The Living World of Inaba || P4G Analysis

[@Benjome]

A related thought re: Persona 5 feeling more "shallow": Given the themes of the game, I suspect that's intentional. The fact that non-interactable characters are semi-transparent and sort of "fade away" as you walk through them lends to the feeling of them very much being NPCs under the control of the Holy Grail.

[@YesterdaysMinder]

Not to mention the feeling of isolation from most of society, being an outcast and whatnot.

[@MarcLucksch]

P5 does have a Manu of those living world features as well. My favorite is Makoto following you while she investigates for the Principal. If you just fast travel everywhere, you never notice.

[@tcrpgfan]

but... that's just city life in general.

[@marine76a]

Idk, it may have been on theme, but a lack of depth is not a positive if it's on theme. On a positive note Persona 4 is well done.

[@_gremlinboy]

I really do love the minor characters in persona 4. Shy Student has my whole heart, I love to imagine that Yu is canonically the type of guy that a reserved sapphic would be spilling her guts to in the hallway

[@_gremlinboy]

And then you just mentioned her! It's such a nice interaction. (And, as an aside, it is in my mind a nice little confirmation that the persona team had their hearts in the right place with the,,, 'queer rep.' Kanji and Naoto are handled a little, uh, interestingly in a way that makes me think they were originally written to be queer characters as well as Yosuke, which we have evidence of with his deleted romance arc. I feel similarly about Daiske and Kou. It's just sad that the game was made in 2008 when gay people weren't allowed to have names 😭)

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

I think she was the prototype for the yandere student in P5...

[@deanlonglastnamee6805]

Nametames truck can be seen while Adachi is directing traffic on rises first day at Inaba, and Adachi makes a point to continue looking at it all the way down the street

[@עידומחלוף-ר4ח]

I want to mention something. There is a jrpg series called "Trails", And every npc in that game series has a name and story arcs playing out at the same time with the main story(Like here, You can miss a lot of those conversations). And thus, The same thing happens here, And I'm so happy about it. It makes the world much more interesting.

[@statesminds]

It's amazing. you can basically follow the npcs storyline just by talking to them at different points throughout the game.its my favorite jrpg series

[@עידומחלוף-ר4ח]

@@statesminds I agree.

[@strwrbttlfrnt]

If anyone hasn’t tried this series please do start with sky trilogy then if you enjoy continue. this is probably one of the most underrated games that I have played.

[@BlueGrovyle]

It is not true that every NPC has a name, but most do.

[@עידומחלוף-ר4ח]

@@BlueGrovyle You know what I meant. I know that not everyone does have a name, But most do. Those that doesn't are in the minority, And thus, I decided to ignore them.

[@macaylacayton2915]

chie putting kou's flustered behavior to 'being part of yukiko's fan club' makes a lot of sense considering chie's story actually.

[@felixknowlton370]

My favorite part of Persona 3 is finding this pair of students every day who go through this whole storyline where they stalk each other. I guess you could say I’m stalking the stalkers…

[@ThyFloorestFloor]

I remember those guys. I couldn't help but to constantly talk to them every month to see how it was progressing

[@elenabrown2626]

In the culture festival, Kou's crush on Chie is briefly mentioned with the beauty pageant too I think

[@manimifire8563]

Oh, this is crazy... The subtle references to different links is something I've never noticed. Great job as always.

[@HidinginPrivate]

Thank you! Yeah I think the "Julie thieves" stuff in particular is very cool

[@Apollo_VonAlmen]

The line at the very beginning of the game where Naoki accuses Saki of taking his cream puffs, only to later come up in his link, is so amazing, I didn't notice this until like... My 2nd or 3rd playthrough

[@HidinginPrivate]

Haha that's a thing I mention in the Naoki segment and yes I think that is an amazing detail

[@HidinginPrivate]

Hey! This video us being posted while I am currently at my Sister's College Graduation! Respond to this comment with well wishes if you like so I can send her a nice little screenshot!!

[@diegods1291]

Congrats to her!!

