Highlights

  • Persona 4 Golden deserves a remake to pay respects to its impact and set the stage for Persona 5's success in the mainstream gaming scene.
  • Persona 6 marks a departure for the franchise, with series creator Katsura Hashino moving on to other projects, making a remake of Persona 4 the perfect way to end the current Persona era.
  • Updating Persona 4 with the knowledge and advancements made in Persona 5 would not only give fans more content to enjoy but also serve as a well-deserved victory lap for a classic game in the series.

Persona 4 Golden is something of a modern classic. P4 was released in 2008 on the PS2 to critical acclaim but failed to become a widespread hit in the West. Persona was a fairly niche franchise at the time, but its release as Persona 4 Golden in 2012 on the PS Vita started to change the series hidden gem status. P4G was considered one of the few good reasons to own the unpopular handheld. Now that Persona 3 is being remade as Persona 3 Reload, full Persona remakes are on the table. Before moving on to P6, Atlus should pay respects to Persona 4 Golden with a remake; it is, after all, the game that set the stage for Persona 5's ascent into the mainstream.

Persona 6 is set to make a big departure for the franchise. Persona 5 came out in 2016 in Japan before coming to the rest of the world in early 2017. The title began initial development in 2008 before kicking into high gear in 2011. P5 pushed the systems that the previous two games had built out to new extremes, and with its conclusion, series creator Katsura Hashino left P-Studio and the franchise he had become known for. Hashino began work on the upcoming Metaphor ReFantazio, and left Persona and its development studio to Kazuhisa Wada and Daiki Itoh.

RELATED: Persona 4 Golden Getting Surprise Physical Release

P3, P4, and P5 Were a Series of Their Own

Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5 form what many regard as the "modern Persona" games. This distinction has come about because of the vast departures made in Persona 3 from previous entries. P3 focused on new social elements that helped make the series widely known. It also was the point at which the franchise locked into its high-school setting and focused on combining striking aesthetics with a rich original score. P5, like P4 before it, built on its predecessor, pushing flashy visuals, slice-of-life anime themes, and a unique soundtrack to new heights in each entry. Together, the three games form a complete thought, working increasingly toward Hashino's vision of what the series could be. Persona 5 was genre-defining, so it makes sense then that the series creator wanted to move on after its completion.

Persona 3Reload is setting out to take P3 and bring it up to date with parts from P5. P3R is adding more social mechanics, overhauling its visual presentation, and updating its RPG gameplay with some of the innovations of newer entries. The goal of Reload isn't to make P3 into P5 but rather to update the systems and presentation of modern Persona's foundation to match the version that Atlus spent over a decade forming and refining. There is no reason that Persona 4 shouldn't receive the same treatment.

It's time for a Persona 4 Golden Remake

Persona 4 Golden Xbox Series X

Persona 4 pushed what P3 started forward, but its presentation and gameplay isn't as sleek and refined as Persona 5 Royal. Updating P4 with the knowledge acquired in making P5, similar to what is happening with Persona 3 Reload, would serve not only as a great way to give fans of the entry more content to enjoy but would serve as a perfect capstone to an era of Persona games. Even if Persona 6 isn't as big of a departure as P3 was from P2, the series being in new hands will surely be felt.

A Persona 4 Remake Would Be the Perfect End of an Era

Wada and Itoh have worked on the Persona franchise for a long time, and while their vision will surely be faithful in some ways, Persona 6 is the start of a new era. Before saying farewell to the current one entirely, Atlus should give Persona 4 the remake treatment as well. Persona 4Golden's reputation of being the reason to own a Vita set the groundwork for Persona 5's success. Furthermore, Persona 4 is still a great game, so taking fans back to Inaba one last time would be not just a great capstone to an era of Persona games, but also a well-deserved victory lap for a classic.