Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Comments by Christian Donlan

"Someone tell the reviewer to set the dialog to auto-continue in the options menu, then you don't need to press a button to get people to speak the next line."

Problem is they dont talk fast enough.. ;c

requiring you to callously exploit the neediness of your chums to get the most out of them.

Bit like real life then.

Bought this on Tuesday. Interesting experience so far - not much gameplay as of yet but the game's doing a good job of setting the scene.
Only wish I could switch to Japanese audio. Not that there's anything particularly bad about the American voice actors but they just seem so out of place (especially given their inconsistent use of Japanese honourifics).

+1 to love the game.

The main thing about it for me is that I do care about the characters in it. Which is a polar opposite to Fable 2 where picking the "Sacrifice your loved ones for the greater good option" didn't have too much of a sting because the game did very little to make me care about my emote loving family.

So yes, writing and story wise I love it. It also presses my completist buttons stupidly well (damn you compendium, max all social links, etc...). Even though it is one of my most played and favourite games this year the 8 is probaly fair due to how grindy it is. I can see many people being turned off by that alone.

I have no idea what people see in these games, P3 was severe repetitive boredom, Lame boring dungeons that all looked exactly the same, totally vapid 'story' sections "Oh let me go and give the little girl in the abandoned playground some items so she'll grow to like me"...That's called 'grooming' by the way. crap graphics..The game was just utter utter utter shit. It deserved a 2/10 at best and this one sounds no better tbh.

Go back to playing FPS's then.

No, I like JRPGs, just not crap ones, but yeah, I would take a decent FPS over this drivel any day of the week.

An eight sounds too low to me too, considering I loved all of ym 92 hours in P4, but then, opinions are opinions. GOTY of 2008 for me...

Also, the dungeons are NOT randomly generated, but placement of goods and enemies in them is randomised.

You played for 92 hours and didn't even notice the dungeons were randomised?

There were certain floors (boss floors) that aren't random, but every other floor inbetween is random.

There is a slight difference between friendship and sexual predation you know...

Though in that case the game doesn't really help itself...

In any case this is really a marmite game. Either you grow to like the story and general slight twistedness of it or you just look at it and see a giant grind fest.

Also, one of the things which is mentioned in the article which I rather liked is that conflict between liking the characters but always having that nagging in the back of your mind that at times your character is only smiling and nodding due to the sweet sweet power he gets out of buddying up with these people. Something which was really re-enforced in P3 due to how cold the main character came across as to the player due to the really heavily enforced silence on his part (that and the vacant expression he has .

In P4 I am constantly thinking how, if the main character wasn't the main character, he would be the perfect villain of the piece (having gotten trough about half way). He could still be by proxy...

Anyways, I like that mix of emotional coldness conflicting with how (at least I) started caring about the cast.

P.S. btw, this comes from someone who's favorite part of Lost Odysssey were the memory short stories...

ROLL ON PAYDAY!

/rubs hands

Although it's going to go on top of the pile... Hopefully, though, will start playing it soon, but first have to finish Persona 3:FES, which I'm about 130+ hours in already. Almost there..

Great game.

Takes like 3 1/2 hours to get any actual gameplay though, so not one for the typical ADHD afflicted gamer.

Even flicking through the text at speed, you can still get the gist of what's going on.

/rubs aching thumb

i like this kind of games, but too bad the europe launch is later comparing to japan.
Anyaway, i love this game :D

Finished this game this morning after 75 hours. Enjoyed it alot. Agree with the marmite comment. This is a game you either love or hate.