Which Version of Persona 4 Should You Play? - All Versions Reviewed & Compared

[@player2-lightwater914]

There is a difference in Margaret's pre-battle and after battle between the vanilla and Golden of the English dub. Not sure if this is the same for Japanese version (except for the last part). In vanilla, Margaret directly mentioned Elizabeth's name before and after her fight. In Golden, Margaret did not mentioned her name but refer to her as "my predecessor". In addition to Golden, some of Margaret's lines were rerecord by Karen Strassman instead of Michelle Ann Dunphey due to Michelle was already on late stage pregnancy at that time which she was unable to rerecord her lines. The lines were combination of Karen rerecording some of the lines and archived audio of Michelle's lines.

[@AustinSV]

To expand on this further, Margaret's old VA still did new lines heard in the third semester but yes some lines regarding the battle are voiced by her new VA & play back-to-back with the old VA lines. The lines were re-written probably to avoid P3 spoilers; they were re-written in Japanese as well

[@paperluigi6132]

@@AustinSVin another timeline, Golden would’ve been the first instance of Marisha Ray as the new Margaret.

[@Amagidhain]

There's a mod that restores these lines, I recommend it!

[@Dfr0zy]

Every port is great at your Junes!

[@homerthompson416]

Sadly not the PC port. It has random crashes and then a 100% of the time crash after Mitsuo's dungeon for me playing on Windows 10 with an RX 6700 XT and it's the only game I have stability problems with.

[@oriongear2499]

@@homerthompson416Didn’t those get ironed out overtime?

[@homerthompson416]

@@oriongear2499 Nope still crashes for me on the most recent update of the game.

[@sterus2283]

@@homerthompson416 That's just you, I played it for almost 300 hours on Steam and didn't even crash once.

[@homerthompson416]

@@sterus2283 Oh good that means the bug doesn't exist then

[@ThemSensay]

My man has doomed himself to have to update the video when Atlus inevitably announces the P4 remake.

[@VoidPaul97]

Let's hope you are right!

[@Lance_Lionroar]

It's not happening

[@SpinningBalls]

@@Lance_Lionroar of course it is.. did you see how much money P3R made? Cmon now

[@minisculex3]

@@Lance_Lionroar so many people saying persona 3 remake wont happen, look where we are now.

[@lud859]

Well it won't be the same game anyway and that won't be for tomorrow. They won't release two mainline Persona games the same year and if the rumours are true, Persona 6 is set for a 2025 release and Persona 1 and 2 (and its sequel ?) remakes are being studied for the years after (so 2026/2027 ? Assuming Persona 2 is having just one release). So if Persona 4 Remake is indeed planned in the current pipeline as the rumours are saying, it won't be before 2028/2029 (confirming the source saying that it may take a while before seeing P4R)

[@manidavis4126]

To me the most funniest thing about persona 4 is basically if you work under the hood that is mostly just a persona 3 mod.

[@atpyro7920]

the joys of reusing engines to make release deadlines

[@isaaciktaile1118]

So... GTA Vice City?

[@FreakGeSt]

That's not a rare thing to do, (I look at you Super Robot Wars Z engine)

[@Vanity0666]

​@@manidavis4126 that is how atlus has developed games for the entirety of their history as a video game development studio. DDS 1&2 is just a nocturne mod. Smt2 is just a smt1 mod. Soul Hackers 2 is just a p5 mod. Devil Summoner & Soul Hackers is just an SMT If... mod

[@JellyJman]

A lot of PS2 game era sequels are just like this

[@bubbletea_]

persona 4 on ps2 has a really good visual aesthetic even on emulator. it looks fantastic at 3x native res or higher. but i enjoy the additions to golden too much to go back. shout outs to brawler for doing god's work restoring the fog.

[@JaredScott]

Huh that missing fog affect makes quite a difference.

[@azurekerimek]

Odd choice to do the voice comparison while another character snores at the volume of a plane taking off! Great comparison. I always wondered how different P4 was over P4G.

