Story
Persona 4 opens with the protagonist arriving in Inaba to live with the Dojimas for one year, as his parents are working overseas.Within days of his arrival, a journalist is found dead, her body hanging among a television antenna; Saki Konishi, who made the discovery, is later found dead under similar circumstances. After the protagonist and his friends travel to the TV world, they encounter Teddie, who helps them travel freely between the TV world and real world. They awaken to their Persona abilities, and, realizing that the murders stem from Shadow attacks in the TV world, are able to rescue several would-be victims. Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, Rise Kujikawa and Teddie accept their Other Selves and join the group as Persona-users. Mitsuo Kubo, another high school student who disappears following the death of a Yasogami teacher, claims credit for the murders when he is rescued; it is eventually learned that he only killed the teacher and played no part in the other murders. Naoto Shirogane, a nationally-renowned teenage detective investigating the case, is also rescued and joins the party, who learn that "he" is actually a female who assumed a male identity to avoid the police's sexism.
Events come to a head when the protagonist is mistakenly accused by Ryotaro Dojima of having a role in the murders. Nanako Dojima is kidnapped while the protagonist is being interrogated, leading Ryotaro to engage in a vehicular pursuit with the culprit. The chase ends as they both crash; the kidnapper escapes with Nanako through a television set in his truck, and Ryotaro entrusts her rescue to the party. The group tracks them down within the TV world; the culprit, Taro Namatame, attacks them, but is defeated and both he and Nanako are taken to the Inaba hospital. When Nanako appears to die, the group confronts Namatame; the player as the protagonist must help the others realise that Namatame is not the killer by pointing out the lack of a proper motive, and subsequently work to determine that Ryotaro's assistant, Tohru Adachi, is the true killer. Failure to do so ends the game with the party being unable to solve the case and the recurring fog permanently setting in, the latter of which will eventually result in humanity's demise.
Having identified the culprit as Adachi, the party locates him within the TV world. Adachi explains his motives and ideals to the group; his claims are dismissed by the party. After fighting Adachi, he is possessed by Ameno-sagiri, the God of Fog, who reveals that the fog is lethal to people and will eventually wipe out humanity. Upon his defeat, he agrees to lift the fog, congratulating the party on their resolve. Defeated, Adachi agrees to assume responsibility for his actions and turns himself in. The game moves forward to the day before the protagonist must travel home; if the player returns to the Dojima residence, the game ends with the party sending the protagonist off as he departs Inaba. Alternatively, should the player be able to identify the unexplained origins of the Midnight Channel and attempt to resolve this plot element, the protagonist meets with the party and together they decide to put an end to the case.
The protagonist confronts the gas station attendant, who reveals herself to be the goddess Izanami and the mastermind behind the game's events. The cause of the recurring fog is established as an attempt to eliminate humans by merging the TV world with the human world. The party tracks Izanami down within the TV world and battle her, but is at first unable to win; the defeated protagonist is given strength by the bonds he has forged with those around him, and with this power awakens a new Persona, which he uses to defeat Izanami. In doing so the fog in each world is lifted, and the TV world is restored to its original form. The game ends with the party sending the protagonist off the following day, and a post-credits scene depicts the group resolving to remain friends forever as the protagonist examines a photo of the party.
Characters
The protagonist is a high school student who has recently moved from a large city to the town of Inaba, where he is to live and attend school for a year. While in Inaba, he stays with his relatives: his uncle Ryotaro Dojima, a police detective who is often on duty throughout the day, and Dojima's six-year old daughter Nanako who has managed to take care of the household chores for her father. At school, he quickly becomes friends with Yosuke Hanamura, the somewhat-clumsy son of the manager of the local megastore Junes, Chie Satonaka, an energetic girl with a strong interest in martial arts, and Yukiko Amagi, a calm and refined girl who helps out at her family's inn. The four of them discover a world inside televisions, where they meet a creature that lives there: a small bear with a costume-like appearance named Teddie. As they perform their investigation, the group gains more members, including Kanji Tatsumi, a male delinquent who is confused about his sexual and social identity, Rise Kujikawa, a former teen idol that moved to Inaba and is a new transfer student, and Naoto Shirogane, a young female detective investigating the case with the local police but who is forced to take on a male identity to associate with them.
