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The Timing Is Perfect For The Rumored Persona 4 Remake
Recent rumors have suggested that Persona 4 may be getting a remake sometime soon. I think the updates made to Persona 3 Reload were a huge improvement over the original, so I am very excited at the prospect of Atlus remaking my favorite Persona game in a similar fashion. Although I can understand some players lamenting that Persona 6 should be the priority over a Persona 4 remake, I don’t think it’s that big of a downside for the new version of Persona 4 to come out first.
Although Persona 4 Golden isn’t that old, it does feel dated when compared to Persona 5 Royal or Persona 3 Reload. One of the biggest aspects of Persona 4 that I think could be updated in a meaningful way would be the combat system with the addition of things like Baton Passes or Showtime attacks. I also think Persona 4 is a good choice for a remake because its story feels perfectly timed for the current cultural climate.
Persona 4 Might Be Getting A Remake Soon
A Newly Registered Domain Hints At The Game’s Pending Announcement
Although rumors of a Persona 4 remake have been circulating for a while, they got kicked into high gear last week when user ScrambledFaz on X discovered that the domain p4re.jp had been registered. ScrambledFaz pointed out how this mirrored the reveal of Persona 3 Reload, which came just a few months after the domain p3re.jp was registered. This seems to lend some credence to existing rumors of an upcoming Persona 4 remake.
Metaphor builds on the Persona formula in many ways, even improving on its core concept: the battle and development mechanics of Personas.
This follows speculation from late February about the remake that started when singer Shihoko Hirata said she was recording for an unannounced game. As Hirata worked on Persona 4 previously, and was recording in the same studio previous Persona projects have used, it was theorized she could be recording for a Persona 4 remake. Although nothing is official yet, it’s hard not to get excited about the prospect of a Persona 4 remake releasing sometime in the next few years.
Persona 4 Golden is a comfort game for me, and I find myself picking it up frequently between big releases. I’m well acquainted with the game’s many successes, as well as the areas I think could be improved on by a remake. Including optional strong enemies like in Person 3 Reload would be a great way to prevent having to grind levels. Even better, the game could steal Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s combat mechanics that allow you to skip turn-based combat altogether against lower-leveled enemies.
Persona 3 Reload’s upcoming expansion, Episode Aigis -The Answer-, brings the base game’s updates to the DLC from the original game.
I wouldn’t even mind grinding through a Persona 4 remake for the first time if the game uses Persona 3 Reload‘s generous new game plus feature of letting you keep your current level on your protagonist when you start over. While updates to the game’s graphics and a more streamlined combat system are more than enough reasons to want a Persona 4 remake, I’m also excited because its story feels very timely. The game’s relevant themes could earn it an even better critical reception than Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Persona 4’s Themes Of Identity Are More Relevant Than Ever
Persona 4 Tackles Hot-Button Issues Like Gender Norms And LGBTQ+ Identity
Identity plays a key role in Persona 4‘s story. Whereas Persona 5‘s Phantom Thieves have to discover their spirit of rebellion to awaken their Persona, Persona 4‘s Investigation Team has to accept uncomfortable truths about their own identity to awaken theirs. Perhaps two of the most poignant instances of this come when Kanji Tastumi and Naoto Shirogane are forced to confront their complicated relationships to gender norms.
Naoto is worried she can’t be a great detective because she’s a woman, and feels the need to try and hide her gender identity because of it. The idea that women are ill-suited to certain tasks or occupations is a sadly relevant theme to tackle in the current cultural climate. As reported by Time, recent trends like tradwife influencers have the effect of reinforcing the same type of perceived gender norms that cause Naoto to doubt herself. Even seemingly more neutral movements like natalism could be seen as promoting unfair gender-based hierarchies, according to Salon.
Persona 3 Reload’s expansion pass is a controversial offering, and deciding whether the content addition is worth purchasing can be complicated.
While Naoto shows us how misogyny can negatively impact women’s views of themselves, Kanji shows us how this ideology cuts both ways. Kanji feels the need to act overly aggressively and even violently out of fear that his love of making cute plush animals will make him less of a man. Recently, we have seen men doing things like attending rigorous boot camps in hopes of conforming to masculine stereotypes, as reported by USA Today.
Through Kanji, Persona 4 also tackles themes of accepting one’s identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Kanji is initially attracted to Naoto when he believes she is a man, which manifests his shadow self that expresses overt attraction to other men. While Kanji denies this for much of the game’s runtime, he does ultimately accept this other self as part of him in one of his late-stage Social Link events with the protagonist.
I acknowledge that some fans of Persona 4 have interpreted Naoto’s story as being reflective of a transgender experience more so than a story about gender norms. Applying queer theory to Naoto’s story is a valid reading, just not one I feel equipped to handle, so I’ve stuck with my initial reading of the text.
I connected a lot with Kanji’s story, especially the ideas surrounding what one’s LGBTQ+ identity meant for their masculinity. Stories like Kanji’s, which show how important it is to accept oneself, can have a huge impact on people struggling to accept similar identities, and are especially poignant as anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has become more mainstream, with NBC even highlighting its role in the recent U.S. elections. A Persona 4 remake would give a fresh audience a path towards self-acceptance, just like the original helped me, at a time when they could really use it.
Recent Shows And Movies Have Seen Success Covering Similar Topics
Recently, media tackling similar themes to Persona 4 have gained a lot of popularity. One great example is the buzz surrounding the Netflix show Adolescence, which focuses on a teen boy who is accused of killing a female classmate. Like Adachi’s killings, the murder in Adolescence is ultimately revealed to be the result of the killer’s misguided sense of entitlement toward women and their affection
Persona 5 was a major triumph for the series, but it did make a few mistakes that Persona 6 should try to avoid if it wants to be more successful.
The critically acclaimed I Saw the TV Glow from last year is one of the most powerful stories about LGBTQ+ identity that I have seen. While vastly different in many ways, Persona 4‘s themes of identity feel at home in a media landscape where I Saw the TV Glow can find appreciation and acclaim. While themes of identity may seem timeless, it does feel like a particularly poignant time for these types of stories to be told.
Sources: ScrambledFaz/Twitter, Time, Salon, USA Today, NBC
Released
December 9, 2008
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ due to Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Violence
Publisher(s)
Atlus
