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Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

9.3 based on 28 reviews Read critic reviews How did we calculate this? based on 48 votes Read user comments Rate this game

GAMES:

• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES

• Cheat Code Central

• Kotaku Review
• Official Website

[Metacritic's 2008 PS2 Game of the Year] Shortly after an urban youth begins a year-long stay in the countryside town of Inaba, the rural town's peace is shattered by a horrific murder that leaves no clues or suspects. As the lone incident develops into a series of bizarre crimes, he discovers that only he and his friends have the power to solve the baffling case, bring those responsible to justice, and restore harmony to his new home. Balance your double life – Beyond intense battles, Persona fusion, and new weapon creation exists a normal high school life of friends, classes, and part-time jobs. The way you manage and integrate your activities within each day will determine how you progress through the game. Unprecedented team control – With a greater emphasis on developing bonds in the fight to solve the mysterious murders, strong friendships are key to your success. Directly control teammates in battle, earn greater party support for combat, and master individual Social Links to unlock your party's true potential. Find the true ending – 60+ hours of gameplay thrusts you into a deep mystery where midnight television leads to serial killings. You must investigate murders, rescue those who can be rescued, and unmask the culprit behind it all—or risk being forever shrouded in the fog of doubt. [Atlus USA]

PUBLISHER:	Atlus USA
DEVELOPER:	Atlus USA
GENRE(S):	Role-Playing Game
PLAYERS:	1
ESRB RATING:	M (Mature)
RELEASE DATE:	December 9, 2008

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Gamervision

An outstanding achievement in gaming. There’s no question that this is going to be one of my top games of the year, and any fan of JRPGs should be playing it when it’s released next week.

100

1UP

What really sets Persona 4 apart, though, is its endearing, relatable cast.

100

Destructoid

Atlus managed to combine the best of what already worked well with fresh new ideas and tweaks, and the end result is a fantastic role-playing game -- definitely a shoe-in for RPG of the year. Unless you dislike the genre, do not, under any circumstances, miss Persona 4.

100

Wired

The truly stunning thing about Persona 4 is that it just doesn't have any glaring flaws. Even though it doesn't stand up to the graphics of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, the clever art style makes up for that. Those who despise reading large blocks of text in games will be pleasantly surprised by the solid voice-over work applied to almost every conversation.

100

GamePro

I can't recommend this innovative experience highly enough, and from first time visitors to the Velvet Room to jaded MegaTen fanatics, Persona 4 is an absolute must buy.

100

Thunderbolt

Look, folks. If you have any interest in RPGs, you need to play Persona 4. Period. It’s one of the best titles available on the PS2. In fact, it just might be the console's swan song.

100

GameShark

P4 is constantly enveloped by an aura of dire urgency.

100

Electronic Gaming Monthly

If you're a role-playing freak who hasn't given this series a shot, I'm comin' to take your nerd card. [Jan 2009, p.88]

100

GameSpy

If you only buy one more PlayStation 2 game before retiring the trusty system to that dusty closet, make sure this is it.

100

Gaming Nexus

If you enjoy RPGs even in the slightest, you must own Persona 4. It is quite possibly, the greatest PS2 title ever made.

98

Gaming Target

If Persona 3 could be considered the Godfather of RPGs, then Persona 4 could be considered the Godfather II.

98

My Gamer

While Persona 4 manages to be the very definition of a hardcore Japanese role playing game, and possibly one of the better (if not best) role playing game that came out in 2008 as well.

95

Worth Playing

Everything — from the story to the combat system to the dungeon crawling and Social Links — has been improved. Considering that Persona 3 was already an excellent game, Persona 4 is a true standout.

95

Hardcore Gamer Magazine

Atlus has really created something special with Persona 4, because it still maintains the freshness of Persona 3, while also being different and in many ways superior.

94

RPG Fan

Among the cookie-cutter sequels and half-hearted remakes, Persona 4 is a near flawless example of the perfect balance between "falling back on what works" and "pushing the genre forward." That said, I wholeheartedly recommend it as one of the best RPG experiences of the year.

