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Persona 4

Item

Title: Persona 4
Alternative Title: ペルソナ4
Description: Persona 4 is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the Persona series, itself a part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise, and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in July 2008, North America in December 2008, and in Europe and Australia in March 2009, being one of the final major exclusives for the system. It was re-released as a PlayStation 2 Classic for the PlayStation 3 in April 2014. Persona 4 takes place in a fictional Japanese countryside and is indirectly related to earlier Persona games. The player-named protagonist is a high-school student who moves into the countryside town of Inaba from the city for a year. During his year-long stay, he becomes involved in investigating mysterious murders with a group of friends while harnessing the power to summon physical manifestations of their psyches known as a Persona.

The plot of Persona 4 was inspired by the work of mystery novelists owing to its murder mystery premise. The rural setting was based on a town on the outskirts of Mount Fuji and intended as a "'nowhere' place" and is the central setting to have players sympathize with the daily life of the characters. The developers added many in-game events to prevent the game from becoming stale. During localization, numerous alterations to Japanese cultural references were made to preserve the effect as much as possible. The release of Persona 4 in Japan was accompanied by merchandise such as character costumes and accessories. The game's music was primarily composed by Shoji Meguro, with vocals performed by Shihoko Hirata. The Western releases came with a soundtrack CD with selected music from the game.

Persona 4 received critical acclaim and is considered one of the greatest video games of all time, with praise given towards its gameplay, story, emotional depth, characters, and music. An enhanced version of the game, Persona 4 Golden,[b] was released for PlayStation Vita in 2012. It was later ported to Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in the early 2020s, selling 2.5 million total copies worldwide. A full remake of the game, Persona 4 Revival is currently in development for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S. Various other manga and light novel adaptations and spin-offs have been produced. An anime adaptation by AIC ASTA, Persona 4: The Animation, began airing in Japan in 2011, with a Persona 4 Golden anime airing in 2014. The game also spawned two fighting game sequels, Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, as well as a rhythm game, Persona 4: Dancing All Night. Party members from Persona 4 are prominently featured as playable characters in Persona Q (2014) and Persona Q2 (2018).
Date Issued: 2008-07-10
Creator: Atlus Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Atlus Co., Ltd.
Identifier: ark:/78322/11618
Language: Japanese
Spatial Coverage: BOS-1

Item sets: Press and Marketing Materials