Persona 4: The Golden is a re-release of PlayStation 2's Persona 4 for the PlayStation Vita. The game is slated for a Spring 2012 release in Japan. It will feature new characters such as a female character named Marie, additional voice-overs and a new opening movie. There will also be fan requested features, such as the ability to call for help via WiFi when your party reaches critical state.
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What is Persona 4?
Like its predecessor, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, the gameplay of Persona 4 alternates between that of a traditional role-playing video game and of a simulation game. The protagonist of Persona 4 is a teenage boy, named and controlled by the player. The game takes place over the course of a traditional Japanese school year. Outside of key events, the protagonist attends school, and can interact with other students and characters, spend time at part-time jobs to earn money, or engage in other activities. The player may also enter the "TV World", an alternate reality where the game's dungeon-crawling gameplay occurs. Each day in Persona 4 is broken up into different periods of time, such as After School or Evening. Certain activities are limited to certain times of day. In addition, the ability to engage in certain activities is based on the day of the week, or the weather.
By spending time with people, the protagonist forms "Social Links", which are friendships the protagonist makes as the game progresses, each represented by one of the Major Arcana. When a Social Link is first formed, it starts at Rank 1, increasing over time as the protagonist spends time with that person, until it reaches MAX Rank. Social Links grant the player bonuses when creating new Personas in the Velvet Room. Social Links are also influenced by the protagonist's five attributes: Understanding, Diligence, Courage, Knowledge and Expression, which can be improved through various activities, such as part-time jobs and sports teams. These attributes in turn may also affect the protagonist's interaction in daily activities outside of Social Links.
Persona 4's timeline is driven by the disappearance of characters from the real world into the TV World, indicated through the "Midnight Channel". The one-week weather forecast indicates the amount of time players have to rescue people who have disappeared, in which foggy days mark the deadline of the rescue mission. The game ends when the player fails to retrieve the missing person in time, and is given the choice to return to one week before the fog appeared. While in the TV World, the player explores randomly generated dungeons in the field map; each dungeon is of a certain theme, based on the victim that has been kidnapped. Dungeons are divided into floors, each containing Shadows, enemies the protagonist and his friends fight, and treasure chests, which contain items or equipment.
Combat
A standard battle in Persona 4. Certain actions such as a successful attack will prompt a dialogue box on top. Players navigate between battle options listed in the box on the bottom-left of the screen, while the character portraits on the right hand of the screen indicates the character's health and magic points.Within the TV World, players fight against Shadows as they continue towards the final floor where the missing person is located. The game switches to a battle screen whenever the player comes in contact with a Shadow in the field map, and the player may be given the initiative if the player strikes the Shadow unnoticed. The battle system is turn-based, bearing similarities to the Press Turn system used in other Shin Megami Tensei games. Each character can perform a basic attack, use a special skill, or use an item. The player can choose to directly control the actions of all party members, or use the "Tactics" option to guide how they perform in battle.
Offensive abilities cause certain types of damage, such as "physical", "wind" or "almighty". Enemies the player encounters may have a weakness to a certain type of attack. By exploiting an enemy's weakness, it will be knocked down, and the attacker is given the opportunity to act again. If every enemy in a battle is knocked down, the player may initiate an All-out Attack, a powerful attack in which the player's party rushes the downed enemies, removing weaker enemies and inflicting heavy damage on stronger ones. At the end of the battle, players are awarded with experience and items, and may be given the chance to choose a new Persona to summon in battle.
Personas
Each party member has a Persona that they can use during battle, with its own unique skills, and a specific set of strengths and weaknesses to certain attacks. Personas will gain experience from battle and learn new skills as they gain levels. The Personas of the other party members will also transform to a more powerful form after completing certain events in the game's story relating to that character. The protagonist is unique in that he can carry multiple Personas and switch between them during battle, giving the player access to a new set of skills. Outside of battle, the player can access the Velvet Room, where new Personas can be obtained. Two or more Personas can be fused to create a new one; the new Persona will inherit a certain number of combat skills from the Personas used to fuse it. Each Persona is of one of the Major Arcana. Fusing Personas of an arcanum that matches an established Social Link will grant the Persona a bonus when it is created. The bonus is greater based on the current rank of the Social Link.
