Persona 4 Golden

 PlayStation Vita
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1851 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,584 out of 1851
  2. Mixed: 54 out of 1851
  3. Negative: 213 out of 1851
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  1. Bubbazoom
    Jan 20, 2014
    6
    I tried very, very hard to like this game but I just couldn't. Japenese RPGs are my go to genre and this disappointed me, especially with all the fantastic reviews I saw.

    It's different than your usual RPG, which is good, but there is too much going on and I never knew how to spend my time "correctly". I wasn't sure when to level for the next dungeon, and if I was under levelled I had    I tried very, very hard to like this game but I just couldn't. Japenese RPGs are my go to genre and this disappointed me, especially with all the fantastic reviews I saw.

    It's different than your usual RPG, which is good, but there is too much going on and I never knew how to spend my time "correctly". I wasn't sure when to level for the next dungeon, and if I was under levelled I had to go back in time a week after my game ended.

    The battle system was classic and solid but I hated not being able to leave a dungeon to heal. If you do it skips ahead a day which makes it so you can't do other daily things like raising your social links and such.

    The story and characters gripped me however. The story and characters you meet are deep and interesting, for the most part.

    I will try playing again one day, but be prepared for something very different. Great ideas, but just not for me.    … Expand
  2. Dokkodo
    Oct 2, 2013
    6
    The storyline people have been raving about...well it's not that great. While it is unique and a different take than the average RPG, which I am very glad for, it's got a lot of boring and infuriating elements to it.

    The "heroes" of the story are the least heroic heroes ever. "Eh, let's wait a week to save that guy." "No need to rush in." "Let's stop and discuss this." There's really no    The storyline people have been raving about...well it's not that great. While it is unique and a different take than the average RPG, which I am very glad for, it's got a lot of boring and infuriating elements to it.

    The "heroes" of the story are the least heroic heroes ever. "Eh, let's wait a week to save that guy." "No need to rush in." "Let's stop and discuss this." There's really no men of action on the entire team and it's annoying.

    Then there's the high school drama part. If you like those cheesy Japanese anime comedy/dramas, ok then you'll love that. I for one hated it and found it a waste of time.

    The gameplay is a mix of a typical turn-based RPG and a Japanese dating sim. So again, if you like Japanese dating sims, amazing game for you...not so much for me. I do like the combat though, the persona system is pretty cool, it's a lot like Devil Summoner (another game by the same people with a better storyline) but in pure old school RPG format.

    Voice acting is good, graphics are OK, some of the music is good.

    It's a good time-waster, but hardly deserves the overwhelming praise it receives.    … Expand
  3. midipon
    Jan 21, 2017
    5
    Overrated waifu filth. Easy as hell with **** for payoff at the end. Terrible bosses, annoying characters, flat world, and boring school segments. Irritating fetch quests, lame dungeons, ugly graphics, and stupid story pacing. The music has okay tracks. But that's it.
  4. UCA
    May 8, 2014
    5
    It's a diffcult game. But I think this game is too simple because you really only can be two skills, dodge an attack and attack with your weapon or magic.
  5. marine63
    Apr 17, 2013
    6
    Keep in mind that I never played a persona game before. However, I love turn based rpgs. And yes, I realize that this game was made in 2008.

    Personally I find much of the game mechanics namely the "sim" part tedious and the game was way too long for its own good. The game expects you to get along and get to know these characters as strong as your friends. However, These characters were    Keep in mind that I never played a persona game before. However, I love turn based rpgs. And yes, I realize that this game was made in 2008.

    Personally I find much of the game mechanics namely the "sim" part tedious and the game was way too long for its own good. The game expects you to get along and get to know these characters as strong as your friends. However, These characters were two dimensional and uninteresting. Many of the plot points were obvious making the reveal of the mystery feel unsatisfying. Many of the abilities and spells' names were too complicated. I wish the naming of each ability was short and was straight to the point. For example Bufu ice?, agi fire??? The progression in the beggining dragged on and felt slow. Then all of the sudden throws many options of what you can do to spend your time all at once. I also, dislike games that rushes me to do things at a certain date such as majora's mask.

    Things I liked
    I liked the abilities that used hp as if it was mana. Being able to Down enemies and follow up with an all-out-attack. I also liked the "1 more" function as well.    … Expand
  6. kuehnau
    Feb 11, 2017
    7
    I spent the last two weeks playing Persona 4 Golden and have finally reached end game, which makes me feel as though I can now give the game an honest review.

