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FLStyle
April 3rd 2009
Recommendation - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (Playstation 2)
April 3rd 2009
Recommendation - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (Playstation 2)
Persona 4 Teenager Characters
P4 features a great set of characters, they're all funny in their own way. Laughs are provided early on by the Investigation team founded by your good self (lower-center)and Yosuke (middle-right). As your number two he functions as your Robin and your comic relief. Watch him as he fails miserbly with the ladies and tries to get around the town of Inaba without having his head bitten off by the locals.
Apparently you're the only ones interested in girls as all the other guys hate them. You've got Soccer team player Daisuke who gets all the attention from girls only to give them the cold shoulder every time and the ball loving Basketball maniac himself, Kou.
Apart from them and the other teenagers you hang around with you've got many personality filled characters like your infuriating teacher, Mr Morooka, the uncle and cousin you're staying with, Ryoutarou and Nanako Dojima and some who don't even have voice actors like "Funky Student" who is as funky as he sounds.
Some of these characters are completely crazy and over the top but you can't help but love them because the developers are in on the joke so it's never cheesy or looks as if they're trying too hard to be funny. They just are.
P4 features a great set of characters, they're all funny in their own way. Laughs are provided early on by the Investigation team founded by your good self (lower-center)and Yosuke (middle-right). As your number two he functions as your Robin and your comic relief. Watch him as he fails miserbly with the ladies and tries to get around the town of Inaba without having his head bitten off by the locals.
Apparently you're the only ones interested in girls as all the other guys hate them. You've got Soccer team player Daisuke who gets all the attention from girls only to give them the cold shoulder every time and the ball loving Basketball maniac himself, Kou.
Apart from them and the other teenagers you hang around with you've got many personality filled characters like your infuriating teacher, Mr Morooka, the uncle and cousin you're staying with, Ryoutarou and Nanako Dojima and some who don't even have voice actors like "Funky Student" who is as funky as he sounds.
Some of these characters are completely crazy and over the top but you can't help but love them because the developers are in on the joke so it's never cheesy or looks as if they're trying too hard to be funny. They just are.
No Chie, the guys don't hate girls, they just hate you
Shin Megami Tensei Persona 4 TV World
The story is focused around your character, who as in Persona tradition, is named by you and is referred to by that name for the rest of the game. He's a clean slate from day one and his life is defined by your actions. Due to his parents working overseas you're staying in Inaba for a year with the Dojimas. Everything seems like it's a different world from your busy city-life until a certain news announcer is murdered following the revelation of an affair she's been having.
Not all is as it seems (bet you didn't see that coming) as you and Yosuke begin to get involved with some paranormal activity in another world and you begin to track down the killer while avoiding police questioning. And you'll never guess what your uncle does for a living. The mysterious other worldly duo of Igor and Margeret help you as you begin to develop your persona powers and try to have a normal school life.
And how do you go about this normal life while world jumping? You look at the weather and check for fog of course! The rain plays a significant role in the happenings of both worlds and when the fog descends bad things happen. Lucky this isn't all the time and your days can be filled doing whatever you need to get by. As the game unfolds you gain access to more activites like Drama and Music clubs. Jumping between these places is as simple as pressing Square and selecting where you want to go. It's a simple yet brilliant way to get around everywhere in the game very quickly.
After each school day you have three options, go see friends, go to your job or go kill things with your team of persona wielders. Both your friends and jobs lead to social links, which level up each time you see these people. This is important for your main character because the higher the specific level (Social Link Rank) you're at with someone the more EXP bonuses you get.
The story is focused around your character, who as in Persona tradition, is named by you and is referred to by that name for the rest of the game. He's a clean slate from day one and his life is defined by your actions. Due to his parents working overseas you're staying in Inaba for a year with the Dojimas. Everything seems like it's a different world from your busy city-life until a certain news announcer is murdered following the revelation of an affair she's been having.
Not all is as it seems (bet you didn't see that coming) as you and Yosuke begin to get involved with some paranormal activity in another world and you begin to track down the killer while avoiding police questioning. And you'll never guess what your uncle does for a living. The mysterious other worldly duo of Igor and Margeret help you as you begin to develop your persona powers and try to have a normal school life.
And how do you go about this normal life while world jumping? You look at the weather and check for fog of course! The rain plays a significant role in the happenings of both worlds and when the fog descends bad things happen. Lucky this isn't all the time and your days can be filled doing whatever you need to get by. As the game unfolds you gain access to more activites like Drama and Music clubs. Jumping between these places is as simple as pressing Square and selecting where you want to go. It's a simple yet brilliant way to get around everywhere in the game very quickly.
After each school day you have three options, go see friends, go to your job or go kill things with your team of persona wielders. Both your friends and jobs lead to social links, which level up each time you see these people. This is important for your main character because the higher the specific level (Social Link Rank) you're at with someone the more EXP bonuses you get.
Social Links Increasing Persona Power
In Persona 4 you have two main choices early on. Soccer club or Basketball club and Music or Drama Club. Each one has its own story to tell that unfolds the more time you spend there. This may seem like a mere distraction from the main story but all these social links correspond with the personas that you as the main character will create.
