Review for 4 Golden Person. Game for PlayStation Vita and PC, the video game was released on 15/06/2012
This 2020, for obvious reasons, we will not forget it easily. We have been through a lot, we have felt helpless and afraid, we have lived in doubt and, slowly, we have recovered or, to be more precise, we are recovering. To the great satisfaction of those like us who live this world at three hundred and sixty degrees, video games have played an important role in the community in recent months. In the midst of so much uncertainty, the playful sphere has been able to take the troubled and troubled entertainment system in general by the hand, thus extending a big hand not only to gamers but more generally to those who live and work there with video games. However, taking a small leap in a different direction, but always remaining on the videogame theme, 2020 represented a decisive step for some brands, which appeared increasingly stronger and above all headed towards that step necessary to enter fully into the Olympus of the video game.
The Persona saga immediately comes to mind, with the arrival of the Royal edition of the splendid Persona 5, complete with localization (a historic move for the brand), has almost definitively abandoned the title of “niche” to embrace a new status, a status of masterpiece recognized by more and more people.
To crown this splendid goal, ATLUS has decided to deploy heavy artillery, surprisingly announcing the arrival on PC, via Steam, of one of the most beautiful and paradoxically "little known" chapters of the saga in question: Persona 4, clearly in its Golden version. In these days, therefore, we have let ourselves be carried away by Inaba and its splendid and at the same time spectral atmospheres in an intimately classic but at the same time innovative role-playing game, a sort of spiritual father of Persona 5 who has been able to bring the saga itself. to new heights.
To accompany us, however, we found a work of "modernization" all in all lazy and uninspired, even if we have not felt much of its specific weight. Because, let's face it, to be able to (re) play 4 Golden Person, without being "forced" to find a console that has basically disappeared from any radar is practically a duty, rather than a pleasure. Trust me.
Welcome to the Velvet Room!
If you are among those who do not know the story of Persona 4, perhaps having also missed the "recent" appointment with the animated series that has retraced the main events of the game in a big way (within the limits of its duration, of course), we envy you and not a little. Because, but without going into too much specifics, the plot of Persona 4 Golden is probably one of the best of the saga and has nothing to envy to its younger brother, much more famous and acclaimed.
The protagonist of the story leads a very familiar narrative plot: he moved to another city, completely opposite to his own in terms of uses, population density and lifestyle in general, young Yu Narukami (we use the name given to him in the anime version) is "forced" to get used to a new reality in no time.
New school, new friends, a "new" family, all this will have to be his new reality for the months to come, in which he will be a guest in the small and fairytale city of the most noble metropolitan city Inaba, where his uncle will host him Dojima and his little cousin, Nanako. What might seem like a sort of "vacation", enhanced by the formation of new and unbroken friendships, such as those with crazy Yosuke, the beautiful Yukiko or the very nice e solar Chio, and from the possibility of discovering a lifestyle, if you want, very far from what Yu was used to, is destined to turn into a nightmare, and also quickly. Since the young man's arrival in the city, in fact, the rumors of mysterious murders that are throwing the whole town and its local armed forces into panic and despair begin to follow one another with increasing insistence, among which the uncle of the protagonist himself stands out , one of the detectives charged with following the thorny case. At the same time, Yu and his friends come into contact with a frightening and incredibly "real" truth: there is another world besides the one known.
This world, a constant for the chapters of the series in its interpretation, this time is hidden in television. Yes, you got it right. The famous Midnight Channel so much talked about actually hides a real alternative world, in which shadows and dangers of all kinds roam the mysterious streets and hide at every corner.
The real turning point, in narrative terms, however, comes when the group of young people becomes aware of a terrible truth: the murders and the "metaverse" are connected. In short, someone is using the world of television to prosecute their crimes. Needless to say, the mission of the protagonist and all the others will be precisely to discover who is hiding behind these events, in a whirlwind of revelations, new characters, many secrets and more, all seasoned with a rhythm and a direction. that fully reflect the Japanese anime style, more and more appreciated in recent years.
Person!
On a purely playful level, Persona 4 Golden does not differ much from its predecessor, much less from its successor. The gameplay is in fact split exactly in half between the "real" world and the world of television, whose management is, once again, a fundamental element for the progression. Person 4, however, from this point of view manages to really give the best of himself. Always keeping in mind the calendar, and taking into account the weather (a fundamental element in the enjoyment of the gameplay itself), it is possible to manage your time in an absolutely free way, taking into account the fact that the choices made directly affect the development of the characters and of their skills.
Once catapulted into the world of television, a threatening and dangerous place as we said earlier, Persona 4 Golden reveals its nature as a video game, a video game as simple in gameplay as it is profound in its overall management. Within the world in question, in fact, the protagonists acquire the ability to fight against the menacing "Shadows" that swarm the streets, even if in real life they do not exactly have noteworthy fighting skills.