    Persona 4 Golden is kind of a monster collecting RPG that revolves around collecting cards after battles and then fusing those cards together to form stronger monsters, also known as "Personas". As you play the game, you'll meet    I spent the last two weeks playing Persona 4 Golden and have finally reached end game, which makes me feel as though I can now give the game an honest review.

    Persona 4 Golden is kind of a monster collecting RPG that revolves around collecting cards after battles and then fusing those cards together to form stronger monsters, also known as "Personas". As you play the game, you'll meet friends who can also use Personas, but you are the only character who can change their persona.

    Persona 4 Golden is absolutely a standard JRPG. Even the "normal" difficulty is fairly hard. Thankfully they put in a easy mode that allows you to just enjoy the story and characters while almost effortlessly walking through battles, dungeons and boss encounters.

    Graphically the game looks great and runs well with no visual slow downs that I could see. It's a perfect port to the vita. A recurring problem with most JRPGs is present in the game and that is a lack of creative enemies, you are going to encounter a lot of re-colored enemies in this game, it really lacks diversity on that front.

    As a added bonus, the game is also kind of like a slice of life teenage high schooler sim. The game places a lot of focus on meeting people, forging long lasting relationships, romance and even working part time jobs and going to school.

    There's a lot going on and the game requires you to manage your time, you can't do everything at once and when you first start playing, you'll have to decide what things you want to focus on.

    The story is somewhat engaging and it's writing is good enough that Persona 4 Golden will have you caring about the characters and relating to them. Some of the overall themes are fairly cliche and there is a lot of cringy content that revolves around character's sexuality.

    As your character grows, they will often be given dialog choices that are effected by your personality, such as courage and empathy. One would think that these dialog choices would alter the story or paths your character will walk, but the reality is, the only large differance is slightly different dialog. This part of the game is pretty underwhelming and the reality that not all options can be used your first playthrough is slightly annoying.

    The game does feature a "new game plus" mode, but unlike a lot of traditional games that offer this as a feature, almost NOTHING carries over, completely ruining the concept of new game plus. After beating the game, if done correctly, you'll have access to your ultimate persona form, but unfortunately you still cannot use it until late in the end game and requires a lot of grinding in order to make even remotely useful.

    The biggest failure of the game is the ending. You'd think that the game would be close to ending after defeating the final boss and solving the "case", but that's not true. The game will continue to drag on for in-game months, leaving you with almost nothing to do besides chasing the ending to the game. There was no good reason for adding this in and really ruins the ending after glow you'd normally get.

    Persona 4 Golden also adds in a extra character and additional dungeon, but they are both so awful, I wouldn't recommend wasting your time pursuing them in any capacity unless you have extra time to burn.    … Expand
  7. RaptorX3
    Sep 12, 2021
    5
    Average story with great voice acting ruined by 90 hours of pointless grinding.
  8. maniaque
    Sep 16, 2020
    7
    Persona 4 get great scores but i dont understand. The game is ok but dont deserve a 9 or 10 like some give. It is fun but not perfect or near it. Graphics are very average. Gameplay is fun for some parts but alot of talking too. Too much talking for me. I prefer action games and this one need alot reading and searching. I would still recommend but this is not an awesome game. Its a goodPersona 4 get great scores but i dont understand. The game is ok but dont deserve a 9 or 10 like some give. It is fun but not perfect or near it. Graphics are very average. Gameplay is fun for some parts but alot of talking too. Too much talking for me. I prefer action games and this one need alot reading and searching. I would still recommend but this is not an awesome game. Its a good game but not more.… Expand
  9. Redphone
    Mar 23, 2020
    7
    An excellent JRPG. While the graphics are not polished and some aspects of the game, such as Yosuke’s antics, have aged poorly, overall it is a great game. The story is excellent, the characters (while a bit dull) feel like they could be real people, and the murder mystery aspect keeps the plot focused. While the lightheartedness can be a bit tone deaf in a game about murder, it does keepAn excellent JRPG. While the graphics are not polished and some aspects of the game, such as Yosuke’s antics, have aged poorly, overall it is a great game. The story is excellent, the characters (while a bit dull) feel like they could be real people, and the murder mystery aspect keeps the plot focused. While the lightheartedness can be a bit tone deaf in a game about murder, it does keep things fun. I also do think the Golden is better in the original in terms of gameplay and mechanics if you have a vita. Warning: The long tutorial will be off putting to many.… Expand
  10. Wingandwind
    Apr 18, 2020
    7
    This one is a good game to test the waters to see if you’ll like persona or SMT gameplay, but it isn’t for everyone.

