Disbelief.

Shock.

Was it finally over? 

YES! I finally finished playing Persona 4! Woot woot!

After 81 hours of gameplay, I completed 91% of the Fusion list, leveled up my 4 main fighters to at least level 77, and maxed out all the Social Links except for 4 of them - Hanged Man, Moon, Justice, and Fortune. Whew!

If I included the hours I played, died, and restarted, I most probably would have clocked in at 100 hours. I know that isn’t much in the era of Fallout 3, but Persona 4 is the longest RPG I ever played, surpassing Final Fantasy 8 (which I’ve replayed numerous times!). My husband is super happy for me mainly because he no longer has to put up with a sleep-starved, half-dead zombie.

You guys must be wondering why I took so long. Well, there were a couple of reasons. Work was one of them.  Getting anal and trying to achieve 100% was another. Last but not least was the overwhelming desire to get the TRUE ENDING.

Yep, for those who did not play P4, the game has a bad ending, a normal ending, and a TRUE ending. So really, one might ask, what’s the big deal with the TRUE ending?

(On a completely random note, each time I hear or read the word ‘TRUE’ ending, I imagine a choir of angels going ‘hallelujah! Hallelujah!”. Not like the chorus of “hallelujahs!” from Worm that is  synonymous with “haha! you are screwed,” but more along the lines of “the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow” kind of exclamation.)

Now back to the True Ending discussion: what’s up with it? I don’t really know myself, but when the developers tagged an ending as the ultimate best kind, it makes gamers (or at least me) want to have it. Any other ending suddenly becomes inadequate. Is it because humans are geared to wanting the Best of the Best? Is it our desire to have the best ending to any story, kinda like an addiction to ‘happily ever after’? Or maybe after investing so many hours into a game, we must have the best ending to justify the long trek? Hmm...

Honestly, I wonder whether some gamers even bother with getting the True Ending, not just for P4 but for other RPGs. Does anyone else out there feel the same way as I do? Or do you guys think True Endings are all just a gimmick to reel in gullible suckers? Pick a side and drop me a line while I relax far, far away from the TV.  

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 screens on GamePro.com

More articles about Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

Comments [5]

post a comment

  • First
    • Jump To Page:
    • [ 1 ]
  • Last
DrZeiss

81 hours? bah. Persona 3 took me 108+ hours and I still couldn't max out all the social links and didn't get even close to 90% of the fusion list. I guess they did tone this Persona title down just a little bit.
Unfortunately, I am in the camp for suckers who need the all-true-and-last-of-the-final ending. I feel it does somewhat gives some validation on all the hours sunk into it.
What I don't understand though is the point of having a New Game Plus mode? especially for an RPG this long. If it were a 10-15 hour game, it might make sense but after 60-80 hours, do they really expect us to play through it again?

Lynxara

Yeah, Atlus expects you to play P4 twice. It's impossible to get 100% Compendium unless you do, and it's impossible to do it with two passes unless you get the True Ending the first time. Getting it unlocks the right to make the game's ultimate Persona during your second pass, who otherwise cannot be created.

Honestly, P4's Normal Ending is mislabeled. It's just another Bad Ending, if one not as obviously disastrous as the ones you can trigger earlier in the game. If you've actually met the Normal Ending requirements, only a trivial amount of effort is required to unlock the True Ending dungeon and see the real conclusion of the story.

The option to end the game before clearing March's dungeon just seems to be there as a way for impatient players to screw themselves out of the seeing some of the neatest stuff the game has to offer.

Rustificatedid

Scary thing was, I was tempted to replay P4. Thank goodness I didn't because I don't think I've the time nor the patience. It is a GREAT game, but just one helping (like a good lasagna) keeps you full for a LONG time. ^_^

Lynxara

Aw, give P4's second cycle a try sometime. :D It takes about half as long as a full game since your money and stats carry over, and the bonus bosses are a lot of fun to fight!

(Of course, I'm the sort who always overdoes it on good Italian food...)

313807
  • First
    • Jump To Page:
    • [ 1 ]
  • Last

Post a Comment