The cognitive world therefore highlights people's hidden sides, but they are the ones who give the right boost to the young heroes: the Personas. The mysterious entities linked to each of them manifest themselves in all their splendor, helping them and helping us in the many battles that await the group, in search of a truth difficult to find.
To achieve this goal, the protagonists must explore each dungeon that will be created from time to time and complete the mission, which this time is not to change people's hearts, but rather - more simply - to save those trapped inside. of them. To carry out these missions, you need to explore and complete the aforementioned dungeon (divided into levels, of gradually higher difficulty) within a certain time limit and this is linked, as we said earlier, to the player's ability to be able to wisely exploit his time available.
It must be said that the dungeons remain "open" until their completion, so it might seem like the obvious choice to shut yourself up and fight to the point of exhaustion? Yes and no, because in Persona 4 Golden (as well as in Persona 5) you have to keep an eye on another fundamental factor: i Social Link. Familiarizing yourself with the remaining cast members is a determining factor, as it also heavily helps the "played" part of the title, enhancing and unlocking new skills and even the Personas themselves.
To unlock everything, of course, a single game is insufficient. The calendar, the real engine of the game, offers predefined slots that give and take away space for one or another activity: if we spend time with Yosuke we cannot go out with Chie, if we train we cannot study and so on, and this clearly leads to important consequences in the economy and progression of the game.
If you are a completist or just want to fully enjoy the gaming experience, fear not: Persona 4 gives you the option to start a mode New Game Plus, which allows you to start the adventure from the beginning, however, taking into account the choices made and, therefore, offering you the possibility to change the choices made, thus expanding the cultural background of our alter ego, with obvious repercussions also on the gameplay itself. This, of course, contributes to not losing some fundamental passages of a memorable story, with impressive themes and facets, treated in detail and which, above all, has nothing to envy to the much more famous fifth chapter of the saga.
Coming to Steam: A Daydream?
The announcement of the PC version of the game has obviously generated great enthusiasm in the gaming community, especially the one closest to the brand or in any case to the genre. Net of all that would have been the management of the port itself, the ability to (re) play a product like Persona 4 Golden, perilously off too many radars over the years, was worth the price of the ticket alone. A super affordable price, taking into account the fact that the Steam copy is distributed for only 19,99€ in the standard version.
Honestly, we approached this version precisely because of the desire to relive an extraordinary story, rather than for the conversion itself from which, quite frankly, we expected very little. And in fact it was: porting to PC does not offer any addition to the basic formula, nor does it manage to rejuvenate some passages (such as the absence of the quick rescue) which therefore fails to dampen the dynamics and mechanisms of a title with almost fifteen years on its shoulders. The Steam version of Persona 4 Golden is, as we could have imagined, a “simple” job in terms of resolution and general graphic cleanliness which, however, overall, makes a good impression. The adaptation to the widescreen format, the possibility of setting some various effects (of which, however, we do not feel like affirming the actual practical performance) contribute to providing a more than appreciable general picture, to which an imprint and a very different color rendering that give more justice to the spectacular aesthetic infrastructure of the title of Atlus.
After playing Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal we had perhaps forgotten how wonderful Persona 4 Golden was also from an artistic point of view and this conversion, albeit with obvious limitations but above all with evident laziness, has managed to remind us fully. Going a little more into the details we noticed how, with the help of a higher resolution, some passages appeared almost different from how we remembered them.
We have noticed details that are elusive and impossible or almost impossible to notice in the past, we let ourselves be carried away by the beauty of a terrifying game world but at the same time a true explosion of colors, and we did it on a medium-high level PC that has us allowed to fully enjoy all those who are the various tricks with which the new version was designed.
It must be said that you will not notice much difference while lowering the details or that you will not be able in any way to play with mouse and keyboard, whose support was announced during the presentation of the game, but they are all details that, honestly, in the presence of a similar production - and also based on the price at which this new edition is sold - take a back seat.
What you will certainly appreciate, apart from the usual - splendid - soundtrack, which also perhaps slipped excessively from your mind after listening to that of its successor, is the possibility of enjoying the adventures of Persona 4 Golden with the help of the original Japanese dubbing , available from the start via the game's audio options menu.
The PC version of Persona 4 Golden should be recommended to everyone and regardless. By closing your eyes on a conversion - all in all justified by a more than accessible price - lazy and offering practically nothing new, you will find yourself one of the most beautiful JRPG ever. A long adventure, full of twists and above all that is never afraid to deal with adult themes with a hard and never banal attitude. Of course, the years on your shoulders are all felt, but once you have made the necessary habit you may not be able to detach yourself from the screen anymore. Be careful, however, not to end up in it!
► Persona 4 Golden is an RPG-Simulation-Sports-Adventure game developed by ATLUS and published by ATLUS NIS America for PlayStation Vita and PC, the video game was released on 15/06/2012
