Hero of Hyrule
Frieren the Slayer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Happy new year, Fami! May 2023 be a great year for you all 
I wanted to make my first thread for this year about a game I adore, one that means a lot to me, and one that I am very excited to revisit in under three weeks...
In 19 days, the glorious JRPG masterpiece that is Persona 4 Golden hits Nintendo Switch (and other modern consoles) at long last, finally making one of the best games ever made accessible to the broader gaming public.
Persona 4 Golden is a stunning achievement, crafting a fantastic story with one of the best developed cast of characters seen in any game ever (maybe the best cast of characters, to be honest), and touching upon themes that remain universally resonant for everyone throughout the world, regardless of the time and place (the themes of coming to terms with who you are as a person, and learning to accept yourself for what you are, flaws and all). It's got an amazingly atmospheric and cozy setting that remains totally unique for a game of this scale (the entire game takes place in one small town in the Japanese countryside), and a very unique setup for a JRPG (it is basically a very long murder mystery detective novel).
It also has all the things people love about Persona 5 within it - the same quick, slick turn based battle system, a similarly stylish aesthetic with an emphasis on the UI (though it needs to be said, in both these areas, P5 is very literally a full generation ahead of P4, if not more - which it should be! It came almost a decade later after all), the same dangerously addictive gameplay loop that blends social simulation and dungeon crawling, and the goddamn soundtrack. Guys, I cannot emphasize how incredible this soundtrack is:
Persona 4 is essentially the FF6 to Persona 5's FF7; the latter is the more popular game, the moment where the franchise finally broke into the mainstream in a big way, but that only happened because of the almost decade's worth of goodwill the brand had garnered by then. And the reason for that goodwill is this game. Persona 4 is a masterpiece, it's an incredible game, and until now, it has somehow managed to avoid being broadly accessible (or at least, as broadly accessible as a game of its stature needs to be); it originally launched as a PS2 exclusive in December 2008, then Persona 4 Golden (which is the version that elevates a good, if flawed, game to being a legitimate stone cold all time classic) was a PS Vita game in 2012... and remained a PS Vita only game until 2020, when at last it did see a Steam release! But other consoles were left out in the cold.
Until now! Now it's finally here, and I am so happy that others get to share in this wonderful game at last.
Persona 4 Golden is a really special game to me. A decade or so ago, I was in a very terrible place mentally, and it may have been one of the lowest moments of my life. This game came along and resonated with me so strongly, pulling me into its world and teaching me to come to terms with myself. It left an indelible mark on me, and after then, I would make sure to play it at least once a year every year (loving it even more each time I did that), until 2018, when I somehow managed to convince myself that it was only a matter of time until it hit at least PS4 if not Switch, and that I should wait for it to hit modern systems rather than continuing to drag out my Vita.
It's been five years since then, but finally I get to return to Inaba, and I hope you all are going to join me for the ride. I can't wait to share this masterpiece with you.
I wanted to make my first thread for this year about a game I adore, one that means a lot to me, and one that I am very excited to revisit in under three weeks...
In 19 days, the glorious JRPG masterpiece that is Persona 4 Golden hits Nintendo Switch (and other modern consoles) at long last, finally making one of the best games ever made accessible to the broader gaming public.
Persona 4 Golden is a stunning achievement, crafting a fantastic story with one of the best developed cast of characters seen in any game ever (maybe the best cast of characters, to be honest), and touching upon themes that remain universally resonant for everyone throughout the world, regardless of the time and place (the themes of coming to terms with who you are as a person, and learning to accept yourself for what you are, flaws and all). It's got an amazingly atmospheric and cozy setting that remains totally unique for a game of this scale (the entire game takes place in one small town in the Japanese countryside), and a very unique setup for a JRPG (it is basically a very long murder mystery detective novel).
It also has all the things people love about Persona 5 within it - the same quick, slick turn based battle system, a similarly stylish aesthetic with an emphasis on the UI (though it needs to be said, in both these areas, P5 is very literally a full generation ahead of P4, if not more - which it should be! It came almost a decade later after all), the same dangerously addictive gameplay loop that blends social simulation and dungeon crawling, and the goddamn soundtrack. Guys, I cannot emphasize how incredible this soundtrack is:
Persona 4 is essentially the FF6 to Persona 5's FF7; the latter is the more popular game, the moment where the franchise finally broke into the mainstream in a big way, but that only happened because of the almost decade's worth of goodwill the brand had garnered by then. And the reason for that goodwill is this game. Persona 4 is a masterpiece, it's an incredible game, and until now, it has somehow managed to avoid being broadly accessible (or at least, as broadly accessible as a game of its stature needs to be); it originally launched as a PS2 exclusive in December 2008, then Persona 4 Golden (which is the version that elevates a good, if flawed, game to being a legitimate stone cold all time classic) was a PS Vita game in 2012... and remained a PS Vita only game until 2020, when at last it did see a Steam release! But other consoles were left out in the cold.
Until now! Now it's finally here, and I am so happy that others get to share in this wonderful game at last.
Persona 4 Golden is a really special game to me. A decade or so ago, I was in a very terrible place mentally, and it may have been one of the lowest moments of my life. This game came along and resonated with me so strongly, pulling me into its world and teaching me to come to terms with myself. It left an indelible mark on me, and after then, I would make sure to play it at least once a year every year (loving it even more each time I did that), until 2018, when I somehow managed to convince myself that it was only a matter of time until it hit at least PS4 if not Switch, and that I should wait for it to hit modern systems rather than continuing to drag out my Vita.
It's been five years since then, but finally I get to return to Inaba, and I hope you all are going to join me for the ride. I can't wait to share this masterpiece with you.
