I’ve always though video games can be an effective medium to convey certain stories and emotions. Persona 4 does a magnificent job at it. This is a game that came to my life in a pretty interesting time and which managed to do two things: rekindle my passion for story driven games and give me some perspective regarding my life.

Persona 4 is a game I wouldn’t have played in normal circumstances: A 60+ hours JRPG with Anime aesthetic and tropes. This description alone made it an unappealing proposition at the time—I’ve became more selective in terms of which game I play. However, I’ve heard in the past so much about the game and how good it was from people I knew shared very similar taste in games. Seeing the game on sale on PSN was the last push I needed.

“Role Playing Game” is a term that defines Persona 4 in the literal sense, and not in what we expect from the term nowadays. During my whole experience I was compelled to play a “role” and immerse myself in the setting; The protagonist is a shell meant to be filled by you, the player, in that setting. This is one of the key aspects that made the amalgamation of gameplay, story and themes feel meaningful throughout my experience.

The greatest achievement of Persona 4 is how it manages to combine a theme (‘finding your true self’) with gameplay elements and the stories of the characters. Borrowing heavily from Jungian psychology, Persona 4 presents you a setting in which each character has its own story arch dealing with the ‘finding your true self’ theme. By making story and character progression a essential factor in gameplay flow, Persona 4 actively drives players into the narrative construct. This proved to be a quite powerful narrative technique as it made me genuinely “care” about the characters. Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Naoto, Dojima, Nanako, Marie… their history, tied to the particular Arcana they represented, drove me to continue playing. I would spend each in game day actually thinking hard on how I would spend time with the characters, instead of just going through the motions. This is were the magic happened: gameplay and story went hand in hand, complementing each other.

What I described in the last paragraph wouldn’t be as powerful and motive enough if it weren’t for the fabulous soundtrack (According to Last.fm, I’ve 1,000+ scrobbles), the polished-to-shine presentation, the gorgeous looking UI, and amazing character design. The overall package is quite refined.

I started playing Persona 4 shortly after I decided to start an entrepreneurial venture along with some of the most talented people I’ve encountered in the past years. At the time, it made me realize how lucky I am for being around the people that care for me. When dealing with challenges, the best support I have is right there, next to me: my family, my friends, my peers… they all play a very important role in how I face challenges and define a big part of who am I. Persona 4 made me reflect about the importance that people around me have.

And, for the record…

#TeamChie