After the mixed success of Persona 3, Atlus was determined to bring the spinoff series
to perfection. In summer of 2008, Atlus struck gold with a game that is regarded by many,
as one of the greatest of all time. It's fondly looked back on as a classic, that became their
best selling game at the time.
This
is the Persona 4 Iceberg.
Persona 4 Golden
In 2012, Atlus released an enhanced port of the game titled Persona 4 Golden, exclusively
to the Playstation Vita. This version includes various quality of life changes, new content,
a playable epilogue after the main story, and many revisions that enhanced the overall
experience. In June of 2020, the game was finally ported to Steam, including even more
bug fixes and features not previously present. It was met with highly positive reviews.
Continuation of the story
Due to the massive success and overall love for Persona 4, Atlus teamed up with Arc systems
to develop Persona 4 Arena, an official continuation of the story in the form of a fighting game.
It is set 2 months after the ending of Persona 4, and was the first entry in the persona
series to not be a role playing game. It was met with mostly positive reviews, but received
some criticism towards the length of the story.
yet another sequel
After the success of Persona 4 Arena, atlus decided to give that game its own sequel.
In 2013, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax released on Arcade games, and was later released on
the PS3 and X BOX 3 60. It's set immediately after the events of Arena and serve as a conclusion
to the story. It sold favorably at 280,000 sales by 2015 and was mostly praised for its
good combat mechanics and high quality art style. Versions for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo
Switch, and PlayStation 4, are planned to be released by Sega in March 2022.
it never stops
Having already made two sequels for the successful persona 4 universe, they decided to make yet
another entry in the series. This time it was Persona 4 Dancing All Night, It is a rhythym
game developed by Atlus for the Playsation Vita, released in June 2015. The games story
takes place 1 Month after the epilogue of Persona 4 Golden, it was met with mixed reviews
but most people praised the soundtracks and overall feel of the game.
anime adaptations
In October of 2011, the game received an anime adaptation titled "Persona 4: The Animation".
The series was a retelling of the games story. It ran until March 2012, and consisted of
25 episodes and 1 O V A. The overall reception to the anime series has been generally positive,
as it has been considered a faithful adaptation of the video game, despite criticism to the
pacing and animation issues. In July 2014 it received a second anime adaptation, this
time however it was Persona 4 Goldens story that was being followed.
Protaggonist Canonical Name
The protaggonist's name can be chosen by the player in the original Persona 4, but in Persona
4 Arena he's officially called Yu-Narukami. The manga however established his name as
Soji Seta instead
mahnga adaptation
The original Persona 4 received a mahnga adaptation following the events of the game. It was made
by Shūji So-gaybe, who previously worked on the Persona 3 Mahnga. It began serialization
in ASCII Media Works', Dengeki Black Maoh magazine, on September 19, 2008, ending serialization
on March 27, 2019.
Persona Q and Q2 appearances
Persona Q Shadow of Labyrinth, is a spinoff series developed for the 3DS. The story consists
of a crossover between the cast of Persona 3 and 4, whose characters are drawn from their
respective time periods. They are drawn by an unknown force, sent into a replica of Persona
4's Yasogami High School in another world. The groups must unite and explore four labyrinths
in the school to recover treasures hidden within. The games received mostly positive
reviews, although many believed the gameplay was tedious at times.
The True meaning behind the fog
Throughout the course of the game the city in which the game takes place, In-ahba, is
constantly covered by fog for seemingly supernatural reasons. However with the context given for
the end of the game, many have accepted that the fog is a metaphor, for how most of humanity
is more comfortable believing in convenient lies, because they're afraid to accept the
truth. Once the story reaches its end, Yu realizes that it's best to seek and face the
truth, no matter how bad it is. This is because, by knowing the truth and accepting it, you
can start to move on. The fog is no longer seen in In-ahba, and the inhabitants of the
town all seem more upbeat.
This also extends to the social links that take place during the game, as they all revolve
around finding a truth to your life, accepting yourself, others, and dealing with your identity.
The legend of teddie
Around January, you will be able to harvest bugs from the snow in your garden. Interact
with the pail in your living room to do so. Interacting with the bucket will cause teddie
to reference the classic line from the legend of zelda. "Its dangerous to go alone, take
me!"
last chance for fusion forecast
If the player waits on the last possible day to save (yukiko) Yukeeko and Kanji, they will
receive a special fusion broadcast, that makes both of these boss fights significantly easier.