[@HidinginPublic]

She got her Bachelor's in 3 years while balancing a social club AND 2 part time jobs!!!

[@electricdeer2031]

Congrats!

[@nikolocalprinnydood1421]

Congrats! Your gonna do great.

[@SapphireLibra3]

Congratulations to your Sister! This is my first comment, so you can tell your Sister that, too! *smiles*

[@BurritoPanda]

I remember my first exposure to this game was in the summer of 2020 when my friend streamed it over Discord for me and a couple others to check out shortly after it got ported to Steam. I always dismissed Persona as some overhyped bullshit that I'd never enjoy, but the setting and characters of P4 had me enamored almost immediately. Almost 2 years and 2 playthroughs later it's become one of my all time favorite games, and Inaba feels like such a familiar and comforting location. It seriously nails that "hometown" vibe, and really does feel alive. Really loving this video series you're doing, it's nice to see an older game still get plenty of coverage, attention and love.

[@phoenix_2k]

this is always something that stuck out to me and one of the reasons i loved persona 4 so much. its hard to put into words for me but just the way the atmosphere of the game felt so alive and gave me the nostalgia of a place that never existed. that's one of the many things that makes this game so special for me.

[@maceyV]

The unnamed NPCs were one of my favorite aspects of Persona 3. I wasn't as driven to talk to them in P4, but I'm glad they stuck around. "Kid who wants a cat", "Mutual stalkers", "Taxi Driver" and "Kid who hates her teacher" are such core parts of P3 to me.

[@CrusadiaIX]

Been playing Reload and I relate to this hard, those two morons that have traded stalking duties with each other have my heart and my absolute frustration.

[@Amarant127]

That is why I love Inaba. The first time that you play you think that is just a super small map where you visit the same places over and over... I ended up checking every place with often just to talk with the NPCs. They all have their mini stories and sometimes they talk about your SLs like how Teddie is popular in all Inaba. The place is totally alive. I cried after discover the ghosts of the wandering oldman and his wife. About Yosuke in Okina meeting Kashiwagi, could be her but I got an interesting conversation. I was talking with Ayane during the evening talks (I think it was her, I don´t remember very well) and she spoke about her teacher and how she likes to go to Okina to keep an eye to the students behaviour there. All this happened before Kashiwagi was our teacher, if she was already working in Yasogami and she is Ayane´s teacher too is a mistery.

[@serenepastel]

This must be why Inaba is one of my favorite video game hometowns. It really does feel so lived in. This game has such passion in it.

[@isakjarlestedt2001]

this is an amazing video! anybody that has played Persona 4 probably has felt what you're talking about but you explained it so well!

[@HidinginPrivate]

Thank you! I know it's a bit more of an abstract topic but I felt it was an important part of P4 as a game

[@wolfiddy]

Persona has always been really good about changing NPC dialogue. Even back in P2 when they didn't have the day-to-day system. Finishing a dungeon usually brought new NPC dialogue, it's honestly really cool!

[@schmuckmcgee7294]

Here’s a cool detail I never see brought up, but I noticed that you can spot Izanami as the gas station attendant at various points throughout the story… But only on rainy days. In hindsight, it’s a huge clue to her real identity that’ll fly over the heads of a lot of people (basically everyone on a first play through).

[@catcocomics1601]

I believe Kashiwagi also shows up in the Persona 3 movies, specifically on the summer trip when Junpei does the Operation Babe Hunt, giving the boys some serious trauma. Granted just a cameo appearance, but not wholly unrelated since P4 has multiple P3 references and even has the Port Island/Gekkoukan visit.

[@ovensmuggler5207]

That's because she's there in portable too, at least I've heard, I've only played fes

[@schuetz600]

My brother prefers the larger settings of 3 and 5 while I’ve always loved 4 the most. You summed up perfectly why I love Inaba so much! There’s so much detail packed into the place and I doubt I’ll ever be able to see all of it. I never put together the detail about the thugs in chie’s story getting mentioned elsewhere so thanks for covering that. Ayane mentioning the weather in her link was also something i never picked up on. These videos where you analyze the broader world and themes of persona 4 are amazing man!

