I really came in under the wire on Persona 4 Golden, finishing it on April 2nd, just two days before the release of Persona 5. It was a game I was happy to replay but I will admit to a considerable amount of fatigue with Persona 4 in general. It is the entry in the series that Atlus has relentlessly promoted and spun-off and of course I have mindlessly gobbled up every bit of content they've put out, whether it be Persona 4 Arena, Persona Q, or even Persona 4 Dancing All Night, which features a shockingly terrible storyline. Still, Persona 4 Golden is the definitive version of the game because it adds a ton of additional content to a game that was already very long and involved.
I've always been a huge fan of social links in the Persona games because it adds a little extra layer of depth to the story. Many of the characters you interact with in these social links have no relevance to the overarching plot, but their own self-contained stories are interesting in their own right. Golden adds two additional social links, including one for the wacky Adachi which is very interesting and difficult to manage due to his odd schedule. I'm less a fan of Marie, but the extra content is appreciated even so. If there's anything I dislike about Golden compared to the original game it's that the combat seems a little easier than before. I don't know if the enemies were tweaked or if it's just because it's a little easier to fine-tune your characters to be stronger, but it was something I definitely noticed, especially after playing Persona 3 Portable which is a pretty tough game.
One of the main problems I had with Persona 4 the first time through was the game's glacial pace during the early stages. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I feel pretty confident in estimating that it takes about three hours before you hit your first actual bit of gameplay, which is just overwhelmingly silly. There should be a crash course on how the game works much earlier in than that in pretty much any case, no matter how interesting the storyline is. Combine this with the fact that I don't quite dig Persona 4's bright, sunny aesthetic and overall wackiness quite as much as Persona 3's grimmer, cooler atmosphere and it creates a game that isn't my favorite of the series, even though I do still like it quite a bit.
Persona 5 ditches the cheery vibe for a more retro, jazzy feel. In many ways it feels like a mishmash of elements from both Persona 3 and 4 with a few callbacks to entries from even earlier in the series. Some elements from earlier games like nuclear and psychic magic return, while the slice-of-life and daily management structure from 3 and 4 are retained. As always, the soundtrack is absurdly catchy and memorable and the turn-based gameplay is as tight as ever. There is, as always, a huge emphasis on style. Everything is cohesive and on-theme, from the menus and general UI to the art style, music, and clothing for the characters.
I mentioned before that I really dug the social elements of the Persona series. Persona 5 makes some really nice changes to the system. Social links are now called Confidants but follow a similar structure in that you progress across a series of levels by having conversations. However, each of these Confidants also grant you certain different abilities and benefits like increased experience or the ability to switch out party members in battle as you deepen your bond with them. This is really cool and makes the prospect of progressing in these relationships more interesting, beyond just unlocking more of their personal stories.
I really really enjoyed Persona 5 even if I still mostly prefer Persona 3 even just on aesthetics and soundtrack alone. It was still definitely one of the best games of 2017 and a game I'll happily replay if it gets an enhanced re-release in the vein of P3P or P4G. Of course, after 120 hours of that game and 80-90 hours of time on each of the three entries preceding it, I was pretty fatigued with Persona in general at about that time. Of course, now, two years later, I'm happy to get right back on that horse. I'm eager to hear exactly what the recently teased Persona 5 R is and will feverishly devour Persona Q2 as soon as it comes out.
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