Persona 5 is beloved for a lot of reasons, but the Confidant system stands out as a core game mechanics. The more players befriended the people around Joker, the more benefits they provided both inside and outside the world of Shadows. This was a start contrast to the Social Link mechanic in Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden, where party members might provide special benefits through their Social Link, but most other characters just boosted Persona fusion. However, Persona 4 Golden did have one character with a much more complicated Social Link that resembled a Confidant: the fox at the Tatsuhime Shrine.
Aside from the fact that this Hermit Arcana Social link was an animal, the fox stands out due to its surprisingly demanding mechanics. Yu Narukami can't just hang out with the fox; he has to take on elaborate missions that can take several in-game days to complete. It's well worth the effort, however, since Persona 4 Golden rewards players with tons of unique benefits if they pursue the fox's Social Link. The outsized benefits of the fox aside from Persona bonuses make it seem like a prototype of the Confidants found in Persona 5, meaning the smash-hit title might owe its predecessor a lot.
How Persona 4's Fox Resembles a Confidant
While most Social Links are merely a matter of spending enough time with a person, the fox sends Yu on several quests in and around the town of Inaba. It gathers ema requests at the dilapidated shrine and hands them to Yu in the hopes of getting more offerings for the shrine. These quests can take a lot of effort and sometimes require the player to sacrifice precious in-game afternoons and evenings to complete. Persona 5 fans are certainly familiar with this, since most non-party Confidants feature a sidequest in Mementos, forcing the player to track down a miniboss and defeat it.
However, while the fox matches (or even exceeds) Confidants in time commitment, it also offers bountiful rewards. The fox curiously follows the Investigation Team into the Midnight Channel, where Yu can pay it to restore the party's SP with herbs, and the service gets cheaper with Social Link ranks. This service is a lifesaver for players grinding in Persona 4 Golden's dungeons, and it's exactly the kind of unique benefit that Persona 5's Confidants aim to offer. Beyond this, the fox also unlocks a couple amenities over the course of its quests, like fishing at Shichiri Beach. All in all, the fox is a true Confidant in the making.
In retrospect, it's something of a shame that Persona 4 Golden's other Social Links didn't follow the fox's lead. Persona 4 Golden has just as many memorable side characters as Persona 5 Royal, but even highly personal Social Links like Nanako and Ryotaro Dojima don't stand out from the player's peers at school. It would've been great to see these characters step up to the level of a Confidant; for instance, Dojima could've provided the player with the same kind of detective sleuthing skills that Goro Akechi features in Persona 5 Royal. Without unique abilities, these friendships feel a little less special.
Regardless, the fox remains a shining light among Persona 4 Golden's Social Links. Its dedication to sidequests and role as an SP provider remain distinct even after Persona 5 Royal, so maybe Persona 6 can look to P4 for inspiration when making a new merchant character or a purveyor of real-world sidequests. It also wouldn't hurt if Persona 6 put its on twist on an animal Confidant to honor the legacy of the fox and Koromaru from Persona 3. Whatever the next game does, the fox will remain an oddity among Persona 4 Golden's Social Links that may have heralded the changes to come in the franchise.
Persona 4 Golden is available now for PC and PS Vita, and releases January 19, 2023 for PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.