Persona 4 Golden Review: See Inaba and Die | Ruetir.com

Finally, after the successful sortie on PC in 2020, Persona 4 Golden it also arrives in its renewed version also on current consoles, for Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. Unlike Persona 3 Portable, given the recent PC port, it was no longer a difficult title to recover, but the convenience of being able to play it in the living room (and on the subway, in the case of the Switch version) is unmatched. It must be said that Atlus was kind enough to provide a free patch for those who bought the PC release two years ago which gives an upgrade to the new version, with all its improvements… one more opportunity to play this stone again milestone of the genre.

Persona 4 Golden: the “definitive” version of a great modern classic

It’s 2011 and a teenager moves into his uncle’s house in a small village in the rural province of Japan, Inaba. Here he will meet many new people with whom he will particularly bond, starting from his little cousin up to the bizarre pantheon of his new schoolmates; however, the monotonous provincial life will be turned upside down by a series of bloody and mysterious serial murders, which the boy will end up investigating, involving his friends. Everything is tinged with the supernatural when an urban legend concerning television screens takes on bizarre contours of reality and ours are called to fight between life and death using their Personae, physical manifestations of sides of their own unconscious capable of real wonders. Between intricate mysteries and unforgettable friendships, the school year will go by very quickly!

A masterpiece to be rediscovered

Originally designed and built for PlayStation 2, Persona 4 has something miraculous, if you think that it had relatively short development times at the time, positioning itself immediately after launch in the hearts of all JRPG enthusiasts, who entered it without hesitation in the gotha ​​of the genre for the excellent combination of mystery, captivating gameplay and exciting personal stories of the protagonists, to which you will immediately become attached.
It goes without saying that the elements that make a JRPG unforgettable in the eyes of its chosen audience are all there, starting right from the narrative elements fused to perfection, and so successful that it has given life not to one, but to two animated series, once to narrate the events of Persona 4 and the other instead that explodes the plot of the Golden version. The success was such as to later push Atlus to include the protagonists in other more or less canonical spin-off titles, as well as the official sequel to Persona 3 and 4: the fighting game diptych vs Arena and Arena Ultimax, which are referred to in the title to Persona 4 but also contain characters from the third episode, continuing to narrate their adventures.

The style of gameplay is typical of the series, divided between exploration, tactical-strategic turn-based combat and private life to be led in the name of personal growth and relationships with others. The classic elements of turn-based combat (based on elementary weaknesses and the reasoned use of Personae summons) take flight here and explore new heights, offering an always interesting and satisfying gaming experience, with various levels of difficulty depending on the player. commitment that you want to invest: satisfaction, in any case, is guaranteed.
In the same way, the “social link” system that allows the evolution of the protagonist’s friendships takes on the contours of what we will see later in Persona 5, and we can assure you that you will really care about cultivating friendships with your favorite characters!
The version Golden of the game follows the Atlus tradition of the series, proposing some improvements, small additions but also big surprises in the piece of history added compared to the original.
The technical sector, of course, is dated, but it is delicious at the same time, and the new version has an amazing graphic detail capable of enhancing the powerful artistic side of the work, which boasts some of the most beautiful anime cutscenes of the genre.

Piattaforme: Nintendo Switch, PC (Windows, Steam, Game Pass), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Developer: Atlus

Publisher: SEGA

If you loved Persona 5, you should definitely play Persona 4 Golden as well, now better than ever.
If the PSVita version was already unmissable and the first re-release of two years ago was priceless, now further improvements have been made – including quick save – and the game has been completely translated in its texts in an excellent Italian adaptation, which brings zero excuses for not recovering the Atlus stock.