[@AustinSV]

This got to me, too, though it was a good case example of Chie speaking casually vs her higher energy voice that also avoided being in the context of any spoilers

[@Sylusssss]

Honestly that makes a lot more sense I was also wondering why you choose that scene besides the fact you get calm+yelling It definitely avoids spoilers

[@lucymorrison]

The P5 vs P5R video will be colossal if it ever happens lol.

[@ubergamer2010]

P5 - more challenging, better ending P5R - more fun, more content, better flexibility in terms of gameplay and progression choices

[@THEREALVITO]

The fog bit is interesting. I think there was a good amount of intentionality to removing it, as you mentioned with the change to a handheld OLED screen, where there was a lot of opportunity to make the colors pop. I think we also just associate Persona 4 as being the poppy, colorful, positive game in the series. "Golden" being the subtitle also might suggest that the bright colors were a deliberate choice, and fog would get in the way of that. I think its valid to prefer either or, though. Persona is a generally moody series.

[@kevinmorad1277]

"Hey I'll fog over you Yosuke!" "ok huh Yu are you coming onto me?!" "why not come have some fun with me I'm Bearby Cuddly?!" "not now Teddie!" XD

[@chrislee5268]

The fog is important to the plot and the themes of the game, removing it ruins the atmosphere.

[@FirstLast-yc9lq]

It didn't just remove the fog though.... It removed many distant objects along with the fog. It was due to the Vita and they simply got too lazy to put that all back in with the PC release. Not to mention, there was an engine change with the Vita version.

[@notsorandomuser]

Long time coming on this one. Good to see P4 being covered on this. Love the PS2 version of this game, just wish the visual identity of it carried over to PSVita/PC. Thanks for your work.

[@ForrestFox626]

Last I checked there is a mod on PC to restore the mood

[@tacobales]

Just gonna throw this out there. There is no wrong way to play this game it's that good. But play the steam , switch or Xbox versions the golden version definitely is the definitive way to play.

[@God-kx7fe]

@@tacobales You forgot one

[@tacobales]

@@God-kx7fe I would say vita but the resolution and fps is a major bummer. I originally played the vita version myself.

[@harmus69]

@@tacobales what about PS4?

[@tacobales]

@@harmus69 fuck sony

[@Kneevirus]

I prefer the ps2 version tbh, espically visually and not a fan of some of the new content but golden has some qol

[@swordfish1390]

Something else I noticed was that in the PS2 version, if you use an elemental break skill, the analysis screen will reflect the change. In Golden, however, it remains static, meaning you’ll have to memorize which enemies had their resistances altered, which can be tough, especially when you’re fighting mobs with the same enemies and you might not remember which enemy resistances you’ve negated.

[@_ace_defective_]

cool video + happy to have helped :)

[@bubbletea_]

omg its oomf

[@_ace_defective_]

@@bubbletea_ whoa

[@danielposey0620]

The fog change reminds me of the cool orange hue removed from GTA San Andreas ports that the og ps2 version had, it completely changed the look & atmosphere of the game.

[@manimanistatue]

this is way more in depth than I thought it’d be, great video

[@harryshuman9637]

Persona 4 Golden with all the QOL improvements and extra content. It's much easier to mod it to have the missing fog in some scenes, than mod P4 on PS2 that was kind of abandoned by the community.

[@mrman6035]

I can't imagine what you'd choose on ps2 other than the 4k ai upscaled hd textures and undub

[@FirstLast-yc9lq]

@@mrman6035 ....you're forgetting that just because there is more content it doesn't mean it's better. I felt Golden made P4 feel bloated and it didn't really NEED all that extra content. One of the new social links is completely forgettable, the added dungeon sucks. About the only thing I miss in the PS2 version are some of the new personas. Add to the oppressive atmosphere being removed due to the Vita limitations and it just makes it pretty easy for me to stick with the PS2 version. The only thing I mod into the PS2 version are upscaled textures and Chie's voice from the Golden version.

