Persona 4 Golden
Playtime: 101.1 Hours
Persona 4 Golden was the first Persona game I have ever played, and boy is it a hit!
Persona 4 Golden is a mix between a turn-based JRPG and a Visual Novel. Originally coming out in 2008 as Persona 4, Persona 4 Golden adds a lot of quality-of-life features, balance adjustments, gameplay tweaks and extra epilogue content as well. You follow the story of Yu Narukami, a transfer student to the rural town of Inaba in Japan. However, soon after arriving, you come across the body of one your schoolmates. The story revolves around trying to find this killer and try to save others from being killed in the same way.
Without spoiling too much, you are told who will be killed in advance thanks to something called ‘The Midnight Channel’, which shows who the next victim will be. And you must save these people after they have been kidnapped by going through a group of monster-like enemies using the power of your Persona!
A Persona is very close to a stand like in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. The manifestation of your soul and can be used to fight bad guys. However, as the main character, you have the power to summon every type of Persona! Helped along the way by the mysterious Igor and the inhabitants of ‘The Velvet Room.’
The closest comparison I can give the combat for beginners would be Pokémon. However, it can be up to four enemies at once against your party of four. You have to be tactical on when to Heal, Defend, attack and support your team as well. All the while conserving the amount of Magic you have in that run. While playing on Very Easy will make this game a breeze, even playing on Easy will be a tough challenge. Many have quit the game after not being able to get very far playing on Normal.
The story is stellar, probably my favorite murder mystery and since the game is very long, you get attached to the characters you are with over time. I cannot say much without spoiling anything, but I do want to say it’s probably the best story from all of the Persona games.
The music is also phenomenal, I have a lot of music in the soundtrack on my Spotify playlist I listen to them so often! While not as good as Persona 5’s music, there are a lot of amazing tracks in here you will really start to love over time.
However, if you are new to JRPGs, Persona 4 Golden isn’t the most beginner friendly. I would recommend Persona 5: Royal in that regard. Persona 4 Golden still very much looks like a 2008 and the visuals have aged poorer compared to a lot of other games. That being said, if you enjoyed Persona 5: Royal, you will probably enjoy this one as well!
This comes with a full recommendation from me! Give it a try!
