Persona 4 for PS2: A blast from the past, in the future.

The Shin Megami Tensei series developer, Atlus, is living in the past. Persona 4, which is due Dec. 9^th, 2008, will be released for PS2. I wish that was a typo, but it’s not. It was released July 10^th in Japan, so it’s official. However, with the success of Persona 3 as one of the best ‘final’ games to be released for the PS2, it almost seems natural that Persona 4 will follow suit.

They’re sticking with a platform with which they are familiar, focusing on making the game even better and longer. They have made tweaks and revisions, learning and building upon previous Personas. Now, the characters are all new and the setting is rural. The gameplay has evolved, allowing control over all characters. The game is about 1.5 times bigger than Persona 3, which brings the length to around 60-70 hours.
However, even though Persona 4 is evolving, it doesn’t mean it will be unrecognizable. If anything, it looks just like the third, while maintaing the high school atmosphere and mystery/crime themes. It’s like you’re in one of those bizarre anime where you’re a student by day and a demon fighter by night. I’ve never understood that…

I’m sort of glad that Atlus is working more on content rather than getting immersed in new technology and trying to wow us with better graphics. Stunning, liquid graphics are an eye-pleaser for sure, but there are plenty of lame games that have focused on graphics rather than story and gameplay. I’d rather play a game with a solid plot and gameplay than find myself running around in circles, in awe of the graphics.

Come December, there will be a soundtrack included in Persona 4’s release. And if you’re interested in the series, but can’t wait until Persona 4’s release, check out Persona - trinity soul-, an anime that takes place a decade after Persona 3.