See how they look like they’re reaching for his combo? Total lewdness like the damn Jonas Brothers.
The Persona series branching off into its own distinct brand is nothing short of remarkable. In the early phases there were many elements which were heavily borrowed from earlier Shin Megami Tensei titles as the games experimented with more character focused story telling and a core mechanic in which a character’s abilities were affected by a kind of psychic projection they had at their immediate command. However, it wasn’t until the soft reboot in Persona 3 that the series began to develop its own distinct identity… its own “persona” if you will. Building on a winning formula, Persona 4 broke out in a big way relative to previous SMT titles (yes, I know the anime played a big part but the anime only adapted what was already in the game).
In light of the success, it would follow that Atlus would follow up with more content for fans to enjoy. So far there have been two fighting games, a dungeon crawler, and now a rhythm game. Given that music is one of the elements which game the recent Persona titles their distinct flavor, a game which made music a central feature is probably the most sensible kind of spin off. However, there had been hiccups in the development, so what we have is pared down from the original vision of the game. How does the game we get hold up?
For the plot of Persona 4: Dancing All Night to be canonical doesn’t worry me too much, but it’s still a little annoying the weakest part of the game is mandatory to unlock that last sliver of content. There is humor in the dynamics between the characters, and it’s good to acknowledge how they’ve grown or might be stumbling on growth when that was a big part of the main game’s arcs, but having to read one sentence at a time for an elaborate set up for what’s just the Persona 4 gang saving the day by dancing is a little grating. One minor sticking point is the framing device of Margaret relaying the story to a mysterious visitor of the Velvet Room while the actually story portions are told in first person like bad fanfiction. Y’know when a story has one word it constantly keeps harping back to repeatedly, making for a very dangerous drinking game? I started getting a little mad every time “bonds” was repeated, even if some of it was justified by the plot. Would using a fucking thesaurus have killed anyone?
The animal theme these girls ran with sounds like a retarded season of Power Rangers we all pretend never happened.
On the other hand, there are elements of the story which are more in line with the original game than the previous spin-offs (as far as I know, I didn’t actually play Persona Q). There’s an actual mystery at the heart of the supernatural goings on, we get creepy insights into hidden things, and all hell breaks loose when those hidden things are dragged to the surface. It’s not all bad, but if some of the exposition was tightened up so we could get to the actual gameplay then it may have been more enjoyable. Though it’s a little weird when “anime raised me” guy inexplicably helps save the day.
Free Mode in my mind is the real game because is all gameplay and no filler, and you get to goof around more and have fun. The inputs are simple: Up, Left, Down for the left side of the screen and Triangle, Circle, X for the right side of the screen. You either press or hold as directed by the notes emitted from the center of the screen. Then there are the scratches which by default you can use either of the analog sticks, but it felt too awkward for me. By pure accident I discovered an option in the settings to turn on the shoulder buttons for the scratches and that was the single best decision I could have made. You can also touch the front screen to perform scratches, which the tutorial never tells you, but using the shoulder buttons were more natural with how I hold the Vita.
As it typical for rhythm games, it’s not enough to hit so many notes. One has to exhibit some skill in timing and maintain momentum as one completes the song. The scratches aren’t essential to finishing the song, but they can add to the combo, and there’s a special kind of scratch which can be accumulated to initiate Fever Time. During this portion of the song, it’s easier to build up momentum with less risk of losing momentum if one makes mistakes. If you’re doing particularly well, a partner might show up and there’s a little bit of banter. Some of the repetition can be a little annoying, but sometimes there’s a gem of characterization, though it looks like there’s an option to turn off the chat between characters.
Through ingame currency you can acquire costumes, accessories, and items which give the player aids and handicaps they can toggle at their discretion. The aids are useful for being able to just finish songs on Hard mode when you first tackle that level of difficulty, while the handicaps can give the player a fresh challenge for a familiar song and cut out some farming if one is a completionist on collecting all the goodies. I’ve only attempted a couple songs on Dancing All Night difficulty, and it comes across as an excuse to use the Omnotepotent Orb just to get through the tracks.
Something something Caribbean Queen
One point of contention is the quantity of paid DLC for the game. There’s so much Atlus has a schedule for when they will be released. Most of it is costumes and accessories, a lot of which really should have been part of the released game honestly. There are some songs, a few which feature additional characters, but those particular DLC charge too much for what they offer in my opinion. In the early weeks they have been offering some of the paid DLC for free temporarily, but I think spreading out the DLC is Atlus shooting itself in the foot. Not too sure how many people are really going to be playing it at length when it’s pretty quick and easy to grab the platinum trophy.
All said, Persona 4: Dancing All Night is an enjoyable enough rhythm game where a player can goof around with established characters they’ve already had more serious adventures with. Though I think in the long term it might be best remembered for getting more people to try a genre they might not have really dabbled in. When I tried that Hatsune Miku demo I found myself a little too lost and intimidated to want to play the actual game. Conversely, the Persona spin off is an accessible enough title for those who are inexperienced. Some may even find they like the genre and want to try other games. Heck, I already bought one additional game at Gamestop on the cheap and downloaded SingStar… like a gateway drug… Okay, you heard it here first. I predict future Persona 4 spin offs will delve into genres which its fans may not care for and once they get a taste they’ll want to try more games.
CCA Comics 