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. madrat986
    Jun 14, 2014
    10
    As a kid, i was hooked on jRPGS like Final fantasy 1-9, Chrono Trigger, Shining force, Breath of Fire etc. At some point, when i finished breath of fire IV (which is awesome, i recommend) i stopped playing jRPGs. They have a feel about them that is too familiar, and more or less, the same. I don't get that feeling with persona. It's new, refreshing and a role-playing aspect of an ROLE PLAYAs a kid, i was hooked on jRPGS like Final fantasy 1-9, Chrono Trigger, Shining force, Breath of Fire etc. At some point, when i finished breath of fire IV (which is awesome, i recommend) i stopped playing jRPGs. They have a feel about them that is too familiar, and more or less, the same. I don't get that feeling with persona. It's new, refreshing and a role-playing aspect of an ROLE PLAY GAME (RPG). Characters are well developed, and that is the accent of the game. Fighting has some cool mechanics, and that is fine too. Game feels like a mix between final fantasy, monster rancher and life simulator. It is weird, i give you that, but it kinda works. It works better than anyone would expect. While today RPGs teach you that you can get ANYTHING you want if you grind long enough, talk to people etc... persona is not like that. It gives you options and it's up to you how you'll play your "cards". Great story, great characters and amazing gameplay on great system. 10/10… Expand
  2. skeith
    Feb 26, 2015
    10
    This was a good and game on the PS2, and now this is a great game on the PS Vita, perhaps the best game so far on the PS Vita. Playing this game is like reading a long and interesting book. Many interesting interactions with the characters and a very interesting case to solve. The game has many stuff to do, to keep you interested the whole gameplay. This game has opened my eyes that JRPGThis was a good and game on the PS2, and now this is a great game on the PS Vita, perhaps the best game so far on the PS Vita. Playing this game is like reading a long and interesting book. Many interesting interactions with the characters and a very interesting case to solve. The game has many stuff to do, to keep you interested the whole gameplay. This game has opened my eyes that JRPG is still growing strong. This is not a game for people who dislike reading though, for this game has many words.… Expand
  3. Bananas
    Dec 14, 2012
    10
    An absolutely fantastic game! While Atlus seems to know how to improve upon a great game, there are still tiny quirks that bother me a bit. Things like unmoving mouths during speech and the fact that the people don't seem to know what anti-aliasing is bother me a bit, but no game is perfect. The fact remains that this game is a fantastic RPG with well-written characters and a combat systemAn absolutely fantastic game! While Atlus seems to know how to improve upon a great game, there are still tiny quirks that bother me a bit. Things like unmoving mouths during speech and the fact that the people don't seem to know what anti-aliasing is bother me a bit, but no game is perfect. The fact remains that this game is a fantastic RPG with well-written characters and a combat system with enough strategy and flair to keep battles interesting even after you're 50+ hours into this title… Expand
  4. Dinklebong
    Jan 10, 2013
    9
    Persona 4 Golden, is a very clean and crisp Action-Fighting game for the PS Vita, akin to the likes of BlazBlue and Street Fighter. Very good game, can't wait for more.
  5. DoctorGrims
    Jan 25, 2013
    10
    I can't name one game other than Persona 4 that has made me go out and buy a new console. I first played Persona 3 Portable on my PSP and instantly fell in love with the gameplay. After 250+ hours of playing P3P, I wanted a new Persona experience. This led to my discovery of Persona 4 Golden and its exclusivity on the PSVita. The story line has a much lighter tone than P3 but it stillI can't name one game other than Persona 4 that has made me go out and buy a new console. I first played Persona 3 Portable on my PSP and instantly fell in love with the gameplay. After 250+ hours of playing P3P, I wanted a new Persona experience. This led to my discovery of Persona 4 Golden and its exclusivity on the PSVita. The story line has a much lighter tone than P3 but it still enjoyable. The gameplay has remained intact as there is sort of 2 games in 1. 1 aspect of the game is Persona itself where you and your team go through dungeons fighting monster in a turn-based manner. The other aspect is a sort of sim-like game where you have ti manage your time between your friends and school life. This leads to a unique style of game. I did play Persona 4 on a emulator before buying the game on the PSVita and have to say that they did a considerable amount to the port. You have 2 new social links, a garden, a SOS feature (which to be honest makes the game easier and in my opinion more enjoyable), new cutscenes, and a brand new trips you can experience. For the most part they have taken Persona 4 which is considered one of the greatest games of all time and even made it better. However one major complaint I have is the new voice actor for Chie. The new voice actor sounds nasally and whiny. If you are Persona fan, rpg fan, or looking for a new gaming experience I would definitely buy this game.… Expand
  6. GUCCI
    Jun 5, 2013
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Coming from a hardcore Final Fantasy fan, you're immediately comfortable with this game, even if the elements aren't all the same. Its a great game overall and very fun to play but am I the only one slightly annoyed by the fact it took 3 or 4 people in the TV for the group of kids to finally catch on that something wasn't right? Also, whats up with the game only having like 5 songs that play at random throughout the game. I thought the tracks were overall pretty great even with the singer's broken english/accent but i swear if i hear "Heartbreak, Heartbeat you tell me goo-bye" one more time i'm going to go nuts. LOL, other than that its a solid game, I would definitely recommend it to any JRPG fan.… Expand
  7. reconplayer9037
    Nov 6, 2014
    10
    This is hereby my favorite game on the PS VITA, the story is amazing, the characters are well done and the RPG elements are well implemented. It has all the elements from Persona 4, more events and an extra character. I have played this game start to finish 5 times already..... Yeah, its that good.
  8. br3ndanp
    Jul 29, 2015
    10
    I was never big into anime or JRPG's, but after seeing the praise for this game, I decided to pick it up in a recent sale. After getting through the long intro, the game just... opened. I found myself hooked with all the different mechanics, collecting Personas, managing S-Link relationships, doing jobs, attending school, and most of all, crawling through dungeons. Definitely one of my newI was never big into anime or JRPG's, but after seeing the praise for this game, I decided to pick it up in a recent sale. After getting through the long intro, the game just... opened. I found myself hooked with all the different mechanics, collecting Personas, managing S-Link relationships, doing jobs, attending school, and most of all, crawling through dungeons. Definitely one of my new favourite games, I can't put it down.… Expand
  9. BowserTheBig69
    Nov 14, 2015
    10
    Persona 4 Golden is probably the best game I ever played. This game changed my life, and I have to tell you all why.

