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Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 - PlayStation 2

Platform : PlayStation2 |
Rated: Mature
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,954 ratings
$33.95 with 11 percent savings
Typical price: $38.00

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  • Chronologically the sixth installment in the Persona series, Persona 4 is a suspenseful countryside murder mystery with multiple twists and turns in the plot that will have you guessing all the way to the end.
  • Every copy of Persona 4 is a special two-disc set including the game and a soundtrack CD, featuring music from acclaimed composer Shoji Meguro.
  • Gameplay and style are similar to Persona 3, but there are plenty of new twists and additions.
  • Unprecedented team control with emphasis on developing bonds in the fight to solve mysterious murders.
  • Using Mayonaka TV, you can phase into the television set and enter a shadowy world.
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Product Description

Product Description

"Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is a console role-playing game (RPG) for Sony's PlayStation 2. Chronologically the sixth installment in the Persona series, Persona 4 is a suspenseful countryside murder mystery with multiple twists and turns in the plot that will have you guessing all the way to the end. Every copy of Persona 4 is a special two-disc set including the game and a soundtrack CD, featuring music from acclaimed composer Shoji Meguro.

• Unprecedented team control with emphasis on developing bonds in the fight to solve mysterious murders.
• 60 plus hours of gameplay.
• Manage and integrate your activities withing each day to determine your progress.
• Using Mayonaka TV, you can phase into the television set and enter a shadowy world.
• Gameplay and style are similar to Persona 3, but there are plenty of new twists and additions.

Myth and Occult Mixed with Contemporary Japan: Megami Tensei was originally based on the novel series Digital Devil Story by Aya Nishitani. A major franchise in the RPG genre, MegaTen games take place in the contemporary or near-future Japan, mixing occult and cyberpunk elements. The games feature mythological references from multiple mythologies, and the player is often asked to make moral or philosophical choices that affect the game's storyline and ending.

The silent male protagonist who represents the player in Persona 4 attends Yasogami High School with Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko. His entire personality and name is decided and portrayed by the player's in-game actions and decisions. He wields two-handed sword type weapons, but unlike Persona 3, he doesn't use alternative weapons.

Mysterious Murders Abound: Persona 4 takes place in a rural town named Inaba where mysterious murders occur whenever there is fog after heavy rain. The town has a television channel that airs only at midnight called Mayonaka TV, during which it is said that one can see their ""other half"" while staring at the screen. After hearing about a recent unsolved murder, some characters realize that they had witnessed the murder victim while watching Mayonaka TV.

The protagonist discovers that during midnight when the channel is on, his body can phase into his television set, using the set as a gateway to another world infested with shadows. Mayonaka TV and the town murders seem so connected that it's possible that the victims may in fact victims of Mayonaka TV itself. The characters decide to solve the mysterious murders by exploring the hidden world of Mayonaka TV.

Brand New, Yet Familiar game play: Persona 4's game play and style are similar to the popular Persona 3. Players familiar with Persona 3 will quickly recognize the social links and dungeon crawling game play, as well as the engine itself. The battles also have some similarities, such as the One More system, All-out attack, and the AI controlled support characters.

However, unlike Persona 3, characters can be set to take commands from the player, new glasses allow characters to see through the heavy mist inside Mayonaka TV, and tarot cards can be shattered to summon the characters' respective Persona. Other changes include an increase in player stats from three to five, and the removal of health status, allowing players to explore dungeons continuously.

Let the Action Begin: Battle-wise, Persona 4 lets you directly control the actions of other party members and continually exploit an enemy's weakness. Post-battle card shuffles have added Arcana Chance, which bring you good or bad status depending on the Arcana. Battles now occur after school instead of at midnight, like in Persona 3, giving the player less time in which to do social activities. This turns out to be significant because Social Links now have a greater effect on battle.

