Despite success like Trauma Center and Catherine, Atlus remains most recognized for its Persona series. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, originally released on PlayStation 2 back in 2008, will be receiving an updated re-release as Persona 4 Golden on the PlayStation Vita. Look for it on October 23rd.

Persona 4 Golden was initially given the ambiguous release date of sometime this Fall, but the GameStop website lists the official date as October 23, 2012. The date seems legitimate, as it falls on a Tuesday, which is the typical day of the week for most game releases.

Persona 4 Golden operates much like the re-release of the previous Persona game, Persona 3 Portable for the PSP. It plays exactly the same as the original game, but with many new additions thrown in. The player takes the role of a nameless protagonist, having recently moved into a rural town called Inaba to live with his uncle and cousin. He soon gets caught up in an investigation concerning a series of murders, all of which are connected to the mysterious Midnight Channel and the monsters known as Shadows. Alongside a group of his fellow classmates, he must channel his own strange being known as a Persona to fight these monsters.

Though the main plot remains the same, many of the gameplay elements are further developed or added to in Persona 4 Golden. New characters and new Personas have been added, new areas are available to explore, new events and new cutscenes are included to further flesh out the story, and new equipment to change the party's physical appearances is in there, as well. There have also been some tweaks to the battle system, such as the ability to use the Vita's Wi-Fi to call for assistance when the party is in trouble.

Will you be picking this up on its release date?

Persona 4 Golden will arrive for the PlayStation Vita on October 23, 2012.

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Source: Game Informer, GameStop