    First, the graphics. This is the "worst" part of game since it's a game from PS2 with some fixes, but it's impossible to hide the roots of the game. But the artistic design of ALL the Persona and the characters is really, really good. The number of Persona is huge, and    Persona 4 Golden is probably the best game I ever played. This game changed my life, and I have to tell you all why.

    First, the graphics. This is the "worst" part of game since it's a game from PS2 with some fixes, but it's impossible to hide the roots of the game. But the artistic design of ALL the Persona and the characters is really, really good. The number of Persona is huge, and the users will be enjoy seeing all the quality of all of them.

    Let's continue with the sound. This is probably one of the best section in the game: there are a lot of songs, and the best: all of them are fantastic. The opening, the battle theme, the bosses theme... All are incredible good songs and some of them have lyrics. There is even a music game of Persona 4, so the music is an incredible favorable point.

    And now, the gameplay itself. The game it's a year and you have to do normal life like a student... But when you finish your class, you have to rescue people in the TV world. Sounds crazy (and IT'S CRAZY) but the combination of life simulator and RPG is unbelievable. All the 80h of the game you are enjoying, and the hours seem minutes. The social links is the best point of the game: it's a system that indicates the level of a relationship with a friend you have (and, of course, if you get level 10 with a girl, you'll boyfriends!). This system has a lot of importance in the RPG part too. Each social link is an Arcana, and when you fuse a Persona of these Arcana, you will gain more experience than usual.

    The plot is really good, and the characters... You will fall in love with them. ALL are amazing and have their own story, and you will see how they developed during the game. The game has a lot of funny moments, but has really sadly moments too. Theses aspects are really balanced, having more funny moments and the beginning and more sadly moments at the end.

    A total perfect game that all of you have to play.    … Expand
  10. whatshisface
    Jun 30, 2018
    10
    Persona 4 Golden is truly a masterpiece. Everything comes together in this game to make it an emotional story that will stick with you. The music, the characters, the relationships, and the atmosphere all really pull you into the game and when it’s over, emotions will be forced to the surface.

    I was late into playing this game since I (wrongly) thought it’s not the type of game I’m    Persona 4 Golden is truly a masterpiece. Everything comes together in this game to make it an emotional story that will stick with you. The music, the characters, the relationships, and the atmosphere all really pull you into the game and when it’s over, emotions will be forced to the surface.

