In what becomes another inevitable notch in the belt for accurately leaking games well before they’re ready, Persona 4 Golden has just become available for purchase on Steam.
Atlus is currying favor with the PC fanbase as they’ve ported their PlayStation exclusive over to PC, and fans are chomping at the bit to either revisit Yosuke and friends, or to experience the wonderful small town of Inaba, Japan skewed sideways by a serial killer on the loose.
Also, because supporting Atlus in their Persona 4 Golden transfer to Steam invites them to bring more of the legendary titles over to the PC fanbase, and it’s difficult to argue that’s a bad thing. Persona 5 Royal when?
If you’ve never stepped foot inside of the Persona franchise before due to their exclusive nature and tendency to favor Sony, you’re in for a fantastic time: the Persona franchise as a whole is quintessential JRPG goodness that knows why players invest into them; in-depth combat, branching storylines and character arcs, and so much style and pizzazz stacked on top that’ll make you wonder if the entire art department experimented with hallucinogenic substances in college.
It’s a style that has been often imitated and never replicated: Atlus has a flair all their own when it comes to designing characters, and it could make some users uncomfortable as Persona 4 Golden broaches sexuality, power, ego, and hope in what results as a startling conclusion to the title that will net you around 150 hours of playtime.
Then the DLC begins and you’ll tear your hair out wondering why they just won’t end the title at the story’s conclusion, but even the DLC has poignant moments, along with more of the tasty combat.
The combat alone is arguably one of the best things about the Persona franchise; matching elements to find weaknesses in stronger enemies, grinding up levels, and even the blessed ability to have your team battle for you so you don’t have to send a command every three seconds through the menus.
On top of the combat and dungeon crawling, there is also consistently a large range of activities to indulge in during your off time. Rip your hair out by trying to fish every time it rains, pass out flyers to NPCs, take on a tutoring job, and try not to shame yourself every time the teacher calls on you to answer a question in class.
Everything you do will bleed into your skills, inching up your knowledge or intestinal fortitude as you opt to blaze your own trail across the franchise.
It ultimately comes down to being a solid JRPG, and it’s the first appearance for it on the PC. If this is something that you find yourself interested in supporting to encourage more console-exclusives, and the Persona franchise in general, it’s the closest you’ll get to a must-buy this weekend. Go check out the midnight channel in Persona 4 Golden now available on Steam.