At higher levels, the player's allies progress from occasionally protecting the protagonist from a deathblow, through occasionally offering follow-up attacks, to eventually allow the persona of the corresponding ally to evolve into another persona. And persona can retain or even lose weaknesses and can be immune to certain kind of magic attacks. All allies who have their corresponding Social Link levels maxed out now have a chance to survive an otherwise fatal attack, leaving them with one remaining HP."

Amazon.com

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is a console role-playing game (RPG) for Sony's PlayStation 2. Chronologically the sixth installment in the Persona series, Persona 4 is a suspenseful countryside murder mystery with multiple twists and turns in the plot that will have you guessing all the way to the end.

Myth and Occult Mixed with Contemporary Japan
Megami Tensei was originally based on the novel series Digital Devil Story by Aya Nishitani. A major franchise in the RPG genre, MegaTen games take place in the contemporary or near-future Japan, mixing occult and cyberpunk elements. The games feature mythological references from multiple mythologies, and the player is often asked to make moral or philosophical choices that affect the game's storyline and ending.

The silent male protagonist who represents the player in Persona 4 attends Yasogami High School with Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko. His entire personality and name is decided and portrayed by the player's in-game actions and decisions. He wields two-handed sword type weapons, but unlike Persona 3, he doesn't use alternative weapons.

Mysterious Murders Abound
Persona 4 takes place in a rural town named Inaba where mysterious murders occur whenever there is fog after heavy rain. The town has a television channel that airs only at midnight called Mayonaka TV, during which it is said that one can see their "other half" while staring at the screen. After hearing about a recent unsolved murder, some characters realize that they had witnessed the murder victim while watching Mayonaka TV.

The protagonist discovers that during midnight when the channel is on, his body can phase into his television set, using the set as a gateway to another world infested with shadows. Mayonaka TV and the town murders seem so connected that it's possible that the victims may in fact victims of Mayonaka TV itself. The characters decide to solve the mysterious murders by exploring the hidden world of Mayonaka TV.

Brand-New Yet Familiar game play
Persona 4's game play and style are similar to the popular Persona 3. Players familiar with Persona 3 will quickly recognize the social links and dungeon crawling game play, as well as the engine itself. The battles also have some similarities, such as the One More system, All-out attack, and the AI controlled support characters.

However, unlike Persona 3, characters can be set to take commands from the player, new glasses allow characters to see through the heavy mist inside Mayonaka TV, and tarot cards can be shattered to summon the characters' respective Persona. Other changes include an increase in player stats from three to five, and the removal of health status, allowing players to explore dungeons continuously.

Let the Action Begin
Battle-wise, Persona 4 lets you directly control the actions of other party members and continually exploit an enemy's weakness. Post-battle card shuffles have added Arcana Chance, which bring you good or bad status depending on the Arcana. Battles now occur after school instead of at midnight, like in Persona 3, giving the player less time in which to do social activities. This turns out to be significant because Social Links now have a greater effect on battle.

At higher levels, the player's allies progress from occasionally protecting the protagonist from a deathblow, through occasionally offering follow-up attacks, to eventually allow the persona of the corresponding ally to evolve into another persona. And persona can retain or even lose weaknesses and can be immune to certain kind of magic attacks. All allies who have their corresponding Social Link levels maxed out now have a chance to survive an otherwise fatal attack, leaving them with one remaining HP.

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
1,954 global ratings

Customers say

Customers like the quality, difficulty level, and voice cast of the video game. For example, they mention the story is insanely entertaining, the dungeons are not repetitive, and the characters are well rounded. They appreciate the superb, catchy, and modern soundtrack. They also appreciate the graphics that are stunning.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

249 customers mention234 positive15 negative

Customers find the story insanely entertaining, and the game is fun. They also say the plot is improved, the characters are fun and enjoyable, and it's one of the greatest RPGs of all time.