    I was late into playing this game since I (wrongly) thought it’s not the type of game I’m Into, and I have played a lot of games in three decades. After beating this one it quickly made its place into my top 5 games and without a doubt my #1 vita game period.

    If you are like me and somehow have not played some rendition of Persona 4, give it a shot, it might surprise you. It sure as hell surprised me.    … Expand
  11. Clone_Jock
    Aug 13, 2016
    10
    With a soundtrack that will make you sing right after you get out of bed in the morning and a story that hits the "feels" real hard Persona 4 Golden is a real treat to almost anybody who plays it. (Also this is my first review).

    Gameplay - Persona 4 Golden is a single player role-playing game with a social simulation that the game refers to as "Social links". Persona 4 Golden uses    With a soundtrack that will make you sing right after you get out of bed in the morning and a story that hits the "feels" real hard Persona 4 Golden is a real treat to almost anybody who plays it. (Also this is my first review).

    Gameplay - Persona 4 Golden is a single player role-playing game with a social simulation that the game refers to as "Social links". Persona 4 Golden uses elements from traditional RPG's and blends it with the in game social links. For example say you hang out with one of your friends in game for a serious talk, after the talk your "understanding" may increase or if you complete part of a social link your powers to create personas of your friends arcana will grow and so you would be able to make more personas to help you in battle. Think of Persona 4 Goldens gameplay as two parts. One part is in the real world of inaba where you progress your S.L (Social Links), go to school, do part time jobs, etc. The other part is in the TV world (The Dungeon of Persona 4 Golden) where you battle these things known as "Shadows". The battle system in P4G is very simple to grasp onto. Actions such as Attack,skill,etc. will appear in a dialogue box in the lower bottom-left of the screen that you can navigate, and on the right side of the screen their will be character portraits that display each characters HP & SP in your party.

    Soundtrack - "Truth is elusive, its nowhere to be found ..." It's stuck in my head! This games soundtrack will no doubt be your favorite video game soundtrack. It's catchy, upbeat, and it will make you feel younger! Seriously it will! Look up the opening theme for P4G!

    Story - The main reason why you would want to buy P4G is because of the story, its a masterpiece and the S.L's are a huge part of character development in this game and they are so good! The plot is extremely intriguing, and compelling but be ready to put your thinking caps on because the story is convoluted at times. Without spoiling anything I will briefly explain hardly anything about the beginning. On April 11th, 2011, the MC arrives in a small town called inaba to live with his uncle for a year because his parents are away on a business trip. Just after the MC arrives to inaba a TV announcer is found dead hanging from an antenna ... who could do such a thing? We might need people that work in the police force of inaba like Adachi to solve this case.

    Graphics - Though this game does not have the best graphics they are good graphics nonetheless. Keep in mind that P4G is a remake of P4 on the ps2 and does not really offer much of a graphical enhancement going from PS2 to the PsVita (P4G adds a new character named Marie into the mix of P4 and a new opening theme also new events to experience with your group of friends), but when a game gets as good as P4 graphics become almost ignorable because your so focused on other things in the game. The animated cutscene's in P4G look amazing on the other hand.

    Audio - Remember back in the day when you used play on your first console? If your first console came out before 2005 do you remember hearing the audio? Do you remember how clear it was? If you said yes and remember the audio being not so clear that isnt the case for P4G, the audio is extremely clear and literally never sounds off. From the voice acting, to hearing youf footsteps in the TV world everything sounds right.