[@HidinginPrivate]

Well good to hear! I'm happy to add just a tidbit more new fun info for chie's link haha. Thanks for sticking around and giving your thoughts each time!

[@zeveria7206]

There's a lot of mentions of an elementary school student during October/November and while this student is sometimes refereed to as "he", I actually think they're referring to Nanako. They also say how this student is political at such an early age and this is during the month when Nanako was interviewed by the politician and became famous among Inaba while still remaining anonymous. As such, it makes sense that she would be a topical discussion around this time.

[@HidinginPrivate]

That's true! That's another case of it being linked to the main plot (so that's why I didn't mention it) but you're absolutely right!

[@senflyer-]

I really appreciate all the little details it has. I always hear that the first game you start with sets your expectations. I heard various complaints that Persona 4 is too happy or too small compared to the other titles, but for me I found myself loving it because of that, not in spite of it. The light-hearted scenes makes the darker moments contrast more, as well as knowing from the start that your time is limited makes it just that more painful knowing you'll have to leave it behind. I love how the size makes you familiar with every area, the songs, and even many of the NPCs you might overlook at first glance. I hadn't caught that bit about Naoto. It's amazing to me how many of these details were able to be kept in Persona 4 the Animation as well.

[@illuminoeye_gaming]

this series is just making me love my favourite game more and more idk what imma do when it ends

[@Flaris]

I know what I'm probably going to do...go through another playthrough of P4G. Never gets old.

[@djordjekrsmanovic]

I always love these small details in games they almost always go unnoticed and i can see why more developers don't do these sort of things but they are always cool when they do Reminds me of a series called Legend of Heroes or the Trails of series it gives basically every NPC their own storyline that you can only see if you talk to them after every major story quest

[@MikulOnIce85]

One detail I noticed on my second playthrough of p4g was that Marie's social link was that the later part of her social link pays attention to the weather. If you are completing it in december she pays attention to the foggy atmosphere, and it was a detail I appreciated.

[@wadosk_NB]

As someone who first played Persona 4 back in 2020, during the first year of the pandemic, back when I first started college, I found myself seeing striking similarities in between my new place of residence and Inaba itself. Much like Yu Narukami, I went from a big city, with urban lifestyles, to a more tranquil, nature surrounded peaceful town. And seeing the breathing world of Inaba and just how alive it was despite its smallness really made me able to appreciate my own surroundings more. Things that are so small seem so small, but then they make so much more impact than you'd originally think.

[@edgyone2273]

This is something i had noticed before but I'm glad someone is finally giving it the praise it deserves!

[@HidinginPrivate]

It's a very abstract topic but a notable positive aspect of p4 I think

[@balaocoon]

Despite me playing numerous games in the Shin Megami Tensei series, and thus actually spending more time in Tokyo, both during, after, and before the apocalypse, I've always felt a stronger affinity to Inaba because of how it captured everything you mentioned in this video. I loved all those quests that obscure NPCs would give after a major story event, or how they may react to or mention the Weather.

[@rileyninja9733]

That's pretty neat having those small details in the story (wow this feels like a stupid comment because it could probably describe most of your videos on this channel)

[@HidinginPrivate]

Ehh this comment fits the video well enough

[@statz3697]

I completed vanilla persona 4 last night and all I can say is that it was beautiful. all the characters the mystery and of course inaba itself where all amazing to experience the whole thing going on with the gas station attendant was amazing as well. The game was one hell of an experience I won’t be forgetting ever, plus I plan on going back to inaba soon because I plan on playing golden.

[@insertnamehere658]

I think P4G kinda ruins Inaba a bit tbh. Inaba in vanilla goes for a specific vibe. You'll know what I mean when you play it. It kinda ruins it a bit imo.

[@statz3697]

@@insertnamehere658 I’ve heard bad things and I’m a bit sceptical still can’t wait to play it tho.