[@FirstLast-yc9lq]

@@mrman6035 To add to this, I felt differently about Persona 5. I felt like it needed Royal due to how poorly paced the OG was. Persona 3 and 4 are just fine with their respective OGs. Any extras I want can be modded in.

[@LoafGatr]

I'm glad to have helped! :D (Now I wanna play P4 and P4G...)

[@PlaystationTalks]

My dad loved persona 4 on the ps2 these days he does not have much time but i stil lremeber all day hearing WELCOME HOME. lol... i miss those days my dad stil ldoes game but we always working... i hope to get a better job so he can quit

[@level1cleric]

i always appreciate the depth of your work. you're the one i think about every time i see a new remaster

[@WednesdayMan]

there's one very specific difference between the Vita and the PC/Switch/PS4/XboxOne release is that the game is slightly cropped as the Vita's aspect ratio is slightly thinner than the standard 16:9. on 16:54 you can spot this difference by looking at the bottom right of the text box.

[@crestofhonor2349]

The Vita is technically slightly taller not thinner. 960x544 is a slight increase over the 16:9 version which is 960x540. This was to make it exactly double the PSP's 272x480, which was also slightly taller than 16x9

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

14:29 Namatame's new lines are done by Matthew Mercer instead of his usual VA in Golden.

[@DaveVoyles]

I put 94 hours into golden on the Vita and have no regrets.

[@TheColdOne]

I never got around to playing 4 on the PS2 (still have it in the shrink-wrap), so my first experience was Golden on Vita. I never noticed the discrepancy with the phys attack output vs the descriptions (which wasn't fixed in the remaster?). My physical copy of Golden for Switch comes in the mail today! I look forward to replaying this game for the first time since the Vita release.

[@the_gtc]

Loving the Persona comparisons!

[@luper_modder2]

I love that your videos are very in-depht to the topics personally I would like to you to go on other genres, but I'm ok with only RPGs

[@retrofan93]

Would it be a bad thing to say that I prefer all the later versions of Persona 4, mainly because of the changes in in voice actors? Because I absolutely adore Erin Fitzgerald as Chie, and Sam Riegel as Teddie.

[@homerthompson416]

Erin sounds so much more like Japanese Chie while the original English VA sounds like how I'd picture 38 year old Chie.

[@derekosgood3230]

Why would it be bad to have an opinion? Lol it's your opinion.

[@BasementDweller_]

For Chie’s voice comparison, why did you have the snoring scene used for the example. It made it hard to focus on the voice.

[@kylestyle5693]

Oh man, that’s some good content. Love your stuff dude.

[@David-nd4to]

Always enjoy your videos & comparisons, keep it up man!

[@batmabel]

Always glad to see an upload from you. Can't wait for P5!

[@Flutterdark_]

if he ever does oh dear lord the differences between 5 and royal are gigantic.

[@Flutterdark_]

another big problem about the physical change from 3 types to 1 also is that we have multiple skills with the same description like there are multiple "medium damage to 1 foe" skills for instance with no hint on which is stronger. in p3 this wasnt an issue as they were different elements and thus the strength wasnt a thing to consider given that the element seperated the skills. but when element doesnt seperate you usually dont want 3 skills with identical description so the question of "whats stronger" naturally pops up a question atlus STILL sint answering even in smt v because they dont write numbers and physical is hurt by this alot

[@Flutterdark_]

glad i could help on some of the gameplay stuff.

[@LordMarluxia11]

I miss Chie’s old voice so much.

[@wrensart1335]

Same dude.

[@LucasDarkGiygas]

thanks for the video

[@PrincessNine]

Chie teddies new voices are from the fighting game, the animes dub released practically around Goldens release.

[@Karrotcake863]

I was watching your Persona 3 vid when you uploaded this one loool

[@XXtheJUMPoffXX]

I just bought this for my Switch OLED for $11.99 🤩

[@KatelynTea]

Think you'll cover P1 and P2 at some point? The PSP version of innocent sin has a lot of oddities that most people don't know about

[@takehirolol5962]

I have the PS2 version that included other goodies.