94

Cheat Code Central

With a play time between forty and fifty hours, different difficulty levels, and multiple endings, Persona 4 will keep you hanging on for quite some time.

93

GameTrailers

Persona 4 is a well-crafted game dense with content that achieves a compelling balance between traditional RPG dungeon crawling and, shockingly, what can actually be considered role-playing. In its 60-plus hours you’ll experience a tight, well-structured story, and the liberty to freely develop characters and progress at your own discretion.

91

Game Revolution

One of those rare games that have such a nonchalant, organic, and artful message about humanity that it feels improper to dissect and analyze each of its parts without recognizing the strength of its narrative sum. It shows that a game doesn’t need nonstop, high-flyin’ action or an epic “save the world” theme for it to have lasting impact and purpose.

90

Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)

This is probably Atlus USA's best work yet, with a script full of lively, natural-sounding dialogue and a cast of talented actors who take that dialogue and run with it. [Feb 2009, p.72]

90

EuroGamer

Transcends genre to deliver an experience wholly distinct and relentlessly compelling. [Feb 2009, p.90]

90

GameCritics

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is a true gamer's game. Atlus has outdone themselves again and proved that they are at the leading edge of role-playing.

90

IGN

Everything from the battle system and the dungeons that you fight through to the social links you develop and friend interaction that you do on your "off hours" has been radically improved in this game.

90

GameSpot

This stylish role-playing social-simulation game packs a great story, realistic characters, and dozens of hours of enjoyment.

90

Games Radar

If you don't want a heaping pile of Japanese culture, or don't like an odd or off-putting story, then maybe you should stay away. Otherwise, Persona 4 is a superb (if long) RPG, and probably the last great PS2 game.

87

GameZone

If you’ve never played Persona 3, then it’ll be overwhelmingly fresh entry to the RPG genre. If you’ve actually played Persona 3, then there have been more then enough changes to warrant a revisit through the world of Inaba.

80

Game Informer

The interplay of the simulation and combat elements form an addictive cycle that makes it easy to immerse yourself in the surreal world of Persona 4, but it isn’t for everyone. The game implements a deliberate and regimented structure, requiring a lot of planning, repetition, and level grinding.

80

G4 TV

Aside from some minor quibbles, it’s beautifully made – an addictive game, an involving story, and a gorgeous piece of artwork all at once. While not perfect, Persona 4 is one of this year’s best RPG and another example of how even old hardware can still run some of the best games.

70

games(TM)

We hope Atlus takes its time to deliver a more compelling and intelligent game with the next Persona, as the series has some remarkable potential. [Jan 2009, p.126]

The average user rating for this game is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 48 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Silver E. gave it a10:
Atlus' policy when it came to making Persona 4: If it ain't broke, make it MIND-BLOWINGLY AWESOME. If it is broke, make it MIND-BLOWINGLY AWESOME. Not only is it one of the most polished games to date, but it takes everything that Persona 3 did, good and bad, and made it MIND-BLOWINGLY AWESOME. Social Links? Even more interesting and really involved in the game's battles this time around. The turn-based battles themselves? Even more fast-paced than before, this time with the A.I. being optional. Music? Freaking catchy, even catchier than Persona 3's "glued-to-the-inside-of-your-head-for-all-eternity" tunes. The story's pacing? Excellent. The characters? Even more realistic and relatable, somehow (because Persona 3's characters were pretty damn good). Even the voice acting is better...even with some of the same freaking voice actors (Yuri Lowenthal makes a return, and he's even better than he was last game) as last game. The game itself is overflowing with things to do: social stats to raise, friends to make and help out, equipment to produce, Personas to fuse like crazy, quests (and without time limits!) to finish, freaky demons to pwn, and people to talk to in order to solve the game's murder mystery. Quite frankly, you are getting a LOT for your buck, and it's high-quality stuff to boot. Even better is the fact that it's on the PS2, which is a console that everyone and their mother has. If you haven't gotten this or Persona 3 FES (get P3FES first!), you are seriously missing out on what is the best that the JRPG genre has to offer.

