Summary
With Atlus registering p4re.jp, the rumors of aPersona 4remake have been all but confirmed. While fans speculate on what the title could be, (Rewind? Rerun?), they’re also curious about what could be improved in this remake, since many fans feltPersona 4wasn’t in need of a remaster.
However, the same was said aboutPersona 3 Reloaduntil it was announced. It then went on to sell a million copies within the first week of its release. Plus, the gameprovided new featuresgamers didn’t even know they wanted until they had them. So, Persona 4 could still benefit from a remaster; here’s a list of just a few things the remake could do.
7Hand-Crafted Dungeons
Just Like Persona 5!
In the Persona fandom, it’s always controversial to request that previous games play more likePersona 5, as there’s a worry it’ll rob the previous games of their identity. However, there’s no denying that thePersona 5Palaceswere a significant improvement from the randomly generated dungeons of 3 and 4.
4’s TV world dungeons were a visual recreation of a character’s suppressed emotions. Sounds exciting, until players enter and discover every world is a randomly generated hallway with a few differently colored assets. The remake can make use of this lost opportunity; tell a story through the environment, add puzzles to the dungeon, or at the very least, not make things randomly generated. ConsideringReload’soverhaul of Tartarus, the dungeons of 4 are very likely to receive such treatment.
6Revamped Combat
Taking Inspiration From Metaphor
Fans agree that, unlike 3, the combat from 4 still works fine. A little grindy perhaps, but on the whole, pretty good. Add in the baton pass/SHIFT feature from 5 andReloadand things will be golden.
However, the overworld combat needs a complete rework. The ambush system, combined with wonky hit detection and the dungeon’s narrow hallways, make ambushes a nightmare.
This fix can coincide with hand-crafted dungeons since the rooms will be wider and have more room to maneuver. Furthermore, Atlus should take inspiration fromMetaphor: Refantazio,Persona’s sister series. The ambush system was significantly improved just by adding a dodge-roll and lock-on feature.
5Quality Of Life Features
In Other Words: Less Grinding
Speaking ofMetaphor, the game’s overworld combat also let players one-hit monsters that were deemed ‘too weak’ to bother starting a turn-based encounter for. Slashing through these enemies was satisfying and gave a small chunk of experience.
This feature could save players a lot of time grinding, and is, on the whole, more fun to play with. If this request is too much, there should, at the very least, be an option to level up the characters who don’t remain on your team, akin toPersona 3 Reload’sclock- which can sync low-level party members up to your protag’s level.
4Romantic Social Links
AKA Yosuke’s Cut Social Link
Persona 3 Reloadreworked its social linksso its values could reflect modern times. Mainly, the idea that you could reach Rank 10 with a female social link without having to romance them. When it comes to representing modern romantic life,Persona 4could go one further and re-introduce same-sex romantic social links.
Gay relationships are not new to Persona; both Aigis and Jun are respective gay options. Yet with Persona 4’s release, Atlus curiously regressed on this decision, and cut Yosuke’s romantic social link. Audio files still exist of Yosuke’s cut confession to the player. This decision greatly affects the story too, as him being in the closet provides an explanation for his sometimes cruel behavior towards Kanji. (whose sexuality is also in contention.) The fix to this mess is very simple; put Yosuke’s cut romance back into the remake.
3Bring Back Aika
Missing Since 2012
The remake is a prime opportunity to pull from the variousspin-off mediaPersona 4has amassed seventeen years after its release. The best use of this would be the reintroduction of Aika Nakamura, whom was first seen in the Persona 4 anime.
Aika works for the Aiya restaurant, and she is extraordinarily committed to her cause. In the anime, she shows up with superhuman timing after the party orders their beef bowls. Her stoic commitment to delivering such mundane food is a constant source of laughs in the anime, and can add some levity to the game. Making her show up in the game as a social link can surprise players new and old, as well as add depth to a previously comedic character.
2Remastered Music
Dancing All Night
The Persona series hasalways had outstanding music. So, when a remake was announced, fans thoughtPersona 3didn’t need a remastered soundtrack. That was until they heardReload’sColor Your Night.Persona 4’sJ-Pop-infused soundtrack is already iconic, but there’s no harm in asking Atlus for more music.
Whether it’s remastered takes of songs the fandom loves or entirely new tracks, the Persona 4 remake is sure to deliver. Especially since the series has such an extensive catalog of songs to work from, thanks toPersona 4 Arena, and the dancing spin-offPersona 4: Dancing All Night,which even saw Silent Hill composer, Akira Yamaoka contribute a few remixes.
1Have Everything In One Package
Which Means No DLC, Atlus
One lesson thePersona 4’s remake can learn from 3’s, is the importance of having everything in one package. A few people were upset with the exclusion ofPersona 3’sThe Answer, but there wasimmense fan outcrywhen players discovered that the female MC seen inPersona 3: Portable, was not in Reload. Though mods tried to fix this egregious omission by modding the FemC back into the game, the damage was already done.
As for The Answer, it was later sold back as DLC and titled ‘Episode Aigis’. Though Atlus are undoubtedly tempted to givePersona 4’sGolden content the same treatment, this absolutely cannot happen. Golden’s content is interwoven with the fabric of 4 and cannot be tacked on to the end asThe Answerwas to 3. If anything, Golden’s content should be worked on so it’s more smoothly integrated into the game, as a few cutscenes from Golden were not always paced so well.
