Persona 4 Golden: Review

I am pleased to announce... that I have finally (after 3 years) finished persona 4!!!!!!!!!! Wow it's been a long time coming! I began the game back when I was 18. I'd just got my hands on a ps2 and obviously persona 4 was THE ONLY GAME I WANTED TO PLAY. But ps2's need a tv and I didn't have one of those. Limiting my play time to... well... whenever my parents were out. My parents who work from home. Playing during those times or having to play with your dad sitting in the room asking why you’re chasing black things is difficult but I made my way past the castle, through the bathhouse, to brave the strip club. I even got through the video game to the secret hide out... only to give up completely when I started university. (ahaha 1 hit KO’s). Last year I got a psvita and decided to retry on a portable console, which has been ten times easier. Although I started on normal mode it was taking me too long to repeat all of the dungeons I'd already beaten. So, after I finished my exams I switched to super easy and whizzed through the game. As you can see my playtime ended up at almost 40hrs. Considering my first ps2 playthrough is at 30 and my first vita is probably at around 20 this puts me up to just under 90 hrs which is uh... shameful. but Anyway I have no finished the game and would like to type up some thoughts!! 

So here is my review of sorts!

Story

A**** for story. I loved P4's story, all the horrors of a town dealing with murder with a fun scooby doo feel!! GO INVESTIGATION TEAM! If I hadn't been spoilt on who the killer was early on I don't think I would've guessed them! The aspects of school life were well balanced with dungeons I think which was good too (unlike p3 and never ending tartarus) the school trips added to the feeling of the characters being a group of FRIENDS too, not just people in the same dorm. I just wish the tarot cards had been explained, or why Yu never faced his own shadow? Apparently this is dealt with if you hit no to save a new game + but I didn't do that ;;

Side note: Persona's

I really enjoyed the mythical references of persona's names this time round Yukiko's being ameterasu, Yu's being Izanami! Calling Rise's persona Himiko was FANTASTIC NEVER FORGET QUEEN HIMIKO. Naoto's as Yamato Takeru was... um... questionable but I'm gonna let that slide (whats next genji?)

Characterisation 

I love persona 4. I love it so much more than Persona 3 and I think I know the big reason. The characters. Don’t get me wrong the characters in persona 3 are great but they don’t... seem like friends? at least not believable friends. They act like they HAVE to put up with each other. You got Yukari rolling her eyes at Stupei (actually you have everyone rolling their eyes at stupei) while Mitsuru tries to keep it together and Akihiko just eats meat. The protag just dates everyone and anyone while Ken cries and Aigis follows her around. They just didn’t seem like friends. I think persona 3 was too heavy for a strong friendship to form between these characters it went from bad to worse and I felt like there wasn’t enough character development when it came to interacting with one another.

But Persona 4 characterised perfectly! I'm usually not a fan of silent protagonists (unless they're Ludger) but I didn't mind being Yu Narukami if I got to spend every day with his amazing friends. I wasn't a big fan of them in the beginning, but I feel like their social links really helped me to understand them and gave them really great character arcs! I was really impressed by Yosuke's arc, for a game with such heavy themes (murder duh) Yosuke really portrayed that well. His whole arc was about his grieving process and I really appreciated that, he started off with a silly idolising crush and then learnt to accept it for what it was and not treat it as a bad thing and he made friends along the way it was great! Other social links I enjoyed were Yukiko's, Rise's and Kanji's. I think Nanako's could've been a tiny bit better, Chie's was pretty eeh and I didn't like Naoto at all. I feel like she joined the game too late for me to love her. Also that trope about girls needing to be boys is so overdone now. 

Golden add Ons

I wasn't very impressed with these at all. The TV thing was cool, it fit in with the theme of Persona 4 nicely but it really wasn't needed. Marie's social links made me cringe so bad I just stopped bothering. Okina city was nice (I enjoyed buying all those outfits too! I think I used the cheer set and the butler set most!! OH AND THE DRAG SET THAT WAS AMAZING). Hmm what else is there? going out in the evening was a nice way to gain extra social link points! It really added to that feeling of friendship

I play games for the story more often than not so I'm not really going to comment on the game play, it was functional and enjoyable so I have nothing more to say really. 

I really enjoyed persona 4 and I'm glad I've completed it. I cannot WAIT for persona 5. -bounces-

seeing friends and a lotta theatre!

I'm combining what would probably be two posts here because I just... am too lazy.

