The story sees Yu Narukami move to Inaba for a year to live with his uncle Ryutaro Dojima and his daughter Nanako. He doesn’t know anyone in this small town and is in for some culture shock as small-town living is definitely different than city living, but this town is in for its own awakening and his arrival is the catalyst. Yu is a soft-spoken hero who didn’t have any troubles of his own at home, but finds himself in a new place where things are different. Yu slowly but surely meets a few classmates who take him under their wing and help him adjust to rural life and it is a solid cast, with characters who do end up working well with each other.
Besides our protagonist, there is the dense but excitable Yosuke who becomes his best friend. Chie is a strong-willed Kung Fu movie lover and her best friend Yukiko joins the team too. Teddie, a strange bear, Kanji a hoodlum with a heart of gold, Naoto a curious detective, and Rise an up-and-coming popstar help to round out the roster. These characters all have weaknesses and strengths and help to cover the others’ bases like all Persona games and it’s good to keep them all at similar levels so they can brave the other world together. This world is linked with the human world and through the teens’ help, the world will be saved.
The trouble plaguing Inaba revolves around the Midnight Channel where the next victim is shown. It seems like just a superstition but once Yu finds he can stick his hand in the TV, his life is turned upside down. Inside is Teddie a strange bear, who’s been watching over the other world. Teddie might originally be suspicious of Yu and the others, but that goes away as Yu continues to come into the TV, and Teddie eventually becomes a close part of the gang, and he learns about himself too. Without his special glasses, Yu and his friends would be lost in the fog, unable to escape, and meet their ends.
The Persona games lead the player and their party through twisty dungeons, and take down a boss at the end. This is the ultimate edition of the game and allows for players to spend as much time as they want in the other world. The other dungeons are visitable so if the team isn’t up to snuff they can always grind there to level up.
Each dungeon is a reflection of the victim and it hides different enemies and other goodies within. From a castle to a bathhouse, to some other interesting locales, Persona 4 Golden doesn’t aim to bore the player. It aims to show the player a variety of cool places and internal thoughts that keep them coming back for more.
Battles are turned-based affairs where the detectives and enemies take turns bashing each other to death. The characters each have their strengths and weaknesses and using them will lead the team to victory. Using the right attacks is paramount as it leads to extra attacks, and it’s quick to learn but sometimes wrenches are thrown in to gum up the works.
After battles, the player is rewarded with money and picks a card and the card can lead to demons joining the team. These demons become other personas that Yu can wield and gathering them is a great way to increase the overall ability to survive and it’s fun seeing which demons pop up where. Players can also fuse Persona together to get better Persona, by just heading on into the Velvet Room, which in this game is in a limousine. Igor is there to help Yu, and he’s aided by Margaret, who is a strong presence and the most mature of the Velvet Room attendants in the wider series.
The Persona series is a great one because it has a limited amount of days to complete the game. Heading into the other world, hanging with friends, or working all take time, and the time the player has is limited which can spell defeat for those who don’t understand this concept. It adds a tension that might otherwise not be felt and makes things a little more interesting.
Players can of course boost their social links, which pop up between Yu and his friends, his family and others in town. These characters all offer perks, but again, time is of the essence. Some characters might help more than others, and it might take more than one playthrough to see which helps the most.
Persona 4 Golden has new content too, for the uninitiated, it has the true ending that Persona 4 didn’t. It adds Marie who is far more important than she appears, and who is also a great character in her own right. Besides Marie, it adds the ability to heal in the TV world for the price and that’s a godsend.
The music in Persona 4 and Golden is also great, with some amazing music that helps it to stick around in the minds of players. It’s a game that has its own vibe like all the other Persona games and the music is part of the reason the game is remembered so fondly.
Persona 4 Golden is a fantastic game and one that has such a good story. The battles are fun, the enemies and locations are interesting and discovering the true end is highly worth it. Plus with Golden’s new content, it is the ultimate edition of Persona 4 and worth playing for new and old fans alike. Yu and the gang have so much work to do, will the player help them find the mastermind?
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
