Over a decade since its release, many fans still look back on Persona 4 Golden‘s story and characters fondly. The fourth installment follows a group of students working together to stop a serial killer in their hometown of Inaba. Persona 4 is considered as one of the best titles in the franchise, and Persona 4 Golden not only refreshed it with enhanced graphics and new characters, but also made it more accessible for people who haven’t played it.
There have been rumors that Atlus might be working on a Persona 4 remake, with some speculating that its release might be imminent. It’s still unknown what changes would be made to the game, but it might follow the same direction as Persona 3 Reload. While waiting for official news on the remake, this is the perfect opportunity to replay and relive Persona 4 Golden.
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Persona 4 Golden Still Has High Replay Value After More Than a Decade
Persona 4 Golden is an expanded version of the base game, which features a new character named Marie, new Personas, additional Social Links, and more. Just like other Persona games, it has high replay value because of the number of Social Links that players can explore in each run, which gives them a lot of options on whom to max out their friendship level with or even romance a different character. Plus, Persona 4 Golden has a number of interactions and areas that players can easily miss after their first playthrough.
Discovering All of Persona 4 Golden’s Social Links
Apart from the protagonists’ teammates and other close companions, Persona 4 Golden has a number of Social Links that can only be triggered by certain actions. For example, players can only meet Sayoko Uehara (Devil Arcana) and Shu Nakajima (Tower Arcana) if they work part-time at the hospital or as a private tutor. There’s also Hisano Kuroda (Death Arcana), who is an old lady dressed in black that players might not meet if they don’t accomplish certain Social Link goals.
- Sayoko Uehara: Apply for the Cleaning part-time job to meet Sayoko in the hospital.
- Shu Nakajima: Apply for the Private Tutor part-time job to meet Shu.
- Hisano Kuroda: Rank up the Devil Social Link to level 4, and look for Hisano at the Flood Plain on Sundays or holidays.
There are also the split Social Links, where players must choose between two characters who share the same Arcana. These include Persona 4 Golden‘s athletes Daisuke Nagase and Kou Ichijo (Strength Arcana), and club members Yumi Ozawa and Ayane Matsunaga (Sun Arcana). The dialogues and stories vary depending on the players’ choices, so replaying the game gives them the opportunity to choose a different path from before.
- Strength Arcana: Choose the basketball club for Kou or the soccer club for Daisuke.
- Sun Arcana: Choose the drama club for Yumi or the music club for Ayane.
Another goal that Persona 4 Golden players can vie for is maxing out their Social Links with every available character. It’s tedious work since it involves scheduling hangouts with characters and leveling up traits, but that’s part of the fun of replaying the game.
Unlocking Persona 4 Golden’s Hollow Forest and New Ending
The Hollow Forest is a new Persona 4 Golden Dungeon that can only be accessible if players max out their Social Link with Marie (Aeon Arcana) before the last day of December. When players clear out the Dungeon, they can get a new epilogue at the end of the game.
Experiencing Persona 4 Golden’s Coming-of-Age Story All Over Again is Worth It
The theme of most Persona games is the coming of age of the young protagonist and their friends, as they face their innermost “shadows” and fight for good, and it still rings true in Persona 4 Golden after so long. It’s always a pleasure to relive the protagonist’s friendship with their teammates and the people of Inaba, especially with the Dojima family, in a version that’s as close to the original Persona 4 as possible. So that when it’s time to experience it again in the rumored Persona 4 remake, players will have an appreciation of both versions of the game.
- Released
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December 9, 2008
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ due to Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Violence