    The graphics were honestly outdated even when the game was new, with square, clunky models that most games haven’t used since the 90’s. The soundtrack however is excellent and most people will probably feel at least one song they would put on an MP3 player to listen to    This one is a good game to test the waters to see if you’ll like persona or SMT gameplay, but it isn’t for everyone.

    The graphics were honestly outdated even when the game was new, with square, clunky models that most games haven’t used since the 90’s. The soundtrack however is excellent and most people will probably feel at least one song they would put on an MP3 player to listen to outside of gaming.

    The battle system isn’t super complex and pretty clean, if you are familiar with Pokémon or other turn based battle you will pick it up very fast. The story is good, but has some fatal problems. The game is one of the most tone deaf persona games being a blissfully happy game where friend play while people are dying in the background. The game also has an obnoxiously long tutorial that may cause players to drop the game before they even really start it. And the characters are very hit-or-miss, you’ll either relate to them or find them boring as they are some of the least flashy but most grounded characters in the franchise.

    Buy, rent, watch an LP, or skip? Buy it, maybe rent it. LP’s are pointless as there is an anime of this game if you aren’t a fan of the gameplay.    … Expand
  11. Apeboi
    Oct 27, 2020
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is decent, that's pretty much it. The physical game sells for a fortune so digital is probably your best option. It's good for time wasting, and has a great OST but not much else to say. It's actually worth the money if you wanna try out something new and has some good gameplay, but yeah that's it I guess… Expand
  12. Kaprawiec
    Oct 21, 2016
    7
    It's so overhyped, that I dont really know where to start. Boring dungeons, idiotic characters (this bear dude is just too much to handle), really weird story with no pointers how to acquire true ending in the game and LOTS of time consuming uninteresting things to do (I remember running through the halls of the school and reading idle chit-chat). Also those teenagers with their pubertyIt's so overhyped, that I dont really know where to start. Boring dungeons, idiotic characters (this bear dude is just too much to handle), really weird story with no pointers how to acquire true ending in the game and LOTS of time consuming uninteresting things to do (I remember running through the halls of the school and reading idle chit-chat). Also those teenagers with their puberty troubles are a pain to watch as they seem just generic. Graphics are nice, story is so-so, and it sometimes is quite funny. But nothing that spectacular to say that this is the best game on VITA really.… Expand
  13. Cafe_8bits
    Nov 14, 2019
    6
    Persona 4 is a nice RPG, and was my first Persona/Megaten game ever. Its a polished and funny experience. Thought, the dungeon crawling systems are not so nice to me. It does improves up the dungeon formulas from the last entry, they don´t captivate me as much as Tartarus did. The characters and Social Links are one of the best in the series, but they intern relationship seems too muchPersona 4 is a nice RPG, and was my first Persona/Megaten game ever. Its a polished and funny experience. Thought, the dungeon crawling systems are not so nice to me. It does improves up the dungeon formulas from the last entry, they don´t captivate me as much as Tartarus did. The characters and Social Links are one of the best in the series, but they intern relationship seems too much artificial for me. The battle system is better and much more adapted, and the voice acting is great.
    But, even so... Persona 4 is too my least favorite game in the Persona series, the plot line is not so good and the game´s atmosphere in general does not suit me at all. In all of its thechinical aspects, Persona 4 Golden is a great RPG, but if you look at it long enough, its not the best Persona in the franchise.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PS Vita Game of 2012
1
#1 Most Discussed PS Vita Game of 2012
1
#1 Most Shared PS Vita Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 61 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 61
  3. Negative: 0 out of 61
  1. Gamer.no
    Apr 18, 2013
    90
    Persona 4 Golden is part detective novel, part teenage simulation and part asian RPG – all being important pieces which combine to create some of the most memorable and entertaining moments I’ve ever had with a JRPG.
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  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Apr 15, 2013
    92
    Persona 4 Golden manages to make a classic JRPG even better. A definite buy for any Vita owners, and actually a good enough reason to justify the purchase of Sony's struggling handheld. [Apr 2013]
  3. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Apr 4, 2013
    80
    Persona 4 Golden is a Tardis of a game. Initially, it seems cute and friendly and it hooks you with its murder mystery and time management focus. Once you get inside, it opens up exponentially, awing you with its scope. [March 2013, p76]
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