If you read our recent report on console sales in Japan you would’ve seen, in stark numerical form, exactly the depth of hole the PS Vita finds itself in. In Japan the fastest-selling game so far for the Vita has been Persona 4 Golden: an enhanced port of a four-year-old PlayStation 2 game.
If you want to be uncharitable that probably says more about the Vita’s currently niche appeal than sales figures ever could. If you want to be entirely honestly though, you’d have to admit that Persona 4 Golden is one of the best role-playing games ever made.
Although this is technically still a spin-off from the Shin Megami Tensei series its links to Persona 3 are obscure and references to the other games almost non-existent. The basic set-up is the same as previous Persona titles though, as you play an apparently ordinary secondary school student who is moved from the busy city to a smaller rural town.
At first it seems a perfectly ordinary place, with the Japanese setting making no real difference in terms of connecting with the purposefully sleepy-looking setting. But the town of Inaba is plagued by a mysterious fog, and a series of grisly murders coincides with a schoolyard fad for watching switched-off televisions at midnight – in order to catch a glimpse of your soulmate.
The game’s story unfolds slowly at first (too slowly to be honest, and the first couple of hours of only minor interactivity feel particularly odd on a portable) but it soon becomes clear that the televisions are allowing access to far more than just a glimpse of your bride-to-be. Eventually you and your classmates can use televisions to enter a dream-like realm populated by monsters, and with areas based on characters’ innermost fears.
First though each character must confront their own alter egos, defeating them in traditional (for old school Japanese role-players) turn-based battles so that they can then be summoned as player-controlled persona.
The specific scenarios range from a fairytale parody to a bathhouse full of semi-naked man, as you try to rescue a teenager who’s begun to question his own sexuality. Which for a video game is fairly heady stuff. The game benefits from a refreshingly well-crafted script that not only manages to make some serious points but can also be genuinely funny at times.
This is particularly evident in the time spent in school, where your ability to socialise improves your stats and the range of personae you can summon when out fighting monsters. Indeed it’s a tribute to the game’s storytelling that your time back at school never feels resented, even when you’re doing seemingly mundane things like studying, attending a book club, or taking a part-time job.
You’ve only a certain amount of time to spend though so, just as in real life, if you loaf around doing nothing productive you’ll come to regret it later. In fact the whole game works on a steady timer, based on the school year, which adds an unusual sense of urgency for a role-player. Especially when you know you’ve only got a limited time to save someone trapped in the TV world.
Instead the only weak point is that the battle system is relatively mundane. This has been a problem for the whole series and although there’s a heavy emphasis on matching up elemental strengths and weakness the mechanics are not nearly as distinctive as the rest of the game.
The visual design is excellent though, with some particularly bizarre personae that hint at different personality types and obsessions. As you unlock and upgrade persona it becomes essential to start fusing them together to create completely new types. This is a far less random process than it was previously, allowing you to customise them with specific skills rather than just random ones.
If combat is Persona 4’s Achilles heel then Atlus are clearly aware of the weakness, and the default difficultly has been dialled down a notch lower than the original. You’re also now able to call for help from other online players, and although this is a very limited form of co-op it seems an interesting hint of what may be to come in the future.
For now though there are a host of other new additions on the PS Vita, including a new female character called Marie and a scooter you can use to drive to new locations – such as a bigger shopping centre. There’s also a garden at home you can raise crops in, which become items when you enter the TV world. And there are more social options and job opportunities in the evening, including working at a hostess bar.
Perhaps most excitingly for those that have played the game before the point in the story at which it skipped several months ahead is now filled in with new events and socialising, as well as a new dungeon and the potential of new endings.
As ever the presentation is excellent, from the J-pop soundtrack to the superbly distinctive artwork, but graphically the game’s origins as a PlayStation 2 game are obvious throughout. Most of the time the game just looks like a HD upgrade of the original, which is understandable, but does nothing to temper our desire for a current, or even next gen, Persona 5.
This is not a perfect game, and it never has been, but Persona 4 has always been our favourite Japanese role-player and this is the definitive version of it.
In Short: A usefully improved version of one of the best Japanese role-players of all time, and still one of the most progressive in the whole genre.
Pros: Excellent script and characters, with some very atypical themes. Superb artwork and engaging social elements. Lots of new content for new and old fans.
Cons: Combat is not in itself extraordinary and eventually becomes repetitive. Graphics are little changed from the PlayStation 2.
Score: 9/10
Formats: PS Vita
Price: £34.99
Publisher: NIS America Europe
Developer: Atlus
Release Date: 22nd February 2013
Age Rating: 16
Video: Check out the Persona 4 Golden trailer
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