This week was kinda busy, I went to work, had a lot of shopping to do and PLAYED SO MUCH PERSONA 4. At work we finally have a new member of staff which means that (for now) we have the correct amount of staff! Works been so much easier now, even though I'm dealing with training the new member of staff (I was introduced as "The Expert" which was kinda...odd. I'm sure I still make tons of mistakes at work and sometimes I tell the kids lies because I just cba. Just small things like no no you get your prize the week AFTER you fill up your card. Ahaha some expert I am

After work on Thursday I met Sophie for dinner! She's someone who I think is very like me so its always fun to hang out with her, and we don't have awkward silences which is nice. We went to a resturant called Leong's Legends in China town next to candy cafe. This was... such a big... mistake. I was looking forward to trying dim sum for the first time but all of the dishes were overpriced. Our food took WAY too long to arrive (I'm pretty sure they forgot mine) and then it didn't even taste good!? like the chicken was so gross! Then they overcharged us by about £20?

THEN the guys on the table next to us heard us speaking Japanese and started asking us questions.
学生ですか？日本語を勉強していますか？どこに勉強しています？ソアスはどこですか？日本に行きましたか？いい日本料理のレストランを知っていますか？LINEがありますか？いいえ えええ
@_________________________@  My speaking is awful so I kind of just left Sophie to it and told them I didn't have line RIGHT as I was texting on line haha! They were like 30, and gave me their business cards I'm sure there was nothing malicious behind it but I don't want them on my line ;;;

and look at this rly pretty selfie we took where I got my thumb over the camera =(

On friday I did a shift at The Globe on King John which was uh... interesting. I took my breaks during pivotal scenes so I had NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON! So I can't really comment on the play, I didn't think the staging was very impressive lots of singing, the cross coming out of the stage was just... why, it seemed a lot more like a musical than a play and there was one part where the cast members just pretended to walk for 20 minutes while a conversation happened! Ah I was also working with a trainee steward that day!! She was very determined to get all of the fire walks correct (well we were the fire wardens for that show) and work out when our entrances and exits were. Which is a nice change. But it was very hot in there and we did have one fainter which has made me realise that I really need to look up basic instructions for fainting. It happens to me every now and then and I should know what to do basically at The Globe while waiting for a first aider so I really should just do a bit of googling 

After my shift I went to see Matilda with Shiori! It was my third time seeing it and it was STILL amazing! the stage is beautiful and works so well for Matilda, sometimes a basic stage like that doesn't work at all but Matilda has just enough to really let your imagination run wild! The kid who played Bruce kept going off tune but these kids must be doing 2 or 3 shows a week right? Thats more than I've ever done so why the hell would I complain? Matilda's cast really is something special actually I've seen the same cast pretty much every time I think, going three times in just over a year (the kids have changed... I think) but its really impressive seeing people so young performing so well!

I think Matilda's a really important story, its about standing up to bullys and I think that's a really important story to tell kids, and a girl doing it? a smart girl taking no crap!? thats even more important! 

Even if you're little, you can do a lot, you

Mustn't let a little thing like, 'little' stop you

If you sit around and let them get on top,

you might as well be saying

You think that it's okay

And that's not right!

And if it's not right!

You have to put it right!

tfw you forget something! After work on Saturday (why do I always hang out after work? its just... so tireing) I hung out with Nikki! Our original plan was to go to the gelato festival which was... horribly busy... so we ended up at hagan daz instead! Buuut it was gay pride so London was VERY VERY VERY busy. I think there should be some kind of London busy forecast so that I can avoid the hoards of people >: We also went to Daunts *__* which was beautiful, its the most beautiful bookshop I've ever seen why aren't they all like that?

I mean look how amazing this is! Shame the Japan section was so small...

PLACED

I FINALLY FOUND OUT WHERE I’LL BE MOVING TO IN AUGUST! Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture! K I’d never heard of Shiga, I do know it’s near (ish) to Kyoto (now) It’s in Kansai, Honshu (my boss is so going to laugh when she hears this, “I hope you’re not Kansai” she said). I’m close to Himeiji Castle (WHICH I NEED TO SEE) and Nagahama has lots of historical connections, and looks beautiful. I just hope it has… idk a bus service? Its no where near the busiest city in Shiga but I just hope.. I have a bus. Please god give me a bus service.

Even though I recieved that magic upgrade phone call, my handbook and all these important forms to fill out I don’t think I was really thinking of JET as real. Not capital R Real anyway. But now I know where I’m going I can get an idea of what to expect. I’m still waiting on my contracting organisation to contact me. I wonder what kind of school I’m teaching at! I can’t find a list of high schools only junior high and elementary schools. Maybe I’ll be at one of those? 

