Persona 4 Golden

Persona 4 Golden, abbreviated as P4G, and also titled Persona 4: The Golden in Japan, is an enhanced re-release of Persona 4, which launched for the PlayStation Vita. The port adds a variety of new content and convenience features to update the original game. Golden was adapted into an anime, Persona 4 The Golden Animation.

On June 13, 2020, the game was released on Steam for Microsoft Windows PCs. The port has received several technical enhancements, which includes performance, bug fixes, and immediate availability of difficulty customization.

In June 2022, as part of the Persona 25th Anniversary, it was announced that Persona 4 Golden would also be ported on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch. Additionally, a Windows 10 Store version of the game was released for Microsoft Windows PCs. These versions of the game launched worldwide on January 19, 2023.

Main game

 * Two new Social Links. Both Social Links are capable of unlocking new story content.
 * Marie, a Persona 4 Golden exclusive character, of the returning Aeon Arcana from Persona 3 FES.
 * Tohru Adachi, a character from the original Persona 4, of the new Jester Arcana.
 * A new dungeon - If the protagonist maxes the Aeon Arcana Social Link before defeating Ameno-sagiri, the Investigation Team will visit the new dungeon, the Hollow Forest, which must be cleared to unlock the new epilogue.
 * A new bad ending - If the protagonist discovers the true culprit near the end of the game, but decides not to tell his friends about them, on March 20, 2012, he is given the option to meet them and destroy the evidence of their crime, turning him into their accomplice. If he does so, the mystery of Inaba's murders will never be solved and the protagonist will leave Inaba with the true culprit getting away with everything they had done. The credits then roll with "Corridor" playing in the background.
 * New difficulty levels have been added, similarly to Persona 3 Portable. On New Game+, or from the start on the PC version, the difficulty can be changed and even customized levels for individual game elements in the configuration menu. The pre-set levels of difficulty are:
 * Safety (Very Easy in NA Version)
 * Easy (Left untouched in NA Version, used to be called Beginner)
 * Normal
 * Hard (Left untouched in NA Version, used to be Expert)
 * Risky (Very Hard in NA Version)
 * Several new music tracks.
 * Additional voice-over dialogue.
 * Chie and Teddie have new voice actors in the English version.
 * New animated cutscenes.
 * More Personas, including new Ultimate Personas for the Investigation Team.
 * New areas can be visited, such as Shichiri Beach. Okina City, which was only seen during certain Social Link scenes, can now be accessible during the protagonist's Daily Life.
 * New events, such as a Halloween event and a ski trip.
 * The protagonist can now explore Inaba in the evening when Dojima is not home. Places to visit are limited, just like in Persona 3.
 * The protagonist and his friends now have motorized scooters to explore various areas. The protagonist may spend time riding it, which after several rides is the means to unlocking Shichiri Beach and Okina City.
 * Additionally, riding a scooter with a teammate will teach them new skills.
 * Costumes are now available to buy at Croco Fur, in Okina City. Costumes have their own slot for equipment, and affects the Investigation Team's appearance, similarly to Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable. Costumes do not affect the party's stats.
 * New Garden and Bug Catching activities.
 * A Trophy system has been added.
 * The ability to choose which skills can be inherited by the Persona the protagonist is fusing. (However, inheritance restriction still applies.)
 * The Vox Populi (Voice of the People) and SOS are new additions to the game, available while connected online.
 * The Vox Populi can be used to see what other players of Persona 4 Golden have chosen to do during the current day in the game. The feature is also available in the Velvet Room to see what Personas other players are currently fusing.
 * The SOS feature calls other online players for help in dungeons, allows you to send help to others, and is received as a gift of a minor amount of health and spirit. The amount restored by the SOS is very little and isn't restricted by the current health status of your party.
 * New scene skipping function.
 * If the necessary criteria for at least the good ending are fulfilled, daily activities are expanded to February 14, 2012, giving more time for events and Social Links.
