So I Tried… Persona 4 Golden

Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I have never tried before. Will I find something new to love? Will I find something new to despise? I'll take a full half hour, no matter how bad it gets or how badly I do, to see if this is the game for me. This time I went for the PS Vita version of Persona 4 Golden.

What I thought it was

A JRPG based on an anime I’ve never seen, and part of a series of games I’ve never played. However, I hear excellent things about them, so I decided to buy this whilst it was on sale (because I’m not made of money), and downloaded it. There’s something about jumping into TVs to fight nightmares, or something.

Wait, do I get to drive that moped...?

What it actually is

A very chatty JRPG with only one battle in the first half an hour of play. I actually started my timer late, and finished playing a few minutes after 30, so it was closer to 45 minutes. Whenever I think JRPG, I think of Final Fantasy VII. I know it’s not the first or objectively the best example, but it was my first one; as such I expect a few battles at least. The one battle doesn’t even end satisfactorily, not to mention that the start of the game has you meet the very obvious villain, with his really long nose…

Can't wait to see Chie like this... That's not creepy is it?

Will I keep playing

Yes, I definitely will, and it’s not just because I paid good money for it. It’s not the storyline or characters either, it’s far simpler than that. It’s the speed which the player character moves. Even whilst holding Run (or not in later games), Final Fantasy protagonists don’t move very quickly. In Persona 4, however, he legs it across the screen at speeds which would make Linford Christie jealous. Yes, the story is very intriguing, and the characters are great so far, but if you let my character move quickly, I’m in for the long haul. Sega can attest, due to the amount of my money they have, related to Sonic the Hedgehog.