[@aaronammann4236]

Something to also note before they updated P4G on pc was that (and this was with a laptop that I had before) would crash at random times which caused me to constantly save after each day and event. luckily the remastered patch somehow fixed that issue. I don't know what caused it to crash initially since the game ran perfectly fine though at a lower framerate due to the shadows on the characters.

[@fightnight14]

I can't wait for the Persona 4 ReGolden version. I can feel it

[@roxysan9718]

I noticed all the difference. But I really like the two games. Persona 4 and Persona 4 golden

[@iamataldi]

Got the physical PS2 version with the OST disc just because I loved the steam version so much

[@epicgamer2727]

Having beaten P4G on PS Vita I think that it’s the best way to play. The OLED just hits different

[@homerthompson416]

Switch OLED isn't impressive? For me the game that really made me glad I got the OLED Vita was Muramasa. The colors looked so spectacular on the OLED in that one.

[@lukeskywalker8706]

@@homerthompson416 that game really does have great visuals such a shame it gets boring real quick tho

[@ant_mag]

Great video. do Paper Mario TTYD!

[@whydty]

I still remember when I played P4 on PS2 there is a scene that "the big TV on Junes is sold". But I forget when that happened in the story. And when I played P4G I didn't find that scene. Is that scene got cut? Or I'm missing something?

[@switchbro6622]

I prefer how golden looks but the original is cool in its own way

[@dutArkham]

Mr AustinSV can you do a version comparison video for final fantasy tactics?

[@MamoMark]

I thought you might cover the fog restore mod that was done on PC. It's currently not finished, so maybe it's best to have omitted it...

[@KJ.420]

5:38 This makes SO MUCH more sense now I was wondering why in the FUCK did the game have 10 billion skills of the same "Light Phys" damage. Press F to all those skills I accidentally threw away, thinking they were "Light" instead of medium lmao

[@jayheart553]

Will you be doing the Dragon Quest series?

[@dischordblast8992]

I prefer the original but i think playing golden is the better way of playing it. I am mixed on marie i think she’s ok but any chance to see the characters more are great

[@samjiman]

I preferred the old Chie voice tbh.Just glade they didn't change Yousuke.

[@levithecartoonandmoviefan7284]

@@samjiman I can understand that personally I hate Chie’s old voice mainly because I just don’t think it fits the character at all also sound more like an adult women rather than a teenage girl also I just think the new voice fits the spunky personality of the character

[@wrensart1335]

If they ever do a p4 remake, I hope the new chie voice is closer to the original than golden

[@homerthompson416]

@@wrensart1335 I hope not. The Golden Chie sounds so much more like the personality of Chie in the Japanese release. P4 PS2 Chie VA sounds like how I'd picture 38 year old Chie. In the original Japanese she sounds very youngish and talks very slangy, like the exact opposite kind of sound you get from the P4 PS2 VA for Chie.

[@Now_Roxas]

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MY 3RD FAVORITE GAME EVER!

[@kusogakirenfir]

May as well wait for the rumored P4 that's going to look like Reload tbh

[@riftshredder5438]

Does the anime have a dub? I looked it up on Crunchyroll and it appears to only be available subbed

[@vrucewith2456]

I'm gonna wait for the inevitable P3R style remake of P4

[@aoiyozoraa]

00:00 legendary

[@gz4wbz]

Wow i literally just finished replaying the PS2 version just last week. Great timing.

[@troev]

i finished playing persona 4 golden last week

[@TheColdOne]

I just got Golden for Switch in the mail today (LRG).

[@lol-ih1tl]

did you set your Switch to full range colors?

[@NoGoodNameHelpPLZ]

3:44 I wish they got these in the English version with English subtitles

[@Jack-pc9sp]

Please do the original Mega Man games! Would love to see comparisons of all its rereleased

[@gyrenrockz]

Can you make valkyrie profile all version pls?

[@Andron322]

I got Platinum on Vita version, finally 😅

[@homerthompson416]

I could never get that damn Hardcore Risette Fan trophy

[@Andron322]

@@homerthompson416 I just farmed last dungeon about 30 hour's. Did the check list for Rises lines.