You will be able to fuse Bearith on April 28th, making it learn Mabufu, a skill that
it can't naturally inherit. That and its natural immunity to fire, makes an ideal Persona to
take on Shadow Yukeeko, making her boss fight trivial at best. If you fuse Ares on June
3rd, it will learn Null Poison, which makes the players character immune to Shadow Kanji's
Forbidden Murmur skill. Furthermore, Ares is naturally resistant to Physical attacks,
which is Shadow Kanji and his minions preferred method of dealing damage.
Deciding the weather
Near the beginning of the game, Nahnahko will ask the player if the weather forecaster can
quote, "Decide the weather", because when she says it'll be sunny, it always is. If
you finish the game and you max out Marie's social link, she becomes a weather forecaster
in the True Ending, and she actually can decide the weather herself.
lightning strikes twice
Early on in the game, (yosuke) Yo-skay makes fun of (chie) Chee eh for being afraid of
lightning. She then responds to this by saying, if lightning should strike anyone it should
be him, fast forward to the end of the game after you rescue Marie and she proceeds to
zap Yo-skay, as well as the other male characters with Zi o dyne.
Persona X Detective Nah o toe
This is a spin off and sequel novel to the Persona 4 video game. It's set 1 year after
the events of the game, and features Nah o toe, a 17 year old detective investigating
the murder of two students. The novel is written by Natsuki Mamiya and illustrated by Shūji
So-gaybe.
There was a mahnga adaptation of the book, that was serialized in the Japanese Seinen
magazine, Dengeki Ma oh, from December 27th 2012, to January 1st, 2015.
The Caged bird Metaphor
When confronted by Yukeekos Shadow, she is portrayed as a caged bird. This is symbolizing
her frustration, at the fact that she is forced to inherit her family's inn, instead of freely
deciding her future. However the door to the cage is wide open, meaning the only thing
that is holding her back is herself.
(adachi) Discovering adachee's ideals
After the reveal of Adachi being the serial killer, the investigation team cannot narrow
down a proper motivation as to why he would do this. It is revealed that Adachee's entire
core motivation, stems from the fact that he believes the world is unfair towards those
who actually work hard, and that people who are successful in their lives are primarily
those that are born into it somehow. When he is confronted by the investigation team.
He specifically brings this up, stating that human beings are born into their lives, and
those without a ticket to success have no choice but to silently accept it, no matter
how unfair it is. These points are never tackled directly by anybody, and are never given any
legitimate counterargument. Instead, they are sidestepped by the Investigation Team.
This is something that divides a lot of players, especially given the game's theme of "reaching
out to the truth". This in particular, is what makes many players sympathize with Adachi,
the rest of the fanbase calls this group of people "Adachi Sympathizers"
dreaming of the future
The dream you have at the beginning of the game takes place in Yomotsu Hirasaka, and
the person you fight is Izanami. Later on, Yu and the Investigation team, would relive
the exact circumstances of this dream.
Foreshadowing
The first time the player sees Adachi, (dojima) Doejeema asks him how much longer he plans
on acting like a rookie. Key word here being act, as later when Adachi is revealed to be
the killer, he remarks on his own acting skills.
cognito ergo sum
At one point early in the game, when the player is helping Nahnako with her homework, Teddie quotes,
"Cogito ergo sum", using it as a proverb. This translates into, "I think, therefore
I am". Considering the revelations later on about Teddie's nature as a Shadow and how
he developed his Persona, it makes a lot of sense in retrospect that it would stick with
him.
pay attention to your surroundings
At the beginning of the game, when the player arrives at Inahba, they can see two events
that are important later on in the game happen here. The first is nahmahtahmee's delivery
truck driving out of the gas station, and Nahnako catching a glimpse of the protaggonist
shaking hands with the attendant.
controller hint
if you are using a controller to play the game, you will feel a subtle vibration when
the player shakes hands with the gas station attendant. This is later revealed to be the
exact moment where Izanami gave the player his powers, and set the whole games events
in motion. When this scene is shown via flashback, the vibration happens again.
the men in black
The "Agent Suit" costume set allows you to dress as "FBI agents" or "Men In Black". If
you talk with Yukeeko about them while Nah o toe is in the party, they'll discuss how
the suits make them stand out, and nah o toe gets somewhat annoyed when Yukeeko brings
up the entire part about them searching for aliens.
