ThePersonaseries of JRPGs are hugely popular and beloved games that are now available on all systems for the first time. The series typically sees high school students discovering a secret alternate world and fighting through shadow creatures pulled from human consciousness to save the world from destruction, while still making sure to study for their exams.
While there’s a lot of debate on which game is the best in the series, it’s clear that each one offers something better than the others.Persona 4 Goldenfollows a murder mystery in a small Japanese town involving a strange midnight TV broadcast. It is often considered the best by many, and there are several good reasons why.
5Town Soundtracks
Picking the bestPersonasoundtrack is like picking a favorite child. The entire series can be placed among some of the greatest soundtracks in gaming, although often in different ways.Persona 3has the catchiest battle theme with “Mass Destruction,” whilePersona 5’s soundtrack often uses its jazz influences to do some interesting things with its score.
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Persona 4excels in its town themes. A brilliant blend of catchy and relaxing, the music that players hear while wandering around Inaba is perfect music to wander around a sleepy Japanese town,making the best use of the game’s limited time. On one hand, the music perfectly replicates the kind of pop sound one would expect Japanese teens to be listening to on their walk home from school. On the other hand, there’s a strange nostalgic feeling to these soundtracks that reflects the town’s older structures. It all combines brilliantly to create a unique vibe for the game.
4Personal Stories
Persona 3had a dark, moody story with grand implications on existence, andPersona 5was full of critiques on societal issues. Meanwhile,Persona 4’s story is often a lot more intimate, in a way that works heavily to its benefit. Among the game’s wider murder mystery, party members all have their own stories, all touching on issues that teenagers are likely to be struggling with. These issues also become cornerstones formost of the game’s boss fights, which represent those suppressed aspects of each character.
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From issues surrounding gender identity and sexuality to anxieties surrounding parental expectations, each party member has their own struggles that can be examined as the game goes on. These issues are generally treated with great care, to the point where they’ve had a real impact on players. Troy Baker, the English language voice actor for Kanji, a boy struggling with his sexuality, has stated that to this day people thank him for his portrayal of the character as the story helped them with their own struggles. Compared toPersona 5and particularly how it handles the story of Ann, it’s a huge contrast.
3Social Links
Beyond the party themselves,Persona 4also has some of the strongest Social Links of the whole series. Social Links are effectively side quests where the player can befriend people in their lives and help them with their issues. There are some great stories here, andcompleting these Social Link quests can also bestow benefits in battle.
InPersona 4, these quests feel a lot more natural than in other titles. The player can befriend people in their social clubs, help the brother of an early murder victim deal with his grief, and bond with the protagonist’s cousin as she’s often left alone at home due to her father being a police detective. They all help to ground the player in the game’s world in meaningful ways.
2Bright Tone
For anyone not interested in a dark tone,Persona 4is the best in the series due to it being lighter than other games in the series.Persona 3is an incredibly dark game that sees trauma and death woven heavily into the narrative. And whilePersona 5has plenty of light-hearted moments, these are balanced consistently with tales of abusive teachers and corrupt politicians.
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Persona 4instead focuses on a relaxed small-town feeling, as represented in its Social Links and music, but also in how much lower the stakes feel. The party’s interactions are generally more relaxed, andeach completed dungeon presents the crew as heroeswho are saving others from grim fates, something other titles tend to subvert in some way.
1A Challenging Mystery
Persona 4is presented as a murder mystery and does an excellent job of playing out like one. All thePersonagames are presented as an investigation involving the shadow worlds, butPersona 4does the best job of making the player feel like an investigator. InPersona 3, much of the investigating is handled by senior members of the Investigation Team, while inPersona 5, sometimes the clues are too obvious, or the party solves it quietly in the story and reveals its own conclusion during a big twist.
InPersona 4, the identity of the true killer is hinted at throughout the game, in ways that the player may miss at first. However, in the game’s climax, the player is asked to piece these clues together and identify the suspect, and only if they get it correct can they get the True Ending. It encourages the player to act like a detective, examining interactions and even subtle meta clues. When they discover the truth, it has a meaningful impact on the player’s enjoyment of the story. It’s a brilliant conclusion to an already excellent game.
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