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Remembering the legacy of one of the greatest RPGs ever 10 years later: Persona 4 (GameSpot)
- Thread starter Deleted member 249
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This was a really great write-up man, I can relate on so many levels.
Good luck! Hope ya make it!
I love this game so much. Although I played P3 before playing P4, I felt a much more personal connection to the characters since I was the same age as them when I first played the game. When Golden came out, I was in college and I had to control myself to not touch it till finals were over. When I finished that last final, I immediately started it and seeing that new intro and playing through the story again just gushed out so much feelings of joy. It was like a family reunion seeing those characters again :)
This is me. P3 is the one that was really special for me, came out as I was finishing high school so I connected very strongly with it the way people seem to with P4, but the themeing was also much more interesting to me. P4 in comparison is just way lighter and much of the time feels like friends hanging out. Someone here once called it "fluffy slice of life anime" or something to that effect, which is on point and exactly why I'm not very fond of it.
There's also the fact that the P3 cast feels and acts a bit older than their in-game ages, just drives home for me how much I want older cast Persona :c
I do want to revisit and reevaluate P4 one day though because it has been a decade now, maybe I'd feel differently, but I want to do it with the Golden version. Had been hoping for a port of that for ages, and when I was finally starting to give up, I look up PSTVs and the prices have skyrocketed. Weird as hell to lock down the definitive re-release of a game like that to a handheld, hoping for Vita compability with PS5 now.
Same, I've been doing a slow replay of Persona 3 and man just going through Tartarus is great. Something relaxing about it. I couldn't really articulate why though.
Persona 3's cast might as well have been college students. That had almost ZERO adult supervision and were trusted with a coed dorm to themselves basically.
I also felt closer to them when coming back to the dorm and seeing a few of them around the couch, even in P3P it's super comfy.
They got away from that in 4 and 5 making them more realistic goofy teens, but I'll always have a soft spot for the SEES group.
Before Persona 4 exploded in popularity i was always on its side against Persona 3 fans :P
Persona 5 is the best, at least in the 30h~ i spent with it.
but Persona 4 is more balanced and the pacing is top notch.
Persona 5 is the best, at least in the 30h~ i spent with it.
but Persona 4 is more balanced and the pacing is top notch.
I wish I got into the Persona 3 magic that a lot of others experienced.
I did P4G first, then P3P. P4G is one of my favorite games of all time, and with P3 spoken of as highly as it was, I was real stoked going in. Even played FeMC. At the end of the day though, I simply did not get into the story or appreciate the characters nearly as much as I did with P4's crew.
P5 came along and I liked it enough to the point where, now 2 years removed, I still can't decide whether I like it or P4G more. Both among my favorite games ever, but when I beat P3P, while I did find it enjoyable, I did not come away nearly as impressed.
I did P4G first, then P3P. P4G is one of my favorite games of all time, and with P3 spoken of as highly as it was, I was real stoked going in. Even played FeMC. At the end of the day though, I simply did not get into the story or appreciate the characters nearly as much as I did with P4's crew.
P5 came along and I liked it enough to the point where, now 2 years removed, I still can't decide whether I like it or P4G more. Both among my favorite games ever, but when I beat P3P, while I did find it enjoyable, I did not come away nearly as impressed.
This frikkin' game. I used to scoff at the idea of a waifu. Then I met Chie. There's a layer of filth I've never been able to wash off. What a great game...
Y'all talkin waifus, how are we forgetting the husbando
The one character that gives it sway over 3 and 5
The one character that gives it sway over 3 and 5
Easily the best Persona in terms of narrative. I never could have guessed that the story and mystery would culminate to THAT point on the finaly day in the game.
The article perfectly describes why I like P4(G) more than P5.
There's much more of a connection to the characters in P4 than in P5.
Funnily enough, I believe that P5 has as many group interactions as P4 does, but the way it's presented makes it so forgettable:
In P4, the group met up every few days at Junes to discuss recent events and what to do next.
In P5, that mostly occurred via phone. The Phantom Thieves did also met up a few times, but it wasn't until waaay later in the game when that started doing that more frequently.
Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I think going from a small town to the big city made the game feel more disconnected, if that makes sense to anyone.
There's much more of a connection to the characters in P4 than in P5.