For example, the more time you spend with the social link that is of the Strength Arcana, the more extra EXP you gain upon creating a strength persona. All these Strength, Justice and Empress arcanas are based on the Tarot cards that Igor uses to look into your future at the beginning of the game.
In Persona 4 you have two main choices early on. Soccer club or Basketball club and Music or Drama Club. Each one has its own story to tell that unfolds the more time you spend there. This may seem like a mere distraction from the main story but all these social links correspond with the personas that you as the main character will create.
For example, the more time you spend with the social link that is of the Strength Arcana, the more extra EXP you gain upon creating a strength persona. All these Strength, Justice and Empress arcanas are based on the Tarot cards that Igor uses to look into your future at the beginning of the game.
Persona Fusion Specifics
Eventually all this time spent with others pays off through Persona Fusion. Each of your team has a persona, a representation of your inner self, but you aren't limited to just one like the rest. You start off with being able to switch between six personas every turn, and can fuse them to create more powerful ones. This is where the time spent being a socialite comes in.
Being Rank 5 in one social link may gain you two or three extra levels to your created persona right off the bat without fighting anyone. Each persona has different abilities so obviously it's best to have 6 unique personas for any situation.
Eventually all this time spent with others pays off through Persona Fusion. Each of your team has a persona, a representation of your inner self, but you aren't limited to just one like the rest. You start off with being able to switch between six personas every turn, and can fuse them to create more powerful ones. This is where the time spent being a socialite comes in.
Being Rank 5 in one social link may gain you two or three extra levels to your created persona right off the bat without fighting anyone. Each persona has different abilities so obviously it's best to have 6 unique personas for any situation.
Social Links
P4 features a great set of characters, they're all funny in their own way. Laughs are provided early on by the Investigation team founded by your good self (lower-center)and Yosuke (middle-right). As your number two he functions as your Robin and your comic relief. Watch him as he fails miserbly with the ladies and tries to get around the town of Inaba without having his head bitten off by the locals.
Apparently you're the only ones interested in girls as all the other guys hate them. You've got Soccer team player Daisuke w
P4 features a great set of characters, they're all funny in their own way. Laughs are provided early on by the Investigation team founded by your good self (lower-center)and Yosuke (middle-right). As your number two he functions as your Robin and your comic relief. Watch him as he fails miserbly with the ladies and tries to get around the town of Inaba without having his head bitten off by the locals.
Apparently you're the only ones interested in girls as all the other guys hate them. You've got Soccer team player Daisuke w
Social Link Gameplay Advantages
Your main story characters have Social Links of their own. So when you're not leveling you can learn more about them too. Better yet are the special gameplay uses you can get from the Social Links of your team members. Just a few are jumping in the way of attacks that would otherwise kill your main character (ending the game), using a follow up attack against an opponent if you knock a different opponent down and waking up you and your teammates when you yourself have been knocked down. Chie's follow up attack, the Galactic Punt is especially useful as an instant death attack.
Your main story characters have Social Links of their own. So when you're not leveling you can learn more about them too. Better yet are the special gameplay uses you can get from the Social Links of your team members. Just a few are jumping in the way of attacks that would otherwise kill your main character (ending the game), using a follow up attack against an opponent if you knock a different opponent down and waking up you and your teammates when you yourself have been knocked down. Chie's follow up attack, the Galactic Punt is especially useful as an instant death attack.
Persona 4 Dungeon Crawling
The phrase "dungeon crawling" has rarely applied to a game more than Persona 4. Each level in the other world involves working your way up various tower-style places. Whether that be a castle or a sauna. Thankfully there are no random battles in this game, you see the enemy (known as shadows in the world of Persona), and you smack them over the head with whatever weapon you're carrying at the time. Gameplay is also nice and simple, you either control your team yourself or give them instructions and let the A.I. do its thing. While your abilities depend on the personas you've brought with you your friends will all have their own attacks and spells. Yukiko (third character down) is your mage-type character, she heals and can use fire magic. Try to keep her alive as you'll be limited to using items to heal if you yourself don't have a good healing persona with you.
Persona 4 is very easy to recommend as very few people don't have a Playstation 2. The story is great and the characters are memorable in many ways. Gameplay is nice and fast and you can accomplish a lot even in a small amount of time.
The phrase "dungeon crawling" has rarely applied to a game more than Persona 4. Each level in the other world involves working your way up various tower-style places. Whether that be a castle or a sauna. Thankfully there are no random battles in this game, you see the enemy (known as shadows in the world of Persona), and you smack them over the head with whatever weapon you're carrying at the time. Gameplay is also nice and simple, you either control your team yourself or give them instructions and let the A.I. do its thing. While your abilities depend on the personas you've brought with you your friends will all have their own attacks and spells. Yukiko (third character down) is your mage-type character, she heals and can use fire magic. Try to keep her alive as you'll be limited to using items to heal if you yourself don't have a good healing persona with you.
Persona 4 is very easy to recommend as very few people don't have a Playstation 2. The story is great and the characters are memorable in many ways. Gameplay is nice and fast and you can accomplish a lot even in a small amount of time.