We understand why Persona 4 Golden is so good and why it is interesting to pass it even now.
The reputation of the original worked better than any advertisement: it was simply impossible to pass the game, which critics and players praised in unison. And, more importantly, Persona 4 Golden over the years has not lost its relevance. It drags on more often than many new products, and the plot makes you not only worry about the fate of the heroes, but also think about many modern problems.
Person come!
The terms from analytical psychology are used here not just for a red word: “Persona” seriously refers to archetypes, shadows and other concepts created by Carl Gustav Jung. The characters in the series have to deal not only with external enemies, but also with their own complexes, injuries and mistakes of the past. Moreover, not alone, but with the help of other people – so the characters also learn to understand and accept each other.
But, despite the people’s love, the franchise was in no hurry to leave their own Playstation (But it was noted on all Sony consoles from PS1 to PS4, and looked at PSP with Vita). The only port on the PC before that was only the very first Persona back in 1999. So it is not surprising that the previously unreached audience rushed to join the legend. After all, this is not another vanilla story about how brave knights and pretty sorceresses save the world from disaster, but something really unusual.
Mom, I’m on TV
In the center of events of the Persona 4 Golden is a student who had to temporarily move from the capital to the quiet provincial town of Inaba: the guy’s parents went on a business trip abroad, and his son was sent to stay with his uncle. However, life on the periphery is not as boring as the hero expected. Soon after his arrival in Inaba, a terrible incident occurs: the corpse of a scandalous journalist wrapped in wires is found on the antenna of one of the houses. A few days later, the girl who discovered the body overtakes the same fate – the police knocked down, but could not find a single clue.
Life in the province seems boring and bland. But when trouble comes, you begin to remember silent evenings behind a TV with nostalgia
Murder Investigation – Not for the Faint of Heart
false mirror
At first glance, we see an ordinary mystical detective story for teenagers. But the devil, as usual, lies in the details – more precisely, in the subtext of history. The world with monsters on the other side of the television screen does not look so metaphorical for nothing: it was created by the collective unconscious, which means it is filled with our fears and suppressed emotions. And there are also Shadows – the physical embodiment of qualities that we do not want to notice in ourselves and deny in every way. It is with them that the heroes have to fight to advance further in the investigation … and accept themselves, no matter how vile this real “I” is.
Truth can hurt, but it’s better to accept it than to run away from yourself forever
At the same time, Persona 4 Golden does not bore with excessive cleverness or moralization. Her characters not only delve into themselves and talk about the high – they live a full life with a bunch of small events like trips to the sea or unsuccessful culinary experiments. And otherworldly adventures take up a lot of time: monsters themselves won’t defeat themselves!
Gold does not rust
Clearly defining the Persona 4 genre is not so easy: we have a hybrid of role-playing and visual novels. The gameplay in the other world is a classic dungeon simulator with turn-based battles and procedurally generated mazes. Useful little things are hidden in the back streets, monsters roam the corridors, and at the end there is a huge and dangerous boss – in a word, a paradise for old-school lovers.
Monsters, like heroes, have weaknesses and immunity to various types of attacks. Fortunately, you don’t need to keep them in your head: once you find the vulnerability or immunity, the system will show them. And the navigator friend will helpfully (and obsessively) begin to suggest what is best done
As in any classic role-playing game, the heroes here can be pumped, equipped with various weapons and armor. That’s just not everyone can choose skills. Friends of the protagonist are able to develop in only one direction: one heals, the other blows off the wind, the third fries with fire, etc. – it all depends on the specifics of their characters and unique persons. Only the main character can change his characters at will, receiving them as a reward after the battle or even creating new ones. Moreover, they also grow in level and gain new skills, like some kind of metaphysical Pokemon.
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You can make friends not only with people, but also with a severe fox!
Let’s start from the middle
For the release on PC Atlus (this is the rare case when the developer himself is engaged in the port, and does not attract a third-party company), he painted portraits in high resolution, and brought the textures to a divine form. The age of the game is still noticeable, especially in the background, but it looks decent. It was hardly worth the wait, because this is exactly the port with PS Vita, and not a remaster
Unlike the third and fifth parts, Persona 4 refers primarily to Japanese mythology, so for the Western player the references will not be so obvious. But this is a great reason to broaden your horizons and learn about Izanami and Izanagi, Konohanasakuya, Tomoe Godzen and other gods and heroes of the Land of the Rising Sun
Well, choosing the best story among the games of the last trilogy is like arguing about which color is more beautiful. It’s a matter of taste. Gothic pathos and reflections on the frailty of being in Persona 3 will turn out to be closer to one, to another – a call to rebel against a vicious system and gain inner freedom in Persona 5, to the third – searches for truth and introspection in Persona 4. There are no passing games here: each is good and interesting to your own. And the fourth part, perhaps, will even turn out to be the most vital and topical in our era of gender criticism and the fight against stereotypes.
The success of Persona 4 Golden on PC is a vivid example of the fact that originality will always be in price, and word of mouth works better than any advertisement. An excellent game from the original series has found new fans and allowed the old to nostalgic for the big screen – and this is good news.
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