A Corner of Memories

Welcome to week 3 of my all-time favorites collection for February! 

Caesar's Soundtrack of the Week

This week's entry: 

Persona 4 Golden

"I am thou... Thou art I...

Thou hast opened thine eyes... The time... is now!"

    Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is a JRPG made in July 2008, later rereleased as Persona 4 Golden (P4G) in 2012. In this game, you take the role of a high-school student who has moved from the city to the small town of Inaba to live with your uncle for a year. During your stay, you do things a regular high-school student does, hang out with friends, take on part-time jobs, solve a murder... wait what?

    A hilariously great way to describe this game is Scooby-Doo with murder and fighting shadow monsters. Jokes aside, the plot's theme is the pursuit of the truth, seeing through the half-truths and lies to see what you believe. Another tremendous meaning gleaned from the game is "accepting yourself for who you are." I played this game during a very rough time in my life and learned quite a bit from it, which helped greatly to get me out of a bad time in my life. Due to this, Persona 4 Golden has and likely always will stand out as one of, if not, my all-time favorite games.

    Persona 4's soundtrack is one that I would call an absolute masterpiece. The score was primarily composed by Shoji Meguro, who after being given a rough outline of the story, created a score to match the emotions felt by both the player and the characters. This can be seen even in the first few tracks of the soundtrack. There are 2 songs that play as you start up the game. The first of which is the opening to the game (which changes depending on your version of the game), Pursuing My True Self or Shadow World. These songs both welcome you to the game with a bright and happy feel to each of them and even introduce you to the plot of the game. The lyrics to these songs deliver the themes of the game while keeping an upbeat theme. Following the opening music, we get to the title screen where the song Corner of Memories plays. The best way to describe these songs... is the beginning of a long and meaningful journey. These songs, Corner of Memories especially, almost make you feel nostalgia for something you've never experienced.

    Meguro's music has a distinct style to it, typically inspired mostly by Jazz and Hip-Hop while spanning a wide range of genres. From upbeat battle themes like Reach Out to the Truth, to sweet themes like SMILE, and even emotional songs such as Girl of the Empty Forest.

    This game has one of the most compelling stories of any game I've ever played. The relationships you build with the characters of the game each have many lessons to be learned. As you help these characters to grow, you may notice a bit of growth in yourself as a person. It certainly helped me grow and get through a dark time in my life. This game is my top recommendation for a video game to play so I hope you give it a try sometime!

    Persona 4 Golden is now available on Steam, Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo Switch!

Until next time!
- Caesar Salad