The Adventures Of Kuroki Tatsuya (Persona 4 Golden: First Playthrough) [SPOILERS]

[Funyarinpa]

Basically this is a thread where I'll share my experiences throughout my first run of Persona 4 Golden. It's my first Persona, my first conventional JRPG (did try others but my first time sticking with a JRPG for this long, not counting some stuff like The World Ends With You in this). Playing on Normal. Log format: Hours:Minutes, Ingame Date (MM/DD), Place Saved (relative to the plot)

ENTRY #1: ~26:00, 08/02, Void Quest (Dungeon #4)

I just started Kobu's (?) dungeon, the creepy-looking kid. I really like the retro design, but honestly I wish the dungeons were more differentiated beyond enemies, a single OST and how the walls look like. Unique dungeon travel mechanics would be great, but it's always the same janky movement, the same corridors, almost everything is same, the dungeons rarely go beyong a palette swap.

Overall, I do not exceptionally like the JRPG part of the game. Probably goes to show I'm not much of a JRPG nut. The HUD feels off for some reason (not as modern/sci-fi/sharp corners as I like) and 3D movement is clunky, but man do I love the characters. Practically every scene has me in fucking tears. I loved all of the school campout and the Okina City babe competition for example. I just love, love, LOVE the cast. Kanji's a total bro, Yosuke's the cool friend who's kind of an ass at times, Chie is the caring loudmouth, Yukiko the shy beauty... Then you have the amazing Velvet Room cast, great trio. Nanako and Dojima are both relatable. Teachers are a nice bunch, and actually the overall plot isn't that bad (surprisingly though, it doesn't feel like a disadvantage at all). Then you have Teddie the alpha bear.

Rise though? She's one of my female characters EVER now, swiftly climbing the all-time waifu ranks (in the top 3 already, behind Sora from Ever17 and (SPOILER) from YU-NO). I really like female characters that play up their sexuality (tips 16-year-old hormones) and since I saw the opening video months ago I was hoping Rise was a likable character. And damn it, she is. I now understand the Senpai trope better now. Fucking 10/10 dungeon, shit's fucking hot. Also, the item drop names are pretty hilarious. And then you have THAT FUCKING OST. Hnnnnnnng. God damn you, the anonymous uploader who chose that picture for the video. HNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Personas are alright but they feel... janky to use, somehow. I don't like many rounded corners and stuff in HUDs, and Persona 4 is a bit annoying in that regard. Movement (as in, wailking in the shopping district or a dungeon) is janky also. Still didn't deter me from clearing Rise's dungeon in 2 days IRL (I've wanted to meet Rise since I started playing).

Quite easily the best non-VN game I've played for the first time in 2015. Clocked in 6 hours or so today, the week after next is exam week. Help meee

I'll upload some screenshots (stats etc.) later.

TL;DR: Using thread as a first P4G run liveblog, you fuckers were right this game is amazing, wish I had a PS3 or PS4 because I can't fucking get the P5 main track out of my head, listened to it for more than an hour today.

 

Edited December 19, 2015 by Funyarinpa

[Deep Blue]

I won't spoil you anything buuuuuuuuuut this song will make you cry after beating the game  

also nanako is one of the best child character in any game probably  

[Mugi]

I recently finished vanilla Persona 4, and will be picking up a PS TV and Persona 4 Golden next week. It's taking all I can to not go back and play through it again right this second, but I want to save the second run experience for Golden..Anyways, will be interesting to see how your experience is! Also 

Naoto best gril

[Fred the Barber]

Persona 4 Golden is a fantastic game, because of the characters. The JRPG gameplay is far from my favorite, but it's good enough to fill the time between the glorious social link gameplay.

Persona 3 Portable is, also, fantastic. IMO, the plot of Persona 3 is quite a bit better than the plot of Persona 4, but the characters are definitely a little bit weaker. It's an acceptable tradeoff - although Persona 4 totally kills it on the cast, which lets you forgive any other shortcomings the game may have, Persona 3 is a little more well-rounded. The JRPG combat is still about the same, though (and it's apparently noticeably worse if you play any other version, either vanilla Persona 3 or Persona 3 FES)...