Funnily enough, I believe that P5 has as many group interactions as P4 does, but the way it's presented makes it so forgettable:
In P4, the group met up every few days at Junes to discuss recent events and what to do next.
In P5, that mostly occurred via phone. The Phantom Thieves did also met up a few times, but it wasn't until waaay later in the game when that started doing that more frequently.
Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I think going from a small town to the big city made the game feel more disconnected, if that makes sense to anyone.
My vita is basically my p4g machine. I love that game. Along with xenogears and chrono trigger. That's my top 3.
I liked Giant Bomb enough and all before this, but the Endurance Run felt like one of the most important things they've done, helping them find their video legs as they have them today.
Watched through a good chunk of the ER before playing through myself, and caught up to right around where I ended up being in the game in real time. Kind of like playing the game alongside your pals, so many excellent moments. Was the perfect game to showcase Vinny and Jeff's quick wits.
Still waiting for Jeff's review...
Watched through a good chunk of the ER before playing through myself, and caught up to right around where I ended up being in the game in real time. Kind of like playing the game alongside your pals, so many excellent moments. Was the perfect game to showcase Vinny and Jeff's quick wits.
Still waiting for Jeff's review...
I have an extreme love-hate relationship with this game.
It absolutely inspired me and (positively) changed my life. On that count, it's one of the most touching games I've ever played. I could go on and on and on and ON about just how much that game means to me.
But I can't help but feel guilty about it now in light of how Hashino has proven time and time again that he does not give a shit about representation of LGBTQ people and/or women. Especially ironic is the fact that Persona 4, my far and away favorite Persona, is the one that most egregiously embraces (at least potentially) harmful stereotypes. Kanji's messsage being "Effeminacy in a man is valid and doesn't make you any less of a man" is great, but the game literally contradicting itself to claim Kanji isn't at least bisexual as well as having Yosuke be a belligerent homophobe who doesn't change or isn't even challenged is... simply saddening. (I personally have good/better interpretations of Naoto's story or at least of what it's intended? to be, but the very fact that it easily supports a transphobic reading is a failure of the writing and direction.)
Not only are these harmful to a lot of people in the audience who might've felt immensely empowered by the game otherwise, but they also run utterly contrary to the themes and intent of the (rest of the) game, to the point it feels like they were featured for bigotry's sake; it depresses me to think that I can love such a bigoted work as much as I love Persona 4, but it is what it is.
It absolutely inspired me and (positively) changed my life. On that count, it's one of the most touching games I've ever played. I could go on and on and on and ON about just how much that game means to me.
But I can't help but feel guilty about it now in light of how Hashino has proven time and time again that he does not give a shit about representation of LGBTQ people and/or women. Especially ironic is the fact that Persona 4, my far and away favorite Persona, is the one that most egregiously embraces (at least potentially) harmful stereotypes. Kanji's messsage being "Effeminacy in a man is valid and doesn't make you any less of a man" is great, but the game literally contradicting itself to claim Kanji isn't at least bisexual as well as having Yosuke be a belligerent homophobe who doesn't change or isn't even challenged is... simply saddening. (I personally have good/better interpretations of Naoto's story or at least of what it's intended? to be, but the very fact that it easily supports a transphobic reading is a failure of the writing and direction.)
Not only are these harmful to a lot of people in the audience who might've felt immensely empowered by the game otherwise, but they also run utterly contrary to the themes and intent of the (rest of the) game, to the point it feels like they were featured for bigotry's sake; it depresses me to think that I can love such a bigoted work as much as I love Persona 4, but it is what it is.
I only played the OG version of Persona 4. I have Golden, but never had the time to dig into it. I will eventually play it, because I already forgot a lot of the cool and neat moments in P4 (and also because I want to do a couple things differently). The added stuff etc. is another reason to finally play it at some point.
Comparing P3 FES (that's the first Persona game I played before digging into the older ones, I did play SMT before it though) to OG P4, I actually did enjoy P3 FES more. I don't know if that was because it was my first Persona game or because I could connect to the themes and characters more. Hard to tell. I do love both games though and I have very fond memories playing them. Despite all its problems I also loved P5 and much like P3 and P4 I keep thinking about it on almost a weekly basis. For whatever reason I always think about the first hours in each game and the respective first days at school. Really loved the introduction in P3 and P5 (and especially the first days at school). God, just thinking about those moments makes me wanna cry. And I don't know why.
