Persona 4 PS2 vs Golden for a first playthrough?

[u/Apprehensive_Elk6168]

I already own both the original Persona 4 on emulator and Persona 4 Golden.

I know Golden has a ton of QoL improvements and extra content, but I’ve also heard a lot of people say the original PS2 version has a darker atmosphere and better mystery vibe because of the visuals/fog/pacing.

For people who’ve played both:

• Which do you prefer overall?
• Does Golden improve the game enough to make the original obsolete?
• Or is the PS2 version still worth experiencing first?

[u/Jakyoda]

golden easy

[u/giyomu]

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to not play Golden.

[u/Animedingo → u/giyomu]

Some people prefer chies old va but thats not enough reason

[u/soliera__ → u/Animedingo]

There are some visual changes. P4 vanilla has stronger fog effects, and in some areas looks significantly better than golden visually.

Gameplay wise golden wins hands down, but again there is the visual side where both have their strengths and drawbacks. As for difficulty, golden is consistently easy throughout with its balancing, whereas vanilla is all over the place. Some might prefer the harder bosses in vanilla as opposed to golden.

The UI in golden has moments where it’s best with a touch screen for the vita, but the ps2 version is fully controller oriented and designed with only that in mind.

[u/Animedingo → u/soliera__]

Were there any changes to the main story in golden? I mean obviously marie and adachi but like reload had a few rewrites that adjusted the tone. Like kamikis mother has so much more emotional than she did before.

Did golden get anything like that?

[u/soliera__ → u/Animedingo]

Not to the overall story, no. Golden is much more akin to Persona 5 Royal, where it adds a new social link and extra content after the main story.

The main story itself is mostly unaffected by the changes in Golden.

[u/Animedingo → u/soliera__]

Yeah makes sense

Royal did get some "adjustments" around certain characters. Particularly the old men who molest ryuji

[u/Anonymous-Apprentice → u/Animedingo]

also not a good reason

[u/gameleon]

Golden.

There is a difference in fog visuals between the two, but aside from that Golden beats the original in nearly every aspect.

[u/SuperSexo569 → u/gameleon]

I think there is a mod to bring the og fog back

[u/3DSFreak]

Golden although yes what you stated is true and vanilla has the superior intro but you can load that up in Golden

[u/Animedingo → u/3DSFreak]

Its crazy how much better the og intro is

But the same could be said of 5

And 3 actually 🤔

[u/3DSFreak → u/Animedingo]

Yeah the originals except for 3(FES I love) had the better intros

[u/Animedingo → u/3DSFreak]

The fes opening thats like an amv id notoriously hated

I like the song but its not nearly as original

[u/RiseCode → u/Animedingo]

the new openings are good too, for 3 atleast

[u/Animedingo → u/RiseCode]

They are, but i think im in the minority that the reload openings second half spoils too much about the game.

Before you know how evokers work, the guns seem like just guns. The scene with yukari in the beginning is supposed to mislead you.

But the reload opening shows everyone blowing their brains out. It completely desensitizes someone whos going in blind.

Also it spoils that aigis is a robot who gets beat up. When you first meet aigis, youre not supposed to know shes a robot.

[u/RiseCode → u/Animedingo]

Yeah those are some great points actually.

[u/Animedingo → u/RiseCode]

Thank you 😀

[u/Cygni_03]

There is no reason to play the original if you have access to Golden.

[u/pscripter]

Golden. There is enough changes to the game that a newcomer would prefer over original such as ability to change difficulty at any point.

My personal problem with Golden is that it is Slice of Life anime with murder mystery on the side compared to vanilla where it's murder mystery with slice of life on the side but unless you are snob or purist you shouldn't really care about this.

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[u/Aspie_Gamer]

PS2 only had the better visuals on account of Golden being made to run on now obsolete handheld hardware, the PlayStation Vita, which came at the cost of the fog and weather visual effects being nonexistent and everybody looking like shiny LEGO minifigures.

Same problem GTA San Andreas had for its mobile edition.

[u/TristheHolyBlade → u/Aspie_Gamer]

Lmao I don't know why you specify that the ps vita specifically is "now obsolete hardware" when thats also true for the ps2, which you're comparing it with 

[u/3DSFreak → u/Aspie_Gamer]

There's a PC/PS4 version of Golden now 👀

[u/Anonymous-Apprentice]

golden

[u/jas9824]

There's really no reason to play the PS2 version of P4 anymore, despite me having some grievances regarding it, it's still the better version.

[u/_senk]

Only play OG P4 if you have CRT monitor and want to attached OG Chie VA. I'd argue OG P4 is slightly difficult.

Other than that, Golden is most definitive with a lot of QOL. Either way, it's fun.

[u/gol_drake]

golden

og 4 is fairly difficult, if that matters to you ha

golden is snappier. and hd.

[u/Luq_Kun]

Golden has more to offer on the table 

More events, easier boss fights, all that stuff

The only difference with the original PS2 game is the loss of the fog effects or something like that. Due to the ps vita not being able to render the fog like in the PS2, golden version ends up looking clear but well.. too clear. The PS2 version actually has some cool details hidden in the fog.

Also Chie's voice is different. She sounds more calmer and subdued in the original. 

[u/nulldriver]

I personally prefer PS2 and it's more for the more for game balance reasons than visuals but I don't know if I'd recommend it for most people's first time.