Late to the party: Persona 4

[bluestarultor]

Let me just say that the game is good. It definitely kept me playing, and I'm especially liking the weather forecasting thing.

That said, first impressions of the characters are... I dunno. The close-ups aren't as expressive as Persona 3's, for one, and they seem sorely lacking in certain emotions, so the characters seem rather flat. The voice acting is also kind of meh, which is a shock, because there's some good talent on this thing. Further in, they've either actually improved or I've just gotten used to them, but I can't say anything's really helped me like the characters off the bat. They're actually pretty boring, but I'm hoping they improve further, because at this rate, there will be a good cast soon. It just seems harder to get into it with the party in this one.

Combat is as good as ever, but there's a gripe with that one, too. What the FUCK is with having to figure out enemy weaknesses on my own!? P3 had someone take a minute to conveniently analyze it and tell me and the party what made the beasties fall down, but in the one, all they say is what I already know. That means I might have to face an enemy multiple times to know what actually works on it. They also seem to have removed physical damage types from the equation, but I can't really comment on whether that's actually a good thing, given that the MC is locked into one weapon type. It's not necessarily a step back, but it does seem odd.

Finally, the shuffle. OH, the shuffle. The cards don't stay still this time around. So not only do you have to follow the one you want, you also have to press X to grab it when it's closest to you, and if you miss, well, not only do you miss out on a bonus, but there's also a chance you'll grab a penalty card that tosses out all the experience and items you just earned. I just shut the game off for a bit over just this situation. My first random battle and not only did I whiff a Pixie, but I pulled a penalty card. This is NOT fair.

Anyone else still care about this game?