Gameplay
Like its predecessor, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, the gameplay of Persona 4 alternates between that of a traditional role-playing video game and of a simulation game. The protagonist of Persona 4 is a teenage boy, named and controlled by the player. The game takes place over the course of a traditional Japanese school year. Outside of key events, the protagonist attends school, and can interact with other students and characters, spend time at part-time jobs to earn money, or engage in other activities. The player may also enter the "TV World", an alternate reality where the game's dungeon-crawling gameplay occurs.Each day in Persona 4 is broken up into different periods of time, such as After School or Evening. Certain activities are limited to certain times of day. In addition, the ability to engage in certain activities is based on the day of the week, or the weather.
By spending time with people, the protagonist forms "Social Links", which are friendships the protagonist makes as the game progresses, each represented by one of the Major Arcana. When a Social Link is first formed, it starts at Rank 1, increasing over time as the protagonist spends time with that person, until it reaches Rank 10. Social Links grant the player bonuses when creating new Personas in the Velvet Room. Social Links are also influenced by the protagonist's five attributes: Understanding, Diligence, Courage, Knowledge and Expression, which can be improved through various activities, such as part-time jobs. These attributes in turn may also affect the protagonist's interaction in daily activities outside of Social Links.
Persona 4's timeline is driven by the disappearance of characters from the real world into the TV World, indicated through the "Midnight Channel". The one-week weather forecast indicates the amount of time players have to rescue people who have disappeared, in which foggy days mark the deadline of the rescue mission. The game ends when the player fails to retrieve the missing person in time, and is given the choice to return to one week before the fog appeared. While in the TV World, the player explores randomly generated dungeons in the field map; each dungeon is of a certain theme, based on the victim that has been kidnapped. Dungeons are divided into floors, each containing Shadows, enemies the protagonist and his friends fight, and treasure chests, which contain items or equipment.
[edit]Combat
Within the TV World, players fight against Shadows as they continue towards the final floor where the missing person is located. The game switches to a battle screen whenever the player comes in contact with a Shadow in the field map, and the player may be given the initiative if the player strikes the Shadow unnoticed. The battle system is turn-based, bearing similarities to the Press Turnsystem used in other Shin Megami Tensei games. Each character can perform a basic attack, use a special skill, or use an item. The player can choose to directly control the actions of all party members, or use the "Tactics" option to guide how they perform in battle.
Offensive abilities cause certain types of damage, such as "physical", "wind" or "almighty". Enemies the player encounters may have a weakness to a certain type of attack. By exploiting an enemy's weakness, it will be knocked down, and the attacker is given the opportunity to act again If every enemy in a battle is knocked down, the player may initiate an All-out Attack, a powerful attack in which the player's party rushes the downed enemies, removing weaker enemies and inflicting heavy damage on stronger ones. At the end of the battle, players are awarded with experience and items, and may be given the chance to choose a new Persona to summon in battle.
Personas
Each party member has a Persona to use during battle, with its own unique skills, and a specific set of strengths and weaknesses to certain attacks. Personas will gain experience from battle and learn new skills as they gain levels. The Personas of the other party members will also transform to a more powerful form after completing certain events in the game's story relating to that character. The protagonist is unique in that he can carry multiple Personas and switch between them during battle, giving the player access to a new set of skills. Outside of battle, the player can access the Velvet Room, where new Personas can be obtained. Two or more Personas can be fused to create a new one; the new Persona will inherit a certain number of combat skills from the Personas used to fuse it. Each Persona is of one of the Major Arcana. Fusing Personas of an arcanum that matches an established Social Link will grant the Persona a bonus when it is created.The bonus is greater based on the current rank of the Social Link.
[edit]Plot
[edit]Setting
Persona 4 takes place in the near-future, fictional, rural Japanese town of Inaba, which lies among floodplains and has its own high school and shopping districts. Unexplained murders have taken place in the small town, where bodies are found dangling among television antennas and their cause of death unknown. At the same time, rumor has begun to spread that watching a switched-off television set on rainy midnights will reveal a person's soulmate. Following the rumor, a group of high-school students discovered a fog-shrouded world accessed through television sets infested with monsters called Shadows. They also discovered each of their Shadow Selves, symbolizing their suppressed personalities. Confronting their Shadow Selves awakened their ability to summon beings known as Personas. Using Personas, the students formed the Investigation Team to investigate the connection between the TV world and the murders, and possibly capture the culprit.