"...The game opens up with a great anime cutscene with a few more added in here and there but overall the game keeps the same graphics in cutscenes and..." Read more

"...The end result here is that plot twists are truly a surprise, yet are entirely logical once your team has a chance to sit around and discuss..." Read more

"...The persona fusion system is in my opinion complex and an overall great system that makes you think if I should fuse this persona today or wait the..." Read more

"...It is a wonderful game even if we have seen these same graphics and many of these same mechanics in P3...." Read more

89 customers mention68 positive21 negative

Customers like the difficulty level of the video game. They mention that the levels and dungeons are not repetitive, and the development of all of them is quite enjoyable. They also say that the gameplay is nothing special, but the detective game mechanic is the best thing. They say the game is difficult, but not very difficult, on the hardest mode. They appreciate the simple simulation, which adds a sense of strategy when battling.

"...This simple addition ads a sense of strategy when battling and makes every battle compelling...." Read more

"...Not one of your crew feels at all "boring" and the development of all of them is quite enjoyable...." Read more

"...you purchased one of the best games ever, but it will also make you think about your life and what you should do with it...." Read more

"...+ Dungeons seem less repetitive and are metaphors for each character's struggles making their exploration more interesting...." Read more

71 customers mention71 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters fantastic, well rounded, and well voice acted. They also appreciate the varying cast of characters, the good writing, and the subplots. Customers also appreciate that the persona summoning is crisp and the metaphors for each character's struggles.

"...Each character is given personality and for once I actually let the game speak all the text during cut scenes instead of going on after I read..." Read more

"...is rather fast if you let characters act on their own, Persona summoning is very crisp (another improvement), and every pleasant quirk from P3 is..." Read more

"...The persona fusion system is in my opinion complex and an overall great system that makes you think if I should fuse this persona today or wait the..." Read more

"...+ Dungeons seem less repetitive and are metaphors for each character's struggles making their exploration more interesting...." Read more

58 customers mention41 positive17 negative

Customers like the graphics of the game. They say it looks nice, the UI is basic yet striking, and the art for the game is interesting. They also say the game has colorful environments, crisp and well designed graphics, great characters, and a trendy, modern, stylish atmosphere.

"...The artwork for the personas is also impressive with each one being given a unique look...." Read more

"...The Shadow World has good looking dungeons and each one looks different and a lot better compared to Tarturus in Persona 3...." Read more

"...they are quite limited just like P3 however I admit they are prettier and have a rustic charm...." Read more

"...Dungeon design - The dungeons are repetitive...." Read more

57 customers mention49 positive8 negative

Customers like the soundtrack. They say it's superb, catchy, and original. They also say the game has its own background music, which mixes things up nicely. The music is modern, varied, mostly electronic, and does well to matches. Customers also say that the soundtrack is the social links, and that it sounds very natural. They mention that the game is cheap and that you get the bonus soundtrack CD.

"...Mostly J-pop inspired music the tunes are catchy and will get stuck in your head even though you may not understand what the lyrics are...." Read more

"...Each separate dungeon has its own background music, which mixes things up nicely while walking around...." Read more

"...However, despite being a murder mystery, has a pretty bright and happy tone most of the time...." Read more

"...-Music is catchy as hell, especially Reach Out to the Truth (main battle theme) and Your Affection (plays on sunny days)..." Read more

23 customers mention23 positive0 negative

Customers find the value of the video game software to be great. They say it's well worth the price, and definitely worth purchasing if you love J-RPGs. They also say it has good replay value.

"...things to do in the game to keep you from getting bored, and good replay value.-..." Read more

"...the Persona series or you are a newcomer, pick this up, it's well worth your money...." Read more

"...It is a fantastic value, and I would wholeheartedly recommend this purchase to anyone who still owns a PS2 or a PC that has an i7 and decent..." Read more

"...And let me tell you, this was worth every penny. Persona 4 is set in Inaba, a town in Japan. When you move to Inaba, strange things happen...." Read more

35 customers mention13 positive22 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the storyline. Some find the game really lengthy and challenging, while others say it's repetitive and takes a long time to play freely.