About the bad LBTGQ representation in those games: Now that Hashino is busy doing his fantasy RPG, I really hope some more progressive people will make better decisions for future Persona games.
Comparing P3 FES (that's the first Persona game I played before digging into the older ones, I did play SMT before it though) to OG P4, I actually did enjoy P3 FES more. I don't know if that was because it was my first Persona game or because I could connect to the themes and characters more. Hard to tell. I do love both games though and I have very fond memories playing them. Despite all its problems I also loved P5 and much like P3 and P4 I keep thinking about it on almost a weekly basis. For whatever reason I always think about the first hours in each game and the respective first days at school. Really loved the introduction in P3 and P5 (and especially the first days at school). God, just thinking about those moments makes me wanna cry. And I don't know why.
About the bad LBTGQ representation in those games: Now that Hashino is busy doing his fantasy RPG, I really hope some more progressive people will make better decisions for future Persona games.
It's already 10 years... Still remember when I came home from middle school and played it in my room the whole afternoon for 2 weeks. Magical times for sure. I was one of the few who found the true ending without the help of google. Breathtaking moments. One of my favourite games of all time for sure.
Persona 4 is such a special game it by far has one of my favorite RPG casts ever. My Vita TV will forever be my P4 Golden machine.
Teddie's turn into sexual predator was probably the only major flaw in the game for me. I honestly don't remember getting sick of dungeons, I got more tired of the persona 5 dungeons despite them looking better and more variety.
Yeah I basically have to keep that thing forever to play that again. Insane in the age of non stop remakes that there's no PS4 version.
I played Persona 3 and Persona 4 back to back so there are times where they blur together, but I think 4 is the better game. 5 was alright.
My cat is named Kanji based on the character from 4.
My cat is named Kanji based on the character from 4.
Yosuke is the worst MC sidekick ever. Blatant asshole, homophob, stupid and does nothing to indicate he changes at all.
Otherwise Persona 4 Golden was a truly special experience for me. Was also my first Persona game and I completed it in just a week. Felt empty afterwards.
Otherwise Persona 4 Golden was a truly special experience for me. Was also my first Persona game and I completed it in just a week. Felt empty afterwards.
lol. it's more like "if you're feeling like you wanna date dudes, it might just be that you love sewing, you might not be gay after all!" which is only achieved after a dungeon chocked full of offensive gay stereotypes
P4 with its true epilogue they added in Golden really added closure to the game. How they looked after it ended. It was bittersweet. You can tell the dev team put a lot of love with the extra additions to the game. I still like the cast of P3 more, but P4 is really memorable.
I'm genuinely curious why you think this because it reads like absolute insanity.
Didn't like the setting, didn't like the plot, didn't like the characters aside from Naoto and Adachi, didn't like the dungeons. I felt like the spark from the first three games was just steamrolled over, everything feels tired and flat. A small glimmer of interest was reignited again by 5, but 5 also has its own host of issues. To be fair, I haven't played 3 since I was a brooding teenager so it may change from my second favorite if I were to play it again.
It used to be my favorite PS2 game, but nowdays I just can't ignore the LGBT issues.
As a gay man, Kanji's arc's conclusion felt disappointing, I was so happy to finally see myself represented in a game I like, but then they took it away from me and the overlying message was basically "thought you could be like one of the normal people? Well, no, you're not allowed. Still a freak". This is what I felt at the time, but I was used to it, had experienced it many times with many different types of media, and was resignated and saw it as something bad but expected at that point.
Today things are different, I'm not okay with having my existence being washed out anymore. You could say P4 was a product of it's time but 1- it's not that ancient, and many of its contemporaries were handling the issue much better already and 2- P5 happened two years ago and only reinforced what Persona team's views are on the matter, so it's not like they would change P4 if they could, it is what it is and is exactly how it was intended to be.
So yeah, the game is fine by every other aspect, but I feel like I can't sell myself off anymore just to enjoy a nice game, there are plenty of other nice games out there that happen to not treat me as garbage.
As a gay man, Kanji's arc's conclusion felt disappointing, I was so happy to finally see myself represented in a game I like, but then they took it away from me and the overlying message was basically "thought you could be like one of the normal people? Well, no, you're not allowed. Still a freak". This is what I felt at the time, but I was used to it, had experienced it many times with many different types of media, and was resignated and saw it as something bad but expected at that point.
