Persona 4 Golden PC impressions

June 13th, 2020, one day short of it?s initial release on Sony?s powerful, but ill-supported (well if you were a fan of visual novels, it wasn?t ill-supported) portable, Persona 4 has escaped it?s imprisonment and has made its debut on PC via steam! This momentous occasion was announced on PC Gamer?s PC Gaming Show, the publication?s showcase which runs currently with E3?s festivities. This would have been an absolute surprise, if the PC Gaming Show ran on it?s intended date of June 6th 2020, however Persona fans were stirred up on June 10th, 2020 after a tweet indicating that data regarding the game was scraped from a Steam database. 

Was this release inevitable? If you?ve been looking at SEGA?s increase in putting their console titles onto PC, you can say yes. Starting with the stylish action game Bayonetta, then Vanquish and the biggest release that was formerly console exclusive Yakuza 0, SEGA was finding new revenue streams on the platform that was dominated by (depending on your viewpoint) indie games, FPSes and Battle Royales. Atlus (a subsidiary of SEGA) dipped their toes by releasing Catherine Classic and perhaps the flow of releases will increase with this entry of the long running Megaten series.

One could say Persona 3 slightly nudged the door in the West and Persona 4 kicked the door down and helped the series join the pantheon of RPGs that resides in the minds of players in the West. Owing it?s charm to it?s warm and relatable characters, excellent writing, tense gameplay it captivated players who wanted excitement of solving a mystery and joy of creating interpersonal relationships in a reality where both are extremely hard to come by. You control a male protagonist who has been sent to live with his uncle as his parents will be working abroad for an undisclosed amount of time. Transitioning from big city life to rural living would be impossible if not for the colorful cast of characters the main character meets during his stay in the town. Things pick up when a mysterious string of deaths occur and the cast need to access a mysterious world which many have deemed an urban legend to solve the crisis afflicting the town.

The release is available on Steam for 19.99 USD, an extremely attractive price for a title packed to the brim with content. In addition to the changes that came with the definitive edition of the title, the PC port also includes additional control types, higher resolutions and unlocked framerates. It?s truly surreal to be able to enjoy this title on a large monitor while controlling everything with a Xbox 360 controller. The days of being hunched over looking at a 5 inch screen praying that the battery will last in one of the game?s numerous dungeons will be a thing of the past. Considering the PC platform will never become obsolete, players will more than likely be able to enjoy this classic title.

This momentous release is truly a ?Golden? opportunity for ATLUS to consider releasing other titles from the Persona series as well as the Shin Megami Tensei Series which these games spun off from. SEGA could also perhaps evaluate their PC strategy and offer titles which have been stranded on some dead platforms (Max Anarchy…I?m looking at you!). Now if you?ll excuse me…it?s time I say goodbye to an old friend and it?s expensive proprietary memory cards.

SEGA provided us with a Persona 4 Golden PC code for evaluation purposes.