"...Just be warned it is a long game and if it hooks you like it did me, say goodby to your free time." Read more

"...Game flow is simple and easy to follow...." Read more

"...This is no cat-walk.- You have less time to do things in P4...." Read more

"...The day system being unchanged and there being too much down time yet not enough to finish social links is the only major problem that returns from..." Read more

29 customers mention20 positive9 negative

Customers are mixed about the performance of the video game software. Some mention that it works nicely, while others say that it stopped working the second time they played it.

"...Well Persona 4 does indeed use this method but adds enough strategy to make it work...." Read more

"...Regarding the combat system, it's simply flawless...." Read more

"...But when it comes to the bosses in the dungeons, they aren't really that interesting...." Read more

"...It's actually a pretty simple concept, and it works quite nicely to make the game more fun both through the social interactions and in the combat..." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

Kenny
5.0 out of 5 stars Made me remember why I love RPG's
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2011
Verified Purchase
When it comes to gaming, RPG's are my weakness. There is just something about starting a journey through a new world that makes me want more. It's hard to describe really but its one reason I love gaming, but lately I have had a hard time finding a game that can give me that kind of experience. Whether its me or the gaming industry finding an RPG (or any game at that) that can make me want to play all the way through has been hard for me. I can't tell you how many games I have that have been played half way and still to this day remain unfinished due to loosing interest. Thinking I had grown out of gaming I almost hung up my controllers for good but I wanted to press on and find something that could give me that experience again and thankfully I found it.

Story

Persona 4 tells the story of a modern day Japanese high school student moving to a new town and upon his arrival a string of murders begin to take place. Now this may not sound like a groundbreaking premise but let me tell you that the way that it is presented is truly genius. The game plays out like a good mystery novel with new characters introduced, plot twists, and just enough intrigue to make you want to press on. As you delve deeper into the plot you uncover more mysteries until the final confrontation where all your questions will be answered. What I loved about the story was that the characters actually sat down and discussed what was going on after any breakthroughs in the case. It is a great way to recap what just happened and let the players think about what is really going on in the story.

As mentioned the game is set in modern day Japan and thankfully the authenticity of it was left intact. The characters still use the honorifics -san, -chan, and senpai plus many other aspects of Japanese culture is present but not so foreign as to alienate the player. It's a nice touch that really helps immerse the players into the culture and the world of this game.

Gameplay

The downfall of many RPG's is that many use the tried and true attack/magic/block turn based system and even though it is tried and true it gets old. Well Persona 4 does indeed use this method but adds enough strategy to make it work. Each enemy and character have elemental weaknesses and strengths (Ice, fire, wind, ect.) and just like any other game attacking the weakness does extra damage but unlike other games when doing so actually gives you another turn. So if you attack an enemies weakness your character gets to go again but something to think about is that the enemies have the same advantage as well. This simple addition ads a sense of strategy when battling and makes every battle compelling.

It must also be mentioned that this is definitely a story driven game. There will be times in the game (mostly right before and after finishing a dungeon) that you do nothing but watch cutscenes and press the X button, but this is not a complaint. This is the part of the game where you get to know the characters and find out more about the mystery at hand. Also there are many times where you are given a choice of how to respond to questions asked to you so you are still being engaged in what is going on. This was actually one of my favorite parts of the game because these cut scenes are usually hilarious.

Characters

I had to add this category just so that I can talk about how amazing the characters are. When people hear JRPG they think of whiny androgynous protagonists with spiky hair and a chip on their shoulder but that is not the case in this game. It is obvious that a lot of time was spent on making each character unique and relate-able. You'll laugh and some may even cry as this group of friends try to figure out this case.

Graphics

For being a PS2 tittle the graphics on this game do very well. The game opens up with a great anime cutscene with a few more added in here and there but overall the game keeps the same graphics in cutscenes and during gameplay. The artwork for the personas is also impressive with each one being given a unique look. The only complaint I could give is the fact that the enemies are recycled in each dungeon just given different weaknesses and color schemes but that is a minor complaint.