[@darrelrizz2408]

Was about to playing this game. Can anyone tell me which version is better?

[@luckystudent00]

The Removal of the Rising Sun on paper is questionable but when you look at the reasoning behind, it actually makes sense, especially when A: People can be sensitive nowadays & B: To avoid any controversy & not needing to patch it out

[@Kriseiri]

PS2 all day baybeee you get the moody atmosphere AND Marie isn't in it! win win in my book 😌 (i do acknowledge that Golden does have many good QoL changes)

[@JaredScott]

Why is Marie not liked? I’ve only played golden. Frankly the story had a ton of annoying unanswered questions until I got the golden ending. Her poetry is cringe though lol

[@OneLastScholar]

I played the pS2 version first on my Series X and it's amazing how much the fog sets the atmosphere. Inaba feels less mysterious and dangerous in P4G.

[@JosephHeiskell]

Well, Marie is my preferred love interest in the game, so I must disagree. Still, have fun.

[@lssjgaming1599]

At the very least, it seems modders are trying to restore the original game's fog. Some of the other graphics haven't been ported over though

[@seriouskano2]

@@lssjgaming1599 It seems like that's PC only. I'd love to have that for the Vita version.

[@ottlika]

whenever they translate someone like Teddie into english they should just go full Danny DeVito voice, the humor would adjust quite easily to western culture that way i think

[@czms922]

UHhhhh the one with tge teddie bear!

[@TechnoSyndro]

OG Chie and Teddie forever

[@dottyorb]

I'm not a massive fan of how they altered the UI specifically for the 64-bit PC version, sure it's probably more readable but it's less unique.

[@Raddkann]

P4G has Marie so it's automatically superior in my eyes. I love her so much

[@ActuallyMori]

The one that you can get :)

[@setiawan2791]

If you looking for more content, you definitely want to choose Golden. And if you want to get away with harem route, i'd recommend Vanilla one

[@YoungLion449]

Persona 4 was just.that.good

[@sammyay-man2754]

I wish persona 4 will be remade just the way they did with persona 3 reload

[@homerthompson416]

Though I hope they don't re-record the music like they did in Reload. I missed Yumi's voice.

[@pokemongo-up3rq]

You should always play the vanilla version first for aesthetics, then golden for content.

[@kaktus9356]

Great vegetables

[@KazeShikamaru]

I may need to play P4G but I never liked Vanilla that much.

[@mizzix]

I hated p4 vanilla and loved p4g, you should definitely try it

[@Now_Roxas]

PeakS Vita

[@aaron75fy]

tl;dw besides the right answer to the question is whichever one you want

[@LeonisBraefer]

Thanks for the video as always! I will say that I do not thing Erin made a more convincing Chie compared to Tracey. Tracey sounded like the tomboy martial art fanatic. Erin is just too high pitched.

[@Magus12000BC]

As a game, the PS2 version wins hands down. It was clear that while they were listening to feedback about the prior game, they didn't want to make the game a walk in the park, either. Persona games past Eternal Punishment have this bad habit of getting easier as you progress because you are amassing more resources that make the dungeon crawls easier. But P4 Vanilla staves that off as long as possible. It's balanced well enough that your strategies constantly have to take your resources into account, which is something that later games in the series neglect almost outright. And some of the junk mobs that are thrown at you are downright dangerous, forcing you to consider your approach carefully. I don't think I've ever been afraid of a junk mob encounter from P3P onwards. P4 Vanilla is probably the last game in the series that didn't handle the player with kid gloves.

[@mrman6035]

yeah all those quality of life extras really make the game so much easier. I remember really struggling during those early hours at the castle on ps2

[@blazingwaters7469]

Not sure if I _entirely_ agree, since Yukiko's SP can shoot to 300 by Marukyu Striptease thanks to Suzaku Feather, and the Fox's SL can be about halfway done at that point, but I'll admit that it was probably the last time I ever felt challenge from the Modern trilogy. So many enemies either had neutral resistances to everything, or were bulky enough that they require ailments and/or a debuff to take care of, and the curve's dropoff point being around Void Quest sorta makes sense since everyone's more or less used to the TV World by then. I also remember *some* of the lategame enemies and bosses being fairly tough too.