Back into the unknown I go. I feel like JET don’t want to give you all the information at once, they have it but gosh they are not going to give it. It’s stressful but also really exciting.

STAYCATION

Last week (well its still technically this week) was my first staycation! yup my first vacation in… England… (unless you count wales for a day and manchester for a week at my friends house which… I uh… don’t). We went to Norfolk with my grandparents. What did I know about Norfolk? nothing. Seriously. I didn’t even know where it was.

So what do I know now? 

well there’s lots of nature… I SAW SO MANY BIRDS. lots of sheep.. AND SEALS THE SEALS ARE AMAZING THEY WERE AT THE BEACH JUST 20 MINS WALK FROM WHERE I WAS STAYING!

It’s very seaside-y too

Basically I got to play with my new camera a lot! I also played persona 4 for about 12 hrs straight or something and binge watched orange is the new black!

The house we stayed in was horrible (dead bugs, everywhere) and my grandparents are uh… not the most fun people to take on holiday BUT HEY I GOT SOME PRETTY GOOD SNAPS HUH

and now I’m back to civilisation and internet

BIRTHDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

Yesterday was my 21st birthday!! I’m a little sad that I’m no longer the same age as one of my favourite video game protagonists! I was 18 when I played Tales of the Abyss and in that game we see Luke progress from 17 to 20 so I’m finally older than Luke. I finished Tales of Xillia (Milla’s side) on my 20th birthday last year, so when I was the same age as Milla!! and then I played Xillia 2 when I was 20 so the same age as Ludger!! bring on the 21 year old protagonists! please… I don’t want to be older than my video game characters .____.

ONTO THE HAUL!

My parents got me a couple of dvds, some new pj’s (which I’m going to need for Paris, London orientation and Tokyo orientation because mine are gross) a new external and this purse!

They got me some Yen too! Just to start me off! I looked up who the lady is on this note, Higuchi Ichiyo, she wrote child’s play which I’ve read!! Thats cool! she was one of the first female writers in Japans Meiji era (y’know after Murasaki Shikibu wrote the first goddamn novel and women got shunned writing wise) 

My friends got me some really cool presents!! Heather got me a beautiful necklace, it’s so pretty I just I can’t. I feel like I shouldn’t wear it because I’ll break it!! Vivian and Alicia got me… some really perfect stuff! They got me a Haru plushie! because apparently my giant one is too big to take to Japan -pouts- its still coming. I’m going to start a Haru shrine in the corner of my room it’s going to be beautiful. Oh and a Totoro cardigan! Its so pretty! I’d take a picture but taking a photo of a cardigan is hard so I’m just… giving up. I can’t find a suitable top to wear underneath yet though. >: Stacey went with a theme! Big Hero 6!! I knew she was getting me the dvd because I uh..  tried to buy it… and she yelled at me. and a Baymax!! He’s really big and soft and squishy. *0* Liam and Joey got me a cute new phone case! (right after I bought two AHAHAHA) but one of mine will slip off in Japan apparently so this is perfect! it’s not bulky and its just.. so cute. and it makes my phone look so thin! I’d take a photo.. but… its on my phone right now. (excuse the selfie I am the selfie queen kthnxbye)

We ate lots of food! (like so much food, like too much food) and I was finally adventurous and didn’t do make my own at Haagen dazs! It was so nice but it was just… too much food. ah my mum made me pancakes too! 10th June 2015 the day I gave up my diet. -sobbing- But it was.. it was so good 

Then I went to see Peter Pan at the open air theatre in Regents Park. I really wanted to go last year but there wasn’t anything interesting on so I’m so glad I finally got to go! and to see Peter Pan!! It was such an amazing production! In the middle of the park really gave it a magical feel, the stage was surrounded by trees and it felt more natural than the Globe(as much as I love Globe). It was done in the frame work of WWI, I’m not entirely sure why, did Wendy grow up and become a nurse? But anyway it was such a magical production, the flying was handled really well, Tinkerbell was a light bulb puppet! The crocodile (aligator? idk?) was like a ladder as its teeth! So imaginative. I honestly think Wendy stole the show, she was such a good actress it was just. perfect!

It was such a good day thank you to everyone who got me presents and hung out with me!!