Sound

There is a reason this game comes with a soundtrack and that is because the music is amazing. Mostly J-pop inspired music the tunes are catchy and will get stuck in your head even though you may not understand what the lyrics are. I'm glad they kept the original japanese audio in the songs because it adds to the whole feel of the game. There really isn't anything else to say the music is great and you get the CD!

The voice acting the the game is also superbly done. Anime fans will likely recognize many of the voices used and the choice of actors was perfectly done. Each character is given personality and for once I actually let the game speak all the text during cut scenes instead of going on after I read them.

Final Thoughts

Overall I have to say this is one of the best games I have ever played. There was enough balance between dungeon crawling and story to make me want to press on to see what happens next. If you are a fan of mysteries, anime, rpg's, or gaming in general you have to give this game a try. Just be warned it is a long game and if it hooks you like it did me, say goodby to your free time.
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D.T. Andrew
5.0 out of 5 stars A Grand RPG Symphony
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2009
Verified Purchase
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is not for the faint-of-heart emotionally. No game yet created will be able to tug out as much emotion from you as a full playing here does. Moreover it is, without a doubt, an RPG made for adults. This alone is a feat of epic accomplishment -- when has a game (other SMT titles not included) ever used the 'M' rating for anything more than violence, language or sexuality? It today's society, it's hard for us to remember that "adult situations" come up in a lot of other ways, as well. Sure, there are some of those more common elements here, but... no, that's not what makes this "for adults".

In short, if you're willing to open your heart to it and dedicate some of your time to it, Persona 4 will ultimately become the most immersive and emotional RPG you've ever played. The setting, characters, gameplay and its incredible story all combine in perfect harmony to give the result.

For many years, I've wanted to be able to say that a new game was worthy of a highest-possible score (an effective 10/10 instead of just saying 5 starts of 5, which I list for 9 or 10/10 on my scale)... that something else was worthy... and I'm glad it's finally happened. Persona 3 and its FES epilogue version came ever-so-close, but Atlus has taken every aspect of P3 and enhanced it. To put it another way, any excuses anyone might have had to rain some scorn upon Persona 3 are now gone and you'll find yourself hard-pressed to come up with a single criticism of this game.

It's been a long week for me. With a first clear time of 59hr 36min and having received the game 7 days ago (at time of writing this review), it's not hard to realize I've done nothing but dive into Persona 4 at times other than essential life functions. That doesn't include much sleep, naturally. Not a minute of that time was a waste.
...

Alright, enough of the emotional ramblings. I suppose I should probably get to the actual content of the game itself.

The game scenario is pretty standard for an RPG, and if you wanted to simplify it into a single line, you could call it a Scooby Doo murder mystery case. The protagonist is a transfer student to a high school in a small town, events unfold, you gain friends and allies, and you work for a common cause. A serial killer seems to be on the loose, killing people in ways no one can seem to collect any evidence from-to say nothing for finding any suspects. It's not long before you realize that you have a unique but inexplicable ability to try to combat the killer, and the hunt it on. This quick summary is the end of any type of simplicity you could give to P4. ...There's one extra thing worth noting as you begin. The opening movie just can't stand up to what we saw in P3. After all, it'd be damn hard to make a more shocking opening than one where there's a simulation of someone shooting themselves in the head with a pistol.

The bare-bones start to the game lasts roughly 2 hours. It'll be another 2 before anything close to the normal flow of the game begins. It seems your town had some odd weather patterns and some urban myths to match, and the most famous being that watching a TV at midnight on a rainy night will show a picture of someone. Your soulmate, many say. This theory is quickly put to rest as people start to turn up dead. For American players, just a few murders hardly seem like something worthy of forming a such a game around. Just remember that this is Japan-ANY sort of violent crime is pretty much unheard of and a single act can put an entire city on edge. As the plot thickens, you can sense the rising tension amongst your school members and people around town.