J SF gave it a10:
The graphics aren't exactly top notch, but if you're playing ps2 you aren't playing for graphics. The gameplay is amazing, with a battle system that's not too tedious if you're an experimental person. The social link system is just like P3's, only more important because having social links with party members will have impact in battle. The story's amazing and the plot twists towards the end are spetecular, and the cast is pretty good. While in a vacuum the characters may seem cliche, their interactions with each other are what makes the game, both for the humor and the atmosphere. The voices are nearly all good, except for Naoto who sounds awfull during battle, the music is great but it feels like a step down from P3 (except for boss and dugeon music) to me. It took me 10 less hours to finnish than P3, but that's still about 70 hours of gameplay and I didn't even do half the sidequests so this game is trully the ps2 going out with a bang.

John F. gave it a9:
Atlus has done it again. As was the case with Persona 3, Atlus stood tall against all the hyped current-gen releases and delivered the best RPG of the year (yes, P4 is better than Fallout 3, although they are two completely different styles of RPG and are both worth playing). Like P3, Persona 4 isn't for everyone -- there's some grinding (although it lacks the repetitiveness pf P3) and some Japanese flavor and oddities that fans of WRPGs might not like. But the story is solid, the cast of characters is very strong and just as memorable as Persona 3's, and the game makes improvements on Persona 3's gameplay flaws. Plus the game is very funny, which is always a plus. The game takes a little while to really hit its stride, but once it does, you are in for a treat. If you are a fan of JRPGs or RPGs in general, you need to dust off the PS2 now and play Persona 4 as it is not only one of the year's top games but one of the best games in the PS2 library.

Ben H. gave it a10:
It may seem crazy for me to give this game a ten but it is my game of the year. It was an amazing work of art while at the same time being laughable and never takes its semi dark story too seriously. Along with the wonderfully challenging gameplay I love it.

Huffman J. gave it a5:
This game is just trying to coerce more money out of the fan's pockets. Barely any work was done for the localization. The translation is iffy. The voice acting is poor. Atlas insists that Japanese honorifics are included into the game on top of saying "Mr," Mrs," et cetera. It is a sloppy patchwork job. The music is good as it is with Persona 3. The story feels like something out of Scooby Doo. Horribly cliched and much of the plot is cringe-worthy and often you will spend 30 minutes pressing x to get through cheesy dialogue before you can move onto fighting again The battle system is quite good. The grinding is horrible. The game's style is good. I'd have to say that young kids will enjoy this game, but with the adult themes that are included... I'm really puzzled with whom Persona 4 is meant for. Just a poor game all around. I would expect only kids would have the attention span or desire to play through it.

KingKamor gave it a10:
(I wanted to give this a 9.5, but since I can't do that, I guess that I'll just have to make due with a ten, because my only complaints are about something that happened only once.) I played all the way through Persona 3 FES, and I loved the game. Sure, it had it's flaws, but it didn't stop me from relating to and loving all of the relatable and loving characters. Persona 4 has taken my standards and raised them a few bars, because it's even better than P3 in almost every way. The characters are even more relatable, the game's setting being out in the countryside in a town with a very similar feel to the one that I grew up in; the battlesystem has been tweaked to make up for the mistakes that the AI often made in P3 by giving you the option to control your allies yourself; the storyline is much less cliche than P3; the voice acting as a whole seems much more natural (except for Chie, who sounds ten years older than she should); and the symbolism the game presents to the gamer playing it made my head spin a little after the first major boss battle. If I were to complain about something, it would be that some of the voices can be grating at times, and that there is so little voice acting in the Social Link conversations. There's barely a "Hey!" or a "Let's go!" before the silent text continues. I think that if they're going to voice parts of the Social Links, then they should go all out and voice them entirely. In addition, in the first dungeon, my teammates kept getting stuck behind the open doors whenever I would leave a room to continue down a given hallway. Not the most world-ending of annoyances, but it did waste a valuable five seconds each time. All in all, if I had to choose one word for Persona 4, it would be "fresh." It feels like I just got the keys to a new car that will never break down. I managed to play the game for twelve hours straight on the day that I got this game because it was just that good.

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