In part 2 of his look at Persona 4 Golden’s new features, resident community super-star Garitt Rocha talks about Difficulty Options, new clothes, team attacks, and more! Be warned, however, there’s Spoliers ahead!
If you missed Part 1, look no further!
Spoiler Warning!
I do want to warn anyone who has not played Persona 4 before, or who is looking to discover all the new material for him/herself, that this article will include spoilers, so read on at your own risk.
Have it Your Way
If you find that you just want to experience the new features of P4G then I’ve got great news! Two new difficulty options have been introduced including a Very Easy mode, which allows you to completely breeze through the game. For all you masochists out there, Very Hard was created to make sure you work yourself into a coma trying to complete the game.
On top of the new difficulty options, you’ll also find that you now have the ability to skip all of the cutscenes by just pushing the Start Button twice. This will allow you to blaze through the story bits and get right to the new gameplay features.
More Tales to Tell
You can also interrupt the skipping process if you see a cutscene you haven’t seen before, because, well, there are new cutscenes, animated and in-game, in Persona 4 Golden that allow for more dialogue options and also serve to give each of the main characters more depth.
The Learning Experience is Never Over
Atlus has also changed the answers to all of the in-class quiz questions, so that you’re not just barreling through the exact same material. Pay attention and stretch those brain muscles of yours in order to find the correct answers all over again.
Dress to Impress
You’ll also find that Persona 4 Golden features new outfits for each of your characters to wear in battle. From kimonos and winter wear to maid and cat outfits, Golden’s got the style you’re so desperately craving. Wear these outfits in battle to show the Shadows that you aren’t afraid to look fabulous.
Arm Yourself for Battle
The combat system has also received several new additions, including Tag-Team Attacks that will have certain combinations of party members teaming up during fights to deal extra damage. You can also receive support from your party members on the sidelines with the Calvary Attack. This attack has benched teammates riding in on their motor bikes in order to do damage randomly when you do Critical or Weakness hits to the enemy.
In the same vein, the Shuffle Time system has been reworked so that you can see exactly what each Arcana does for you upon selection. You also no longer have to play the shuffle minigames, but instead can just select a card without hassle.
Make Connections
Persona 4 Golden also includes a couple of mechanics that involve being connected online. Vox Populi (Voice of the People) allows you to see the top five actions other players decided to commit their time to during the individual days in-game simply by tapping the “Voice” button onscreen. This serves as a sort of meta guide for the game, giving you guidance on what the best course of action might be day-to-day.
The other mechanic is called SOS, which allows you to send out and receive requests for help from and to other players while in a dungeon. If a player responds to your request, the next time you enter battle you’ll see a bit of your HP and SP restored (very little, but it’s the thought that counts). While the boost may not be much, being able to use SOS after every battle will keep you inside the dungeons for longer periods of time.
And More!
The above listed changes are just the beginning of the list; new songs, voice-overs, an improved fishing system, the ability to travel to more locations at night, a garden for growing your own vegetables, rebalanced enemies and teammates make Persona 4 Golden a near brand new experience that long-time fans of the game will undoubtedly enjoy. So go out and grab yourself a copy of Golden, I’m sure you won’t regret it.
Sold? Good! Now shuffle over to our Welcome to Inaba Feature to get you started!