 * New epilogue has been added for the True Ending.
 * The list of Requests and the Fox' emas have been modified.
 * The flow of battle has been tweaked:
 * Some shadows/enemies had their elemental attributes or area spawn changed.
 * Shuffle Time has been revised.
 * Characters have been rebalanced.
 * The "Confuse" status has been renamed to "Panic" in the English verison.
 * Rise can now assist the Investigation Team in All-Out-Attacks.
 * Tag Team attacks: two members can team up to perform a united attack.
 * Cavalry Attacks: Attacks from members of the Investigation Team that are not currently in the party. These usually are a follow up to Weak/Critical attacks that down an additional enemy or two, allowing for an All-Out Attack.
 * Some spells have reduced usage cost (Megidolaon now only costs 38 SP and Morning Star costs 55 SP.)
 * Spell buffs and debuffs can now be used on the same character to prolong the effect.
 * Miscellaneous gameplay changes have been made:
 * The Fishing minigame has been revamped with new bait, replacing the original Bait item. Additionally, the activity was expanded with the ability to fish at Shichiri Beach.
 * Tanaka's Amazing Commodities, aside from being extended to air in January and February, is now available in any remaining Sundays that were otherwise skipped in the original Persona 4, with the exception of November 27th until the end of the year.
 * Enemies can also drop jewels, which can be exchanged at the Shiroku Pub.
 * Rare enemies, such as the Treasure Hand, no longer drop Chest Keys. Instead, they will drop Magatsu Xandrite, a jewel for trade.
 * Trading items at the Riverbed is no longer available. The items themselves can still be obtained via different means, including Shiroku Pub.
 * Numbers of certain materials sold required to unlock gear was changed.
 * The Rainy Brother 3 is no longer in Golden, hence the material 3rd Boy's Talc and its respective weapon Downpour Sword can no longer be obtained.
 * A new gallery menu has been added: "TV Listings." It displays bonus content unlocked through the main game at any time. Bonus content and the game itself are presented as television shows. The various shows are:
 * Song Battle 2012 - Various clips from Persona Music Live 2008 in Akasaka Blitz and Persona Music Live 2009 in Wei City Tokyo.
 * Persona Music Live 2008 in Akasaka Blitz includes "Pursuing My True Self," "Mass Destruction" and "Reach Out To The Truth."
 * Persona Music Live 2009 in Wei City Tokyo includes "P3 FES," "Deep Breath Deep Breath" and "Never More."
 * Mr. Edogawa's TV Classroom - Lectures on the various themes of the game and their relation to psychology.
 * Midnight Trivia Miracle Quiz - A quiz show with questions regarding minor aspects of Inaba and the Shadow World. The character dialogue in this content is fully voiced.
 * Daily Personamations! - A hub for rewatching the game's animated cutscenes. Scenes are unlocked as they are encountered during play.
 * P4 Golden - The main game, this program serves as a link to return to the game.
 * Our Summer Vacation - Replays the events of the ending. This is unlocked after clearing the Story.
 * Giants of P - A series that shows Persona 4 concept art with commentary on each piece. Additional pieces of art are unlocked as the story progresses.
 * HEE! HEE! HOO! Music King - An in-game music player for listening to previously encountered music. Additional tracks are unlocked through playing the game.
 * Persona Hits - This series shows various Japanese television commercials and trailers for Persona on PSP, Persona 3 on PS2, Persona 3 Portable on PSP and Persona 4 on PS2.
 * What is P4 Arena? - Plays the P1 Grand Prix introduction video from the Persona 4 Arena story mode.
 * P4 the Animation! - A Japanese extended trailer for Persona 4 The Animation, this content has the original Japanese audio and does not contain subtitles.
 * The Midnight Channel - A Minigame accessible only when the PlayStation Vita's clock is at Midnight until 1:00 AM. It features Teddie covered by TV static and can be manipulated with the device's touchscreen. Teddie is fully voiced in this mode.
 * Floors and chests in dungeons can now reset by changing floors instead of leaving the dungeon and TV world, or visiting another dungeon.

Region Exclusive Content
The Japanese and Korean versions of the game feature interviews with twelve voice actors for main characters. This was cut in the English version.

Steam Version
The Steam version of Persona 4 Golden is further improved from the Vita version.