[@annyshkilionok2680]

I love both Chie and Kou to death, but nooooo, I so wanted that bromance with Daisuke to be something special- but okay okay it's really cute

[@bestgamer-1st73]

First of all, I love the persona 4 dancing music you use in 1:06! it's impressive. Even a person who finish persona 4 on ps2 and then golden like me, and know the detail of this game, still find out new small piece (the same thing happens to me every time I play persona 5 royal again)

[@dhi_holo]

Holy shit, I never noticed the day 1 stuff, that makes it make so much sense I honestly love this game, I hope P6 goes towards this denser feel, although the expanses of P5 works for the Tokyo setting

[@zeo1087]

This video was awesome, I’m definitely gonna be looking out for all these details the next time I play Persona 4!

[@jubileus4597]

I never noticed Namatame’s truck before! That is awesome attention to detail.

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

I think my favorite NPC is the guy in the South end of the Shopping District who seems to be visiting Inaba on a business trip and, even though he's initially flustered by the ways of country life, ends up falling in love with Ms. Sofue and is really glad he came out here in the end.

[@tylerpettit921]

This was so stellar to watch! I never realized most of the things you mentioned! 🌈😇🌈

[@HidinginPrivate]

Thanks!

[@shakedcohen6682]

This is by far my favorate part in this seiries. Cause no other look at this gane go this in depth into the game and makes this seires feel like the most complete view. Good job

[@nex8939]

Loved this video and all the extra trivia, Inaba is such a great and iconic setting for a reason and I think u explained why very well

[@zenronez1158]

I didn't even know these dialogues existed. Even in small place you still have much to listen and see. Thing's like this make game's really stand out. The level of thought and care is just inspiring. Thanks for your time devoted into making these videos. Covering thing's a little deeper and shedding light on otherwise hidden details.

[@franconunez925]

This is an axpect I really liked about the game, I think this helped to sell the idea where you are in a small town where there wasn't much to do and everyone know everyone, and the one story I was trying to follow is the love story with the student that is near the mirrors of the class and the girl who wants to be a fore-caster.

[@RikkuX5]

That was so fun to watch. Little details like this make you appreciate the game even more. A lot of passion and thought went into the game design

[@shiranuiprestonsaga8867]

Man the Persona Content has been fire can't wait to hop in the stream today after grinding for awhile

[@HidinginPrivate]

Find yourself a partner?

[@shiranuiprestonsaga8867]

@@HidinginPrivate No Just got myself a Pretty crazy job and working my ass off

[@Nodegama]

Ah yes! So much attention to detail. It makes the difference in turning elements that could be static NPCs into characters that feel alive. Minor characters with no name or face, but serving an important role none the less.

[@UnbornDecay]

Man it's gonna suck when this series draws to its inevitable end. This is, pardon the pun, golden material here

[@cthulhu888]

I think the spacy girl and errand boy were my fav npc story. The girl is always so optimistic and interesting and the boy's just going through the day like the rest of us but as the story goes on the girl turns into the best thing around when the fog worsens ☺️ Really every npc arc is nice to unfold in p4, also in p3 as well (i think my fav from that was mitsuru's girl crush and her wanting mitsu to run her over with her motorcycle haha)

[@dudebroguyman]

Can't believe this was only uploaded yesterday. Eagerly awaiting the next part!

[@HidinginPrivate]

Many more parts are out and many more are yet to come! They'll gradually start getting longer as well

[@dudebroguyman]

@@HidinginPrivate Oh wow, that's awesome! I'll also give all of those a watch too.

[@shionvii]

Yosuke will change its dialogue in his SL whether you solved the case yet or not!

[@HidinginPrivate]

Same for the other characters and specific events! Night dialogue also bases around recent events. It's cool!

[@lukea5985]

Amazing video! I didn't even knew about all of these details while doing my first run!

[@HidinginPrivate]

I dug deep with a few of these!

