It would be close to impossible to talk about some of the most popular JRPG series around without mentioning the masterpiece that is Persona. The series was already great with the first two games, but its Persona 3 that truly helped the series break its shackles and emerge as one of the freshest and most interesting JRPGs of all time.
Of course, while Persona 3 was a groundbreaking title, it was also the first Persona title to try out such a different formula. Thus, it was expected that the series was only going to evolve with each successive entry, and one need only look at the brilliance of Persona 4 to get the truth behind this statement.
Persona 4 is considered by many to be one of the greatest JRPGs ever made, and its Golden variant is even more beloved due to the amazing inclusions in an already brilliant title. So, it's only natural that gamers have tried their hardest to find out everything there is to know about this title. That being said, there are ten unique things about Persona 4 that most people still don't have any idea of.
10 The Shin Megami Tensei Name Was Dropped From The Series Because Of Persona 4's Success
Persona 4 is one of Atlus' most successful projects, and perhaps the game that finally made them believe that the Persona series could stand on its own two feet instead of having to constantly be lumped in with the Shin Megami Tensei name.
So, following the release of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, subsequent releases in the franchise have completely done away with the SMT name altogether.
9 The Part-Time Job Given By The Gas Station Attendant Was Actually Supposed To Be A Thing
Persona 4 starts off with an innocuous gas station attendant who offers the protagonist a job, but this never really materializes into anything substantial — it was just a way for Izanami to bestow the power of the Wild Card onto the player.
However, people who have delved into the game files have discovered various pieces of dummied content, suggesting that maybe this part-time job was supposed to actually be doable in the game.
8 There Were Supposed To Be Heavy Consequences For Dating Multiple Girls
While Persona 3 was pretty forgiving with the idea of the player being a womanizing scumbag, Persona 4 definitely puts the player in their place with some rather passive-aggressive comments by the romantic interests on Valentine's Day.
However, the penalty for double-dating was supposed to be even stricter, with situations reaching such a boiling point that the character's Social Link would even be reversed or be canceled altogether.
7 It's Theorized That Yosuke Was Supposed To Be A Romance Option As Well
Speaking of romantic options, people who've consistently shipped the protagonist and Yosuke would be glad to know that this beloved character was going to be a romantic option as well.
This is mainly due to the dummied content that fans have unearthed, which heavily implies that this was meant to be a viable course of action to take.
6 There's A Real-Life Murder Similar To The Serial Killer Case In Persona 4
Persona 4's serial murder case is quite a disturbing one indeed, mainly due to the manner in which the bodies are left hanging upside down on telephone wires.
Well, it seems that one particular real-life murder case echoed this manner of death. In Oak Park, Michigan, a man's body was discovered hanging on a 1000-foot broadcast tower. How the killer managed to accomplish such a feat is anyone's guess, but one can't deny that having a real-life murder be so identical to a fictional one is quite unnerving indeed.
5 The Financial Problems Atlus Faced During Development Are Reflected In The Game's Files
Atlus was going through a massive financial crisis during the development of Persona 4. The severity of this crisis was so immense that even the surprise success of Persona 4 didn't stop its parent company from declaring bankruptcy. Thankfully, Sega managed to acquire the company, and all was right with the world.
The remnants of this financial turmoil are rife within Persona 4's files, which pretty much confirm how hasty and underfunded Persona 4 was. The entire game was developed like a fan-mod on top of Persona 3's engine, which makes the runaway success of this title all the more impressive.
4 Johnny Yong Bosch Voices Both The Protagonist And Adachi
Johnny Yong Bosch has voiced popular characters in Ichigo from Bleach and Lelouch from Code Geass.
He also voices both the protagonist and antagonist in Persona 4, which is a testament to his skills as a voice actor. No one could've even realized that both characters are voiced by the same character unless they read up on it.
Of course, the fact that the protagonist barely utters a word throughout the game might also lead to that impression.
3 Troy Baker Became Popular In The Industry Because Of Persona 4
Troy Baker is one of the most legendary voice actors in the gaming community, but what most people might not be aware of is the fact that his breakout role actually came in the form of Kanji Tatsumi from Persona 4.
Even after his massive rise in popularity following the release of Persona 4, Troy Baker always tried his hardest to voice Kanji at every given opportunity in a bid to pay testament to the stepping stone that launched him into stardom.
2 The Story Around Rise's Concepts Is Quite A Rollercoaster
Speaking of the main characters in Persona 4, one should absolutely read up on Rise's development history as a character. It's quite enlightening.
For starters, Rise was supposed to an ice-wielding Persona user, with a design that was similar to Ai's. However, with Kanji taking over the role of the delinquent, Rise was pushed into an analytical role instead, and her original concept design was used for Ai Ebihara instead.
Along with this, another concept design for Rise was used as an inspiration for Ann Takamaki's design from Persona 5 as well!
1 Teddie Was Originally Supposed To Be A Girl
Persona 4 already had a gender reveal twist with Naoto being a girl — something that wasn't originally planned during development but ended up taking shape over time.
So, the idea that a male-sounding Teddie would actually be a girl was an idea that was certainly interesting... but Naoto's surprise reveal made this idea's impact somewhat muted. As a result, Teddie was chosen to have a male human form instead.