Persona fans debate whether Persona 4 needs a remake
After the success of Persona 3 Reload, fans are starting to wonder which of the other Persona games would deserve a remake. One popular debate that is going on right now is whether a Persona 4 remake done similarly to Persona 3 Reload would be viable at all.
To put things into perspective, Persona 3 Reload was a remake of 2006’s Persona 3 that updated the original game’s graphics, gameplay, voice acting, music, and much more. While some would say Persona 3 Reload cut a good half of the original due to the removal of the female main protagonist, there is more than enough content to justify the remake as its own title.
Persona 4, on the other hand, has had various ports of an enhanced version titled Persona 4 Golden since its initial release in 2008. Persona 4 Golden isn’t a remake or remaster but adds new content such as 2 extra Social Links and a “Golden” ending. In this sense, it is very akin to how Persona 5 Royal is the complete version of Persona 5.
While Atlus has no official plans for a Persona 4 remake, this has not stopped fans from voicing their opinions on the matter. Some would love to see Yu Narukami and the rest of the Investigation Team return. A lot of the same people also want the original Japanese and English voice cast to reprise their roles. The last request is understandable, considering Persona 3 Reload replaced almost all of the original English cast with new voice actors.
Others would prefer remakes of older games like Persona 1 and 2. Considering Persona 4 Golden can still be played on modern platforms and plays well 16 years after its original release, the petition for lesser-known Atlus games to get remakes seems justified as well. Lastly, some would like Atlus to focus on new projects, such as the hotly anticipated Persona 6.
All these different opinions have good points and seem profitable for Atlus. We don’t know what Altus has up their sleeves for the Persona series next, but they undoubtedly know how popular the series and its related games are. The latest entry in Persona’s parent series Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance sold over 500,000 units in the first 3 days after launch, so there’s definitely a strong market for Persona-related titles.
It’s best to describe Persona 4 Golden, Persona 5 Royal and SMT VV as re-releases as it is a complete overhaul of the original games they were made from including tons of extra’s, rewrites, additions, gameplay elements etc that it feels like a brand new game with tons of things added to justify it’s price of being a complete title. I can say i am more supportive of this practice as Atlus does tend to historically have issues with every game they release that the re-release ends up fixing the original and it becomes the definitive version used throughout until a remake happens to overthrow it. DLC expansions are not my favorite in this instance.
Persona as a series is popular, I remember when it was just Persona 4 Golden that came on PS Vita. 5 really catapulted it into the stratosphere, but honestly I do not think Persona 4 Golden needs it, it’s a luxury, a nice to have. But it’s not like the special situation Persona 3 was with P3P and FES(which was a re-release of Persona 3 that came into America) where both were flawed in some way, and needed the remake to bring it together gameplay wise. I would prefer Raidou because it desperately needs it or even Persona 2 which is a really beloved game from the older audiences of the Persona series and never was fully released West.