 * Bug fixes
 * The glitch where the game may act up if the player restarts a battle too many times was fixed in the Steam version, and the player will have no problems restarting multiple times.


 * Graphics options
 * The game will run at up to 4K resolution with 60FPS+ as opposed to the Vita's 476p resolution and 30FPS target.


 * Language options
 * Additionally, like Persona 5 Royal, the Steam version includes dual audio language and multiple text language.
 * The Japanese version also includes dual audio settings.
 * The anime cutscenes now also include subtitles like Persona 4: Dancing All Night.
 * Changing the language on the Steam version will default the protagonist's name to "Yu Narukami", and the language changes need to be reverted to use the original name.

In the Steam version, the difficulty setting can be customized at any time, in contrast to the Vita version only allowing it to be done so on New Game Plus. A preset difficulty setting can be chosen, or individually alter the following parameters:
 * Difficulty settings
 * Damage Taken: Damage dealt to a party member by any enemy. (Great, Normal, Small) The lower the value, the easier it is to survive.
 * Damage Given: Damage dealt by a party member to any enemy. (Great, Normal, Small) The higher the value, the faster foes are defeated.
 * EXP Won: Experience Points rewarded after each fight. (More, Normal, Less) The higher the value, the faster levels are gained.
 * Money Won: Yen rewarded after each fight. (More, Normal, Less) The higher the value, the easier it is to get rich.
 * Retries in Dungeons: Determines if the game allows a retry when the protagonist is knocked out in a battle by spawning them at the entrance of the dungeon floor the player lost the battle at (with all party members' HP and SP set to the values they were at upon last visit) or sends them directly back to the title screen. (Use, Don't Use)
 * Retries in Battles: Determines if the game allows a retry when the protagonist is knocked out in a battle by reviving and restoring all party members to full HP and SP while continuing the battle, or retry in the dungeon (if enabled) or directly back to the title screen. (Use, Don't Use)

Some items in the game's gallery mode "TV Listings" have been removed due to obsolescence:
 * Removed content


 * "Song Battle 2012"
 * "Persona Hits (Trailers for previous Persona games)"
 * "What is P4 Arena?"
 * "P4 the Animation!"


 * Logo Changes
 * The original ATLUS logo is updated to the current ATLUS logo.
 * The CRIWARE logo is replaced by the P-Studio logo.
 * The copyrights "©Index Corporation 1996, 2011 Produced by ATLUS" in the Japanese version and "©Index Corporation 1996, 2012 Produced by ATLUS" in the Western version are changed to "©ATLUS. ©SEGA. All rights reserved." This change emphasizes ATLUS' current parent company, SEGA.

In addition to the above changes, the Steam version of the game also received post-launch support in the form of a dedicated bug fix patch. For more information, see List of Patches and Updates.
 * Patches

In 2020, Persona 4 Golden was one of the 5 nominees for the "Best Soundtrack" category of the.
 * Steam Awards

2023 Ports

 * Unlike previous versions of the game, it is confirmed that the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Windows Store ports will be localized in French, Italian, German, Spanish and Simplified Chinese. Just like the Steam version, the game features dual audio. All of the changes from the Steam version are applied.
 * Players are now able to perform a Quick Save at any point in the game without having to manually use a save point.
 * A new Album feature is selectable from the protagonist's room, allowing the player to look at previous events with any established Social Links in their playthrough. The Album can also be used to replay a selected Rank event and alter the protagonist's responses to characters in order to see different outcomes.

Trivia

 * Persona 4 Golden ' s Steam released with no prior announcement: it was only revealed to have a Steam port as soon as the game was unlocked for purchase and play.
 * Despite the timezone differences, the release of Persona 4 Golden on Steam coincided with the 8th anniversary of Persona 4 Golden ' s Japanese release on June 14, 2012.
 * Persona 4 Golden is the first Persona game to be ported on Steam.
 * Additionally, Persona 4 Golden is the second Persona game to be ported by Atlus to Windows PCs after the Japan-exclusive PC port of Megami Ibunroku Persona, and the fourth Windows PC game ever released by Atlus, the first being Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku in 1999 and the third being Catherine Classic in 2019.