Persona 4 journal - entry one

I’ve been playing quite a few JRPGs as of late, and while I have every intention of returning to both Final Fantasy VII and X in the not-too-distant future, I’ve decided to mix things up a bit by playing Persona 4 on the recommendation of a few friends. As I post this first journal entry, I have completed little more than the tutorial phase of Persona 4 – i.e. the first two hours. I’ve been shown the ropes on the game’s combat and how to use the lead protagonist’s Persona. And while that’s all rather basic, I can appreciate it for the sole fact that the game bothered to give me a rundown – sure it was a bit lengthy, but I’d rather have a long tutorial segment than be dropped into the thick of battle with no indication of what I’m supposed to do/how I’m supposed to do it (which was unfortunately the case with my recent attempt to play my first Fire Emblem title, Radiant Dawn).

Though I’m still being introduced to the main cast and have yet to meet about half of my remaining party members, I like the group so far. They fit into typical roles you’d expect of any anime without falling into the territory of the cliché. Yukiko might be popular with the boys, but she’s frequently unaware of when she’s being asked out on a date. Yosuke is a goofball and is annoying to a certain degree, but not so consistently that I’ve found myself fed up with his antics – it's a balance that is seemingly difficult to find in anime and video games of this nature. It’s refreshing that Chie is the one who is more frustrated with Yosuke than I am. Chie is a quirky character as well due to her interest in kung-fu movies and role as being arguably the most masculine party member thus far.

While I would like to have some more interactivity with the school and home segments, I realize I’m only a little over two hours into the game and these will likely come along soon enough. The whole concept of entering the television realm and attempting to piece together clues from the murders is an interesting combination of classic elements of the genres/entertainment mediums Persona 4 draws from. While I certainly know more about my protagonist’s daily life than I do about the television realm or the murders, the game has been progressing its story at a nice rate, leaving me just enough in the way of metaphorical bread crumbs to keep me entertained. For my first experience with a Persona title, I'd say things are off to a pleasant start (the game's serial murder theme aside).