Well, Persona 4: Golden breaks the save-reload tradition by letting players start from the beginning of the floor or stage of the dungeon they died on. Every gamer probably has a horror story about finally making it through a tough dungeon only to die in a boss fight before saving their progress. This is a frustrating role-playing game holdover from the dark days before autosaving. When you die in the original Persona 4, you start from your last save. You can even buy new outfits to wear when you’re exploring dungeons in the TV world, some of which are very silly. This gives you access to more shops and unlockable goodies. Players also have the option of exploring a new neighboring town called Okina after they learn how to ride motorized scooters. Marie’s story is integral to many new components in Persona 4: Golden, so hanging out with her is an absolute must if you’ve played the game previously. She’s a grumpy yet intriguing girl who doesn’t seem to like the protagonist much when you first meet her, but eventually she softens. The one most notable changes, besides the online connectivity, is the inclusion of a new side-story character named Marie. So Persona 4: Golden is simply bursting with new content. Atlus knows its fans and knows that new characters, scenarios, and explorable locations mean the world to players returning to their favorite games. If you’re concerned that Persona 4: Golden is just a port of a PlayStation 2 game, you worry too much. Gamers don’t need multiplayer shooting matches to interact, and sometimes anonymous companionship is preferable to building up friends lists. Other developers should learn from Atlus’s example here.

The developers didn’t have to work social and online components into Persona 4, but how they did it is completely unobtrusive, optional, and ultimately very useful if you take advantage of it. Even though you are playing through the game on your own, the fact that you can fall back on other players when you’re in a tight spot is a very endearing and helpful mechanic. This is that multiplayer component I mentioned before. If you find yourself trapped in a dungeon with little to no healing capability or escape items, other players can find your SOS and heal your party. Once you enter a dungeon in the TV world, you have the option of sending out an SOS message, similar to the notes you could leave in Demons’ Souls and Dark Souls. But the online functionality isn’t limited to thought bubbles.

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