Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, Closer Than You Think

3/19/2008

Given the time between Persona 2 and Persona 3, I was pretty shocked to learn Atlus already has number 4 in the works, and there is already a bit of info floating around about it. The game will be for the Playstation 2, so it seems Persona is not ready for the jump to next-gen just yet. Persona 4 is scheduled to be released on July 10th in Japan. The story takes place in the same world as the previous game, but two years after the events of Persona 3. The main character’s parents are forced to leave the country on business, so the protagonist stays with relatives in the rural city of Inabashi(稲羽市). He is forced to transfer to Yasogami High School (八十神高校) in Inabashi and this is where our story begins. This is of course contrary to the previous Persona titles in which the stories all took place in urban environments.

The platinum haired protagonist’s Persona is Izanagi, the spear-wielding god of Shinto lore credited with fathering Amaterasu and the islands of Japan in the Kojiki. At what point he discovers his Persona is not yet clear, but a series of support characters who also have Persona have also been introduced.

Hanamura, Yousuke (花村陽介) Persona [Jiraiya] Yousuke is the son of a grocery store owner who lives in town. He meets the protagonist early in the game and they become friends in part due to Yousuke’s cheerful personality. In the screenshots he appears to be wielding a wrench in battle…

Satonaka, Chie (里中千枝) Persona [Tomoe] Chie is described as very talkative and always has a lot of energy. Did someone say video game stereotype? Oh wait, she likes Kung-fu, that’s a little better.

There are not many changes to the fighting system from the first game. It almost feels (and looks) like Atlus wanted to make a quick buck repackaging the same game engine and ride the popularity of Persona 3. They even kept the Social Link system. There are a few additions though, a new weather system which seems to have replaced the phases of the moon in terms of predicting story elements. Why this change was necessary is not yet clear. Much of the story still remains a mystery, although it appears shadows are still the main nemesis. In the images of the battle system, it seems that the characters are no longer in rural Japan, suggesting they do their fighting someplace else… Also, there is no sign of the famed evoker.

Hopefully some of these mysteries will be revealed on March 24th, when Atlus’s official Persona 4 website launches here. As always, I will post as soon as I learn anything new.

credits: pub.ne.jp, DDS SERIES UNOFFICIAL FANSITE

Other entries on Persona 4:
Link to Famitsu Video
Video Follow up
Video Follow up part II–Mayonaka TV
Video Follow up part III–More Allies
Official Japanese Persona 4 site goes live