Persona 4 Golden [Vita] - Game Review

Reviewed On: Vita

"Scenic, relaxing, and oh so friendly Inaba."

Persona 4 Golden is one of those games you never want to end, it makes for an incredibly engaging experience that most games never achieve.
Difficulty: Adjustable (Easy - Hard)
Time Spent Playing To Date: 85 Hours
Worth Playing?: Yes
The Bottom Line: "Masterpiece"

This is the game that got me to buy a Vita, and yet I had no idea what to really expect out of it. It was my personal entry into the Persona series, and it's now a game I could recommend to just about anybody. Now, I can't say that absolutely everybody would love Persona 4. If you don't want a story, tend to find yourself skipping cutscenes, or if story sequences in games flat out bore you, then this won't be the experience for you.

If you do however want another world to just dive into and escape from reality for a while, then Persona 4 Golden is that game. It's a game that I could safely say will last me a very long time, especially with the New Game+ mode, I plan on revisiting Inaba for many, many hours to come. 

Story:
This is really one of those games you have to just experience on your own, so without giving anything away I'm just going to describe how the story functions on a surface level. 
You play as Yu Narukami, a student from the city sent to live in Inaba for a year. You move in with your uncle Ryotaro Dojima and his daughter Nanako. When murders begin happening in the small town, you and your newly found friends go out to investigate, only to find out things aren't exactly normal.

There are many more characters in the game that you can choose to interact with through main story and side story segments. Each character builds up a reputation with you in the form of "S-Links" or "Social Links." And you'll really feel connected to these characters, living out each day in Inaba becomes interesting as you choose just how exactly you will spend your time, and with whom. Some of the characters outside of the main cast are more forgettable, but really, with the quality of the rest of the game, it's easily excused.  

While there aren't many of them, there are anime style cutscenes within the game as well. They are really beautiful, and present the characters in a spectacular light. If anything they only add to the connection you feel with the story, it's just a shame there aren't at least a couple more spread throughout. However, it does make the few that are included really standout.

Dialogue: 
This is where the game truly shines. It's well written, clever, funny, and thoughtful. The characters feel real, and you actually care about how they develop along with the story. There was several times I found myself laughing along with the rest of the characters on screen, or realizing how much of an asshole Mr. Morooka is every time I went to school.

The characters all have a unique feeling to them, making them significant as individuals. The game is heavily story based, so it's crucial that the dialogue was perfect, and I can safely say they nailed it. Even for those who are new to Japanese games, but love a good story will likely find something to absolutely love about Persona 4 Golden. The story sequences are always fresh and engaging, I found myself actually losing sleep to stay up and play longer. 

Gameplay / Controls:
Just to cover the basics, Persona 4 is a turn-based JRPG. Battles are fought with a party of characters the player has control of, and special abilities (like magic, stuns, buffs, etc) are performed through each character's Persona(s). The combat system isn't anything out of the ordinary. It's not overly complicated, but it's not too simple, so things are kept interesting. 

For those who are not familiar with JRPGs, the closest thing Personas can be related to are Pokemon, there are tons of them to collect and use. The main difference being that Personas can learn up to 8 moves at time, 12 can be in your possession at a time, and only one can be used in battle a time (but they can be switched out). There is no storage for Personas outside of the limit of 12, but Personas can be registered and purchased back with money. There is also Persona fusion, which is the process of taking two or more Personas in order to create new ones. On top of that, there are items and armor/clothing that can be found in dungeon chests or bought to be equipped to each character in your party to change their stats. So there is a lot of variety to be had with combat. 

For those looking for a challenge the boss fights generally bring it, if you're playing above the easiest difficulty setting. Not being prepared with the right Personas and abilities for a battle can leave you at a daunting disadvantage. Figuring out what works best can be frustrating at times, but its it's definitely rewarding to conquer some of the tougher encounters.  
Persona 4 Golden also adds in network features in dungeons. You can send an SOS signal that will be sent out to other people online in the same dungeon, if they chose to reply you will replenish some HP and SP in your next battle encounter relative to each person who responds. 

Control wise, everything runs smoothly on the Vita, there are absolutely zero issues here. Loading times are also incredibly short. The game itself feels like it was made to be portable. The dungeons are perfect for a few battles here and there, then sticking the Vita into sleep mode for a bit. It achieves the on-the-go short burst feeling splendidly well. 

So after all that what is there to really be said about P4G?

Pros -

+ Engaging Story

+ Well Written Dialogue
+ Likable Characters
+ Sharp, Colorful Visuals
+ Fun Combat
+ Great Portable Gameplay Design
+ Diverse Gameplay Options with Personas
+ New Game+ Mode

Cons -
None!

 10 / 10 - Masterpiece