Quite quickly, you'll see that the game is unapologetically Japanese. Name tags are used based on relation, school lessons match and general customs are followed. Incredibly off-the-wall is the introduction of a giant fuzzy teddy bear as a character, who'll be sticking around with you the remainder of the game. ...Yea, definitely Japanese. If you're willing to overlook the fluff and fuzz, you will see that he's quite a strong character and a valuable member toward your efforts. If anything you should consider the culture gap content to be a good thing, since it means that only minor adjustments (at most) were made in the translation and adaptation of a North American release.

Game flow is simple and easy to follow. You have school during days, your dungeon adventures occur in the afternoons, and your evenings are free to pursue your studies or do things with your relatives in the house. Days off and times you choose not to battle are when you'll form your "Social Links" and dive into the plethora of sub-stories, and your adventures in total will fall over a calendar year. One important difference between P3 and P4 is that each ally in your team has an individual social link, instead of just the girls. This is a lot more natural and will likely result in substantial guilt when you can't bring along certain members for certain missions... it's unlikely you'll really "hate" any of the characters since you really get to know them all at length.

When you start to have carte blanche over your time, the game seems to be able to sense what you're trying to do and scold you appropriately. After a few trips into battle the first week it was available, I received a phone call from the infamous and series-recurring Velvet Room reminding me that I should be looking to get to know people in my new town. For those not familiar, the Velvet Room is a special place only the protagonist can enter where you'll be able to manage your Personas. Though this is important, a trait of the Persona series is the need to advance your social links with friends so that your Personas can become substantially more powerful as you develop and create them. In all seriousness, a Persona that is a few levels above your main character will make difficult battles substantially easier in a lot of places and gives you access to more powerful abilities. In short, a Persona is merely a facade of yourself that allows you to reveal more of your soul, and thus changes what you can do in battle based on what you put forward.

Another awesome improvement over Persona 3 is the finer details of the plot. Not to say it wasn't complex, but there were times where you could be screaming at your TV wishing your characters would figure out something obvious. These moments are gone-actually, in almost every instance I came up with a new deduction about things it was addressed by others before my turn to speak. Shamefully, I must admit that there were times that my allies figured out some things before I did that resulted in a facepalm for me. This if far from a bad thing, of course! Just more proof of a very well-written story where it seems the authors thought through things and were able to anticipate what players were probably thinking at the time. The end result here is that plot twists are truly a surprise, yet are entirely logical once your team has a chance to sit around and discuss them.

The characters you'll find here combine to make the greatest cast ever assembled for an RPG. Each has quirks, a sense of humor, running jokes, particular matters of irritation, etc.. The cross-character chatting actually gets so intense sometimes that they make very offense remarks to others regarding very serious topics such as gender orientation. Not one of your crew feels at all "boring" and the development of all of them is quite enjoyable.

Always true to themselves, at some point everyone will probably annoy you temporarily and you'll grumble at the direction of your TV while glaring at them. Although (as you might expect in an RPG) all of the characters are dynamic in some way, their cores never change. My favorite instance of this was during a drinking game (yes, seriously) between friends where a particularly philosophical member has been forced into a situation where a lot of his-uh-"Innocence" was to be lost. On the spot and without hesitation, he spits out a haiku perfectly explaining what he has to do. It's not even an obvious thing and you have to REALIZE it's a haiku, though the fact he didn't spell it out for you makes it all the more hilarious. There are so many little moments like this and awesome lines from the whole crew that no cutscene is dull.
...

Regarding the combat system, it's simply flawless. Though a major beef with P3 was the inability to directly control your allies, you now can... though... there were but 3 instances where I actually took control of the entire party. I know it was 3 because I can remember reach time and why I changed! The ally and enemy AI alike are just phenomenal. Similar to the facepalms in the story, I found my group members performing actions to disable or knock down foes that I didn't realize or completely forgot about. It's never a bad thing when your friends help you, and not vice-versa. Combat speed is rather fast if you let characters act on their own, Persona summoning is very crisp (another improvement), and every pleasant quirk from P3 is still there with even more fun battle details added. You'll also be happy to know that you can actually find out what Persona abilities do by pressing Square on the Persona selection menu, since there's no way you'll remember what each strange spell name means on your own.

