One of the best RPGs in current reminiscence is now on PC – and it’s a wonderful port.
Persona 4 Golden is an excellent game. The prolonged, expanded model of probably the most beloved Japanese role-playing games of the PlayStation 2 period, it trades in a carefree appeal that’s completely matched to the participant’s actions, whiling away your days in a sleepy Japanese suburb.
For those that got here to the sequence with the also-excellent Persona 5, that is the place its predecessor differs most. Where P5 is all about slick fashion and razor-sharp presentation amid the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, P4G is a softer game throughout the board. Where it appears like you would reduce your self on P5’s deliberate edginess, P4 has sanded down, rounded edges that make it an informal pleasure to deal with.
That distinction in texture and tone partially comes from a distinction within the story being instructed, but it surely’s additionally all the way down to the precise design of game. Persona 5 was an rebellion, the sequence staking an aggressive declare to the throne because the king of Japanese RPGs. P4 is the teeing up for that: an ideal expression of Persona earlier than then, a game that knew its area of interest and its inherent limitations.
Some issues, naturally, are a Persona staple and stay unchanged. Catchy music has you quietly buzzing alongside and tapping a foot, whereas relatable, lovable characters riff on one another in enjoyable methods. But maybe most enjoyable about Persona Four is its tackle the sequence trope of the juxtaposition of the mundane plottings of highschool life and a fantastical story of world-saving RPG heroes.
Persona Four is twelve years previous subsequent month. The Vita-only enhanced model, upon which the PC port relies, is 4 years youthful. Both variations are games that present their age, however that’s solely pure. More chunks of Persona Four move with out voiceover than its successor. The dungeons are randomly-generated mazes of boxy rooms and slim corridors moderately than intricately-designed, particular areas. The animation is actually typically simplistic – however none of it issues.
This is the place Persona 4 Golden can play on that previously-mentioned appeal, utilizing it in parlay to get by on its shortcomings. Even in 2008, Persona Four was somewhat dated – Final Fantasy 10 was seven years prior, and even Oblivion had launched two years earlier – however none of that mattered. Persona Four was simply particular.
This, too, is the place the PC port could be very profitable. It options sharper textures and enhanced particulars (I used to be stunned to see that Dojima’s automotive truly says ‘Land Rover’ on the hood – please don’t sue), however not one of the magnificence and ease of the unique game has been misplaced on this. It is profitable within the final remaster mission: to look as you keep in mind it moderately than the way it truly was.
There are enhancements past higher-resolution textures, in fact. You can crank the decision up – although I wasn’t capable of hit 4K, with the construct I performed topping out at 1440p. That additionally means a full 16:9 presentation is supported – an essential and welcome change from the earlier non-handheld model. The body fee is unlocked, too. The graphics settings are fundamental past this, however this can be a decade previous game – you shouldn’t want 18 totally different settings for shadows and lighting.
There’s additionally Steam Achievements and Trading playing cards, each Japanese and English-language audio, and textual content assist for English, Japanese, Korean and Traditional Chinese.
It’s a fully-featured bundle, and a superb port. In the 2 dungeons I’ve performed to date it’s run easily, and the Scooby Doo fashion homicide thriller gang narrative of the game typically appears to carry up extremely effectively by the requirements of Japanese RPG coming-of-age tales.
This is likely one of the greatest within the style, and all that appeal stays intact over a decade later. What is attention-grabbing, maybe, is that the most important argument about this game’s potential shortcomings focus on this model. Persona Four was extremely well-paced, although it did outstay its welcome somewhat – after which the Golden additions for the Vita padded it out even additional. I’ve at all times felt the unique P4 is superior to P4G for that reason, however each are classics, and I’ll take what I can get – and hey, on PC, maybe a de-goldenization mod might be forthcoming. Regardless, this can be a must-play for Japanese RPG lovers.
The worth is true, too $19.99 for the usual version, and $5 extra for a deluxe version. Perhaps most essential, although, is that units free the Persona sequence. Yakuza, one other Sega sequence, dipped its toe into the PC market and hasn’t seemed again – and hopefully the Persona sequence is now following swimsuit. Persona three FES and Persona 5 Royal subsequent? Yes, please.
