JRPGs I’ll Always Remember: Persona 4

Even though it has only been three years since the game’s release, I can easily say that Persona 4 is a game which will stay with me for years. Usually when judging a game, we accept the deficiencies that even great games have because these deficiencies are so outshined by the positive aspects of the game. Persona 4 is just this type of game for me; it most certainly has its problems (uneven difficulty, some boring segments, pretty linear at moments), but these deficiencies are so outshined by the good aspects of the game that I would easily recommend the game to even the most casual of RPG fans.

Persona 4 is a game I feel excels particularly in 3 areas: the story, characters, and finally the art/music designs (OK, so maybe that’s technically four, but bear with me).

Long Way

The art is of note because you have to remember that Persona 4 is a PS2 game, released in 2008. By 2008 the PS3, and Xbox360 even more so, were established consoles, bringing in the HD generation of gaming. In the midst of stunning visuals and breathtaking first person shooters being released for current gen consoles, Persona 4 was released for a last-gen console that not only had less graphical power, but also was barely supported by only a handful of developers. And while doing all this, the game managed not only to look comparable, but in many respects to look better than games of its time even while being technically less impressive (sorry, Fallout 3).
Persona 4 pulled this off by doing a lot of smart things to make their design stand out while hiding the fact that the graphics were not as good. I think it’s pretty impressive that a studio was able to pull off this feat, marrying the seemingly opposing goals of making “bad” graphics stand out, and hiding the fact that the graphics were not as technically advanced as other games of the time. Using bright colors and smart UI design, the menus looked fresh among the blasé browns and grays we normally get. Similarly, the design of in-game character models was made to look less jagged and rough by using smooth (albeit blurry on closer inspection) models.

Aria of the Soul

The music of the game is very interesting to experience, even for long time video game players. It isn’t the somewhat overblown epic music you hear in a lot of RPGs, yet it’s hardly subtle. If I had to most readily compare it another game’s music, the music it most resembles is that of Katamari Damacy. Both games have music that is strange and unabashedly Japanese. Katamari music is a bit more eclectic and upbeat, but the similarity still stands. Each is oddly enthralling, but of very high quality.
For such a long game (typically at 60+ hours) with such a short soundtrack (50 songs, but realistically about 20 or so that you hear often), you would expect things to get pretty stale, yet, somehow they don’t. Each song only becomes more welcoming as its quirky tunes and lyrics (which are either in Japanese or involve a Japanese person attempting English) become more endearing. I can honestly say that after playing the game for over 100 hours and hearing the battle theme for probably 1/3 of those hours, it still hasn’t become old.

Reach Out to the Truth

Equally captivating is the story of the game. Again, this isn’t what you’d expect from your typical JRPG. While you might not be humanity’s last super soldier or a small town farmer who comes to gain incredible power, you do follow the typical, powerful human-type character. Aside from this, however, the story is surprisingly pedestrian. When you aren’t venturing into dungeons summoning personae to fight for you, you’re just a regular high school kid. You have exams, secret crushes, even after school sports. You just also have an affinity for dungeons.

The plot revolves around you and your motley group of friends trying to solve a string of murders that have been occurring around town. In many other RPGs, this premise would encompass act 1, maybe act 2, a quick throwaway story line leading up to the real story. In Persona 4, though, this is the entirety of the story: You are trying to figure out the cause of a string of murders. It’s an RPG detective story, and it’s done very well.

Pursuing My True Self

Without a doubt, the most appealing part of the game for me was the characters. Your party members break the molds of standard RPG party members because they seem close enough to real people to make them relatable. One telling example is the “tough guy” of your party. He’s the strongest character, is associated with biker gangs, gets in trouble at school, and your party generally fears him for his imposing nature before they get to know him. Oh, and he’s probably gay. When this facet of the character is revealed, it’s done so expertly that it should be seen as an example not only to Japan, the country that gave us Hard-gay and Cho-Aniki, but also to the gaming community at large. This character, Kanji Tatsumi, is undoubtedly one of the best portrayed gay characters in video games to date. He’s not portrayed as different, or flamboyant, or a source of humor because of his sexuality. Throughout the entirety of the game, he is who he is. He is a strong high school boy that is at odds with his sexuality, and because of this, his character becomes relatable. You don’t see him as a homosexual archetype; he is just a person.

Of course, not every character is as interesting as Kanji, but I can honestly say I loved every character. Each one is interesting, has a story to tell, and feels like a person you know in real life. Adding to this, the gameplay gets you to just hang out with these characters regularly in little 1 on 1 sessions where you learn about them. During these sessions, you come to like them more and more. Not only do you learn about their personalities, but you also gain knowledge about how their personality relates to their abilities in battle. It’s a nice little corelation that makes the characters even more likeable both in and out of battle.

Character development is also accomplished in the dungeons themselves, which are mirrors of your characters’ minds. Their thoughts, concerns, and aspirations literally comprise the level layout in a Psychonauts-esque way. Kanji’s dungeon, for example, takes place in a sweaty hot spring, while Rise (a former TV idol and model) is seen in a strip club. Not only are the levels interesting from a pure visual perspective, they also tell you more about the character through their design.
I think out of all the memorable aspects of the game, the characters are easily the most appealing. While the interesting art design, catchy music, and engrossing story are exemplary, above all, the characters are what I remember the most. Unlike almost any other characters I’ve encountered in gaming, I felt like they were real in a way that not even popular examples like Alyx Vance embody. Even though it was released recently compared to other games I come to truly appreciate, Persona 4 stands above many of them as an example of what, honestly, many games should be.