Anyway, you shouldn't assume that you don't like JRPG gameplay just because you don't especially like that element of P4G - P4G's JRPG elements are far from the best. The Disgaea series is my favorite series in that arena, but it's way different from the Persona series, so it's not a great comparison to draw.

Anyway, you're all wrong about best girl, but I can't fault you, because you probably haven't played Persona 3 yet. If you had, you'd know that Aigis is best girl.

[Funyarinpa]

Not even mad that you spoiled Naoto is a girl, called that already

[Mugi]

Anyway, you're all wrong about best girl, but I can't fault you, because you probably haven't played Persona 3 yet. If you had, you'd know that Aigis is best girl.

Honestly, I like all the girls in Persona 3, but Aigis might just be best girl..I can't decide. I was just talking about Persona 4 though. Also I should note, Funya, that if you go try out P3, to prepare yourself beforehand (which you probably will want to, after not having anything to fill the void with after you finish 4). In my opinion, the game is much harder to get into if you play 4 first. While 4 does have some pacing issues, 3's pacing issues are at least twice as bad, and the characters aren't really good enough to make up for it for quite a while, at least until you start seeing some development. Also I felt like the Social Links were a bit weaker, but that's just me. Although the story gets extremely good at about the halfway point. Also Tartarus is much more repetitive than the dungeons in P4, and the game is overall much less forgiving than P4 since you can't control your other party members (unless you play P3P). But it's definitely worth playing it if you can get past all that.

Not even mad that you spoiled Naoto is a girl, called that already

Yeaaah, it's pretty obvious because, well, she sounds like a girl trying to sound like a guy. They should have just had a guy do those lines or something  

[Mugi]

Also, does anyone know what all the difficulties are that you have to select from in the beginning of Golden? And what bonuses/debuffs they give you? Trying to decide on which one i'm going to go with, and I know one or two are only for NG+.

[madvanced]

Also, does anyone know what all the difficulties are that you have to select from in the beginning of Golden? And what bonuses/debuffs they give you? Trying to decide on which one i'm going to go with, and I know one or two are only for NG+.

IIRC it's like this:

Very Easy
Damage taken from enemy: Low
Damage given to enemy : High
Exp and money: More than normal (5x from normal)
Dungeon and battle retry

Easy
Damage taken from enemy: Low
Damage given to enemy : High
Exp and money: Normal
Dungeon retry enabled but no battle retry

Normal
Damage taken from enemy: Normal
Damage given to enemy : Normal
Exp and money: Normal
Dungeon retry enabled but no battle retry

Hard
Damage taken from enemy: High
Damage given to enemy : Low
Exp and money: Normal
Dungeon retry enabled but no battle retry

Very Hard
Damage taken from enemy: High
Damage given to enemy : Low
Exp and money: Less than normal (around 0.4x from normal)
No dungeon and battle retry

[Mugi]

Also, does anyone know what all the difficulties are that you have to select from in the beginning of Golden? And what bonuses/debuffs they give you? Trying to decide on which one i'm going to go with, and I know one or two are only for NG+.

IIRC it's like this

Thanks! But is Very Easy available from the start? I thought it was NG+ only, under the name of "Safety"

[madvanced]

Also, does anyone know what all the difficulties are that you have to select from in the beginning of Golden? And what bonuses/debuffs they give you? Trying to decide on which one i'm going to go with, and I know one or two are only for NG+.

IIRC it's like this

Thanks! But is Very Easy available from the start? I thought it was NG+ only, under the name of "Safety"

I haven't started a fresh save in a while, but I do think that you can choose any difficulty, the difference is that in NG+ you can change it in any point in the game plus mix up the settings, for example you could have a very hard setting with the money and exp bonus from very easy.