    Verdict - It is a must buy ... NOW!    … Expand
  12. ambroser53
    Dec 27, 2016
    10
    Seriously one of my favorite games to ever happen upon. My love for RPGs like this stem from their ability to put meaning and feeling behind the sprites and turn-based battles they consist of. The core mechanics, when looked at from the perspective of a heartless robot, aren't anything to shout about, but it's the meaning the game puts behind everything that really gets you engaged in theSeriously one of my favorite games to ever happen upon. My love for RPGs like this stem from their ability to put meaning and feeling behind the sprites and turn-based battles they consist of. The core mechanics, when looked at from the perspective of a heartless robot, aren't anything to shout about, but it's the meaning the game puts behind everything that really gets you engaged in the world and the fantastically written characters.
    If you have a ps vita you either do or should own this, but for me it was well worth buying a vita for.    … Expand
  13. Bombloco94
    Nov 26, 2019
    9
    not as good as P3 and P5, but P4 is still a great game, Best PS Vita game ever
  14. AzureNova
    Nov 22, 2012
    10
    I have been a big Persona fan since the first 2 installments was released on Playstation1 many years ago, and even though I liked the uniqe dungeon qrawel elements in the originals featured I really enjoyed the new sim and persona elements of number 3 and 4 when they were released. I have played them alot, and would honestly prefer it if Atlus focused on making Persona 5 instead of so manyI have been a big Persona fan since the first 2 installments was released on Playstation1 many years ago, and even though I liked the uniqe dungeon qrawel elements in the originals featured I really enjoyed the new sim and persona elements of number 3 and 4 when they were released. I have played them alot, and would honestly prefer it if Atlus focused on making Persona 5 instead of so many remakes. Its a damn great nonthereless, whom all should play, if they are a fan of JRPG style games!… Expand
  15. 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
  16. slim1985
    May 20, 2015
    10
    one of the best JRPG all the time for me the AMAZING gameplay system the story and the soundtracks the interfaces everything is perfect about this game i just loved it that much i highly recommend it for jrpg fans its a MUST
  17. X-Rock
    May 2, 2015
    10
    This is hands down my favorite game of all time. It's not so much a game as an actual experience that just does a fantastic job of immersing you into its world, its characters, the story, everything. In the 95 hours it took me to finish it, I laughed, I cried, felt like a badass, summoned Helel, Satan, and Odin all in awesome, epic battles. There isn't really anything that I can find wrongThis is hands down my favorite game of all time. It's not so much a game as an actual experience that just does a fantastic job of immersing you into its world, its characters, the story, everything. In the 95 hours it took me to finish it, I laughed, I cried, felt like a badass, summoned Helel, Satan, and Odin all in awesome, epic battles. There isn't really anything that I can find wrong about this game. Everything from the story, characters, gameplay, and music is just fantastic. You owe it to yourself to play this game.… Expand
  18. RaidXT
    Sep 13, 2015
    10
    this i probably one of the few RPG's that i've played in my life that that i actually enjoy playing.
    a fun cast of characters, fun dialog, fun gameplay, interesting story.
    pretty much everything you would expect from a good RPG. this game gives me high hopes for Persona 5 to be atleast as good as P4G. i recommend this game for every PS Vita/PSTV owner out there (or the original PS2    this i probably one of the few RPG's that i've played in my life that that i actually enjoy playing.
    a fun cast of characters, fun dialog, fun gameplay, interesting story.
    pretty much everything you would expect from a good RPG.
    this game gives me high hopes for Persona 5 to be atleast as good as P4G.
    i recommend this game for every PS Vita/PSTV owner out there (or the original PS2 version if you own a PS2/PS3).    … Expand
  19. GildedMind
    Feb 22, 2015
    10
    Persona 4 is the epitome of a game gone 'perfect.' It bears no flaws, and shows no sign of incompetency; it reeks of polish. This is no more evident than in the game's fantastic presentation. Menu's sparkle, character-art pops and the music fits each mood perfectly. The gameplay is split into two separate parts, combat and socializing. During most months a schoolmate of yours will bePersona 4 is the epitome of a game gone 'perfect.' It bears no flaws, and shows no sign of incompetency; it reeks of polish. This is no more evident than in the game's fantastic presentation. Menu's sparkle, character-art pops and the music fits each mood perfectly. The gameplay is split into two separate parts, combat and socializing. During most months a schoolmate of yours will be kidnapped and thrown into a mysterious TV world and it will be your responsibility to head into the TV world and rescue them. Inside you will battle hideous creatures known as 'shadows' the rejected emotions we all carry within ourselves personified. The combat's surface-level simplicity actually makes the overall experience much deeper and more strategic. There are clearly layed out attacks, and very few complications. (Fire-attack, wind-attack, physical-attack,) but that means that instead of focusing on move-advantage during combat you focus on the general strategies at play. It's up to you to decide on how you want each battle to play out, since almost all enemies in the game can be