interesting onion is composed by Japanese composers Shoji Meguro and Atsushi Kitajoh. They have worked on the Shin Megami/Persona Series, Catherine, and Trauma Centre New Blood. The vocals are supplied by Shihoko Hirata and Rie Kugimiya. The two of them combined has worked on Persona 4 The Animation, Catherine, Persona 4 Dancing All Night, Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Fairytale to name but a few.
The score runs at over two hours, my favorite tracks include...well I didn't list any. The reason being is that there were so many I liked it was easier to list those I didn't like...which is none. Overall a fantastic score that I never get tired of listening to.
Gameplay
So...much...gameplay! Persona 4 Golden is a JRPG, and while I have played a number of RPG's I've never played a JRPG. The best and worst part of Persona 4 Golden is the amount you can do in it, there is literally so much, in fact, it can be a little overwhelming.
First, you have the combat system, it's turn-based, which is my preferred playstyle with RPG's. There are good old fashioned physical attacks and Persona attacks. The Persona attacks can vary hugely depending on which ones you use. Personas can be collected or fused together to create whatever you need to overcome any enemy.
The biggest appeal for me was all the things you could do when you weren't fighting. There is making friends and building those relationships, which in turn has a direct effect on the Personas you can create. There are jobs which can be a great way to make money but also have the added benefit of creating new relationships. There are clubs like basketball, soccer, and band. There is fishing, butterfly catching, model making, reading, gardening and those are just the things I can think of off the top my head.
The second playthrough was even more than my first, due to the experience I had gained from the first time around. Overall the gameplay is fantastic and while the amount of things you can do does feel a little overwhelming it's also nice to always have something to do!
Final Thoughts
So, after seventy hours (on this playthrough) how did I feel? Awesome. I loved the story, visuals, music and gameplay. In honesty, it's hard to fault the game. I'm already looking forward to the next time I play it, lucky enough I still have Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Ultimax and Persona 4 Dancing All Night to play - yay! This one gets a super solid 5 out of 5
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