Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

There really is no doubt that Japanese Role-Playing games or JRPG for short, are some of the coolest titles in the industry. Not only do they have some of the best music and art, but the stories are usually so well developed they put movies, shows and even books to shame, sometimes that is, of course. Nowadays we don't see that many around but here we'll talk about one that keeps coming over and over again. Shin Megami Tensei Persona 4 is one of those games that truly make history. In fact, it is so great that it even emancipated from the Shin Megami Tensei title later on, and ended up being pretty much called just Persona 4. So, let's talk about it right now.

About the game

In this title, we play as a young guy who transferred for a year to study in the rural town of Inaba. He's going to be living with his uncle Ryotaru Dojima, who's a detective, and his little girl cousin Nanako. Coming from the big city he immediately caught the attention of his classmates, and it doesn't take long before he starts making friends.

Of course, life in this small riverside town could sound a little boring at first, but things aren't really as simple. Right after he arrives in town, a disturbing crime occurs, and a dead body appears hanging on the electric cables, in the plain light of day. And not only this, but a strange rumor also appears, and everybody starts talking about The Midnight Channel.

The Midnight Channel supposedly appears when you stare into a turned-off TV when it's raining at midnight, and if you do this, your soulmate will appear. Of course, this rumor is incredibly popular all around town, especially in high school. But it seems that it's much more than just a rumor, as the people who appear there start to disappear. These people were getting sucked into the TV, literally. And so are you, but could this teenager and his group of friends solve the mystery about this crazy TV world and the series of disappearances? Well, that's up to you in Persona 4.

An immortal game

This game got incredibly popular all over the world, it quickly rose to be one of the most popular JRPG games on the PS2. The game saw a resurgence in its popularity when they launched an anime series and the upgraded version Persona 4 Golden for the PSVita and second anime adaptation. Of course, you can’t really compare the original Persona 4 to Persona 4 Golden, since they literally improved every aspect of the game when porting it to the PSVita.

They even released two fighting games based on Persona 4, Persona 4 Arena, and Persona 4 Ultimax. And even after that, there's a rhythm game much like Hatsune Miku's games called Persona 4 Dancing All Night. Which started a series of rhythm games based on the Persona franchise, with one for Persona 3 and another one for Persona 5.

Review

• Graphics and visuals: The visuals are great, with animated cutscenes, perfect character design, and worldbuilding, and it is graphically solid.

• Gameplay: The gameplay is excellent, it could easily take you 80+ hours to finish the in-game year. The turn-based fight mechanics are solid, the dungeon exploration is great, and it allows you to come up with different strategies when choosing your party. Fuse and create different personas and get equipment for your entire team. But probably the best part of the gameplay is the slice of life part, where you can build social links and develop relationships with your friends. Some of which have the opportunity to turn into romantic interests. Building relationships will also help you in battle so everyone wins here.

• Soundtrack: Like in most other Persona games, it is pretty much a perfect soundtrack. These are themes that you’ll hear for many hours, and they are not repetitive nor boring at all. You can actually listen to that soundtrack as your very own soundtrack in real life! Excellent, it’s just a masterpiece.