Of special note are the cross-member interactions during combat. This was already well-defined in Persona 3, but it's improved even further here and the banter between allies is almost continuous. Despite the limited number of lines they have, for some reason it never seems to get old.

Actually, developing your social links with your group members helps play into the changes to the battle system. Depending on how advanced it is, they're able to take a mortal blow for you that would have otherwise resulted in your death and a "Game Over". Better still, they're able to cure you from annoying ailments including the dreaded charm. Quite literally, someone will run up to you and slap you in the face to get your attention. Best of all, if you're willing to push through the entire story for one of your allies, they'll develop the ability to survive a single killing blow to them and this is very strategically important in boss battles. Players of Persona 3 in particular will enjoy this, since taking time to raise your allies basically crippled you in difficult fights.

Another little detail about dungeon improvements is that treasure chests will no longer spit out Yen. That was well and good of course, but also made no sense in P3. To counteract always being poor, the activities you use to increase your character statistics include part-time jobs that pay rather well. Your other primary source of income is the selling of innate materials dropped from defeated foes. Selling these off to a local shop unlocks new weapons and armor for you. Not remotely realistic, but as good of a system I've seen in a modern-era RPG nonetheless.

Oh, and it's been pretty clear from a lot of the other reviews around that you need to do a ridiculous amount of exp grind to really do well. I beg to differ. If you'd like an indication of how much "work" I did, I completed each dungeon twice... once for the storyline and another to defeat optional bosses. In a few cases I did short sorties to particular places to collect items requested by the townsfolk for quests. Do note that although the "fatigue" factor is gone from P3, you no longer recover full HP/SP after returning to the entrance.
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Moving on to overall presentation of the game, you really can't ignore PS2 limitations anymore. Since the entire development process of Persona 4 has been after the PS3 was launched, it's unfortunate that the limited budget and resources of Atlus couldn't put this on the stronger system. Mind you, the graphics (in combat especially) are as good as you'll ever seen on the PS2, but hopping back to a game in HD will basically make your eyes bug out. Some kind of widescreen mode would have been awesome, but this is a very minor complaint and the lack of it doesn't subtract from the game in any way whatsoever.

The soundtrack is top-notch, as you'd expect from any SMT title. Each separate dungeon has its own background music, which mixes things up nicely while walking around. There are hours upon hours of voiceovers from a talented cast that anime buffs will be able to pick out a few "famous" voices from. Another intriguing thing present this time is "quazi-voiceovers", where the text of a line will appear and you'll only get a short outburst from the other character. This could be a clip of an emotional reaction, or the first few words of the phrase. To me, this shows that Atlus might have loved to have put a voiceover on everything, but could have been running out of disk space. One thing that they made a specific point of including for voiceovers, however, is the "final" cutscene with each social link that brings you up to the max rank. It feels like an extra bonus for your effort and really puts the emotion from everyone out on the table.
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One thing I always love to talk about is details in games; it's often the little things that really make a scene stick with you or add a good memory to the game overall. The first such thing I saw in the game was when I was eating breakfast with my hosts and finished toast popped out of the toaster. It seems really tiny and insignificant, but it was so unexpected I actually jumped a little in my seat. If you're looking for a "big" example of details, naturally it would be the manga-like marks that appear above the characters quite often which explain their moods. Especially in cutscenes without voiceovers, it helps hold things together well.

I also can't help but mention how well "detail" and dialogue is used in the Persona. As a voiceless protagonist, somehow you're still turned into an incredible character and member of your group. If it weren't for the fact that you're controlling him at all times and his ability to control multiple Personas is unique, you can easily imagine him being just any other normal person at school. It's a damn good feat of writing to allow someone without a voice to be both the "main" character and the strongest in most any sense of the word.