Today things are different, I'm not okay with having my existence being washed out anymore. You could say P4 was a product of it's time but 1- it's not that ancient, and many of its contemporaries were handling the issue much better already and 2- P5 happened two years ago and only reinforced what Persona team's views are on the matter, so it's not like they would change P4 if they could, it is what it is and is exactly how it was intended to be.
So yeah, the game is fine by every other aspect, but I feel like I can't sell myself off anymore just to enjoy a nice game, there are plenty of other nice games out there that happen to not treat me as garbage.
Still my favourite Persona and Golden is my favourite Vita game. Probably one of my all time top 3 thanks to its wonderful, loveable cast of characters, great OST and gameplay. Still craving for another game that comes close to P4 and the emotional bond I created with it.
I feel like I'm one of the few who's played P3, P4, and P5 and think P5 is miles ahead of the first two. I think the story and characters are more or less equal between the three, with P5 being slightly worse. The gameplay of 5 however, is in an entirely different stratosphere than the previous 2. I remember picking up P3P and P4 Golden and barely putting 10 hours into both of them because I didn't find their battle systems nor the dungeon crawling all that engaging. I've finished P5 twice and will definitely go back for a third round once Royal hits.
Persona 4 still feels like a unique game in Atlus library even now. It's way brighter and more uplifting generally than their other games and really exudes a nostalgic and positive feeling for me. Still one of my favourite Atlus games and favourite Persona overall even though I personally preferred the cast in P2 Innocent Sin I still liked most of the cast like Chie and Kanji a lot. The spin offs don't effect anything for me, the game still stands on its own.
Great soundtrack from Meguro as well of course. Vita's best game too.
Great soundtrack from Meguro as well of course. Vita's best game too.
Yeah I have to disagree, Persona 3 was the most legendary entry. It's the one that took Persona into a unique direction. It's crazy to think how budget P3 and P4 were yet they outdid mainline in popularity in a flash.
I hope Persona 6 doesn't take as long as Persona 5 did to come out but knowing Atlus is already ramping up on milking P5 it probably will. Which is a shame. P4 game not that long after P3 and made an excellent reuse of old resources.
Was hoping Atlus would do that so we don't have to wait so long.
I hope Persona 6 doesn't take as long as Persona 5 did to come out but knowing Atlus is already ramping up on milking P5 it probably will. Which is a shame. P4 game not that long after P3 and made an excellent reuse of old resources.
Was hoping Atlus would do that so we don't have to wait so long.
Still liked p3 and 5 more, but damn that cast was good. Felt like a dark scooby doo mystery and I really dug it.
Never was a fan of the series, never will. That didn't stop me from owning P1-2-3-4-5 in my jrpg collection. I've now played all of them and if we only include the more modern entries (3-4-5) then P4 is by far the worst one I've played. Everything I don't enjoy from this series is multiplied tenfold in this entry.
Out of those, I'll say my "favorite" was P3S.
Out of those, I'll say my "favorite" was P3S.
I would disagree its a failure of the writing if the actual text doesnt support that view and never did. Naoto was never transphobic and reading it as such is blatantly making up points to connect that dots in a way that supports your endgame. The same thing happened with dark souls, you can do this is in most games with varying degrees of success. The only reason people read this as transphobic is because they were talking about a very serious take on women being downtrodden in a fantastical way. None of this changes that the game simply does not support this view. Its disingenuous to critique the game for this even though I empathize with the desire for better representation for trans people.
My favorite game hands down.
I didn't know Persona or SMT so it was a great surprise. I know that people complain about the lengh of these games (Persona 3 and 5 included) but for me I just wish they would never end :)
Also I enjoyed the spinoff, especially Persona 4 Arena wich have a really touching story (with Labrys) and Persona Q. Can't really say the same about P4AU or P4D tho. They're cool games but definitely not the same caliber story wise
I didn't know Persona or SMT so it was a great surprise. I know that people complain about the lengh of these games (Persona 3 and 5 included) but for me I just wish they would never end :)
Also I enjoyed the spinoff, especially Persona 4 Arena wich have a really touching story (with Labrys) and Persona Q. Can't really say the same about P4AU or P4D tho. They're cool games but definitely not the same caliber story wise