[@DKzCoolD2]

I always loved how some links were locked behind jobs and other links. Also I can't believe that Hiding, who NEVER READS, found all these details and tidbits.

[@HidinginPrivate]

I can't read! I have a maid read out all the dualogue to me

[@DKzCoolD2]

@@HidinginPrivate a cute one?

[@williamhououin]

What a great video of a fantastic game! I’m gonna go watch your other P4 content now! Cheers!

[@HidinginPrivate]

Nice! I hope you like them!

[@harrietr.5073]

This was really cool to see. I thought Yus being a nurse fan from P4A was an ass pull, I didn't know it was in the maingame. And I didn't know about the girl with her senpei in that hallway. Reminds me of the cool tuxudo dude and his cat in P5R.

[@tm4557]

I just finished p3 fes and I noticed when social links scenes appeared to be the same all the time, regardless of circumstance. For example occurring in school even on off days. The fact I never noticed anything wrong with the or social links makes me appreciate your natural they felt.

[@Flaris]

It's kind of funny. I didn't really put the jerks from Chie and Kanji's social links together to the guys Dojima chases after until now. But that's definitely a fun connection. Honestly I just love the depth of Inaba. It's kind of funny after playing Persona 5 that I feel nostalgic for the small town feel of Inaba! But because it is a small place you get all these cool connections. Which works because...that's how a small town is. And I'm fully with you in appreciating how the weather effects reflect what is actually going on. The environment changes, characters may not show up in a social link (for reasons), and it all just feels like part of that world. Such a great game and partly why P4G remains one of my favourite games of all time.

[@sammydray5919]

Honestly the only one I never caught was the final one about the final one about the truck. Really love how the small details are given attention in this game 😀

[@statesminds]

Persona 4 definitely did a good job at this. The best games that do this are The Legend of Heroes: Trails/Kiseki series.

[@HidinginPrivate]

I need to play the trails gamed! They seem nice

[@LORDOFDRAGONS555]

Will finally play this game after I finish Hollow knight, Im already spoiled and know like 80% of what in the game but I'm excited.

[@HidinginPrivate]

Even if major plot beats are spoiled there are so many nice moments to experience that I'm sure the broader experience won't be tainted. Hollowknight is great!

[@rexmon2592]

If you like this about Inaba then you totally need to check out the Trails series, it has the best world building in the entire genre, other series aren’t even close

[@yuki5619]

new p4g video lets goooooooooooooo

[@HidinginPrivate]

Yuki yooooo

[@nguyensyduc2335]

Damn. Never even think that P4 is that consistent with their environmental story.

[@HidinginPrivate]

It's subtle and easy to miss unless you talk to a lot of nameless npcs or connect the dots across some links

[@rileyninja9733]

Oh NERU why'd you have to end 😔

[@HidinginPrivate]

The videos will start trending longer soon!

[@USChoudhari]

Thanks for the video!

[@HidinginPrivate]

Thanks for watching it!

[@jeanvalero1597]

cool video! If you like these type of things, I HIGHLY suggest playing the Trails series! Starting with Trails in The Sky!

[@HidinginPrivate]

Okay!

[@killerskulldog]

Instant subscribe

[@HidinginPrivate]

I appreciate it

[@rileyninja9733]

I died a little when I was reminded that most people dislike NERU:WayOfTheMartialArtist in eyepatch wolf's recent video.😭😭😭 Sorry but I just felt I should use my vent as support for your video as a comment

[@rileyninja9733]

The pain is real kind feel like throwing up maybe I'm hungry but I can't think of eating for now

[@HidinginPrivate]

I haven't seen it yet!

[@BluShiGuy]

Ah yes

[@chuck77thevideogang]

Its so hard not to share your videos with my friend! She never played Persona 4 so we are doing Live streams playing through it about every week. Im Jealous that she has no idea who the killer is. She has guessed and guessed but no cigar! We need to finish so I can spam her with your videos XD

[@HidinginPrivate]

How far in is she?