[@JS2123-m9x]

My only gripe is that both PSV and Modern release look like ass. The OG on PS2 looks so nice on a good CRT

[@VideoGamesAnthology]

great video but you choose the worst line possible to show the differences between chie voice actresses.

[@aidenwindsacredknight1333]

I can't go back to the PS2 Version when Golden is much better sure it's missing things here and there and it looks like the vita version but Golden is the best way to go even if Marie is bad.

[@danknhshinki73]

What if Persona 4 gets a remake called "Persona 4 Recut?"

[@hehashivemind6111]

Is there a particular reason this video got remade? There was a version of this that previously existed, wasn't there? I'm not crazy right? I swear I remember watching one of these and being like "wow the vita version really fucked up that background out in the field"

[@allanmhanson]

PS4 on PS5.

[@llllsvllll7524]

Maybe I’ve just been spoiled with all the great QOL stuff that golden added but original P4 just sounds frustrating to play even if it does have legitimate upsides over golden

[@Ligytdr]

the shuffle time is ass and party members are poorly balanced (Teddie, Kanji and Naoto are not even worth using). Those two things alone made me have a much better time with Golden, for sure

[@Dude-psendx0p3]

i still love that chie oringinal voice

[@mangathecomicgeek9450]

10:35 Freudian slip.

[@WilderGuitar05]

Just from the thumbnail, I think the PS2 version looks better.

[@anon_y_mousse]

Kind of sounds like the Golden version is the best one. Oh well, can't find it on GOG, so I'll have to be happy with the PS2 version.

[@mbrillon765]

It's on Steam and modern consoles

[@anon_y_mousse]

@@mbrillon765 I don't have a modern console and refuse to use Steam.

[@homerthompson416]

@@anon_y_mousse Just emulate on Ryujinx then.

[@anon_y_mousse]

@@homerthompson416 I don't have a Switch, which specs aside still counts as a modern console, so buying anything for the platform or even ripping a copy of any of the games is probably physically impossible. Hopefully you weren't advocating for piracy and just didn't think of the Switch as a modern console.

[@Modenut]

This is where the Persona UI really started to circle the drain. Yeah, I know it's all "stylish" and shit but it is also obnoxious and fucking exhausting. It's nigh on impossible to get any kind of info "at a glance" in the newer titles.

[@Ramen117]

They remake this game next, after P6 comes out.

[@chrislee5268]

All of Golden's pros are weighed down by one glaring, obtrusive, obnoxious con: Marie.

[@TanookiReviews]

I never really thought Marie was annoying. I never really got why people thought that way.

[@NOIDEDU]

Ps2 undub. Ps2 because it has the perfect intro and undub because is the only correct option. Also the new golden content isnt very good and I would say it has impacted how people see the characters.

[@player2-lightwater914]

Even you play with the undub, the English texts do not 100% match with the Japanese voices due to the texts are matched with the English dub.

[@NOIDEDU]

@@player2-lightwater914 meh, once you see enough anime you can tell when the translation is taking liberties.

[@JellyJman]

lol I like the dub, all the actors are actually good. Johnny Yong Basch, Yuri Lowenthal, Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, Amanda Win Lee, Tracey Rooney, Dave Wittenberg, and Anna Graves are actually good actors. They still deliver great performances to this day. (Tracy did retire tho)

[@NOIDEDU]

@@JellyJman I couldn't care less about who voiced the characters but If you want to talk about voice actors tomokazu seki performance alone put all of the dub performances to shame

[@JellyJman]

@@NOIDEDU I don’t think so

[@octavinadinugroho1446]

I love chie ps2 version va :(

[@hemellicht]

I prefer the OG Chie, the new voice is grating to me D: