Each year, there’s often one game that dominates my time for a hundred or so hours. Last year it was Elden Ring. Previously it was Breath of the Wild and The Witcher 3. Back in 2017 it was Persona 5.
I loved it. I’d never previously played a game in the Persona (or Shin Megami Tensei) series. Its mix of social management and JRPG was like nothing I’d experienced, its soundtrack was infectious, its teen drama thrilling. It instantly became one of my favourites.
It also left me intrigued about its predecessors, which are finally now available beyond PlayStation with the release of Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden on Switch and Xbox. Working backwards, I jumped into P4G – a game many consider to be a high point in the series.
I’m so disappointed.
First released in 2008 and followed by the Golden version on PS Vita in 2012, this launch is something of a retro re-release. Yet with its outdated stereotypes and dialogue filled with misogyny and homophobia, P4G has not aged well. This isn’t a fine red wine, but a bottle of sparkling that’s gone flat.