killed near instantly most well placed attacks will do it. But since you too can die near instantaneously it can often be a difficult decision between deciding whether or not you want to go all in and rush a battle and risk a misstep and getting hammered, or playing it safe and risk drawing the battle on for far too long. The game is merciless, which is made no more evident than in the boss fights, where it feels like more of a game of 'how many walls can I put between my enemy and me?' It's a well thought out survival. The second portion of the game comes in these 'socializing' sections. The game has a heavy theme based around friendship, and it is the bonds you forge with others that make you more powerful. This may seem like a cheesy idea but it's handled with such maturity and such depth that it feels more than just your typical 'friendship is magic' type trope. So when you're not battling shadows, you're usually trying to power up your social-links by spending time with your friends. Each time a schoolmate of yours is kidnapped you only have a limited amount of time to save them, and it's completely up to you on how to spend that time. Preparation is key, but so is relaxation. One day you may be training, than buying equipment, hanging out with friends... and then another day you might be fishing or gardening for life-saving vegetables. The story is expertly written, with likable characters, an interesting villain and a massive array of plot-twists and subtle themes including a particularly interesting conflict of ideologies near the end. I won't spoil any of it for you here though. All and all, everything looks nice, plays nice and sounds nice with the voice acting being a major highlight of the game. If you don't like RPGs, Persona is certainly not going to change your mind on that. It really is a typical turn-based rpg at its heart, but the surrounding elements are what make it flawless. Persona 4 Golden is certainly deserving of a perfect score; just, do yourself a favour and watch neither of the anime adaptions. They're terrible.… Expand
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. Iamthe1
    Nov 8, 2016
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is so bad and overrated, it's basically a JRPG Scooby-Doo. Bunch of teenagers solving murders. It's so repetitive like Pokémon, killing 10 levels of shadows and then rinse and repeat. The story is also really weird and disturbing. It gets 2 because of the voice acting and Rise… Expand
  23. Jacer200
    Oct 11, 2013
    4
    I like JRPGs but this just wasn't my cup of tea. The game is beautiful and the sound is awesome. But progressing Personas through the social link system made me cringe. The 4 hour tutorial was a little much even though it eased me into the game. But if you like building relationships with people in general you'll have a blast.
  24. Mucki
    Mar 26, 2014
    2
    To sum up, P4G is 90% book and 10% gameplay. The writing and characterization is really good, I won't argue that, but as a GAME it is pretty bad. The gameplay consists are very generic and shallow turn based battles with no unique features. That is literally all the gameplay this game contains. Like I said, if all you want is a 100 hour visual novel to simulate the popular high schoolTo sum up, P4G is 90% book and 10% gameplay. The writing and characterization is really good, I won't argue that, but as a GAME it is pretty bad. The gameplay consists are very generic and shallow turn based battles with no unique features. That is literally all the gameplay this game contains. Like I said, if all you want is a 100 hour visual novel to simulate the popular high school experience and go out on dates with virtual girls, go ahead and get this game, but if you want an actual GAME, stay far away. Everything is there to serve the (EXTREMELY predictable plot, I guessed the ending after 10 hours), and honestly, the game is boring. I like books as much as the next guy, but this game is literally a book with some bad combat thrown in.… Expand
  25. 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
  26. Leon_90
    Nov 29, 2016
    0
    Quite possibly the worst JRPG in the history of gaming. Old outdated gameplay, very bad graphics (you might actually go blind from the aweful design. I do not recommend at all!
  27. sheppardbo
    Mar 29, 2020
    0
    tedious stretched out repetitive stale mechanics, boring overall. just more crap for weebs to eat up
  28. 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
  29. kutkurodri
    Mar 22, 2013
    10
    Questo porting migliorato di persona 4, iconico capitolo della serie nato alla fine del ciclo vitale di ps2 e oggetto l’anno passato di un adattamento anime, si appresta a portare su Vita un’avventura JRPG a metà fra investigazioni, soprannaturale e slice of life, con numerose aggiunte fra cui nuove Persona evocabili dai protagonisti, tanti eventi aggiuntivi ed un nuovo personaggio creatoQuesto porting migliorato di persona 4, iconico capitolo della serie nato alla fine del ciclo vitale di ps2 e oggetto l’anno passato di un adattamento anime, si appresta a portare su Vita un’avventura JRPG a metà fra investigazioni, soprannaturale e slice of life, con numerose aggiunte fra cui nuove Persona evocabili dai protagonisti, tanti eventi aggiuntivi ed un nuovo personaggio creato ad hoc. http://blackops2.altervista.org/guida-ita-persona-4-golden-in-italiano/… Expand
  30. RaptorX3
    Sep 12, 2021
    5
    Average story with great voice acting ruined by 90 hours of pointless grinding.
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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

All reviews »
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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