[@chuck77thevideogang]

@@HidinginPrivate We just saved Naoto. And did the concert story segment. Getting pretty close to the end.

[@statesminds]

Ah a living world. What cyberpunk 2077 promised lol. Also tell Kou to backoff, Chie is my Yu #1 romance haha

[@HidinginPrivate]

Lmao cyberpunk oh boy. That was a crash and burn. Also gotta disagree with the chie pick tsk tsk. Interesting though, yosuke shows interest in Yukiko, Kanji in Naoto, Kou in Chie and Rise in Yu- P4 is a lot more blatant about people in game having crushes on one another although it's never confirmed to be two sided. Like Kanji x Naoto, Naoto never blushes, flirts or even realizes Kanji likes her, yet is constantly blushing in response to Yu. She even responds more romantically to some of Yosuke's comments lol. Rip Kanji I suppose

[@ajflink]

Two isn't a pattern. It's a line.

[@Bluebatstar]

One thing I just thought of. So, you mentioned Namatame's truck at the very begginning of the game, so it's hinted that the protagonist and Namatame arrived in Inaba at the same time and therefore got their powers at the same time too. However, Adachi seemed to be in Inaba much longer then those too, since he was complaining about the small town having no real cases and it was boring. I doubt he'd say that if he arrived on the same day as the other 2, because the murders started the very next day. And besides, Yamano was shoved into the TV before the protagonist arrived and that was done in the Amagi Inn, which is in Inaba. So if they were trying to go for "all three of the people Izanami chose arrived on the same day" with Namatame in the opening, then there's a lot of contradictions here. Is there anything I'm missing?

[@HidinginPrivate]

I think what you're missing is they weren't going for the "everybody arrived at the same day" thing. If you just drop that idea, which isn't told to the player, then none of those contradictions exist. The idea is they all got their powers at around the same time not that they arrived. I mean the fact Namatame was driving the delivery truck means he must have already gotten into town the night before at the latest and started working the next day. Izanami's plot couldn't go into motion without the 3 ideal archetypal figures so whenever you showed up all 3 were finally in the same place.

[@Bluebatstar]

@@HidinginPrivate Oh yeah, that's true. I guess I just assumed that they Izanami didn't have to meet them the second they entered town... yeah that one's my bad, I get it.

[@ItsShaz1]

Yasoinaba!

[@HidinginPrivate]

So true! I'm excited to get into the name more as well in the Story Anakysis vid. (It's just under 30min long)

[@ItsShaz1]

@@HidinginPrivate I’m excited!

[@spudsbuchlaw]

I missed 90% of these, as I've only played Base P4 once. I really miss the depth the game afforded. I wish mire gane developers would take a in depth approach, like P4 or Majoras Mask, rather than trying to make a big world with all the cool bits spread out

[@thomingai9977]

Persona 4 tu inazami syaitan biasa banyak jadi stand jin prayer sebab logo mereka mau jadi jangan olok kolapak jantung buah pisang lahirkan Izanami tu bukan Izanagi bahasa Jepun Harut Marut main tu

[@Kepin151]

Dafuq!?

[@mappplesirrup8473]

hiiii

[@HidinginPrivate]

Hiiii

[@Skyarrow99]

:)

[@HidinginPrivate]

:)

[@Christian-gr3gu]

That hot tub scene will always make me angry, seriously what a terrible fucking scene

[@HidinginPrivate]

I think there's more interesting context there that was made better in p4g but I won't spoil how until it pops up in one of the party's segments

[@alextorres8635]

Very sad you didn't play 4 first. I had never heard of P4 until 2017 and man I was blown away by it. You start to see the evolution from a different perspective if you have a chance to play them in order.

[@HidinginPrivate]

I don't think it honestly changed much. I doubt I would have finished p3 or p4 if I didn't have the context for p5. When I tried playing p4 I got bored at magatsu inaba and switched to p3. Then I completely beat p3 before coming back to p4 to finish up. I think now playing all 3 multiple times I can still mark the evolution from game to game and appreciate the changes