[Funyarinpa]

All 5 difficulties are available from the start in P4G

[Eclipsed]

Basically this is a thread where I'll share my experiences throughout my first run of Persona 4 Golden. It's my first Persona, my first conventional JRPG (did try others but my first time sticking with a JRPG for this long, not counting some stuff like The World Ends With You in this).

Yo dw brah, i gotchu


~~

Started Persona 4 Golden, it's alright. 

 

Could've been worse for 10 bucks. 

 

The opening is amazing, I watch it every time I boot up the game.

 

I'm enjoying this game and I honestly can't pinpoint why. The 3D graphics are shit, the gameplay is banal, the story isn't all that intriguing...  But I don't regret my time with it at all, the one thing I am consciously enjoying is the characters, Yosuke is a bro. JUST INTRODUCE ME TO RISE ALREADY FFS

 

P4G is addictive (though the gameplay is "7/10" ) 

Margaret and Marie best girls (but haven't met Rise yet) 

 

Man Persona 4 Golden is addictive as all fuck.

I really like it so far. One of the best games of the year.

 

I realized that part of the reason I like Persona 4 Golden so much is that it's pretty much emulating the experience of having a fulfilling life. 

 

Persona 4 Golden sucked in my soul 

Rise best girl

[Funyarinpa]

Okay so guys I just got yukiko's ninth social link and now I have the option to tell her I really like her

Will doing that lock me out of anything? My heart belongs to Rise but if it means I get some benefits then I will answer "i like you" provided it won't hurt my relationship with Rise 

Edited December 21, 2015 by Funyarinpa

[Turnip Sensei]

Okay so guys I just got yukiko's ninth social link and now I have the option to tell her I really like her

Will doing that lock me out of anything? My heart belongs to Rise but if it means I get some benefits then I will answer "i like you" provided it won't hurt my relationship with Rise 

You can date multiple girls at the same time and there are upsides and downsides to it. But it won't lock you out of anything nor will it grant you any special benefits, so you don't have to worry about that. Well obviously you miss the date events with girls you don't date, but there are replacements for those.
Best idea is just do as you feel like, pick the choices you feel are right. Staying true to one character is as valid as getting on with every single girl.

[Mugi]

Okay so guys I just got yukiko's ninth social link and now I have the option to tell her I really like her

Will doing that lock me out of anything? My heart belongs to Rise but if it means I get some benefits then I will answer "i like you" provided it won't hurt my relationship with Rise 

Well, if you "get intimate" with more than one girl, you basically can't go out with any of said girls on Sundays if they ask you to do something, or else you risk running into the other girl(s) you are intimate with and it can cause one of your social links to be reversed (at least iirc). Also, Golden has a valentines day event, and it's pretty heartbreaking having to turn down every girl but one, as they all get super upset. Personally, i'd just stick with one girl.

[Funyarinpa]

My soul belongs to Rise.

That said, fuck Void Quest. Everything up to floor 7 is going fine, I die 5 times on the first battle on floor 8. What's the recommended Hero level for Void Quest? Also, how many floors are there? Currently on Floor 7 and I think the rainy bunch of days are 5-6 days later (the first day at least).

[Turnip Sensei]

My soul belongs to Rise.

That said, fuck Void Quest. Everything up to floor 7 is going fine, I die 5 times on the first battle on floor 8. What's the recommended Hero level for Void Quest? Also, how many floors are there? Currently on Floor 7 and I think the rainy bunch of days are 5-6 days later (the first day at least).

Ten or so floors, but there's some backtracking to do so it feels slightly longer. I can't really comment on recommended levels, as I don't remember nor have never really cared about them. 
Just take your time and prepare carefully, the difficulty spikes up a little in Void quest and the boss especially is somewhat tricky. 

Btw what's your party configuration? I'm little curious. 

[Funyarinpa]

My soul belongs to Rise.

That said, fuck Void Quest. Everything up to floor 7 is going fine, I die 5 times on the first battle on floor 8. What's the recommended Hero level for Void Quest? Also, how many floors are there? Currently on Floor 7 and I think the rainy bunch of days are 5-6 days later (the first day at least).

Ten or so floors, but there's some backtracking to do so it feels slightly longer. I can't really comment on recommended levels, as I don't remember nor have never really cared about them. 
Just take your time and prepare carefully, the difficulty spikes up a little in Void quest and the boss especially is somewhat tricky. 

Btw what's your party configuration? I'm little curious. 

Well, I'm probably fucked.

Party config is Teddie, Kanji and Yukiko right now. Works alright but most of the burden is on the MC.

[Turnip Sensei]

 Well, I'm probably fucked.

Party config is Teddie, Kanji and Yukiko right now. Works alright but most of the burden is on the MC.

That's pretty solid line-up. You definitely have enough healing power between Yukiko & Teddie, Kanji hits pretty hard and Yukiko has good magic.  

If haven't already used them, buffs and debuffs  are very helpful in Persona, especially against bosses. Lowering enemy's attack with Tarunda and upping party's stats with various -kaja spells makes many battles much easier.

[Fred the Barber]

+1 for buffs / debuffs - I tend to find them useless in most RPGs, but they're generally very strong in Persona games. If you have any characters with multi-ally buffs, those are gold. I don't remember what it was, but Chie's social link rank 10 buff is godly, IIRC. I usually only bust out the buffs and debuffs on bosses, though.

If you're having trouble with normal mobs, probably it's time to go build a redonkulous persona for your MC. I like to go for a large variety of elemental attacks (preferring multi-target over strength). I think I had a ludicrously powerful Black Frost as my go-to at the point you are in the game.

Also, don't overlook the instant-kill abilities; I didn't really pick up on them at first until a bit later in the game, but they're quite powerful because a lot of the trash enemies will have a weakness to one or the other of Light and Dark, making the likelihood of it working high, and also giving you a One More (or whatever it's called...) for hitting their weakness. With the multi-target versions, those abilities can often wipe out most or all of the enemies for you within the first turn.

[Funyarinpa]

Fuck Shadow Mitsuo, how the fuck do I even kill this thing?!

MGRGRGRRGGRGRGRGRGRGR

[Funyarinpa]

Black Frost be blessed.

Anyways I'm looking for information on Naoto to get into her dungeon right now. I love this game mostly thanks to its cast. Social link events, the story events, the voice acting, the cutscenes... I love it all. Rise is one of the most attractive female characters I've ever encountered (every other line makes me mentally go HNNNNNG). I fear I'll feel inclined to drop the game once I max out her social links lol, looking forward to dating her.

Whenever I think too much about the cast I feel incredibly bittersweet because despite all the fun and wonderful memories, Kuroki's only in Inaba for a year and that time will come to an end eventually, and there will be partings and farewells. That just saddens me so much because I don't want this ride to end. 

The P3 cameo part sold me on P3P

[Fred the Barber]

Whenever I think too much about the cast I feel incredibly bittersweet because despite all the fun and wonderful memories, Kuroki's only in Inaba for a year and that time will come to an end eventually, and there will be partings and farewells. That just saddens me so much because I don't want this ride to end.

This particular concern is actually dealt with within the game, and I think they did an even better job of addressing it in the anime adaptation of Persona 4. Unfortunately, the anime adaptation kinda sucks in all other regards (I remember particularly being bummed about the completely insufficient amount of Sayoko, aka Best Girl Without A Persona), so I can't recommend it.

[Mugi]

Welp, after driving around for like four hours going to about 6 different Gamestop's, I finally own P4G and a PS TV. Time to start the greatness.

[Funyarinpa]

Welp, after driving around for like four hours going to about 6 different Gamestop's, I finally own P4G and a PS TV. Time to start the greatness.

You're in for one fucking hell of a ride, trust me 

this is coming from someone who doesn't like JRPGs (P4G's JRPG gameplay included)

Damn I really wanna get Persona 3 Portable as well but I just bought $50 worth of games and I should probably get Corpse Party before P3P