![]() ![]() The character models are well-animated and look exactly how you’d expect them to, and while some of their costumes might have minor clipping issues, on the whole they move and animate really well. The visuals in P4D are interesting and pretty high quality for a Vita title, and since this is basically the first time we’re seeing high quality renders of the Persona 4 cast in 3D, that in and of itself is pretty cool. The other half is full of moments where the plot either handwaves strange plot points, like “Why did everyone revert to their old looks?” or never addresses them at all, like, “So… why did Nanako cut her hair then?” or “How does the cast spend three days in a Shadow Realm without anyone noticing?” or “Wait, so you’re worried about doing group improve to a song you don’t know when you just did group improve to a song you don’t know?” You get the feeling that the writers have done all they can with Persona 4 at this point, and that’s fine, but this wasn’t the strongest story to go out on, and that’s honestly a really big shame. About half of the plot feels like it’s a not-so-subtle condemnation of the idol industry as a whole, between how miserable everyone is and how much of the story basically amounts to “Being an idol sucks a whole lot,” which is just really strange as a plot driver. Rise gets a little time to shine here, but Kanamin is more of a catalyst than an important character, essentially taking the Labrys role in the plot, while Yu basically plays Superman again, which is… fine, but it’s wearing thin. The plot still, in a lot of respects, feels like it’s about how rad Yu Narukami is, which is kind of frustrating given that Rise and Kanamin were given top-billing in the lead-up to release. Unfortunately, for all of its good, the plot is easily the weakest of the Persona 4 plotlines. ![]() There’s also some really wonderful post-game story moments that flesh out the characters a bit more, and act as a wonderful epilogue to the series as a whole in a lot of respects. Little things, like Kanamin’s interactions with the team and Nanako, or how the team interacts with the Kanamin’s Kitchen members, really humanize the plot, and these interactions are the best part of this story. Now that we have a translated version of the story, it’s safe to say that there’s a lot here to like, mostly in the interplay between cast members, be they the regular cast or the newcomers. Kanamin, meanwhile, deals with the loss of her bandmates and friends, having to deal with her own insecurities as she adjusts to the rapid changes around her. As things pick up, Rise drafts the group into helping her perform a dance number for a big idol showcase, only to find there’s another Shadow-oriented mystery that requires them to dance. When I reviewed the Japanese version of the game, I made some basic assumptions about the plot, and for the most part, they seem to have been correct. ![]() On the other hand, however, not all of the issues have been fixed, and having the title localized also means the plot is localized, which actually doesn’t help the game nearly as much as you’d expect it to, which is not something I ever thought I’d say about a Persona 4 title. The minor technical issues the game originally had have been ironed out, and the majority of the issues with the DLC and how it was handled in Japan have been taken care of for the US release of the game. I noted then that I was hopeful that a combination of the game being fully localized (and thus having an understandable plot) combined with some review by Atlus US would fix up many of the issues I had with the Japanese release, and fortunately, this is partially the case. Conversely, the bad news is that it’s got a few significant hiccups to it, some of which are notably more problematic than others. At the time, I noted that, the good news with the game was that it mostly works as a rhythm game, and fans will absolutely love how much attention it pays to its source material, as it’s very much a port that acts as a rhythm-based love letter to its fanbase. So, just shy of three months ago, I took a look at an import version of Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and now, by the kindness of Atlus, here we are taking a look at the US release of the game.
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