The "mood" is also simply amazing. As you could expect, there is an eventual point in the plot where things have entirely hit the proverbial fan and things look incredibly grim. I can almost assure you that you'll be so sucked in to the game at this point that you'll literally have knots in your stomach waiting for the next horrible thing to happen. This is made all the more exciting by the fact that very few of the major events happen at times you would expect and you get a lot of short term changes you need to cope with.
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In starting a summary, it needs to be said that this game is not for everyone. It takes dedication to get the most out of this game. Although I'd like to think that anyone who has ever at any point played any type of RPG and enjoyed it would find Persona 4 to be an incredible experience, there are some players that can't handle hours without battle action, or the fact that it's hardly worth turning on your PS2 unless you have at least 1-2 full hours to play in order to make much progress.

I'll kind start to finish this by giving a testimonial of my feelings throughout playing. At 10 hours in, I felt kind of disappointed. At 20, I'd adjusted to this. By 30, I was engaged. Hours 30 to 40 were hands-down the most I've ever enjoyed in any RPG (or game in general, actually). 40-Finish had me on the edge of my seat, and my first time at [AN] ending resulted in my crying for about 10 minutes.

Oh... and as a last impression, I'd like to say that this game answers important questions in life, such as what happens when a protagonist is used as an underage male prostitute (indirectly). Perhaps you'd like to know what hints of fanservice from previous Persona titles would look like. Best of all, you might be curious to know what an 8-bit era dungeon crawling game would look like in 3D, and thankfully such a vital ponderance is answered for you. When's the last time you fought a boss that was a 16x16 block of pixels. That's what I thought.
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Conclusion-Just an incredible symphony here. At this point I'm not even sure if this truly my favorite RPG, but a somewhat objective view shows what is practically a flawless game that has corrected every imaginable critique it faced in its last release. There is still potential for great leaps forward in the Persona series, but at this time Persona 4 is worthy of the utmost praise for everything it gives you.

Dare I say, Atlus is developing enough of a fanbase around the world now that releases are anticipated at nearly the same level of Square-Enix games? Might we finally have another true powerhouse in the RPG department which is slowly evolving past niche games to things anyone can enjoy playing? We'll have to see what Atlus can put together for the PS3 and/or 360, I suppose. They might not have the budget or resources of the SE-folk, but they have 10x the heart put into their titles right now. Not impressed enough yet? Go ahead and play through again on your cleared data to unlock everything available to you.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome game
Reviewed in Canada on May 12, 2020
Verified Purchase
Fast shipping, happy with the product. Just an FYI, the case might seem cheaper than other PS2 case, at first I thought maybe I got a counterfeit copy. But after doing some research I learned that Atlus got a different company to do re-print of this game and that's why they have a different case.

The case came with a broken plastic piece inside and the booklet was damaged, but this could have been cause in shipping and will not fault the seller for this. The bonus music CD is great!!!!
2 people found this helpful
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Julio C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Maravilla de juego
Reviewed in Mexico on May 6, 2019
Verified Purchase
Siempre he sido fan de los Shin Megami Tensei desde los Digital Devil Saga, Devil Summoner, Nocturne y por supuesto Persona. Es sin lugar a dudas de los mejores RPG que aun en la actual generación de consolas puedes seguir disfrutando una y otra vez. En cuanto al pedido llegó excelente, caja en excelente estado y contenido igual.
3 people found this helpful
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Matteo Muzi
1.0 out of 5 stars A total Delusion
Reviewed in Italy on June 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
Unfortunately the game doesn’t work properly.
After few hours of gameplay my copy simply doesn’t start anymore.
The game crashes after the Atlus Logo :(
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Toni Carmona
3.0 out of 5 stars Muy satisfecho
Reviewed in Spain on June 18, 2020
Verified Purchase
Todo correcto plastificado, a pesar de los dos retrasos
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david gorton
5.0 out of 5 stars Great game
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
Very happy with the product and service well recommended
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