Genre: RPG
Reviewed on: PlayStation 2
Publisher: Square Enix
Rating: 16+ (PEGI)
‘Turn on, tune in, drop dead!’
With a slogan like that, Square Enix may as well have printed ‘Buy this game and you will burn in hell’ on the box – it’s probably not that appealing to some potential gamers.
But given the fact Shin Megami Tensai Persona 4 (P4 for short) is about tuning into a TV station that allows its viewers to see a world in which people are marked for death, the slogan is perfectly justified and shouldn’t put anybody off.
Something else that some people may have a dim view of is the fact that this is a PlayStation 2 game. I myself don’t particularly like playing PlayStation 2 games anymore. They all seem cumbersome, slow and somewhat ugly when compared to the visual delights that the 360 and PlayStation 3 lay on for our corneal pleasures. For P4 though – I actually relish the thought of jumping on the old, almost antiquated and dust covered machine.
P4 kicks off with a long narrative heavy sequence that last for a few hours and gives the player some limited controllability and the occasional opportunity to save. This is a genius way to lay the foundations of the storyline for the rest of the game and really helps to draw the player in. It’s not until after this point that players actually get full control over their character and are at the point that they can venture into dungeons.
The combat is carried out in a turn-based cycle and packs the need for some complex strategizing. But despite this complexity it’s never overwhelming and the variety of attacks and skills is just phenomenal. There’s little doubt that anybody who plays P4 will develop their own unique strategy and style of gameplay because of its sheer diversity.
What helps to further personalise this experience is the fact that ‘Personas’ (a shadow form of the host character) can be fused together to create another, hopefully more powerful ‘Persona’ with extra and better attributes.
P4 amazingly breathes life back into the PlayStation 2 and is a game that should not be missed. Everybody with a PlayStation 2 or PlayStation 3 with backwards compatibility should get this game - then they too can turn on, tune in, fall in love with a beautiful RPG.
SCORE 9 / 10
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