Over a decade since its release, many fans still look back onPersona 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 4is considered as one of the best titles in the franchise, andPersona 4 Goldennot only refreshed it with enhanced graphics and new characters, but also made it more accessible for people who haven’t played it.
There have beenrumors that Atlus might be working on aPersona 4remake, 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 asPersona 3 Reload. While waiting for official news on the remake, this is the perfect opportunity to replay and relivePersona 4 Golden.
Persona 4 Golden Still Has High Replay Value After More Than a Decade
Persona 4 Goldenis an expanded version of the base game, which features a new character named Marie, new Personas, additional Social Links, and more. Just likeotherPersonagames, 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 Goldenhas 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 Goldenhas a number of Social Linksthat 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.
There are also the split Social Links, where players must choose between two characters who share the same Arcana. These includePersona 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.
Another goal thatPersona 4 Goldenplayers can vie for ismaxing out their Social Linkswith 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
TheHollow Forest is a newPersona 4 GoldenDungeonthat 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
Thetheme of mostPersonagamesis 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 inPersona 4 Goldenafter 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 originalPersona 4as possible. So that when it’s time to experience it again in the rumoredPersona 4remake, players will have an appreciation of both versions of the game.