(tfw the selfie stick is so hard to use)

The spirit of exploration has been stirred

I finally got round to playing more of Tales of Zestiria! It’s a game I’ve been really excited about since its announcement a year ago. The character designs and settings are beautiful, the animation is, of course, flawless (if we ignore Slay’s fat feet in that one cutscene), and the story looks like it’ll rip my heart into tiny pieces (I still haven’t recovered from the damage inflicted by Tales of the Abyss). I finally gave in and bought a Japanese copy a couple of months ago but I haven’t had much time to play it since it arrived! My playtime is around 4-5 hours now, there isn’t much furigana so its a little hard but I found a subbed walkthrough on youtube! 

luckily my desk set up is perfect for playing Japanese games, I can basically do duel screens, one side the game and the other a subbed walkthrough. I’m trying to see how much I can understand so I’ve been playing the walkthrough a little delayed. I keet my notebook near so that I can write down kanji I want to look up and words to translate. Of course my textbooks are on the shelf just above my desk so any grammar I don’t know I can google

Some useful resources for playing rpgs in Japanese if you’re not fluent!

• A laptop close to your tv – god, you need this. I don’t know how you’re going to do it otherwise, unless you’re fluent in Japanese.
• hand written kanji search – I’m assuming anyone playing a game in Japanese will actually know some kanji, and will know basically how to draw kanji (stroke order rules, y’know start from the top left in general etc).
• Denshi Jisho – the best Japanese dictionary I’ve ever used, even with sentence examples! you can type in English, hiragana and even romaji! its perfect!
• A subbed walkthrough if you can get find have one, rpg’s usually use made up words or kanji that are pronounced differently (for example hyoma in Zestiria) it can be confusing and having someone else’s for reference helps so much!
• A dictionary of Japanese grammar – it’s expensive but its so worth it, I only have basic but it’s just… ten times better than a textbook because you can search by grammar.
• Maggi-sensei – this is turning into an all round how to Japanese, but Maggi-sensei is the best for searching grammar and getting a clear explanation if you don’t recognise anything!

The game itself, as I’ve mentioned is beautiful. I really like some of the new aspects introduced like using artes on the world map, party members walking with you (not disappearing into nothingness when you travel) and of course the battles playing out on the world map! That last one was especially useful the second time I fought lunaru (Lunarre?) I managed to back him into the wall!! It looks like they didn’t carry dash over from Xillia 2 which is a shame (sob) that was so useful but I can live without. it

So far I’m really enjoying the story I’m a sucker for bright eyed protagonists ready to go into the real world. Slay’s story kinda reminds me of Luke’s and the world building too, Slay’s Shepards costume looks a little like the order of lorelei’s! I remember when it was first announced everyone translated 導師 as fon master and I got really excited ;;; but oh well. I think adding anything more to Abyss would ruin how perfect it is. I have some theories about how Zestiria is going to play out. Looks to me like becoming the Shepard will kill Slay or at least affect him horribly in some way. … ah yes, getting my heart broken is my favourite pasttime.

-aggressively refuses to refer to Slay as Sorey because its a stupid romanisation- 

ANOTHER TRIP TO THE CAT CAFE!?

That’s right, I went to the cat cafe… again. Except this time it was a birthday trip I’d convinced my school friends to take me on! Our session started with the manager commenting that I’d been twice before, embarrassing much!? (do they think I’m going to steal a cat or something? maybe they think I’ve been sizing up the joint? I could fit a kitten in my bag I think!) But after that we didn’t see him again! We were really hungry so we ordered so much food! and we were… kinda distracted by our food. Unfortunately most of the cats were asleep and we were downstairs (which seems where all the cats sleep) So we didn’t get much cat time. (and every time a cat did wake up they’d be crowded by staff). Eventually we were pushed out by the staff demanding money and not even bothering to give us a 15 minute warning which was a shame. 

I don’t think I’ll be going back to the cat cafe after this trip. The staff pushed us into leaving and paying/ They also make it really difficult to play with cats without feeling judged all the time, which isn’t a fun atmosphere but I got to catch up with my friends, and they’re the important ones not some random cats! (we actually shared our own cat pictures instead)

OH AND I FOUND A BOOK ABOUT MARU IN THE CAFE!! Maru is a scottish fold cat from Japan! He’s adorable and the book was in English and Japanese so I got to practise my reading! I could read the majority of it except a few kanji… which I forgot to write down, oh and I learnt the kanji 手袋 (gloves!)

I’m not going to upload any group shots of us because all the ones we took were iffy >: either the wind was blowing hair everywhere, we couldn’t fit everyone in the shot or there were scary looking workmen in the background!