rule of symbolism
The final battle between the protaggonist and Izanami-no-Okami, can be interpreted as
Izanagi returning to Yomi to put his wife to rest, after abandoning her during his previous
visit. This makes the story not only a fitting conclusion for the protaggonist and his journey,
but the story that both Izanami and Izanagi are based on.
unexpected crossover
At one point, the main cast go on a school trip to Tatsumi Port Island. This is the location
of the previous game in the series.
anti rage mechanic
In Persona 4 arena, the game employs a unique mechanic. You'll see a name turning red when
players continuously disconnect from online matches. This is implemented to inform players
about what kind of player they are facing.
familiar tunes
In Episode 15 of Persona 4: The Animation, when the group goes to Gekkoukan High, all
of the background music turns into tracks of Persona 3
When the investigation team goes to Tatsumi Port Island, the O P song for the episode
is "Burn My Dread"
lesser roles in the anime
The character of Igor had a less significant role in the anime with less appearances, due
to the fatal heart attack of Isamu Tahnonaka in 2010. All of the lines Igor has in the
anime, are taken directly from his previously recorded lines from the game.
The character of Yumi Ozawa, is completely omitted in the anime, instead they opted to
give her role to her music club counterpart, Ayana Matsunaga. The only time Yumi is seen
in the anime is a brief cameo, where shes annoyed at Kou in the culture festival drama
play.
All of the teachers have their roles severely diminished, since the game classses were already
a small aspect of the gameplay. Mahrooh-ka and Kahsheewahgi only get very small cameos.
I always wanted to say that
In episode 6 of the anime, Igor is not present in the velvet room, so Margaret inturn says,
"Welcome to the velvet room'', and then remarks how shes always wanted to say that.
additionally Adachi says this when he arrests (rise's) Ree-seh's stalker, and Teddy also
says it when he summons his persona by saying, Bearsona.
Real life (junes) jew-ness
The big store branch known as jew-ness in game, is based off of a real life japanese
store brand known as Aeon, even the logo is similar.
man in the fog
on the deadline date when the investigation team succesfully saves someone, the game will
transition into a cutscene, in a random spot of inahba where a man will angrily remark,
" again"
This person's identity is a controversial topic among the community, as there as various
bits of evidence that contradict each choice.
Most people think its Adachi, the model used is even similar. However most of the time
when you save someone, you have a conversation with Dohjeema and Adachi, who will let you
know the missing person has been found. Meaning Adachi would have no reason to wait around
on the telephone pole during the middle of the night for the corpse to show. as he already
knows it won't. Additionally, the figure gets angrier as more and more people are saved,
while we learn Adachi actually enjoyed all the chaos.
Nahmahtahmee is also a runner up in this debate, but this would be impossible. As he believed
he was saving the people he put in the tv, and would not be expecting a body. The fact
that there isn't a body would bring him joy and relief.'
And the third option most people think is Izanami, but this wouldnt work either as Izanami
simply did not care whether they were saved or not.
persona 4: the magician
this is a short spin off mahnga that was featured in Persona Magazine, starring, with the plot
being about his time in Inahba, before the events of Persona 4
cut yo-skay Romance
Many cut voice lines in the game indicate that another romance option was once offered,
in the form of yo-skay. Modders found this in the game files and were able to restore
functionality.
Persona 5 Protaggonist in Arena
Two unused audio files for Persona 4 arena, feature the announcer calling out, "P5 Hero",
and "Persona 5 Hero". It has been speculated that he was originally meant to be in the
game, but his role was given to Sho. Sho's soundtrack in the game is also titled, "The
Joker", which is the name the protaggonist of persona 5 brandished.
, The Flash Game
in 2008, Atlus released another entry into the ever growing Persona 4 franchise, this
time in the form of... a flash game titled Bathing Chee-eh. It would involve the player
"peeping" on chee-eh,and having to input a certain pattern on screen, which would lead
to many different outcomes, such as getting beat up, or chee-eh not being bothered by
the player. The game is no longer playable, as even downloading the files and making it
run result in an instant game over. Probably for the best.
Despite releasing 13 years ago, Persona 4's future is still as bright as ever, with the
massive success of the recent port on steam, and the upcoming port of Arena Ultimax coming
to newer consoles, it is clear that the game still hasn't left the hearts of many around
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